Violence, terror and justice; if Azula's theory was correct, then those things were what were following her brother wherever he went. That was why she was so interested in investigating any kinds of odd fights that sprung up in the region; she didn't know how far her brother could travel just on foot in two weeks, and she was unsure where he intended to go, but that didn't matter. All she needed was a lead, and though it took a few days, she was able to find something that was all too similar to the first story.

A patrol of Fire Nation soldiers came down a road near the frontier, where no Fire Nation colonists had yet to settle, and found what could only be described as a slaughter; two dozen bandits, half of them dead, and the rest seriously wounded or unconscious. They found out from some colonists camping nearby that they had been the ones responsible, but there was a catch; they hadn't intended to resist, but instead, were incited into doing so when a masked assailant arrived to their aid, killing the bandit leader with ease. Where this assailant went wasn't clear, and the report didn't say much about him other than the fact he wore a mask that might identify him as the so-called 'Blue Spirit'.

That fact interested her, as though she had first assumed this was her brother, being as 'heroic' as he probably believed himself to be, she wasn't sure whether to believe he could be the Blue Spirit. The mask being a cover to try and draw attention away from his actual identity made more sense, but then again, such a cover could serve to simply protect an enemy of the Fire Nation. The Blue Spirit and Zuko had only one thing in common from her knowledge: the Avatar. The masked fiend had freed the Avatar from Pohuai Fortress, and was supposedly shot dead by a Yuyan Archer, but his body was never retrieved, all too much like a certain someone.

So, with only so much coming to her from the letter she received, Azula had her tank train driven out to the military base the patrol had come from, intending to learn from them all she could, and hopefully figure out if she could further link this 'Blue Spirit' and her brother, or if her tenuous theory was just that, a theory.

When she arrived at the base, it was already getting dark, but that didn't dissuade her from her efforts; she had come for information, and she would acquire it no matter what stood in her path. Outside of the base, there was a lining of stakes on top of which sat the ragged clothes and armour which she presumed belonged to the bandits, perhaps to warn anyone else from attacking colonists again. Whatever the reason, she was a little impressed by the intimidating appearance it gave off; when it came to war, inciting fear into the hearts of one's enemies was just as important as having a strong morale among one's troops.

Without fear, the enemy might continue fighting on indefinitely, believing there could be a chance for victory; fear of suffering, either their own, or of those they are commanded to protect, would make any soldier run from the field if it seemed otherwise inevitable. The Blue Spirit, whoever he was, seemed to understand that; striking fear into the bandits was his real strategy, even if he seemed to be rather effective at killing them just the same. Nobody else would try what they had if they even had an inkling the masked fiend was going to bring down the hammer of retribution.

When she got to the gates, flanked by her Imperial Firebenders, she eyed the soldiers standing guard, who took a few moments to actually realise who exactly she was; they bowed towards her in deference, before the gates were opened at once, allowing her and her unit of guards to enter. Inside, more soldiers made sight of them, and many froze on the spot, presumably surprised to see their Crown Princess walking into their base. It was in the middle of nowhere, and otherwise of no real concern to her, or really even to the Fire Nation Army as a whole.

"I'm here seeking information on the slaughter of those bandits." she declared her intentions plainly for all to hear, "Where are the eyewitnesses?" she asked out, and a few moments later, an officer paced out from the cover of a small building by the walls, which she guessed to be the soldiers' recreational area.

"Your highness." he addressed her with a bow, and a quick one at that, "It is an honour to have you here in our base." he acknowledged her presence for what it was, "Do you require our records?"

"Not just the records." she corrected him, "I want whoever spoke to those colonists, and whoever saw the bodies. I want to know as much as I can about this slaughter."

"That's..." he began, awkwardly standing there for a moment, as he probably assumed she was interested in the defeat of the bandits purely for the morbidity of it, "I'll get the men assembled." he acknowledged, "Somebody take her to the records room!" he shouted out an order, and with that, a soldier strode over to them, saluting the officer.

"Yes, sir." he accepted the order, before gesturing to the barracks that sat at the centre of the base, "This way, your highness."

Following the soldier to the barracks, she gestured for her Imperial Firebenders to stop, "Secure the perimeter, in case the Earth Kingdom is foolish enough to try and assassinate me while I'm surrounded by dozens of soldiers." she gave her orders, and they immediately got to work, fanning out to the edges of the base, checking the walls, and some of them headed back through the gates to check outside.

She then continued after the soldier, who opened the door into the barracks, leading her down the hallway, before they took a left turn, leading down a narrower hallway, which was dimly lit, not helped by it already being dark outside; the soldier pulled out a keychain, and fumbled through it for a few moments, awkwardly shooting a glance back her way before he got the right key, pushing it into the lock and opening the door. She stepped into the room after him, finding that it was too dark inside. However, she noticed a few unlit candles and flicked her hand out, lighting the wicks with her stark blue flames, which surprised the soldier.

"So the rumours are true." he mumbled, before shaking his head, gesturing to the cabinets that sat by the far wall, "Inside there you'll find the document."

"I'm not wasting my time looking through all of them. It was three days ago." she retorted, pointing to the cabinet which she could clearly see was dated to that year, "Get me the report on the bandit massacre."

The soldier nodded nervously, and rummaged about, presumably checking which section of the records was the newest; it didn't take him long to pull out a few scrolls, and he checked each of them one by one, reading their contents for only a moment each. Once he found what she needed, he handed it to her and she brought the scroll to the blue light of the candle flames.

The report began similarly to the letter she had read a day prior, but it divulged into far greater detail over the site of the battle; it described how the bandits had been hacked to death by blades, but some even featured a number of cuts indicative of skilled swordsmanship. She found the morbid descriptions somewhat disturbing, but it certainly helped her narrow down her idea of who exactly this Blue Spirit was; mercy was not his strong suit, and that linked it well enough with what she had heard about those dead pirates. The brutality of mere colonists against the bandits was justified, and that too linked up with her theory; her brother had killed those pirates because they had something to do with the explosion. Justice was served, in a crude and uncivilised fashion, but it was done.

The next part of the report was more interesting, as it described the recounting the colonists had given about the course of events; the bandits had already killed and maimed some of them, and declared their intent to take them captive. For what purpose, she couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling that they were Earth Kingdom deserters, or something else of the like, as nobody else would have the motivation to treat colonists with such brutality. The Blue Spirit intervened, and made quick work of their leader, before motivating the colonists to fight back; it didn't sound like that fair a fight, given the colonists must have outnumbered the small group of bandits, many of whom must have fled upon witnessing the Blue Spirit's fighting prowess, something the accounts given in the report appraised.

The Princess raised a brow at the next thing she read; the Blue Spirit supposedly disappeared into the woods, and all of the colonists' stories didn't line up- some of them said he farewelled them and wished them well, and others said he chased some of the remaining bandits, while another said the Blue Spirit didn't utter a single word while he was with them. The contradictions indicated something that should have been obvious to begin with- the colonists had lied about him, and on purpose; perhaps he had revealed his true identity to them, or he had actually joined them, and was among them when they were interviewed.

She turned around, realising there was something else she had to ask the soldiers about now, and the soldier who was with her seemed confused by her reaction, "What is it, your highness?"

"I need to speak with whoever interviewed the colonists. They may have information that will help me with my investigation." she clarified, and he nodded, understanding what needed to be done, and glanced over at the document.

"It's signed off by Lieutenant Sunying. He'll tell you who did the interviews." he told her, and he paced over to the door, and opened it for her, "They'll be in the muster area by now."

Azula paced through the doorway, and made her way back down the hallway, following the path she had taken to the records room in reverse, reaching the main doors into the barracks, where that same soldier who had greeted her was standing, now with half a dozen soldiers standing behind him. The soldier cleared his throat, before gesturing to the men behind him.

"Your highness, these are the men who met with those colonists." he explained, and Azula narrowed her eyes at them.

"Lieutenant Sunying." she spoke up, addressing whichever of them was the superior officer; all of them were wearing worn and battered armour which made it hard to tell which of them was meant to be the leader; one of them, a younger man with a trim moustache and a jian fastened to his belt, stepped forward.

"That is me, your highness." he bowed to her in deference, "What did you need of us?"

