The Return

by tubendo

The ice of the South Pole hides many things, and when Azula and Sokka are confronted by something far greater than themselves, the strength of their relationship is tested, and the Princess has to decide whose path she will follow: the path of her father or the path of freedom. (Sequel to Into The Fire)

32. Chapter 32

The unmistakable feeling of earth being torn apart was familiar to Toph, and when she raised her head up from her snack, slamming her foot down to try and get a better feel for what she could sense, she was filled with dread. Explosions, and powerful ones at that, were going off at the edge of the city, quite close by to the warehouse where she was at that very moment. She had not sensed any attackers, and was confused as to what was going on; she had, not long before, sensed the airship leaving the ground, as its weight was easy to notice, despite the distance between her and where it had landed. Frustratingly, she couldn't figure out where the explosions had originated from, and because she couldn't distinguish any soldiers, she knew she'd have to get some help.

She said she was going to fight, and fight she would, but without a target, she was truly blind, only able to walk around Shengchang before somebody attacked her. The issue they had was that the soldiers fighting for Azula wore the same attire as their potential attackers, so distinguishing between them was a challenge, which could only be discerned once she or one of her allies was attacked. She got up, and turned to face the few people in the warehouse, who were just working on making makeshift weapons, presumably in preparation for the battle that had just begun.

"Can't you guys feel that?" she asked them, and because none of them gave a positive response, she decided to clue them in, "The battle has started. I can sense things blowing up by the edge of the city." she told them, gesturing in the direction she could sense the closest explosions, "That way." she pointed out, before striding over to the front door, "If you don't mind me, I've got to find Azula and make sure she's not letting a bunch of civilians get exploded for no good reason." she stated her intentions, pushing the doors open, and stepping out onto the street.

Outside, there were people dashing up and down the street, telling her that they were aware of the attack taking place, and she could sense some soldiers further down the street, and could hear their calls rather distinctly, "Everyone evacuate! Move into the walled city!"

Toph knew that the others would be around City Hall, so decided to start walking in that direction; she could have gone to warn the earthbenders, who were encamped by the edge of the Earth Kingdom district of the city, but they had their eyes to see what was going on; unless they thought the explosions were fireworks or some other Fire Nation gimmick, they'd get ready for the fight at once.

She felt stupid for not having noticed anything earlier, as she hadn't even been lying in her hammock. She'd been sitting around, chatting with Katara, before the girl decided to go and get Aang to take Appa for a scouting mission. She realised that the scouting mission may have inadvertently set off the attack, which was Toph's own idea; it couldn't be a complete coincidence that the two events happened to occur one after the other.

"Damn it." she grumbled, realising that she might have been to blame for the current turn of events; she hadn't anticipated the enemy was so close, as she'd guessed she would have sensed them coming down the road towards Shengchang, "I'm a real help, aren't I?" she mumbled to herself, before fastening her pace, knowing she couldn't waste any time in reaching the others.

When she approached the gates through the walls, where she could sense quite the crowd, scrambling to get through into the inner city, she tried to sense ahead, hoping that the others were nearby; to her luck, she could make out Katara's distinctive heartbeat, moving in her direction, right towards the crowded gates. She just sighed, before pacing away from the gates, towards the closest portion of the sewer she could sense, before digging herself an opening, and creating some stone shoes.

"Not getting any crap on my feet today." she mumbled once more, before leaping down, and closing up the sewer above herself, before she paced through under the wall, which she might have tried to bend through, if it wasn't for the fact it was covered in sheets of metal.

Once she was past the walls, she bent herself an opening, and leapt back out, now in an alleyway between two buildings; she closed the hole back up, and dashed back down to the main street. Once there, she tried to sense for Katara again, and sure enough, she and the others were coming down the street, right her way. When she came running down the street, she could sense Katara and Aang waving towards her, not that that would have really helped; she appreciated the thought, and when she got to the group, she noticed that they were with a lot of Imperial Firebenders, and then, even more soldiers, who paced past them, presumably to deal with the evacuation.

"Toph, good to see you're here." Azula addressed her, "I assume you sensed the attack." she guessed, and the earthbender nodded.

"Yeah, I felt some explosions by the edge of the city."

"So it's as bad as I feared." the Princess admitted, rather quietly, before gesturing down the street, "We need to make sure everyone is evacuated into the walled city. If not, then those people might be caught in the battle."

"And lead to unnecessary casualties." Renshu, the captain of her guard, finished her sentence, "The airship might be able to take out whatever artillery they are using, but the fact they're hiding in the mines doesn't give us much hope."

"The mines." Toph mumbled, now understanding why she was unable to sense anything.

The mines were noticeable to her seismic sense, with the tools and explosives they used to work away at the ore something she could feel, even all the way in the city. If there were soldiers moving through the mines, she could have just ignored them, because it would have felt like any other group of miners or their machinery being moved through.

"That was smart." she noted the cunning strategy that was in play, "So, we aren't ready, in the slightest."

"The traps are laid, right?" Aang asked her, and she nodded.

"Yes, but the evacuation hasn't happened yet. It's happening right now." she reminded them, "People could die... lots of people." she warned, and the Princess nodded, before stepping past her.

"That's why we need to move. Right now!" she demanded, and Toph conceded she had a point, and immediately took chase after Azula began to run down the street, intent on doing her job; the others took off after her, and she glanced back, realising Ty Lee and Sokka were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are the other two?" she asked, and Katara's heartbeat hastened.

"They took the airship... they're in the mines right now." she explained, Toph tensed up as she continued running; that was brave of them, given their lack of bending, and the general lack of knowledge on their attackers.

