Okay, wow ! I did not expect this chapter to take over a month to release. So sorry for the delay but college and real life matters have been kicking my ass recently and I haven't had much time to write. Thankfully my semester break is next week so the next chapter probably won't take nearly as long to get released, so hope the next chapter makes up for the lateness of this one.

Big thanks to HammerTide for beta reading this chapter and making sure everything was okay.

With that said, let's get it started !

Ikem did not consider himself someone special or somebody who would have an actually important role in the history of the world. While he humbly considered himself a good actor, he never thought his ordinary life as an actor doing stage plays with the love of his life would change much.

He was a simple man who just wanted to live in peace with his wife and daughter...he had never expected to learn that his wife was the descendant of a past Avatar and he would suddenly find himself embroiled in the politics of the Fire Nation or be the target of an assassination attempt.

Yet all that paled in comparison as he finds himself helpless to aid his wife in her grief.

She had lost one of her children, Princess Azula. Ikem tried as he might to be the shoulder to cry on for his wife, he felt there was little he could do for her in truth.

For what could one truly say to make a parent feel better for the loss of a child ? If Kiyi herself died...he had no idea what he would do either.

He had never known much about the young Princess besides what he had heard from his wife and her friends. She sounded like a very talented but troubled girl. Always too much pressure on her and that it got so bad to the point where she broke. He can only pray to Agni that her spirit finds rest in the Spirit World.

Even now months later, he can still sense the grief his wife carries with her. When she plays with Kiyi, there is a kind of distant sad look in her eyes, a kind of hesitance playing with Kiyi, a kind of fake smile that she had learned years ago when they were just teenagers learning how to fake emotions. His wife was not exactly distant with Kiyi, but he thinks she holds a hatred towards herself.

He fears that his wife may carry this grief and guilt with her for a long time...maybe forever.

Ikem wonders if it is his fault for how this turned out...maybe if he had been braver, convinced Ursa not to take the Mother of Faces deal and change her face in exchange for forgetting who she was. He could have told her that it was unnecessary, that they just needed to hide out long enough in the forest until Ozai gave up and thought they were dead.

He lies awake at night now thinking about that very conundrum. Could he have done something different to change things now ? Ikem was uncertain on whether they could have truly survived the Forgetful Valley long enough for the tracker to give up, he liked to think they could have but perhaps that is just his naiveness showing.

If If If If If If If...

He's certain he might go insane trying to think of all the possibilities. He was so distracted, he almost didn't notice the feeling of the bed lose some of its weight, as he felt his wife get up from the bed.

Right on time.

Turning his head to see his wife leave the room just in time, giving it about a minute before pursuing. Exiting their bedroom, Ikem could see that Ursa had already disappeared from sight.

When night fell and Ursa thought he was asleep, she would leave their bedroom and head somewhere. Some place Ikem already figured out long ago...

Making his way towards where his wife went, it didn't take him long to come upon a room. A very specific room.

Princess Azula's former room.

The door having been left half opened which allowed him to peer inside to see his wife kneeling by the bed, the distinct smell of incense entering his nostrils.

" A-Azula...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." His wife bowed her head at the bed, as if pretending that there was a little girl sitting on it to apologize to " I'm sorry I wasn't a better mother...I'm sorry I was such a coward...and-a-nd...I'm sorry I couldn't be the mother you needed..."

Ikem's heart broke as he heard his wife apologize for a multitude of different things, just sitting there in the dark alone...

He had enough and walked inside, speaking in a soft tone " Ursa ? "

His wife almost jumped as she turned her head to him, he could see her tear-stricken face.

" Ikem ? " Ursa sounded surprised to see him and quickly wiped her eyes " I-I'm sorry did I wake you ? I was just-"

Ikem held up a hand " Its okay Ursa, you don't need to explain yourself to me..."

"...Though it is a bit obvious as to what I've been doing here, isn't it ? " Ursa said quietly.

" A bit " Ikem said as he sat down beside his wife. The two of them just sitting in silence for a moment before Ursa broke it.

" I come here almost every night...begging for forgiveness...I wanted to make things right with her, to be there for her, to be the mother she deserved..." Ursa lets out a laugh " Its pathetic I know, trying to beg a ghost for forgiveness...I can't even really say I'm doing it for her sake, but more so to try and sooth my guilty conscience...I'm pathetic "

" No, you're not Ursa "Ikem had enough of her self-loathing " You did the best you could for your children, under the circumstances "

" You sound just like Zuko...I can come up with all the excuses and barriers to try and cover it up...but I AM a bad mother " Ursa sobbed " I'm no different from Ozai...and don't you dare try to tell me different...I couldn't e-even..."