"Who did the interviews?" she asked simply, and Sunying's expression brightened.

"Oh, I did, your highness." he confirmed her suspicions, and she stepped closer.

"Can you recall the appearances of the colonists you met?"

"We should be able to." he assured her, and his men nodded along, seeming to agree; it hadn't been that long ago, after all, so this part of her investigation ought to be easier than actually tracking her brother down.

"Were any of them seriously bruised, or had burns on their body?" she asked, and the soldiers glanced amongst themselves, and seemed unsure; Sunying raised a hand to his cheek, before cringing slightly.

"I- uh, I apologise, Crown Princess." he softly addressed her, "Some of them were a little banged up, but nobody was seriously hurt. Nobody matches that description."

"There was somebody with a lot of bandages though." one of the soldiers spoke up, and Azula narrowed her eyes at him, pursing her lips as she realised she might have a lead.

"And were these on his head?"

"Some of them." he clarified, "He had some covering one of his eyes; it probably was from something earlier, because he didn't seem like he was in pain." he explained, and the Princess pointed to each of her eyes.

"Which eye?" she asked, recalling all too well which one her father had burned on that fateful day; for better or for worse, that moment was ingrained into her mind, and though she had felt a little proud of her father for punishing her brother's weakness at the time, the image hadn't faded after three years, and every time she thought of her brother, it was of his begging and then his screams.

"The left one." he clarified, and the Princess let herself smile, despite the imagery playing back in her mind; if this was really her brother, then it was almost certain that he was the Blue Spirit, which certainly complicated matters, but provided her with a new possibility- the attack on her brother and Uncle had something to with his secret alter ego.

"Well, I believe I have learned everything I wanted to about this attack." she expressed her thoughts plainly, before she eyed Sunying, "Where were they going?"

"Zhuxi." the Lieutenant clarified, "It's about a three day ride northeast of here, "That's where the colonists were moving to."

The Princess smiled for a moment before her expression hardened, "My tank train will depart at daybreak. I require some supplies from this base- my engineers will take what they need." she clarified what she wanted to do next, before she stepped past the soldiers, "Your cooperation has been of great assistance." she thanked them succinctly, not thinking they needed any more than that; they were not bringing her brother to her, after all she had to do all the hard work herself.

"What does the Blue Spirit have to do with your investigation, your highness?" Sunying asked Azula, whose eyes narrowed as she recalled the one main thing the Blue Spirit had supposedly done; he had stolen the Avatar right from under Admiral Zhao's nose, and now the Admiral was sailing right for the North Pole, to destroy the Northern Water Tribe and finally deal with the greatest threat to her nation.

"That is none of your concern." she snapped back at him, before she approached the gates of the base, eyeing the Imperial Firebenders standing there, awaiting her return to the tank train.

"Did everything proceed as planned, your highness?" one of them asked her, and she nodded.

"We leave for Zhuxi at once. If my brother is there, we will find him."


The chamber in which the Council of Ministers usually met was the Fire Lord's throne room; it was used for various functions, with tables, seats, and charts all brought in for whatever meeting was taking place. However, the Avatar had told Azula that using that chamber was not on the table; her throne was a rather intimidating sight, and she assumed that he was afraid it would allow her to coerce the ministers into going along with her ideas unwillingly. She knew that they would trust her ideas anyways, so that kind of mindset was pointless in her eyes.

She accepted, begrudgingly, that they would meet in another room, that being the private meeting room of the Fire Lord; it was only ever used for meetings concerning national security and state secrets, as it was meant to be sealed up, without even the Imperial Firebenders being allowed in. That was to ensure that whatever words were uttered inside would only remain in the minds of those lucky enough to step foot inside. It wasn't as grand as the throne room, but it was suitable enough.

When she arrived inside, flanked by the earthbenders that the Avatar always had dragging her around, she was greeted by the royal scribe, who would be recording their meeting for the purposes of lining out her own plans for the treaty process. That was, after all, what they were going to discuss, and presumably, the events that had been going on outside of the palace, which were of some interest to her, as they would influence the willingness of the Avatar and his cronies to cooperate.

The Ministers were already sitting there, and they all perked up, their faces filled with fear as they saw her; she wasn't even trying to intimidate them, or talk with them directly, at least yet. She was just there to make sure she got her end of the bargain. The only other people inside the chamber was the Avatar, alongside more of the earthbenders, and some other fighters, Water Tribe and what looked like some swamp people; they were all foreigners, that was certain, and they were watching over the meeting, perhaps to protect the Ministers, and she was certain from whom.

The Avatar truly did think the lowest of her, if that was really their reason for being present. There were only a dozen of them, but their presence might have had another purpose, she realised as she eyed them off. She considered that perhaps they were there to interject and voice the opinions of their own people, which made some sense, given that it wasn't just the Fire Nation negotiating with the Avatar, but the Fire Nation negotiating with the whole world.

"Your highness." the Avatar addressed her formally, sitting on the other side of the round table, beside an empty seat, "You can let her sit herself down, guys." he awkwardly addressed the men who had escorted her, and the Princess strode away from them, making her way around the table to reach the seat that was left for her.

When she sat down on the chair, she refused to look at the Avatar, and instead eyed her ministers, who were all clearly nervous, and she decided that she ought to address their concerns first, "I assume you're wondering why we're all here, and why I am no longer in a prison cell." she acknowledged what had changed in the span of a single day.

"You may have heard what happened on the day of Sozin's Comet. My father was defeated at the hands of the Avatar, and I fought against him soon after." she explained the events that had transpired, not wanting to explain the next part, but knowing that it had to be stated, "I lost my duel... and I will not lie... I am furious over the turn of events." she admitted bluntly, the Avatar awkwardly turning to face her.

"Um... sorry, if that hurt." he tried to apologise, and she scoffed.

"It was not my body you hurt." she retorted, before she turned her gaze back to the ministers, "I did not want my first meeting with you all to have to be like this, but we have little choice. I negotiated my freedom on the condition that I would agree to a peace settlement with the other nations... and thus, that is what we are here to discuss."

"On what terms?" War Minister Qin was the first to speak up, and the Fire Lord clenched her fists, wishing that she had anything good to say.

"You all agreed to an armistice, and that peace cannot last while the territories of the Earth Kingdom are in contention. Both the Avatar and I agree upon that much."

The Air Nomad nodded, seeming pleased that she had said that, "It is true... so, you are all here to agree upon a plan to bring about a proper peace between the nations. Not just stopping fighting... this can never happen again."

"Conflict is inevitable in some form as long as people exist." Azula retorted, though she tried to keep her tone calm and stoic, not wanting to suggest that she was going to purposefully try and restart conflict herself; even if in some form, it might benefit her nation, at least when it came to bargaining, she knew well enough now what would happen if she tried something like that.

"That's..." the boy gasped, before it became clear to her who was the child with too much responsibility in the room; somebody, if they were arrogant enough, might have said the same about her, but unlike the Avatar, she had been preparing her whole life for the position she now held, "I don't know if you're right."

"I am. The fact of the matter is that whether it be through violence, competition, or just plain disagreement, things will never be as rosy as you might want them to be." she argued for her mindset; she didn't expect the Avatar to just fall into line and agree with her, but if he could see the merits of her mindset, then he might be more willing to listen to the other things he had to say.

That would be the first step in getting everything she wanted; the Fire Nation was hers to rule, but as long as her enemies were leaning over her shoulder, she could not do her job. That, of all the things she had to deal with, was most unacceptable; the Fire Lord had to be the sovereign of her nation, otherwise she might as well call herself the servant of the Avatar, as it would be a more factual description.

"Balance has to be achieved." Aang retorted with a calm voice; she knew that was basically just a slogan used by their enemies, with balance meaning the removal of all the Fire Nation's territorial gains since before the Hundred Years War and the stripping down of their military.

"And we will have a balance." Azula assured him, before glancing around at the Council of Ministers, "I want to hear your views on what has happened, and what I ought to do, in my capacity as Fire Lord?"

"Are we... able to speak freely, your majesty?" one of the ministers, Interior Minister Kanshu spoke up, and the Fire Lord nodded.

"I will not give any repercussions, you have my word." she stressed, not wanting them to lie to either herself or Aang, especially when she wanted them to prove her own point; even if they had made the armistice, they were as much patriots as she was.