"Wow, that's... gutsy." she gave her thoughts honestly, and hoped that they knew what they were doing; if they did, then the battle might end quicker than Toph might hope.

Of course, that desire to fight was immediately outweighed by the concern she had for the safety of the people of Shengchang. Though Toph was usually quite independently minded, and didn't like to fuss herself with the issues of others, she knew that she had put herself in her present situation, and for that, she had to get the job done. Protecting all those people was just as much her responsibility as it was Azula's, even if she had no say in how the city was governed.

They reached the gates quickly enough, and Azula whistled, getting the attention of the soldiers stationed there, and they got in the way to make sure the civilians didn't block their path. When the civilians had parted out of the way, Azula didn't hesitate to move through the gates, the others following right after her, before the crowd continued their push into the city. Flanked by soldiers, the group kept moving down the main street, all the way towards the warehouse and even past that, moving to the outskirts proper. They didn't stop until they were close to where Toph had sensed the explosions.

"Everyone spread out. Make sure everyone's evacuating... if you find any soldiers, fight them!" Azula gave her orders, and though they weren't necessarily directed at Toph, Aang, and Katara, they heeded her words nonetheless.

Each of them moved off in a different direction, Toph heading down an alleyway, using her earthbending to launch herself up, landing in the next street over, before she approached the first door she found; she hammered her hand on it, and shouted insider, "You need to evacuate, right now!" she ordered anyone who might be inside, before moving onto the next door, and doing the same.

Each knock began to cut up her knuckles, but the repetitive motion was natural to her, and her voice began to rasp from the shouting; however, it was more than effective. People who might have otherwise cowered ran out of their homes and workplaces, dashing down the street back towards the walls. A few houses had doors open, so she barged in, and even more factories were like that; most people were just confused, but understood what to do when she ordered them out.

Quickly enough, she'd made her way down the street, reaching the more run down houses of the Earth Kingdom district, which lay relatively close to the mines, up in the nearby hills; unlike in the area where the colonists lived, the people were already evacuating, moving down the street with haste, warded on by locals or by Jianren's fighters, who seemed pleased to see her. Soon enough, Hua paced up to her, hands on her hips, seeming rather annoyed.

"Hey, you'd say you'd warn us. What gives?" she asked, gesturing up towards the mines.

"I couldn't tell." she bluntly admitted, "I'm sorry... but I'm ready to fight. Are you?"

"Sure am." she proclaimed, before glancing behind her, "Where's Sokka? You know, boomerang-guy?"

Toph pointed up towards the mines, and Hua's heartbeat hastened, "Well, shit. I hope he knows what he's getting into."

"I think he can handle it." she gave her own opinion; though she hadn't witnessed many examples of them, his chi-blocking skills were no joke, even if Ty Lee was understandably far more refined with her own.

"Jianren!" Hua called out to her superior, "Toph's here!" she explained, and before Jianren could approach, Azula dashed out of a nearby alleyway, intent on reaching the man himself.

He obviously noticed her, and stopped walking, allowing the Princess to close the gap, "There you are. You need to get everyone into position to knock out the traps."

"What about the mines?" he asked, "If we were to get up there, we could probably wipe this attack off the face of the earth."

"Even if you could get up there, the soldiers aren't going to stay there. The airship will deal with anyone it can catch... the rest of them are up to us." she explained, before indicating down the street, "Send your fighters down to each of the trapped streets. Take any earthbenders here who are willing to aid you."

"They all are." he clarified, and the Princess just nodded, before turning around, heading back over towards Toph.

"You heard what I said?" she asked, and the earthbender nodded, "Good, then stick with me, use the traps when you can, and if they bring one of those stupid machines out like last time... I trust you and Aang can deal with it."

"Oh, I sure would like to try." she admitted, cracking her knuckles with an eager grin.

"Then let's go." the Princess told her what she wanted to hear, and they began making their way back down the street; soon joined by Katara and Aang, who came across from another street, soon followed by the Imperial Firebenders.

By the time they began altering the people on the next street, it had become easier, because most people, being quite close to the explosions had already begun to evacuate, and by the time they reached the first burning buildings, they found themselves forced to act. Azula reached through the air, bending the flames away and out into the air above them, while Aang and Katara used the sewer water to put out those she couldn't. Toph used her earthbending to part and deconstruct any ruined portions of the structures, checking for survivors. To their luck, they found a few, and she helped pull them from the rubble. Most were badly burnt and bruised, but alive, and with some quick healing from Katara, most were able to walk away by themselves, joining the other evacuees.

Some people weren't as lucky, and though Toph tried to ignore it, she couldn't help but feel a ringing sense of guilt for being unable to sense the attack coming. Ahead of them, out of the city, she could sense soldiers moving down from the mines in their general direction, but she could also sense explosions closer to the mines, presumably coming from the airship itself; she didn't know what would win out, but she knew that the airship must have been high up enough to avoid getting struck itself, or at least she hoped the pilots were smart enough to do that. With that danger imminent, she found herself forced to speak up.

"There're soldiers incoming. Some of them mounted... and I think even tundra tanks."

"Great." Azula sarcastically acknowledged the news, though given she wanted to actually stop the enemy, it may have been better that they were coming to them rather than the other way around, "Well, everyone get ready to draw back. Toph's got some traps to pop open." she told the others, and Aang raised a hand.

"Can't I help?" he asked, and the earthbender just snapped a finger at him, glad he'd offered.

"Knock yourself out, Twinkletoes."

Aang seemed giddy at that response, pacing his feet before he slammed his foot down onto the street beneath them; he must have been trying to use his own seismic sense, which she assumed had improved over the course of their training. She hadn't tested him recently, but she had been noticing his reactions were better each time they trained.