Ursa's voice cracked in her throat as Ikem held his wife in his arms, the smoke of incense slowly going out.

" I-I-Ikem...when does the pain stop ? " Ursa sobbed into his shoulder.

He didn't answer her. For her himself had no idea what the answer to that question.

He could only do what he'd always done and try to be there for her.

" You think Jiang has gone traitor and is working with Ozai ?" Zuko said in shock after hearing Mai's whole explanation. Ty Lee silently gasping while Suki looked surprised.

" Yes, say it louder please so any potential listeners can hear better " Mai said both sarcastically and seriously.

At the moment, they were all in one of the palace's private meeting rooms, the same kind that were used to hold meetings between the Fire Lord and their advisors and ministers. What made these room special were the fact that they were soundproofed so that nobody on the outside could listen in on conversations. Mai remember learning this was added as a countermeasure against enemy spies by a previous Fire Lord.

She silently thanked that past Fire Lord as she didn't know who in the palace could be trusted save those in this room.

" Jiang and I have had our disagreements...he seemed pretty neutral towards me when I became Fire Lord, but things have soured recently " Zuko thought it over " I never would have thought he would get involved with Ozai and rebellion "

" That's a pretty big accusation to make Mai, do you have any evidence to support it ?" Suki asked.

" No...but from the way he's been acting I'm almost sure of it " Mai explained.

" Well, we are going to need a lot more than just a gut instinct to work off of. Without any hard evidence, we can't really justify bringing him in and questioning him " Suki pointed out.

" I know...which is why I plan to break into his office to try and uncover some evidence."

" Would that really work though ?" Ty Lee questioned " I mean, I get the idea behind investigating Jiang but breaking into his house to search for evidence might be a little pointless, don't you think ? "

" What do you mean by that ? " Mai asked.

" Jiang is the oldest minister out of everybody, he knows the inner-workings of the Fire Nation like the back of his hand so he definitely isn't stupid by any means if he helped Ozai escaped " Ty Lee explained in detail " Do you really think someone that meticulous would be dumb enough to leave damning evidence of his betrayal in one of the most obvious placest possible ? "

Mai considered it for a moment and realized that Ty Lee was right. Jiang didn't seem like the kind of person who would be careless enough to leave evidence in a place like his office. It would have to be somewhere more secure than that...

" She's right. Jiang has to know after our conversation that I'm going to be suspicious of him, he wouldn't be stupid enough to leave evidence just lying around his office for me to find " Mai deduced " No, he would be smarter than that. He would have to put it somewhere he felt safe but not obvious..."

" His house maybe ? " Ty Lee suggested.

" That would be too obvious " Suki shot down.

" Yeah, but if he thinks that we think its too obvious...wouldn't that be the best place to hide it ? " Ty Lee retorted.

That is...actually a really good point.

" Ty Lee's right. If there's any place he has a chance of hiding it, it would be there " Mai agreed.

" Alright, so what's the plan ? " Zuko asked.

" I want Suki and Ty Lee keeping tabs on Jiang's movements throughout the day, where he goes after work, who he talks to, I want to know everything about this man " Mai ordered " In the meantime, I'll pay a visit to Jiang's house..."

Mai by no means considered herself to be an assassin or somebody who specialized in stealth for that matter. Sure, she had been trained to defend herself with her knives but that was leaning more towards her combat abilities which she took great pride in. She definitely didn't think she had the hallmarks or talent to be a spy, that being said she did have some skills that would aid in her current mission.

She surveyed Jiang's house from the cover of an alleyway, its shadows providing her enough obscurity to get a good look at the house she was going to break into. Jiang may have lived in one of the more well-off districts but he actually lived in a pretty modest for a man of his status. His home was nowhere big as Mai's family was, but it was bigger than some of the other houses for certain.

Her eyes glanced over at the squad of guards that was standing by the entrance to Jiang's house, spotting a few more patrolling the area and keeping a keen eye on any passersby. It was protocol that all ministers and advisors had at least a squad of soldiers to defend them at all times. Smart move, but made it a pain for Mai to avoid detection.

She recalled the words Zuko warned her before she went on this mission.

' Mai, if you get caught...well, you definitely won't be imprisoned but it'll be a massive tip-off to Jiang that we're on to him '

Mai knew that Zuko was right, they couldn't let Jiang know that they were onto him. At least not right now. Which meant that Mai needed to find a way into Jiang's house without being seen by any guards or leaving any trace that she was there. Perhaps she should have hired some grunts to do this for her, limit her liability, it was too late now she supposes. Plus Mai didn't feel too secure about her chances with hiring some likely incompetent grunts who probably know less about the art of stealth than she does.