"The Avatar has proven his willingness to depose our leadership, so I believe we lack much negotiating power here, your majesty." Kanshu argued, his point a rather obvious fact, though some might not have been willing to truly accept it; their power was only as much as the Avatar permitted it to exist.

"I agree with the sentiment, but our military forces still occupy much of the Earth Kingdom." she explained, raising a hand to her temple, "I may forbid them from withdrawing from their positions, if need be."

"And what good would that do?" Aang asked her, "You said it yourself, the Earth Kingdom would force them out."

"And they would break the armistice, reneging any promises of peace I might have held." she argued, before gesturing to the ministers, "Might I ask again, what concerns do you all have?"

"The colonies are inhabited by hundreds of thousands of settlers, many of which have been there for longer than any of us have lived." another minister, Labour Minister Ban reminded them, and Aang cleared his throat.

"That's not true. I'm a hundred and twelve, I lived before the war." he argued, and Azula shook her head.

"No it is. A number of the colonies were established before even you were born, Avatar. During the time of Avatar Roku, the Fire Nation seized control of a number of settlements for the purposes of securing trade routes. They have remained part of our nation ever since." she corrected him, though she didn't blame the child for not knowing that; he was a child after all, and when he might have travelled the world before the war, he probably didn't take too much note of a few towns and cities under Fire Nation banners by the Mo Ce Sea coast.

"Okay, I see, but that doesn't mean that colonies can remain. That land belongs to the Earth Kingdom." Aang argued, and Ban just sighed, clearly thinking his idea was not going to work.

"To remove them, if that is what would allow your peace, would cause great unrest internally, not just from those who supported the war effort, but those who would find themselves competing with the colonists for living space and jobs."

"I understand that people would be forced to move, but that's already happened." he retorted, "Ba Sing Se's Lower Ring is full of people that your armies forced there. Maybe even more people than have settled in your colonies." he argued; Azula knew that he wasn't being hyperbolic, having witnessed the conditions in the Lower Ring for herself, full of people, most of them impoverished peasants from other parts of the Earth Kingdom.

"And so, those people would just go back to their lands, some of which haven't seen for decades?" Ban asked, the Avatar sighing.

"I don't know. This is something you'll have to talk to the Earth King about. The people are his responsibility."

Azula just let out a snicker, which earned the ire of the Avatar, "What's funny about that?"

The Princess just rose to her feet, gesturing to the nearest Earth Kingdom fighter, "You there, tell me, what has your 'King' done for you?"

"Uh... I don't understand the question." he admitted, "The King lives in Ba Sing Se. I've never even seen the place."

"And he's never seen anything outside of it, not at least until you stole him from the place, as you might remember, Avatar."

The Air Nomad seemed a little unsettled by her statement, though perhaps it was because he was thinking about how she had almost killed him, "Well... that's true, but he does care about his people. When I showed him what his city was like, he promised he'd make some changes, and help us defeat the Fire Nation."

"And what did he do?" she asked, before chuckling, "Oh, I'll tell you all, in case you weren't aware. He told me every little detail of that invasion plan you had, though the details must have changed after I seized control of the Dai Li, and with it, Ba Sing Se itself." she explained, before clearing her throat, "In his foolishness, the Earth King revealed all that to me, an enemy of his people."

"And?" Aang asked, "He didn't do it on purpose."

"Does it matter?" she asked, gesturing back to the fighter she'd questioned earlier, "How many of your friends died fighting to try and capture the Fire Lord that day?"

"A few of them." he admitted, sounding angry with her, though his expression became more serious, "So you're saying... the Earth King just let that happen?"

"No- no, don't listen to her!" Aang warned them, "She's just trying to make you think her crazy ideas are actually not crazy."

"No, the woman speaks truly." another spoke up, Azula recognising him as one of the men who had taken her out of her cell, "The Earth King's foolishness cost him Ba Sing Se, and cost our invasion its success. The Fire Lord and her father won because of it." he acknowledged, "It does bring into question his worthiness as our ruler."

"The Earth King has ruled from Ba Sing Se for as long as any one remembers, as long as history records anything. Are you saying we should just... what, get rid of him?" one of the other fighters asked the man, presumably his superior.

"Stop making this about the Earth King." Aang demanded, pointing at the Princess, "We're here to talk about you and what you want out of the peace plans."

"Fine." Azula accepted his request, pleased that she'd sown at least a little discontent in the Earth Kingdom individuals present; the more discord, the more of a chance she'd have to get what she wanted, "The colonies cannot be wholly abandoned, that is impossible, as Labour Minister Ban has made clear. If we were to do so, it would bring ruin to our economy, employment numbers, and would force us to house people that we have no space for. Those colonists, most of them have no homes to return to."

"You're speaking about employment numbers, but this concerns the livelihoods of those refugees whose lives you've ruined." the same man who had been somewhat on her side about the Earth King addressed her, "They need homes too."

"Then why don't they move back?" she suggested something that was obvious to her, but perhaps not so much to the stalwart Earth Kingdom fighters before her, "The land hasn't been sunk into the sea. It's still there... and if I am not mistaken, it is not against the law to be not ethnically from the Fire Nation within the Fire Nation."

"That's a little dishonest." one of the fighters spoke up, striding over to the table, "Your soldiers imprisoned every earthbender who showed they could bend within the colonies." he argued, "We were some of them."

"That isn't wholly true. I don't think every single person who could earthbend was imprisoned. The colonies are a big place."

"Yes, that's because most of them would have fled." the leader spoke again, "Those who didn't fought back."

"And you're surprised that they got imprisoned?" she asked, finding the mindset to be rather stupid; they couldn't expect to resist the Fire Nation and not be punished for it, "This is the problem with the Earth Kingdom. You think that being stubborn and resisting forever will actually work. It didn't... the only reason that the war is over is because my father decided to try and burn down the Earth Kingdom, and the Avatar decided to stop him." she explained, leaving out the part where she had prodded her father towards the idea, because at the time, she though it might actually work, and finally stop the incessant resistance from an already defeated nation.

"That shouldn't matter. They were right to keep fighting." the Avatar argued for their side, "The Fire Nation can't rule the world."

"No, it can't." she agreed with the point he made, hoping that she could still show her reasonableness, "The Fire Nation can only rule itself, but how you define that determines if we have a problem."

"Hmph." the Avatar mumbled, crossing his arms, "I guess you think the colonies are part of the Fire Nation, because Fire Nation citizens are living there."

"Precisely." she confirmed his assumption, "So... what do you require of us? I can't make an offer without any idea of the specifics." she asked the Avatar, knowing he'd have some things to say; once she had a better idea of what he wanted, it would become easier to appease him, and find a way to settle the issues that lay before them.

"First, the armistice can't be broken." he told her something that was already obvious, "So, neither side should be attacking each other."

The Princess glanced around, thinking that would be accepted by the Council of Ministers; the men all seemed to agree, nodding along.

"So, we're in agreement, that's good." Aang smiled, actually seeming pleased for about the first time since Azula entered the room.

"Second, the future of the colonies has to be determined peacefully." he explained, raising a hand, "So yes, there won't be anything like what happened to those refugees. It's unfair to hurt those people just because of where they live." he gave something else they could all agree upon.

"Third, the Fire Nation must... Well, I don't know how to phrase it, but you should have fewer soldiers in the Earth Kingdom. You might attack each other if there's so many soldiers there." he added something else that Azula might not have agreed with on a surface level, but she understood that there was a good principle behind it; the soldiers were the ones who could fight each other, expel civilians and imprison people.

"I think that is reasonable... assuming that we are not immediately giving up ground." the Princess gave her opinion, before gesturing towards him, "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, there is." he nodded, glancing back towards the ministers, "The other nations have been hurt badly by the war, and are struggling... especially the Southern Water Tribe. They cannot recover alone."

"So... you want us to trade with them?" Trade Minister Cai questioned the Avatar, who nodded, "Well, that will bring some benefits to us, your majesty. The tariffs alone will bring us a sizable income that could be used to help with a transition, and any investments could give our businesses great returns, ensuring our financial stability." he explained what benefits could be found from what the Avatar was proposing.

"Yes, I understand that." Azula assured him, turning back to the Avatar, "You do realise that was what the whole war was about, right?"