"There's a lot of traps." he noted what lay beneath the street, "You guys must have spent a long time making all these."

"There were a lot of streets to cover." she conceded, and gestured down the street, "They'll be here soon." she warned, before turning around, having sensed some soldiers moving down the street, "But we're not going to be fighting alone."

Azula turned around as well, and raised a fist up into the air, "With me!" she ordered the soldiers, who mightn't have been able to hear her from the distance; they did continue approaching, just as the enemy soldiers were moving down from the hills, through the fields that sat between them and the city. With each moment that passed, Toph realised the confrontation would strike ahead of where they stood, and she purposefully raised a defensive wall up on the street behind her, where there were no traps.

"Tell your soldiers to hold back until we've set off the traps. If they fall in them, it ruins the whole point." she addressed the Princess, who nodded; she might have usually not liked being ordered by anyone, but Toph knew what she was doing.

She turned back to Aang and Katara, "Get to the sides of the street, and get ready for contact."

"What about the sewers?" Aang asked, and Toph just chuckled.

"We've incorporated them into the traps." she clarified, and Katara clapped her hands together.

"I know what to do."

"If you didn't, how could I call you a waterbender?" she asked back, and Azula stomped a foot down.

"Get to cover, now!" she told them, pointing down the street, "The tundra tanks are nearly in range."

"They just shoot fire. That isn't a problem for you." the earthbender argued, and the Princess just shook her head.

"For you three, it is." she reminded her of her own vulnerabilities as a person; Toph just reached her arms down, bending a hole in the sewer beneath her feet.

"Yeah, that's why I'm going down there." she argued, before glancing back towards the Imperial Firebenders, "You need some cover?" she asked, and the Princess sighed, before giving a resolute nod.

With that sign of approval, she raised her hand up, creating a few sets of low walls for Azula and the Imperial Firebenders to use as cover. As the soldiers began to move down the street, Toph jumped into the hole in the sewers, closing the opening behind her before she began to walk along it, sensing as the enemy started to cross over the numerous traps. She could sense that the tundra tanks were taking the lead, so, when they got close enough, she moved into a fighting stance.

She could hear the machines unleashing torrents of fire, and once they'd battered the defences she'd left topside for long enough, she pulled open the ground underneath them, causing the tanks to fall into the deep pits below, the force of the fall was enough to noticeably dent the front pieces of armour, and their treads were busted up as well. She smirked, and then, began to shoot out boulders from said pit, tossing them into the air above the enemy soldiers, who were forced to scatter about to avoid getting crushed. Getting them into a frenzy was the first, as easiest task.

Aang leapt out from cover behind her, and she could sense him quickly opening up traps below the soldiers, forcing them to funnel into a narrow path that might have outwardly seemed safe. Little did they know, that was right above the sewer, and Toph raised a pillar up beside where she could sense Katara, telling the waterbender to do what she did best.

She must have understood the signal, because Toph could sense the water beneath her feet being swept up, massing up the other end of the sewer, before it burst the metal covering off. With that, the water splashed around, hitting the ground, which she could sense, but the waterbender must have been doing much more with it, because she could sense all the soldiers being swept off their feet, landing on their backs and chests, allowing Toph to easily open up some more traps, dropping them inside. Some of the soldiers tried to draw back, probably thinking they could use the alleyways for cover.

She anticipated that, and raised up walls on either side of the street, blocking off any route of escape, other than going back the exact way they had come from. That worked in her favour, as she began to open up traps as they dashed backwards, men and their mounts falling inside, the thumping and banging they caused telling her she was knocking out at least a few of them.

When the dust had been settled, and the traps used, most of the soldiers were in pits or trenches, making them easy pickings for Katara's water whips or the firebending of Azula and her guards. The latter rushed past where Toph was still hiding, and began to attack in formation with her men, moving in a synchronised manner which she had never actually seen before. In her defence, most of the firebenders she had fought were caught completely off-guard, as that was one of the primary strategies they utilised back in Omashu.

She leapt out of the ground, and Aang paced back over to her, seeming eager to continue their barrage, "Are you ready, Sifu?" he asked her, and Toph just grinned.

"Am I?" she questioned his words quite rhetorically as she reached down the street, using the roof tiles as bolts of earth, firing them down upon the already trapped soldiers, who she knew could be even further immobilised.

"Let's keep them in place... I never wanted this to be a fair fight." she suggested, and Aang followed her as she approached the edge of the pits and trenches, right behind Azula, Katara, and the Imperial Firebenders.

By the time she had the chance to stick them in place, from her own grasp on the situation, it seemed that the attack had completely failed; the enemy soldiers had either been knocked out, or had fled down the street, away from the traps. She sensed around, and realised that wasn't the case on the neighbouring streets, where she could sense soldiers moving down.

Though Jianren's fighters had been setting off the traps, without the combined assault she and her friends were able to lay down, they fared worse. She could sense the fighters moving back up the streets as they trapped more soldiers, but with their numbers, they kept getting up and out, unable to all be knocked down by the boulders and pillars tossed their way.

"We need to get to the other streets. They need backup!" Toph told Azula, who turned back, before she gestured to one of the streets she had cut off, allowing the Princess to make her way through.

Toph followed, and immediately began throwing up as many boulders as she could from the trenches, whacking the soldiers where she could, before she turned her attention to the tundra tanks, which were still moving down the street, climbing out of the traps as they were activated. She grit her teeth and thrust both hands up, creating a pillar beneath each tank, shooting them up into the air, before she created smaller pillars to the side at an angle, to grapple the tanks as they fell back down towards the street; she caught them, but she doubted the pillars would last long. So, she called on the person she knew could deal with the machines.