She stood there for couple of minutes, just watching the guards making their grounds and looking bored. The guards patrolling made a pass at the front entrance every 8 minutes or so, leaving just the two guards at the entrance.

Mai knew that she needed a distraction, but how was she going to get rid of those guards ? They weren't just going to leave their post willingly.

She tried to think it over for a few moments just as she watched some very beautiful women pass by...and realized that they weren't too far from the nearest brothel.

An idea came to mind for how to distract the guards, all it would take is a little money and trickery.

Mai took a quick walk to the nearest brothel, paid a couple of exotic ladies...and watched the girls do their work from the safety of her alleyway.

At first, she could see that the guards were doing their best to remain professional and not be distracted by the slew of beautiful women, which was admirable...but Mai made sure to pick only the most beautiful women to serve as her distraction of the guards. In a few minutes, the guards were led away by the 'entertainers' she hired for some private fun and that gave Mai the opening she desperately needed.

In a swift motion, she quickly walked up to the front door and upon giving it a quick inspection turn, found that it was obviously locked. She didn't have time to try and look for the key, so she had to rely on her other skills to get her in.

Taking out a lockpick and blade Mai quickly got to work picking the lock, fiddling around with the lock with the movements of a total amateur, which came as no surprise since she only knew just about the basics of lockpicking. She tried to be quick before any guards came back or a passerby saw her and took her for a thief( Which she pretty much is) and ran off to the nearest guard post. Both would be bad for her.

She fiddled with the lock, twisting and turning the pick to try and hit the right parts of the mechanism, what must have been less than a minute felt like an hour as Mai felt nervous being out in the open for so long.

A click was heard.

And Mai twisted the door knob again, this time opening like she wanted.

Mai allowed herself to smile a little, feeling a little pride but quickly entered the house and closed it behind her. She can work out her exit strategy later.

Upon first entering, Mai was surprised to see that the interior of the house was actually pretty modest in terms of furniture. The furniture didn't seem especially fine, in fact it looked pretty ordinary if not well-cleaned and there were only a few paintings on the wall that didn't look like it was worth anything. Mai knew that the salary for a minister and advisor to the Fire Lord himself was very generous, enough to save up and eventually buy up a mansion within a year or more. But Jiang truly was a simple man when it came to materialistic values.

The knife thrower shook her head as she remembered what she came here for, she made her way upstairs and after a quick clearing of the rooms, found Jiang's office at long last. The office itself looking much fancier than the living room, sporting full bookcases, a nice wooden desk, and a window that should serve as a nice exit point for Mai.

She didn't waste any time and went to town on Jiang's personal items. Doing her best to avoid making a mess since she needs to make it look like she was never here to begin with after this.

Documents about palace staff salary...letters to lords up north about requesting aid for agriculture problems...requests from military commanders about lowering of new recruits...

Mai let out a sigh of frustration as she combed hopelessly through the documents in Jiang's desk, not a single thing connected to Ozai could be found. Or even anything particularly incriminating that they could use against Jiang. She almost wished Jiang was stupid enough to leave some damning piece of evidence just lying around, but unfortunately her earlier deductions were correct.

Jiang didn't get his position by luck or nepotism, he got it through hard work, wits and his own intelligence that caught the attention of the Fire Lord.

Mai kept searching fruitlessly, doing her best to remain calm under the circumstance-

" Its not there..."

Mai almost jumped and threw her knives at the shadowy figure who stood in the doorway, just stopping short of seeing who it was.

Though that did nothing to relieve her fastening heart rate as she saw who it was.

Shit.

Mai and Jiang just stared at each other uninterrupted for a full minute, before Jiang opened his mouth to speak.

" So Lady Mai...would you like a cup of tea and some biscuits while you're ransacking my office ?" Jiang asked with an amused smile.

" No...actually I was about to leave " Mai said as she took a second to calm herself. Knowing that she has lost already.

" With no explanation for why you pretty much just broke into my house ? You wound me, Lady Mai "

" Technically I just distracted your guards and picked the lock, and I would like to point out that I was very neatly going through your things " Mai said off-handedly.

" That still qualifies as breaking and entering, you know " Jiang noted calmly.

" Yes, it is...but I don't hear you yelling for the guards to arrest me, why ? " Mai asked but she already knew the answer. She already guessed that Jiang knew why she was here and was just toying with her.

" Well, I don't think our Fire Lord would appreciate it if I called the guard down on his girlfriend to be arrested " Jiang said with a chuckle " And I think I can let a little breaking and entering slide for now..."