"Sorry?" he narrowed his eyes, "I'm confused."

"The Fire Nation was extremely wealthy as a result of our economic development prior to the war. Fire Lord Sozin understood this could be used to help expand the Fire Nation's economy further, and the Earth Kingdom, with its massive land and relative poverty, could see to benefit from investment and trade. So merchants invested in the Earth Kingdom with government support and sought to bring about further development. Due to conflicts with local rulers and nobility, this led to the first colonies being established, and eventually, the war began to bring the whole Earth Kingdom under our rule." she gave an oversimplified, but relatively accurate description of events, at least before the Air Nomad Genocide and the following escalation of conflict.

"I don't believe you." he narrowed his eyes, "That doesn't make any sense. The Fire Nation wanted to conquer the other nations because you think they are weaker."

"And where did you get your information on the cause of the war, if you got any?" she asked, narrowing her eyes, "Your past life, I assume?"

"Uh... yes." he confirmed, and the Princess glanced around the table.

"Well then, might I have everyone here recite our nation's oath, for posterity's sake." she requested of the ministers, who rose to their feet, placing their hands on their chests.

"My life I give to my country. With my hands I fight for you, Fire Lord Azula, and your forefathers before you. With my mind I seek ways to better my country. And with my feet may our march of civilisation continue." they chanted, before sitting down, the Princess smiling as she turned to face the Avatar, feeling confident that he might actually see her point.

"Did anything there specify we had to fight the Earth Kingdom... or anyone for that matter? That we were superior, inherently? The march of civilisation is to bring about prosperity to all nations, not just our own." she explained her rationale, and pointed at the Avatar, "So, if you want our help, you must understand, that was always the intention."

"Then why did you imprison earthbenders, waterbenders, and anyone who could oppose your war. Why do your schools lie about what you're really doing in the Earth Kingdom?"

"Because we don't lie. The methods might not be palatable to you, but the Fire Nation has done exactly what it sought out to do." she argued, before crossing her arms, "Now, I understand that there are sentiments held by people, including my father, that we are superior to the other nations, and their inhabitants. That informed his actions during the comet." she explained what had occurred, not trying to specify her own views; she did feel superior to them, but to say that outloud would just alienate the Avatar further.

"And what about you?" he asked, and she pointed her hands up, letting her chin rest on her finger tips as she leaned towards the table; she decided that if he wasn't willing to believe her, then honesty ought to be the best way to approach him and his grievances.

"I don't have a choice, Avatar. Even if I thought all the snow peasants and dirt-eaters should be marched into the Si Wong Desert to die of heatstroke... that wouldn't matter. I have to comply with your demands." she reminded him, "But I will try, at every possible opportunity, to make sure my nation's interests are heard and respected."

"What are you trying to say?" he asked her, "Is killing everyone in your interest?"

"No. The safety and security of my nation is. I will not ask for the right to kill anyone, because that will never be accepted." she argued, before shaking her head, "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

The young Air Nomad didn't seem appeased by her words, but he wasn't angry anymore; that was better than she was hoping. The things they could agree upon, at least for that very moment, seemed to outweigh those they didn't.

"It's a start."


As her tank train ground to a halt, Azula let out a deep breath; she had arrived at her destination. It had taken almost half a day, through which she slept, woke with the rising sun, then washed herself, and ate breakfast. Now, however, she had finally arrived at Zhuxi, where she believed her brother would be hiding; he may have been slippery, and had tried to disguise himself, but that would not stop her. Even if he may have had a good reason to disguise himself, given his ship was most likely attacked by the pirates, who themselves were paid by the navy or army to destroy it, she knew that his efforts were pointless. He would come with her once she found him, and when the opportunity presented itself, they would hunt down the Avatar and capture him; her father's patience had run thin, and soon enough, her own would as well.

She rose to her feet, and approached the door of the carriage, which was opened by a guard before she could touch it herself. He had opened it from the outsider, bowed for her as she stepped outside into the light of the morning sun; she took a few moments to adjust to the change in lighting, which had been much dimmer inside the tank-train; that was despite the small windows and skylights that were there ensure she could see during daytime without wasting valuable oil lanterns. It seemed that like all other Fire Nation contraptions and structures, a dim lighting was used, perhaps to help firebenders like herself relax, as she would usually find herself energised by the warm light of the sun.

That was the very feeling which consumed her as the morning sun struck her face. She felt the energy within her being, and let out a brief smile as she found herself ready to firebend, if it was necessary. Her brother might try to run, if he was stupid or crazy enough; her mind was leaning on crazy, given what happened to the pirates and bandits. Though she took no issue with the ruthlessness, it was certainly out of character for a coddled and weak-willed boy like Zuko.

The commander of her guard approached her, giving a quick bow, "Your highness, we have already learned of the refugees' location. They are encamped in some fields to the east of town." he explained, and Azula narrowed her eyes.

"Then why didn't we stop the tank-train there?" she asked, and he cleared his throat.

"It is too large to drive through the town, and it is but a short walk that way." he gestured to the east, towards the morning sun; she could see some fields, and beyond them, the built up portion of Zhuxi, but not the camp he spoke of.

Though she was annoyed by the decision that had been made, she felt no great desire to complain about it; she would make her frustrations known another way, just to make sure her subordinates didn't feel too comfortable with their inadequate planning. The commander of the guards, after all, was not to blame, but the conductor of the vehicle itself, or whoever set out their route. That would be learned in time, so she would instead just get to work. Her brother was the priority, after all.

"Get the rest of the men, and let's go." she ordered him; he bowed once more and made a whistle, getting the attention of the men who were presently just guarding the tank train itself.

They followed after the Princess and quickly formed a circle around her, ensuring that she would be safe from any would be attackers, among which she might have to include her brother; though she had no real grasp of his mental state, from what she learned indirectly through his supposed acts, he was almost certainly angry, and he had a good reason to be. Their uncle, the man who had been his guardian for the past three years, and watched over him for much longer than that, was dead; though Azula had lost any respect she had for the man after Ba Sing Se, she knew that her brother was not as quick to dispense of old, useless fools as she was.

Her mind was not constantly on her brother, but at that very moment, with their meeting potentially imminent, she couldn't help but consider the possibilities. Perhaps he would attack her, but not because of any pent up anger over their childhood, but simply because she had been commanded to capture the Avatar, with him or not. He might take that as an affront to whatever remained of his honour, and though she understood the reasoning behind that, she was sure he would come around; together, the Avatar would fall easily. Whatever her uncle had been doing to aid him in his quest, it clearly had not been enough to ensure the Avatar's capture. The Dragon of the West would annihilate a mere boy who only had airbending, which was what the reports had told her.

That fact remained in her mind as she walked down the streets, eyeing the pedestrians as she moved along; though many of them were colonials, others were Earth Kingdom, locals who remained despite colonisation. All of them, no matter their background, looked at her with interest, fear, and awe; the emotions perhaps mixed, just as she would like them to be. She was to be their Fire Lord one day, almost certainly if her brother was actually deceased; however, everything she had learned told her that he remained in the world of the living, and was kicking, quite bombastically at that.

She didn't see anyone with injuries, bandages, or any suggestion that would indicate them to be part of the group of colonists that had just arrived. That was until she arrived at the encampment, which sprawled out across a field, with tents packed closely together, haphazardly set up around campfires and a larger common area where she guessed the colonists would eat together. Living communally was not something she expected them to be doing for long; soon enough they would be building their new homes, and starting their new lives in such a foreign, distant place.

Those colonists looked to her with more awe than fear, surprised to see a royal amongst them in the flesh, as she doubted her brother would have said anything concerning his identity, if he truly did fear for his life, or simply wanted to hide himself away. As she moved into the common area, the colonists quickly began to gather around, and one of them, a middle aged man who was wearing robes she'd expect on a trader or some kind of merchant, stepped forward.

"Oh, Princess Azula, we did not expect to see you here." he acknowledged, bowing to her in deference, "What is it that you need of us loyal citizens?"

"Information." she clarified, snapping a finger to make her guards take form; though she had no intention to harm the colonists, the threat of doing so would likely be more than enough to get them to start talking about all the things she wanted to hear.