"Katara!" she shouted out the girl's name, and the Water Tribe girl leapt out onto the street, before reaching up towards the tanks, bending the water inside of them. That broke their internal mechanisms, allowing Toph to drop the pillars and let the tanks fall back onto the street, breaking open the traps beneath them.

She sensed back the other way, and saw that most of the soldiers were fleeing now that Azula was the one they were facing, and she couldn't blame them. The Princess was ferocious and much faster than any firebending soldier who was standing against her; they all cowered from her attacks, which Toph couldn't directly sense, but the heat of the flames cooked the gravel road as they made contact. The heat was odd, but a noticeable thing on the surface, contrasting it with the cold, solid soil beneath.

When the soldiers had all but fled, the Imperial Firebenders moved onto the street, checking for any stragglers, before taking form around the Princess; they were still mostly back in the first street, dealing with the soldiers there, but now, each of the attacks seemed to have been dealt with. However, there were many more streets in Shengchang that led towards the walls, so there would be much more fighting to be done. It seemed, however, that it wouldn't just be up to them as she sensed soldiers moving along the road surrounding the walls, fanning out to occupy the streets. Their numbers weren't as great as Toph might have liked, but that came down to the size of the city itself; there was a lot of ground to cover, and not enough soldiers. The enemy didn't have that problem, as they were all coming from one place, heading in one direction, right for the walls.

Azula seemed to understand this issue, and paced up towards Toph and Katara, who stood ready to fight, "We need to head towards the barracks. If the captured soldiers there are freed, it'd just make an even bigger headache for us all." she warned, "Aang!" she called out the Avatar's name, and he paced up over to her.

"Yeah?" she asked, "Are we going to head for the mines?"

"No. I trust Sokka and Ty Lee to deal with that themselves. We need to make sure the barracks are secure. That's where the prisoners, and most of my own men are holed up. If they can't hold the defence, then we're screwed. Go and scout ahead. I want to know what we're dealing with."

Aang nodded, and opened up his glider, before leaping into the air; unable to sense him any longer, Toph's attention turned back to the Princess.

"So, are we going?" she asked, and Azula nodded, before gesturing down the alleyway adjacent to them, "Let's cut across. Aid any of our forces where we can, but otherwise, keep moving. We can't waste any time now."

The group seemed to be in agreement, and everyone followed after the Princess, except Toph herself, who dashed ahead, using her earthbending to move instead of bothering to actually walk. When she got to the next street, she shot out a flurry of pillars, aiming down towards the edge of the city; she was able to hit the unit of soldiers moving down, but there were fewer of them. Sensing further afield, she realised that Azula's assumptions might have been right, as more units moved in the general direction of the barracks, instead of marching to the city centre, which would be their ultimate target.

The others followed after her, not having to waste any time attacking the enemy soldiers which she'd already distracted; moving on to the next street, they came across an actual fight in progress, with a pair of tundra tanks moving down the street, followed by some non-bending soldiers.

Toph raised up a wall at once, providing the group with some defences, and checked the other way, noting that the earthbenders were already being aided by some of Azula's troops. She raised a hand to wave to them as Azula and the others moved across to the next alleyway, before Toph herself decided to raise the whole wall off of the street, and send it hurtling down towards the tanks.

Upon impact, her wall shattered, but the force of the strike was enough to bust up the tanks and flip them over, dragging them into the soldiers along with the walls; she nodded to herself, finding the damage sufficient, and raised a hand towards her comrades.

"Let 'em have it!" she called on them, and the earthbenders rushed from cover, ripping open traps and tossing the remains of the walls about, forcing the soldiers to draw back.

"Come on, Toph." Katara called on her from the alleyway, and she heeded her words, following the Water Tribe girl along to the next street, which to their luck, was the one that would lead out of the city to the barracks.

When she reached the street however, things were just as bad as she imagined from her earlier probings; the earthbenders had been forced back, the traps were already activated, and the pits were full of soldiers fighting each other. She couldn't reasonably tell who was fighting for which side, so she elected to ignore them for the moment, raising another defensive wall to protect them as they moved past the street; they'd have to find another path to the barracks if they didn't want to have to fight through multiple units of firebenders.

Azula must have been thinking the same thing as her, because she already moved across the street, crossing the narrow gap in the otherwise trap-filled street, immediately heading for the next alleyway. She followed, and noticed she had decided to take an alleyway running parallel to the street instead, heading out of the city; she already sensed that it ended eventually, forcing them to go another way, but she would follow nonetheless, knowing it would get them closer.

Only a few moments later, something struck the ground, making Toph move into form, though Katara immediately grasped her hands to stop her bending, "Stop, it's Aang!" she told her, and the earthbender waited a moment, and realised that in fact the heartbeat she felt was from the little Air Nomad; she thought she was about to fight some ballsy assassin who wanted to get the Princess, but it seemed they still had their luck there.

"It's pretty bad guys." he warned them, "The whole place is surrounded, and their catapults are trying to break open the walls." he explained, making Azula sigh.

"At least they bothered investing in metal walls." she mumbled, before gesturing down the alleyway, "We have to make sure they can't enter the barracks. There isn't much time." she acknowledged, "We have soldiers following us there, but they might become preoccupied with the other attacking forces."

"So, we might have to do this all ourselves." Renshu noted what was the result of that, "Brilliant." he sarcastically acknowledged the situation.

"But Sokka and Ty Lee are going to get rid of the artillery." Katara reminded them, and Azula just turned and began making her way up the street.

"Maybe not fast enough." she made her thoughts clear, and Toph grit her teeth, knowing they had a job to do.