Mai raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what Jiang was playing at. Was it possible that he was only letting this slide for now as a misdirection ? He has to know that Zuko would order her release if she was arrested. Then again, it could be possible that Jiang will simply hold on to this offense until he can stack something more serious onto a more proper charge, something even Zuko wouldn't be able to help her out of.

The knife thrower internally flinched, this was the exact situation she was hoping to avoid...and now she has to pay the price of giving Jiang leverage against her.

" So Lady Mai, I assume you're here on the Fire Lord's behalf to confirm whether I've turned traitor or not...am I right ? " Jiang nailed the mark perfectly, but Mai didn't let that show on her face.

"...Just making sure your loyalty is true Advisor Jiang..." Mai said coldly.

" Like I said before Lady Mai, I am loyal only to my nation...if I am to be frank, I don't care who sits on the Throne as long as that person is remotely competent and understands the complexities of running a nation " Jiang said plainly.

" If that were true, perhaps you would be open with your support of Zuko " Mai crossed her arms " As opposed to supporting a madman who wants to rule the world and burn everything in his path "

Jiang's posture stiffened a bit at that, but his expression didn't change " That is a matter of perspective my Lady...and sometimes when your only options are all bad, you have to try and comfort yourself by trying to pick the arguably least bad option..."

Mai noted Jiang's sad expression, as if all the years of war and advising to the crown had taken a toll on him.

" If you don't have any more questions, I would like to politely ask you to leave my house..."

Mai said nothing as she walked out of the room but not before hearing Jiang's parting words.

" And say hello to the Fire Lord when you get back to the palace " Jiang said in a calm tone, but it was almost mocking.

Mai didn't turn around instead she kept walking until she was out of the house, passing by the guards from before who looked like they had been thoroughly chewed out by Jiang for abandoning their post to go play with prostitutes.

As she walked a good distance from the house, Mai felt the anger build up inside her. The whole mission had been a failure and worse yet she allowed herself to get caught by Jiang which means he now knows they are investigating him.

Out of anger, she slammed her fist into the wall.

" Damnit !"

No matter what she did, she was still behind them all. Like always.

Ozai was busy training with his new powers, his progress was slower than he wanted but it was steady. He was gaining a greater use of his 'Blink', which allowed him to quickly move from different places in the literal blink of an eye. He had to admit that he was a little giddy as a child to incorporate this into his fighting style, and he can only imagine what other powers he would gain later that would make him even more powerful than before. Sozin's Comet not counting.

His concentration was broken when he heard somebody enter his room and he turned his head slightly to see that it is his messenger. Likely come to deliver news.

" Report " Ozai said simply.

" Sir, we just got a report from 'J' that Lady Mai broke into his house in search of evidence linking him to you " The messenger said " It appeared she was unable to find any evidence linking them to you so we are still secure my lord "

Ozai smirked at that, knowing that his plan to throw his son off his scent is working.

What better way to throw somebody looking for you off your scent by sending them on a wild turtleduck chase ?

Jiang was one of Ozai's more important pieces and allies right now...which was why Ozai made sure he knew absolutely nothing about their current operation and only knew what he absolutely needed to know. His task was acting as a nice distraction, a false lead for his useless son to follow in hopes of finding him. So while Zuko was busy chasing false leads in the form of Jiang, that gave him all the cover he needed to continue his operation.

" Have you gotten the information about that pathetic organization my idiotic brother leads ? " Ozai moved on to more pressing matters.

" The White Lotus, my lord. We have compiled a list of all their high-ranking members and those close to your brother. They seem to be based primarily out of the Earth Kingdom with support from the King there " The messenger answered " They are currently small but we have no doubts that they will be growing in size unless we cut them all down "

" Yes, yes, in all due time..."

The White Lotus had been a rat organization commanded by his pathetic brother to undermine his rule. They were part of the reason the attack on the Earth Kingdom failed and Ba Sing Sae was taken from them. He had no doubts that if he tried to make a move for the Throne now, his brother would instantly rally the entire Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, White Lotus and Avatar to strike him down and it pains him to admit that he cannot move now...not without weakening all of their enemies first from the inside out.

The White Lotus would be the first of his many targets before he seized his rightful place on the Throne again.

And he was not going to pass up on the opportunity to hurt his brother in the most painful way possible.

Old habits die hard.

I apologize if this chapter is a little short for a whole month wait, but I gotta be honest I was really hitting writer's block with this chapter and I needed some time to figure out where this story is going so the ending doesn't end up looking like a rushed mess. So I hope you all can bear with me these next few chapters.

Good news, we'll be getting back to seeing what Azula and Kazumi have been up to and hopefully getting roped into the main plot very soon.

Thank you all so much for reading and like always, I will see you all in the next one.

Angel Out.