"W-wait!" the man exclaimed, "We haven't committed any crime!"

"You were victims of those bandits, but you have committed a crime." she told him, "You have all been aiding and abetting an enemy of the Fire Nation. A man who goes by the moniker 'the Blue Spirit'. You may have seen his wanted posters elsewhere in the colonies." she warned them all, and the man raised his hands up, trying to beg.

"Please, your highness, we haven't seen him since we fought the bandits together. We could not arrest him... and by the time those soldiers arrived, he was long gone." he tried to argue for their innocence, but she knew he was lying; she might have believed him if it weren't for the fact someone matching Zuko's description was with the colonists, even if she couldn't spot him at that very moment.

"I have reason to believe he is still with you." she told him bluntly, "Now, I do not intend to make any arrests, but my guards will search this camp." she explained herself, snapping a finger once more to tell the guards to do as she just ordered, "If they find evidence of him, I expect explanations. I am not here to make your lives any worse than they already are, but I certainly can. Is that understood?" she pressed, and the colonists all nodded along, clearly getting that she was not making empty threats; she would do what was necessary to apprehend the Blue Spirit.

The Blue Spirit may have just been a disguise for her brother, but under that disguise, he had committed serious crimes against the state, and would have to be punished while under that guise. Once he accepted that he was Zuko, and joined her, there would be no issue, because the Blue Spirit, for all intents and purposes, would be dead from that moment forward.

"So." she spoke up, stepping closer to the man who appeared to be leading the colonists, "Will you answer my questions?"

"Of course, your highness." he confirmed, before gesturing to the large tent behind himself, "Would you like to sit?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"This will not take long... and I expect honesty, otherwise we will be taking longer than you might like" she told him, hoping he'd understand the inference; he needed to tell her exactly what she wanted to know, otherwise, she would make their conversation long, and painful, "What does the Blue Spirit look like?" she asked, and he blinked a few times.

"I don't under-" he began, before clearing his throat, "We never saw his face. He was gone before we could try to aid him."

"So you admit you were going to aid him." she observed, his words self-defeating.

"He saved our lives. What should have we done, stabbed him in the back?" he asked her back, clearly emotional, but genuine in his voice; she didn't expect that much back-chat from him, but given their clearly extreme experience with the bandits, it made sense.

"No, I expected you to send the authorities after him, and not aid him any more than was absolutely necessary." she explained her own thoughts, before raising a finger toward his face, lighting a torch on the end of it, "What weapons did he wield?"

"Dao." he told her; she knew for a fact that her brother had been trained in such blades at a young age, and though she had only witnessed him practise with the weapons a few times, she expected he retained the skill.

"What did he sound like?" she decided to ask, knowing what her brother sounded like; she expected him to put on a fake voice either way, but the impression might give her credence for her theory about the Blue Spirit's identity.

"Uh... well, he was using a gruff, deep voice, but it couldn't have been his real one." he admitted, which fit with him being Zuko; the man had kept his word to be truthful, and that pleased her, if only slightly.

"Did he seem injured? Before the fight, that is." she asked, and the man scrunched his lips up.

"Yes. He did seem a bit off balance. A sore leg, I think. He was still fast. Very fast." he explained his observations, the Princess furrowing a brow.

She knew her brother would have been injured, but if he had gotten out of the explosion relatively unscathed, able to still fight afterwards, it proved that he wasn't as weak a bender as she remembered. He wasn't weak like some average soldier, but compared to their family, he was the runt, without any doubt; that didn't mean he wasn't capable, as all the stories she'd heard indicated he was tenacious and vicious, not too unlike herself. They were siblings, after all, so it didn't surprise her.

"Your observations are useful. They will help us when we track him down." she commented on the man's words, not wanting to suggest she knew anything about the Blue Spirit's identity; she turned around to face the two guards who were standing behind her, "We're going through the camp."

They nodded, and stayed by her flank as she moved out of the tent, eyeing the still confused colonists as she wondered what each of them knew; they might have seen her brother's face, though whether they'd think to link it with his actual identity was unclear. Perhaps now, seeing her there, they might make the link; none of their faces really gave off the image of sudden realisation, so she doubted any of them were that observant.

Before she could go and scour the camp, one of her guards paced up to her, "Your highness." he addressed her quietly, presumably not wanting to cause any kind of panic amongst the colonists, "I came across some teenage boys. They were acting rather suspect, and were mentioning the Blue Spirit amongst themselves."

"Perhaps they will lead us to him." she uttered the best possible outcome, before gesturing at the guard, "Take me to them."

"They walked off towards the farms." he gestured further afield, behind where he was presently standing, "We should be able to catch up." he told her, and she shook her head.

"Keep searching the camp. I will interrogate the teens myself." she ordered him, and strode past, the two guards remaining by her side as she stepped around the colonists, frightening a few of them by her mere presence.

She might have laughed but she wanted to retain her composure; she was on a delicate mission, and wanted it to be completed without any unnecessary hiccups. Preserving her image was just a single part of that. Once she had moved out of the haphazardly organised campsite, it was rather easy to spot the boys out in the field, chatting amongst themselves as they approached some old barn, which looked to predate the colonisation of the town.

She gestured at it, telling her guards that was their goal, and to make sure to search it when they arrived; with any luck, her brother would be there, holed up and recovering from whatever injuries had been inflicted upon him during the destruction of his ship. The grass in the field was rather long, and she guessed that the land was the part set aside for the new colonists, given its untamed state, perfect for them to set up farms and new houses. The boys must have noticed her, as they quickly moved inside and closed the doors behind themselves.

"Check the exits, now." she told the guards more directly, and they ran ahead, doing just that for her, circling around the building.

When she reached the door, she pulled it open, "I want to talk." she spoke into the barn, not receiving any response, "Do not test my patience." she warned them, stepping inside and lighting a torch on her palm.

The blue fire lit up the barn, revealing that it was decrepit, but rather dry and well-insulated explaining why the boys would want to be in there. She could see them in the corner of the barn, looking at her fearfully, probably just confused why she'd come after them.

"Wh-what, look at that!" one of the boys exclaimed, "Her fire's blue!"

"Yes, it is." she noted that fact, "I thought it was commonly known... I am an exceptional firebender, after all." she commented on their ignorance, though the boys still seemed afraid as she approached, "I heard you were talking about the Blue Spirit. I would like to know what you know about him." she made her intentions clear, the boys glancing amongst themselves.

"He's cool. He saved us all!" one of the boys exclaimed.

"And where is he?" she asked, "Is he in that camp?" she pressed, "Or in here?"

"No, he's gone." another boy argued, though she didn't believe him.

The Princess crossed her arms, "Why do you have such high opinions of a criminal?" she asked them, "You do know he tried to free the Avatar, right?"

"Why would that matter?" one of the boys asked, "He saved us!" he exclaimed, "That guy's a hero!"

"And do you know who your hero is?" she asked them, eyeing the boys intently, trying to get a read on them.

"Uh, he's a guy." another boy gave an unhelpful answer.

"Have you seen his face?" she asked, hoping she'd get the confirmation she desired.

"His face?" one of them asked, "He covers it with the mask, obviously."

"Where is the scar?" she asked them, the boys looking at her nervously.

"Wh-what scar?" the first boy who'd sounded so boisterous asked her, "We didn't see his face."

"No, I don't believe you." she gave her feelings bluntly, "But I know you won't tell me anything. I can wait."

"F-for what?" one asked, eyeing the blue torch in her palm.

"He will show himself, or he will run... one or the other." she told them the truth, though she didn't specify why; the why would involve giving away his identity, which wouldn't be very helpful.

Making rumours, even if they were true, about her brother's crimes, would not help her in finding him and making him come along to go capture the Avatar, especially given that her father might take the opportunity to declare him a traitor. Though that would benefit her, in terms of the line of succession, she couldn't deny her brother would be quite useful in tracking down the Avatar, despite his failure thus far.

"Uh... yeah, okay." another boy mumbled, "Is that all you wanted to ask?"

The Princess turned around, frustrated that they hadn't given her a straight answer; interrogating the boys might frighten them, and by extension, Zuko. For all she knew, he could be listening in to her conversation at that very moment.