As they approached the end of the alleyway, where it forked off to the left or right, she sensed some soldiers moving down either exit, ready to cut them off, she quickly raised up a wall in front of them, blocking their firebending as they moved to try and surprise them.

"Well done." Renshu commented on her quick thinking, before she ripped the wall apart, slamming it into the soldiers.

In their now battered and dazed state, it wasn't hard for the Imperial Firebenders to smack them about with their own bending, before suddenly something appeared around them; it took her a moment to realise, but Katara had just frozen some water around them.

"Was that from the sewers?" she asked, and the Water Tribe girl just approached the men.

"Yeah, because they deserve to eat shit." she acknowledged with a jump in her step.

"Okay, maybe she does have a sense of humour." she took back any prior claims she might have made about the girl's lack of wit.

"Let's go!" Azula shouted at them, rushing past the fork and back towards the street, aiming for the one they hadn't been to yet, instead of going back to the clusterfuck they had ran past before; the next street was clearer, but there were still open traps, and a number of earthbenders struggling to hold off the enemy troops.

That changed when Azula jumped between them and generated a lightning bolt, the deafening explosion striking a tundra tank, which seemed to burst apart from the strike, though she realised that must have been the water inside it reacting. Katara took advantage of that, and used the water inside to trap the soldiers in their way before the group all began running across the parts of the street that still existed, avoiding the deep and obvious pit traps that had already been opened up.

When they got past the soldiers, the rest of whom were whacked away by Toph's boulders or Aang's airbending, they were left with a clear path to the barracks, where she could sense a number of soldiers fighting, at least on the exterior wall.

"That can't be good." she mumbled under her breath, before she felt a massive explosion strike the ground, right by the barracks, "Ack!" she cried out, unsure what just happened, "Was that the artillery?" she asked, and Azula shook her head, gesturing above them to something she couldn't sense.

"We've got the backup I wanted." she clarified, before placing her hands on her hips, standing there as more explosions went off.

"So... does this mean we don't need to go there?" Aang asked, sounding relieved; the Princess nodded, and gestured to the alleyway to their right.

"The traps will still need to be set off. I expect the enemy will still try and reach the city centre." she explained their next move.

"Y-yeah, alright." he accepted her directions, "Well, I guess we should get going."

Azula nodded before she thrust her right hand outwards; Toph sensed over that direction, noticing that some soldiers had come down to the alleyway beside them, and the Princess just threw them to the ground. After that, she began moving down the alleyway in form, and Toph did the same, raising some barriers preemptively at the end of the alleyway to give them some cover.

That came in hand when a tundra tank reached the other end of the alleyway, and turned its turret around; Toph threw up another set of walls right in front of them, stopping Azula from going any further. The Princess turned around, and her posture seemed to tell her she didn't like her doing that.

"You can't fight that thing." she warned her, and she scoffed.

"It's called firebending, not firemaking." she declared, before reaching her hand out towards the barrier, Toph could feel the tundra tanks shaking suddenly, as if pressure was building inside, before she felt and heard them explode.

"Oh." she gasped, before grinning, "Sick."

"Yeah, I know." she agreed, and Toph lowered the walls, allowing them all to continue to the next street.

Sensing around, she noticed that the soldiers had mostly moved down the street, to their right, meaning that they were about to get surrounded; they mustn't have realised this, as when Toph sent a wave of earth down the street, it threw most of them off their feet, with only the mounted soldiers and tanks faring well.

The tanks turned to face her, and she snapped a finger, shooting a pillar up underneath the tank, which must have spurt out some flames, because the Imperial Firebenders moved into form in front of her, raising their hands, the heat growing more a few moments before it dissipated. They then rushed forward, bending flames at the enemy, which was barely noticeable to her seismic sense, but the results were obvious, as the enemy soldiers fell one by one in quick succession.

She then realised that the tundra tank she'd knocked around was still functional, as it began moving in their direction, but both Azula and Katara reached their hands out, bending the flames and water within, respectively, causing the weapon to misfire once more; the hydraulics were ripped apart, causing the tundra tank to break apart. The last remaining soldiers were the mounted ones, who rushed at them, only to be battered by a few boulders, courtesy of Aang, who Toph quickly joined, whacking the men off their mounts and entrapping them, leaving the animals a little confused with no rider or directions.

"Well then." Toph mumbled, crossing her arms, "I guess we've just got to go through a dozen more streets like this, and they'll figure out this whole thing is pointless.

Just as she said that, as if the spirits wanted to mess with her, she felt some explosions off in the distance, which shook the ground before any sound came to her ears, meaning they were some distance away. Using her seismic sense, she realised the explosions resonated out from the hills, where the mine entrances were, and that told her what just happened.

"So, was that the airship or Mister Boomerang?" she asked Azula, who just scoffed.

"I'm sure he didn't do all the work." she argued, before nodding, "It was them. Finally."

"There will surely be more reinforcements from the mines." Renshu spoke up, "We should draw closer to the walls... cut off the enemy before they get any bright ideas."

"We need to make sure no further damage is inflicted on the city as well. We shall stay here in the outskirts... fire and building damage is rampant. We cannot let the fires spread, or the soldiers damage any more homes and factories. That will just lose the support I need from the people here."

"So, we're not going to charge in and fight them at the walls?" Toph asked her, and the Princess shook her head.

"This is no epic. We're fighting for this city... not for glory."

---

The smoke in the air told Azula that the battle was not yet going in her favour; despite the overwhelming power of the airship, the enemy numbers were too great to extinguish, not with the very short time she had to prepare for the battle itself. So now, as she cowered behind some cover in one of the many radial streets of Shengchang, she just wished that the great machine would return her way, and deal with the soldiers who were relentlessly attacking their lines.

After the airship had broken the attack on the barracks, she thought that things were turning in their favour, but another wave pushed out, this time from the mines and the forest, making their way into the outskirts, aiming this time for the walls. They were constantly moving, making them harder for the airship to shell, and made her own efforts all the more challenging, as she was forced to draw back after each attack.

It didn't matter if she had all the elements on her side, with Aang, Katara, and Toph to aid her, they couldn't beat a hundred soldiers by themselves. Worse, they weren't even fighting by themselves, but with the support of half her personal guard and most of her own army. However, many of them were still stuck around the barracks, which they couldn't draw out from without finding themselves surrounded by the enemy.

She had considered trying a pincer movement, but there was no way for her to easily signal her soldiers in the barracks to make an attack with her; she didn't have a messenger hawk with her, and by the time she collected one, it could just be shot out of the sky by a lucky firebender. Their traps and defensive strategy, at the very least, seemed to be working, but it was not giving the victory she desired.

She should have known her luck would run short eventually, but she still trusted that Sokka, Ty Lee and the rest of her guard would be able to sabotage the enemy's artillery and defeat their commanding officers. Without orders, she doubted the enemy would be able to coordinate their efforts, so even if the battle lasted a few more hours, she could pick off squads street by street.

The whole flurry of the evacuation and initial defence had made her realise she had no idea how much time had actually passed since she ordered Ty Lee and Sokka off to infiltrate the mines; it had to have been an hour at least, given that the sun was much lower in the sky, turning everything an orange hue, matching the colour of the flames from the burning buildings that seemed to now ring the whole city.

"Your highness, I believe it is in our best interest to draw back to a more defensible position." Renshu warned her, gesturing to Toph, who was looking exhausted; she had been tossing boulders about, activating traps, and ripping up streets the entire time, and it was clearly getting to her.

"We can hold it." Toph argued, before coughing, "But can somebody get rid of the stupid smoke?" she asked, and Aang, who had been aiding her with his own earthbending, quickly spun his staff around, bending the smoke away from them all, giving Azula a clearer view of their opponents.

They were walking towards them with shields now, instead of trying to rush them; that meant that their firebending would be far less effective, and she knew that going hand-to-hand, even if her own skill made her nigh untouchable, she would eventually falter, and most likely get injured. Doing something so reckless was out of the question, but it seemed like the only way to break the present stalemate.

"They're coming down the other street!" one of her guards shouted out, "Block it up!" he requested, and Aang raised his hands up, bending a few walls up to slow down the enemy if they tried to take the alleyway to reach them.

"Where are all these people coming from?" Toph snarled, "I can barely sense anything right with that stupid airship dropping bombs every minute." she added, Azula realising that the airship should have run out of munitions by now; it presumably had, and the remaining explosions were likely from the enemy's artillery, which frustrated the Princess.

"That is probably not the airship." she corrected her.

"Oh great... So what, you're saying Ty Lee and Sokka failed?" she asked, and the Princess shook her head.

"They are likely keeping some of the enemy forces occupied up there, but they definitely succeeded. We all felt the explosion... that didn't mean they got all of their ranged weapons." she argued, and Katara just snarled, hammering a hand against the stone wall she was covering behind.

"Then what was the point of that?" she asked her, "You probably just sent my brother to his death." she warned her, clearly getting fed up with her strategies, which admittedly weren't working as well she'd hoped they would.

"You're wrong. The mines would be scantily defended... the issue is where they're hiding their weapons, not whether they could beat Ty Lee and Sokka." she argued, "My guards are the best trained firebenders alive... if common soldiers can beat them, they're clearly in need of retirement." she argued, making Renshu snicker, which surprised her slightly, given she was talking about his own men, who could, for all they knew, be dead, even if she certainly didn't want that to be the case.

"The boys might be a little rusty after our... well, little retirement in the sticks, but they know what they're doing." he argued, before pointing down the street, "We do need to move, your highness. Your safety is my priority."

"Victory should be." she retorted, and he raised a finger.

"My second priority." he noted, before he spun around, sending a high kick into the air; it shot a fire stream right down the street, providing a spectacular distraction for the enemy soldiers, "Let's move!" he told his fellow guards, who heeded his words, stepping away from their cover before they moved down the street.

Azula grit her teeth, not wanting to draw back even closer to the walls, but she understood that Renshu was right; they had to keep moving as they whittled down the enemy, otherwise, they would be caught in a tough place, and might not escape unharmed. Some of her guards were already injured, though it was mostly light burns and some sore joints, from jumping up and around the pits and trenches the earthbenders had made. She knew that they'd need some time to recuperate, but drawing away from the frontline would make the Princess seem weak in the eyes of the soldiers she needed to hold the line.

As they moved down the street, she heard some rumbling off to her left, and a few moments later, a massive fire stream spurt out from an alleyway; she tensed up, and realised no person that wasn't her could make an attack so potent. A tundra tank drove out of the alleyway, her guards taking form around it, and quickly redirected its flames when it tried to attack them once again. Katara reached a hand forward to bend the water inside the machine, but suddenly another fire stream burst out, and she realised another one was coming up the street towards them.

"Shit!" she gasped out, before pointing towards the alleyway, "Move it, now!" she ordered her men, watching as the soldiers who they'd been aiding tried their hardest to attack the two tanks with their bending and weapons.