"Well, if you do see him... despite your claims that he isn't here, I want you to tell him something." she decided, knowing that she might be able to at least get a message to her brother, "I do not seek to harm him. Every moment he spends hiding is a moment he spends not on his mission, which he can still complete."

"His mission?" a boy asked, seeming confused, "What are you talking about?"

"I will not discuss those matters with you mere peasants. Tell him what I said, and he will know what I am talking about." she demanded, before striding back over to the entrance; her guards were already standing waiting for her.

"Did you spot anything? Tracks, perhaps?" she asked, and the guards shook their heads.

"If he's been hiding here, he's probably still inside." one of them acknowledged, "Should we have the guards storm it? We can beat him, your highness."

"Though I do not doubt your skill, my brother is no pushover, and I would prefer to avoid such an incident. We need him to come along peacefully... if not, then whoever tried to have him killed will know he survived, and try to have him killed again." she warned them, knowing that whoever tried to have Zuko killed would not simply stop; that was, unless he'd already gotten rid of them.

Those pirates back at the port were likely the ones directly responsible, but she knew that somebody in the military had paid them off. Her mind was set on two individuals: Colonel Shinu, the overseer of the Yuyuan Archers and Pohuai Fortress, or Admiral Zhao, who had been the one commanding the Colonel at the time of the Avatar's capture, at least according to the reports she received. Both had a good motivation to have her brother dealt with, for the stains on their honour, though how either could have learned of Zuko's alter-ego was still up in the air. The Admiral seemed more likely a culprit, though she lacked any concrete evidence to prove it.

"So then, what will we do, your highness?" the other guard asked, and she narrowed her eyes.

"We will wait, and he will show himself or flee. If he is here, he is more than likely aware of our presence." she stated the obvious as she saw it, "My brother is many things, but an idiot is not one of them."


"Prisoner!"

Hakoda's head perked up, not expecting somebody to come to his cell, especially given it wasn't yard time for at least another hour.

"Turn around and face the wall!" he was ordered by the guard, and the Water Tribesman rolled his eyes; he turned to face the wall, and waited for the door to open.

Once the guard unlocked the door, he came up behind Hakoda and shackled his hands, "What's the occasion?" he decided to ask, and the guard huffed.

"The Warden wants to see you." he explained, making Hakoda raise a brow.

"Me? I haven't done anything." he retorted, thinking he had been reasonably well behaved since he got there; after the first time when the Warden made his attitudes very clear, Hakoda had decided to keep his head down and just wait until he could figure out an escape plan.

At that very moment, no plan seemed obvious, though he was hoping that the Avatar and his children might come and help him; though, after what he'd seen a few days earlier, he was unsure if that would happen. The red sky that had fallen over the world, and with it, the coursing fireball that was Sozin's Comet, lay as an omen in his mind. The Fire Nation, from what he understood, had used that comet as their great weapon against the Air Nomads a century prior, and would have likely tried to use it again.

The guard turned him around and pushed him out the door, and began leading him along the walkway towards the Warden's office, which was up on a higher floor, overlooking the yard; that was what he understood from the rumours the other prisoners had mentioned, and where he'd seen the man coming and going from afar.

"Do you seriously not know why?" he asked the guard, hoping he'd at least get something out of him.

"This is above my pay grade, buddy." he warned him, "Now shut up, or you'll get to learn what fire tastes like."

Hakoda heeded his warning, and remained silent as he was led down the walkway and then up the metal staircase, all the way to the top of the cell block. When he got up to the top walkway, he noticed there was another guard ahead of him, pulling along a female prisoner. She glanced back and he noticed that she had to be Earth Kingdom, with brown hair and pale skin; her expression shifted from an annoyed one to a confused one, though he didn't know why.

The guards led them both up the next staircase, and finally reached the Warden's office, which they were led into; once inside, he saw the Warden by his desk, with his hands placed together, patiently awaiting them. What purpose he had for them, Hakoda could not be certain, but he was sure it wasn't anything good.

"Unshackle them." he directed the guards, and they looked at him with perplexed faces.

"Sorry sir?" the guard who'd brought along the girl asked him, "Unshackle them?"

"I didn't mix my words. Do it." he ordered them both; reluctantly, the guards did that, and then stepped out the door, leaving the two of them alone with the Warden.

"Warden, uh, sir, I am confused as to why we're here." he admitted his feelings, really just wanting a straight answer from him.

"You won't be in a moment." he assured him, his usual smug, cold expression remaining, before he pulled up a scroll, "I received a very important letter this morning... from the Fire Lord herself."

"Herself?" the girl asked, before her expression shifted to one of horror, "Oh no."

"If you were concerned she was ordering your deaths, I am sorry to say that is not the case." he clarified, sounding actually annoyed that wasn't the order he was receiving, "You are to be freed and sent to the capital immediately."

"Sorry, what?" Hakoda gasped, surprised by what he was saying, "We're being freed?"

"I didn't- do you people think I'm a moron? I am perfectly capable of enunciating a full sentence, unless you are all deaf." he derided him, and by extension everyone else, for questioning his words; once he'd calmed himself, he pointed down to the document, "You are Chief Hakoda, correct?" he asked, and he nodded; the Warden turned to the girl, "And you are Suki, leader of the Kyoshi Warriors?"

"That's me." she confirmed, and Hakoda narrowed his eyes; he felt like he'd heard about the Kyoshi Warriors before, but he couldn't just figure out where from.

"You are both to be freed immediately on the order of her majesty, Fire Lord Azula." he stressed the point he was already trying to make; Hakoda was now confused by the news that someone called Azula was the Fire Lord.

"I thought that Ozai was the Fire Lord." he recalled the name he'd heard in his battles, and in preparation for their attack on the capital.

"Well... it seems you two need some catching up." he realised, crossing his arms, "Before Sozin's Comet arrived, the former Fire Lord, Ozai, made a declaration of his ascension to the title of Phoenix King, before he departed on an operation to destroy the rebels in the Earth Kingdom during the comet. He was defeated in single combat by the Avatar, who then returned to the Fire Nation capital with the Phoenix King as his prisoner." he explained what had occurred, and Suki's eyes widened, stepping closer.

"So, Aang defeated Azula then." she deduced; the fact that she knew the Avatar on a first name basis told him that they'd met, which would explain why he'd heard of them before, though he couldn't recall why, "He made her send the letter."

"If by Aang, you mean the Avatar, I would presume so. She was light on the details of why the letter was sent... but she has obviously been freed from whatever imprisonment the Avatar enforced upon her." he explained, before narrowing his eyes, "The Phoenix King has been deposed, and she remains as our supreme ruler, under the supervision of the Avatar. The Council of Ministers, from my understanding, has taken control of day-to-day government, presumably due to her imprisonment." he explained what he could make of the events, frowning as he considered the consequences, "My nation has fallen so far in such a short period of time. The fact I have to let you savages leave is just proof of that."

"Savages?" Suki questioned his words, her clenched fists telling Hakoda she was ready to beat him senseless; her posture gave all the indications as well, and the Warden clearly realised this.

He raised his hands up defensively, as if he was going to block a punch, "Now, now, I expect some courtesy given that I am following these orders, no matter how absurd they might be."

"What, would you refuse your Fire Lord?" Hakoda asked him, genuinely curious if the ash-makers had it in them for insubordination.

"Only in the most dire of circumstances... and given the news I have told you, I believe it would not be in my best interests to do so."

"Yes, because Aang would come here and throw you in that lake." Suki warned him, before raising a finger to her chin, "Well... uh, he is a pacifist. No, Sokka would do it. I'm sure he'd like it." she acknowledged, Hakoda raising a hand at the mention of his son's name.

"Sorry, how do you know my son?" he asked her, and her expression lit up.

"Oh, so I guessed right." she mumbled, "You're his dad... I'm- well, uh, we're kind of together." she admitted rather awkwardly; Hakoda raised a brow, realising that she had to be Sokka's girlfriend, or something similar to that.

He smiled, glad that he had found someone who seemed quite willful and capable. That attitude reminded him of Kya, which shouldn't have come as a surprise; Katara was quite like her as well.

"Well, that explains why we're the ones being freed." he realised, before scrunching his lips, realising their common denominator between them was quite specifically his son, "Sokka was behind that letter."

"He made her do that?" Suki realised, her rhetorical question making her purse her lips, clearly impressed with the feat, "Hah, serves her right."