Katara, however, remained by the tank, trying to break its hydraulics; Azula could see the turret aiming back down at the girl, and the Princess leapt at her, grabbing her by the arm before dragging her through the front door of a store. The flames licked up her back, which sparked a shot of pain through her body, the Princess snarling as she turned to bend the flames away. The fire coursed up the side of the building, which quickly began to set fire.

"Your highness!" she heard one of her guards call out to her; she pointed to the nearby alleyway.

"Keep moving! We'll find another way around." she ordered them, and she watched as they dashed down the alleyway, with Toph the only one remaining, using her earthbending to batter the tanks.

"Aren't we going to help her?" the Water Tribe girl asked her, and the Princess shook her head, pointing to the other end of the store, where the storeroom and presumably an exit would be.

"No, she can handle them. I can't bend armour for myself." she argued, before pointing a finger on the other girl's sternum, "Can you?"

She shook her head, and both momentarily turned to Toph, who'd already begun bending stone walls around herself for protection; the last thing Azula saw of her before she closed it up was an off-angle point their way.

"Move it!" she demanded, and Azula heeded her words, pacing down through the store, which was beginning to stink of smoke as the facade was burning; she could put out the flames, but first she'd need to make sure they had a way out.

She found the rear door, and kicked it open, quickly checking the alleyway, which to her luck was empty; she gestured for Katara to follow, and the two of them made their way down the narrow alleyway towards another bigger alleyway. She realised at once that they were heading in the wrong direction, away from the walls, but she knew they had little choice, as the other way only had a dead end. The Water Tribe girl remained right behind her, and slowed alongside the Princess as she stopped by the end of the alleyway, checking down each possible path; one of the ends had already been blocked off by Toph earlier, leaving another open, leading out to another major street.

"There's only one way." Katara noted, before gesturing ahead of them down another narrow alleyway, which they could have taken, but it would have led them even further away from the others, "That's just the wrong way."

"Precisely. Get ready to run." she warned her, and the Water Tribe girl grimaced before she got into position.

With both of them ready, Azula leapt into a dash, sprinting down the alleyway, right onto the major street, rushing down it in the direction of the walls, where her worst fears were confirmed; the enemy were still pushing down the street, leaving a number of soldiers in their way. Some of the troops turned around, and immediately recognised her, moving into form as they prepared to attack her.

"Princess Azula!" one of them shouted her name, "Get her!" he demanded, and the firebenders rushed forward down the already pitted road, weaving around the traps while Azula raised her arms up, conjuring a wall of flames to defend them.

It wouldn't last very long, but it gave them the time they needed to find another path; Katara pointed to another alleyway to their left, leading even further away from the others, who she could still hear fighting, despite being a block away. She ran into the alleyway, and quickly checked at the next fork, noticing that it was clear, heading towards the walls. Frustratingly, the enemy soldiers tailed right behind them, forcing the Princess to raise up another wall of flames; it didn't hold them off for very long, but it gave Katara a chance to make her way down the alleyway.

"Stop right there!" a soldier demanded, parting the flames with his own firebending, and Azula rolled her eyes; she didn't have time for a duel, even if it would have ended very quickly.

"Shut up." she snapped back, shooting a bolt right into his gut; he groaned as he slumped over, but more soldiers followed after him, shooting flames at the Princess, who was forced to direct them away to her sides.

"Azula, we need to move!" Katara called out to her, and she grit her teeth.

"You go! I'll hold them off!" she shouted back at the girl, and avoided looking down the alleyway, just focusing on the soldiers as she shot a flurry of fireballs their way, knocking some of them back, but most were unfazed with their own fireproof armour.

"Shit." he mumbled under her breath, before raising her hands up, "Fine, you asked for it." she told her foes, charging two fireballs in each her hands.

As the soldiers drew closer, they readied their own attacks, but were completely unprepared for the massive explosion that was launched out of her hands; the flames were so hot that they burnt her palms, and forced her to stumble back as the fireball burst up into the air. She snarled from the pain, but took the chance to dash down the alleyway, not wanting to waste any time while the soldiers were distracted. When she approached Katara, the waterbender reached an arm out, shooting out a coil of water which smacked into one of the soldiers who'd tried to chase after her, before the water returned, spinning around the girl as she realised her hands were burnt.

"Uh, do you need me to help with that?" she gestured to her hands, drawing the water to them; it seemed she wasn't going to take no for an answer, but the Princess wouldn't complain, as a lack of pain would stop her from getting distracted from the fight.

When the water wrapped around her hands, she felt a cool tingly sensation, which sent shivers down her arms and back; when the water was retracted, her hands were perfectly fine, making Azula smirk before she aimed her left hand behind her, shooting out a fire stream at the next soldier who'd tried running down the stretch of the alleyway.

She turned around and raised up another wall of flames, before Katara grasped her by the wrist, "We're not wasting any more time!" the Water Tribe girl told her, and Azula kept pace with her as they made a break for the next street.

As they got closer, she heard the sound of men running, and moved into form, getting ready for another fight. To her luck, it was her own troops, indicated by their blue banners and waistbands. When they realised it was her, they stopped, and gestured for her to follow.

"Your highness, you need to get back!" one of them shouted, "They're going to attack again!" he warned, and she turned around to see that a tundra tank was moving down the very street they were on.

"Great." she mumbled, rolling her eyes, before she pointed at it, "Katara!" she called on the waterbender, who reached over towards a manhole behind them, ripping the water out before she sent it rushing towards the tank.

When it tried to shoot out a fire stream, Azula shot her own hand up, bending the flames towards the sky, where they turned a bright blue, before the nozzle was doused by the waterbender's quick attack. She then froze the water, stopping the vehicle in place, before she tried her trick with the hydraulics once again. It didn't take much for the machine to burst apart, and a moment later, the hatch on its roof burst open, the soldier inside gasping for air as the water had flooded the insides. Azula just smirked, and shot a few fireballs right at him, making him scamper as he climbed over the other side of the now inoperable tank as he tried to escape. However, he wasn't alone, as a few of the firebenders they'd been fighting before came past the tank to fight them.