"I might be letting you leave, but I will not have you slander the good name of our Fire Lord. She is the Vanquisher of Ba Sing Se." he warned them, "She is even more accomplished than the Dragon of the West, our most honoured general."

"Sorry, the who?" Suki asked him, and the Warden seemed offended.

"You don't-" he began, before sighing, "You uncultured savages." he mumbled under his breath, before rising from his desk, "I am going to get the gondola ready." he explained his intentions, before rolling up the letter, and handing it to Hakoda, "You will need this to board the ship. I will have some guards accompany you there." he explained, and the Water Tribesman nodded.

"Uh, thanks." he awkwardly accepted his assistance, finding his attitude to be oddly calm and well-mannered, outside of the xenophobic insults.

"First, you have to be dressed. The Fire Lord specified as such." he clarified, and Hakoda raised a brow.

"So, we get our old clothes?" he asked, and the Warden shook his head.

"You both arrived here in the same garbs as any other prisoner. I don't have your clothes." he warned them, "You will receive some common clothes. These are issued in case our staff require them when they are resting." he clarified, before pacing over to the door, "Come with me."

"You don't have somebody to do this?" Suki asked, perhaps trying to prod the man with the opportunities she had left; understandably, she'd hold a lot of spite towards him, and Hakoda held no great love for the man either.

"I don't trust them to handle this situation with the care it deserves. Freeing prisoners, especially foreigners, is something we do not do here."

"So, they just rot forever?" she asked, and the Warden didn't answer her question.

The two of them followed him down the walkway, heading back towards the staircase; Hakoda turned back to face Suki, "So, the Fire Nation was defeated." he observed the turn of events, "I wasn't expecting it to be so... quick."

"It's been a long time coming." she argued, "Aang was training to master the elements to defeat the Fire Lord, after all." she recalled what the Avatar's aims had been all along; even with the invasion failing, he still persevered, and defeated Ozai.

Though Hakoda didn't know him that well, he was proud of the boy for continuing on and fighting the man despite the circumstances; he was just a boy, after all, even younger than Sokka had been back when he had pleaded to join him and the other warriors.

"Is there any news from the Earth Kingdom?" Suki asked the Warden, who glanced back her way momentarily before he continued down the stairs.

"Not that I know of. It is still under our rule." he warned her, and the girl pouted; being from the Earth Kingdom, she must have felt a sense of shame and melancholy over the state her country was in.

"Maybe I still failed." she mumbled under her breath, and Hakoda furrowed a brow as they made their way down the stairs after the Warden.

"How did you end up here, anyway?"

"Azula." she clarified, "She caught me and my fellow warriors in the wilds west of Ba Sing Se. We'd just found Appa, Aang's sky-bison, and cleaned him up. They must have been tracking him."

"That's... unfortunate." he acknowledged, "I heard something about the Kyoshi Warriors being in Ba Sing Se, but it being a trick."

"I guessed as much." Suki conceded, looking down with shame, "She used our identities to make her way through the walls, and pulled our country down from the inside."

"Yes... the Dai Li, I believe that's how she did it." he recalled what he'd heard from Katara and Sokka when they first returned from the city after its fall.

"Huh." she mumbled, turning her gaze over to the Warden, "So, is the war over?" she asked him, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"An armistice was declared. That is all we've heard here." he explained, before furrowing a brow, "The Council of Ministers has the authority to do that, but only because the Fire Lord was detained. I assume if she was sending this letter to me, she is no longer in the Avatar's custody."

"So... it's not over." Hakoda realised what that would mean, feeling frustrated as he would have liked to return home, assuming he could assure the freedom of his fellow warriors.

"No, it isn't over." the Warden confirmed, sounding pleased by the fact; they then strode out of the stairwell, making their way to what looked like a common area of the guards.

He unlocked the door, and led them inside; the guards there weren't in uniform, and looked at the prisoners with confused expressions as the Warden led them over to the changerooms; when they reached them, the Warden turned around, a guard pacing over to him with some folded up clothes, handing them to him.

"There you go, sir. The clothes you requested."

He then gave an outfit each to Suki and Hakoda; the Water Tribesman unfurled the clothes noting that they were dull, with a light red tunic, and some baggy grey pants.

"Got these in any other colours?" he asked, and the Warden scoffed.

"What do you think this is, a charity?" he asked, and Hakoda glanced over at Suki, wondering what she might have to say; she didn't have any comments for the Warden, and instead strode into the women's change rooms.

"Go on." the Warden prodded him, "We don't have all day. I was told you are wanted in the capital urgently... and I don't want to have to sully myself with your ilk any longer than is absolutely necessary" he stressed, and the Water Tribesman turned to walk into the change room, though he felt like he ought to make something clear.

"You better hope the Fire Lord has more power than you're suggesting." he spoke up, turning his eyes back to the Warden, "Because if not, I'm going to make sure you and your cronies will get to have a little taste the lake out there." he warned him, wanting to make the new power balance clear, if the Avatar actually had the Fire Lord doing his bidding.

"You wouldn't dare." he scoffed, seeming to not believe the veracity of the threat he had just given, and Hakoda narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, I have more than a few grievances with your people... not to mention the people who killed my wife." he recalled what else he wanted done, "You're just lucky you've been polite."

"Hmm..." the Warden crossed his arms, seeming unimpressed with Hakoda's attitude, but at the same time disappointed, "I did try."

"That was the best decision you made all day."


Princess Azula had spent her evening awaiting some news from the colonists; she had heard that their leader had organised a meeting to discuss the matter of the Blue Spirit, though he requested that she and her guards were not present. She guessed this might give her brother an opportunity to act, so in her supreme judgement, she allowed it. The mercy the colonists were receiving was only a means to an end; she could have them all arrested for harbouring a traitor, though that could be turned against her when Zuko's identity was inevitably revealed. That would make her look arrogant and overbearing at best, and a bellicose liar at worst.

So, when she received a knock on her door, she was expecting some news about her brother; she opened the door, revealing a guard with a message in his hand, "Your highness, a report from the navy." he told her what he had, and she took the scroll into her hands.

"About what, exactly? Does this have anything to do with my brother?"

"Not directly." he conceded, "It's about the siege, your highness."

"Oh, so it has to do with all those men that were requisitioned... completely coincidentally the day of my brother's ship's destruction." she observed the connection, though it wasn't overly relevant; what was more relevant was Admiral Zhao, who she had come to see as the most likely culprit behind the pirates, and their attempt on her brother's life, "Might I ask, what is the punishment for conspiracy against the life of the Fire Lord?"

"Um... death, your highness." he gave the answer, which was rather obvious to any Fire Nation citizen who knew anything about their laws.

"And what about a member of the royal family?" she asked, and he scrunched his lips.

"Death, as well." he gave the answer she already knew, and the guard cleared his throat, "May I go, Crown Princess?"

She just smirked and waved him away, "You may."

She wasn't trying purposefully to reveal her plans to her guards, who could inadvertently reveal them to somebody else, who could warn the target of her quickly forming plans. Calling it a conspiracy would be to imply that her intentions weren't simply an enacting of the law as it stood; all she required was the sufficient evidence to make the claim before a judge if one dared to accuse her of murder. After all, she couldn't fathom what kind of judge would condemn somebody for slaying the killer of the Dragon of the West.

She then scoffed, realising that she'd never go as low to dirty her hands with such a fool; he might have been important, and have stained the honour of her lineage, but she knew that killing somebody who her own brother had beaten in an Agni Kai was just pointless. That was if he was even guilty, which she could not ascertain; she had a good feeling her elder brother would have some fingers to point, and let him point she would.

She unfurled the letter, deciding to actually read it instead of playing out the scenarios of justice she had in her mind. It told her that the Northern Water Tribe, despite their home ground advantage with ice and water abound, were unable to sufficiently muster a defence. The Fire Navy had shown that absolute power was able to turn the tide of battle.

Though a number of ships had been lost or put out of commission by waterbenders, and supposedly the Avatar himself, the siege was still progressing, with the whittling down of the tribe's defences still underway. The report was not from the Admiral directly, but from one of his subordinates; the letter had likely been sent out to all notable military commanders in the region, as well as the Fire Lord himself, though by the time her father saw the letter, the siege might have already concluded.

However, she wasn't optimistic that the siege would end so quickly, but there was reason to believe it could. She doubted that Admiral Zhao, who she understood had been pressing for an attack on the North for many years, wouldn't have had a well thought out plan on destroying them. That plan could have been a slow one, involving a war of attrition, which they had applied effectively against the Earth Kingdom, though the whole nation had yet to falter after a century of fighting.

However, she wasn't expecting that from Zhao, who was known for his ferocity and tenacity. He presumably had a plan to make a strike upon the heart of the Water Tribes, and make sure to break their spirits; overwhelming power mightn't work, but placed against the right people and right places, she thought it might. The siege's end would lead to him returning south to the Earth Kingdom; that would give her an opportunity to interrogate him and determine his innocence or guilt. Until then, she had to focus on finding her brother, who would be key in her investigation.

Another knock rang upon the door into her carriage, and the Princess sighed, hoping it wasn't another letter; she pulled the door open once more, and a different guard stood in front of her, "We saw something suspicious." he explained, "Somebody left that meeting in a hurry."

"Was it my brother?" she asked, and the guard shook his head.

"We got a look of his face... it's just a colonist. But, we think he might have gone to see him. If he is hiding here under the guise of the Blue Spirit, as you say, then he is going to flee."

"I am unsure if your judgement is accurate." she spoke her mind, stepping past him, "Let's go have a chat with those boys again. Is somebody already at the barn?" she asked, and the guard nodded.

"They weren't at the barn. It was some old house, by the edge of town. Hei is interrogating them as we speak." he confirmed, and the Princess whistled to get her guards' attention.

"Enough sitting around, let's move out!" she called on them, "If my brother's going to run, we're not letting him get far." she declared, before turning to the guard who had informed her, "Lead the way!" she ordered him snappily, and he dashed ahead, with Azula and the other guards following right behind.

He led them through the centre of Zhuxi, where the people looked at them, confused by their frantic pace; the guard led them past the market, and down an alleyway, which led them out to the back of town, where she could see some older damaged homes, and further afield, an old farmhouse, which must have been the place the guard was talking about. Hei was nowhere to be seen, and she could see that the boys were looking around with panicked looks on their faces; when they saw Azula and the guards approaching, their faces turned to utter dread.

That made Azula smile as she approached, raising a hand to stop her men from attacking them on the spot, given their guilty looks, "Where is he?" she asked, and they gestured to their left, towards a road off in the distance, which ran out of town, northward into the hills.

"Hei! Are you here?!" the guard who'd informed her called out, and a few moments later, she heard some groaning.

"Well, that can't be good." she realised, before gesturing for the guards to enter the old farmhouse, "Your comrade has been bested." she informed them of what had clearly occurred, before she gestured to the road, "Let's see if we can catch the fool."

"Don't hurt him!" one of the boys pleaded, reaching out to try and stop her; Azula smacked him away, not wanting to have to deal with their stupid adoration of the Blue Spirit.

Her brother couldn't just keep running, so he had to make a stop to it, "He will not get away." she declared her intentions, before dashing across the fields, towards the road; her guards were behind her, the sound of their armour clinking and rustling with their paces all too clear.

She checked beneath herself for tracks, and noted that there were indeed footprints; they led up to the road, and when she arrived, she couldn't see her brother, but simply an empty winding road that led through the woods towards some small hills. She saw some muddy tracks, but they dissipated with time as the dirt would have been taken off her brother's boots. Though she wanted to continue, she didn't have any idea if he'd actually followed the road, or was going to loop back around. She grit her teeth, frustrated that he'd gotten away, and began pacing further along.

"Are you there?!" she called out, "All this running is foolish, Brother!"

She didn't receive any response, and clenched her fists, hoping she could drive one into his face for the effort she was forcing her to put into their little game, as she saw it; whether he believed he was going to capture him wasn't really important in the end, as he probably wanted to remain free from her watch either way. He was too cocky, and too angry, it would seem, to see reason.

Her guards reached her a few moments later, and she turned around, "Check the woods... if you find him, do not hold back." she warned them, knowing that Hei was most likely beaten by her brother in a very quick duel; that meant it was fair game for the rest of the guards to try and thrash him as soon as he was found.

"Yes, your highness!" they chanted, the Princess beginning to pace back up the road towards Zhuxi.

As she got close enough, she turned off to head back to the abandoned farmhouse, where she could see one of the guards interrogating the boys, quite loudly; she could hear him all the way over on the road, and as she drew closer.

"You foolish children! Do you know what you're doing?!" the guard screamed at them, "That man is a danger to us all."

She was pleased to know the guards were still keeping up appearances; treating her brother as the Blue Spirit made things a lot easier, though she was considering whether addressing the problem with honesty might be a better method.

"He wasn't going to hurt anyone!" one of the boys called out, "He killed those bandits to save us!"

"And he could have killed Hei!" the guard shouted back at him, "He's a good man, serving his Fire Lord. Do you think he deserves to be treated like that, just for one man's freedom?" he asked the teens, who continued to cower in fear.

"Restrain yourself." Azula ordered the guard as she approached, the man's composure quickly returning as he turned to salute her.

"My apologies, your highness. I just... I cannot allow them to justify such treatment of a fellow Imperial Firebender. Hei's barely conscious and they're still praising their 'hero'." he told her what he thought, and though Azula didn't really care for his opinions, she understood them, and agreed with the sentiment.

"He is right." she addressed the boys, "You should stop praising what you do not understand." she warned them, "The Blue Spirit is dangerous, far more dangerous than you can imagine."

"Why should we believe you?" one of the boys asked, "How do you know?"

"That is not for any of you to know." she warned him, before stepping past the boys, into the farmhouse, where another guard was tending to Hei, who had regained consciousness, at least somewhat.

His head was slightly bruised, and he wasn't wearing his helmet, which lay off on the ground nearby; Azula glanced around the farmhouse, and immediately noticed that by the hearth there were some old bandages, stained pink by blood. Those, she asssumed, had belonged to her brother, and she turned back to Hei.

"Hei." she addressed him by name, the man's eyes opening as he realised she was above him.

"Y-your... urgh, your highness." he addressed her, and she knelt over so she could more clearly speak with him.

"Did you see his face?" she asked, and Hei shook his head.

"No, he already had the mask on when I came inside." he explained, before looking away, "I shame our nation for falling for such a paltry trick." he snarled, "Dismiss me, your highness."

"No, I will not." she refused, knowing she still had use for him, and that losing to Zuko was simply proof of her brother's skill, and not indicative of incompetence; she might have made the argument that Hei was weak, but she had looked through all their records when she was sailing to the Earth Kingdom.

All of them were more than sufficient to protect her and partake in offensive combat alongside her. The real news was that Zuko was really willing to fight Imperial Firebenders to avoid facing her; she thought that her brother might have seen reason, and tried to negotiate. She frowned, wondering if her theories might have all been wrong, and that the Blue Spirit really had nothing to do with her brother, despite all the coincidences.

Perhaps the pirates had been killed by Zuko, and he was still struggling to recover back at the port town, hiding there from all those who would try to hurt him, and the Blue Spirit she was chasing was just some foolish vigilante, and a serious threat to the Fire Nation.

"What if I'm wrong?" she mumbled under her breath, before shaking her head, knowing that she had to be right; if not, then she was chasing a ghost, while her brother might be elsewhere, with his life potentially still in danger.

She shook her head, knowing that her theories lined up far too well to be coincidental; Zhao, Zuko, the Blue Spirit, the Avatar, the ship, the pirates, it all made too much sense. Though she could not reason why the pirates had chosen the job that had ultimately gotten them killed, she would guess it was greed. The reason for Zhao to want her brother dead was more than obvious; he had betrayed the Fire Nation and dishonoured the Admiral already in an Agni Kai. She would curse her brother, if she really cared for his honour, for not ending his life there; he could have remindied his lessers, then and there, of his place as a son of the Fire Lord. After all that had happened, it was just one more step for Zhao to try and take his life, after he'd taken his crew, and his chance to capture the Avatar; a spat of pride, dishonour, and roguish tricks. It would only end one way, and on her terms.

"You cannot run forever, Brother."