"Not so fast!" Katara called them out, throwing the water out of the tank and onto them, freezing them in place, and making a wall of ice that blocked the whole street.

"Good one." Azula commended her effort, before turning back to the soldiers, "Let's get moving, I need to get back to my guard." she explained, and the soldiers nodded along.

"I saw them down this street... but now the way's blocked." one of the soldiers clarified, the Princess nodding before she pointed in the direction of the wall.

"We must get closer to the walls. The defence must hold."

"Yes, your majesty!" the soldiers all chanted out with a quick salute before they ran down the street, heading for the next fork.

Azula followed after them, with Katara by her tail; when they reached the fork, they were lucky that the street was relatively empty, with the traps already activated and earthbenders standing watch. It seemed that they had already repelled whatever enemy force had attacked, or perhaps, they had converged with the forces on other streets. That theory would explain the tundra tanks which were making the battle a living hell for her. They dashed up towards the walls, but before they got there, she noticed something above them; Aang was gliding down with his staff, landing right on the street in front of them.

"Oh, I'm glad to see you guys. I didn't know if you were okay after we split up." he acknowledged, "We need to go help Toph." he added, "She's still stuck by herself trying to hold off those tanks."

"Then let's get moving." Azula decided, glancing towards the soldiers, "You may join us if you please." she offered, and some of them seemed eager to fight alongside their Fire Lord, readying themselves into form.

"If it's just a few tanks, we can take them. You demolished the last one." one of the soldiers argued, clearly running off the high of their previous win.

"Yeah, we can." Katara agreed with the sentiment, "Come on!" she called on the group, dashing down one of the side streets, heading back in the direction they had come from earlier.

Azula glanced at Aang, who seemed a bit puffed out, but offered her a reassuring smile, "We've got this." he told her, and she shook her head.

"I should be the one saying that." she admitted, and began to run after the Water Tribe girl, who was already being followed by the soldiers; it seemed that she had quickly earned their respect, and that was a good thing.

The quicker the soldiers understood that 'the foreigners' were really their greatest asset, the sooner they'd all be able to work together to defeat her father. She didn't stop running until they finally reached the street they had been defending earlier, where she could see her Imperial Firebenders covering behind some stone walls, which had been raised up by the earthbenders fighting alongside them.

"Ah, your highness." Renshu addressed her, "It's good to see that you're not dead."

"You would be at fault if that was the case." she warned him, half-jokingly, before stepping out of cover to see the firebenders who were attacking what she could only describe as a mass of dust and broken stone pillars, where she assumed Toph was at that very moment, "So, she's still got their attention... I would be impressed if this were anyone other than her."

"Even me?" Aang asked, and she just scoffed.

"Yeah, especially you. Remind me what the number one Air Nomad strategy is again?" she questioned the boy, whose expression shifted to a sheepish smile.

"Ah, yeah... point taken." he conceded, and Azula let out a sigh, knowing she had to do something.

"Well, here goes nothing." she spoke up, before taking a long, deep breath, ready to channel her chi correctly.

"What are-" Katara began, and Renshu stepped in front of the Water Tribe girl, realising what Azula was intending.

"Get back!" he warned everyone, who scampered behind the cover while Azula strode forward, trying her best to get the attention of her opponents.

She wouldn't fall to as low as to shout and scream at them, because what she was about to do would certainly make Toph look like the lesser threat; she grit her teeth, beginning the circular motions as she gathered as much chi as she could around her gut, feeling the energy within her, her inner flame, rising higher and higher. Then, she thrust her right arm out, pointing her fingers towards a tundra tank; the bolt of lightning was released, the brightness forcing her to shut her eyes as it careened toward the vehicle. A moment later, it struck, and the machine combusted, a massive explosion bursting on the street. Azula began to pant, realising the strain she'd put on herself by charging such a powerful bolt; though she was expecting the attention of the enemy to turn to her, instead they had no choice but to flee as the flames consumed the street.

It didn't take long for Toph to realise the fight was over, and leapt up from her cover, turning to face the Princess with a frustrated look on her face, "I had them!" she shouted at her, making Azula scoff.

"Yes, you had them building you a tomb." she retorted, before gesturing towards the walls, "Move! We won't have much time before they figure to just move through the flames." she warned the girl, before she herself turned around and paced past the walls the others were using as cover, "You heard me, let's get going, now!"

The others heeded her command at once, and she turned to face the soldiers who had come to aid them, "Make sure to hold the line. We can't have them trying to breach the walls." she ordered them, and they saluted her eagerly.

"Yes, your majesty!" they chanted out, before she strode on past, continuing down the street towards the city walls which began to tower above them.

As she approached them, she noticed the damage that had already been inflicted, with metal sheets bent and contorted by boulders that had struck them, fired all the way from the mines; she was more impressed by the accuracy of the weapons than anything else. Some of the sheets had fallen off, revealing the stone wall behind them. The damage would be repairable, but it would only take one section to collapse for the enemy to be able to stream inside and seize the inner city. All the civilians seemed to have been evacuated inside by that point, much to her relief, though she didn't know how much longer they'd be safe at that rate.

Though Sokka and Ty Lee must have destroyed some of the artillery pieces, they couldn't have been all of them, as she continued to hear the sound of explosions and the shaking of the ground every minute. It wasn't that much of a distraction, but it told her that the enemy still had one advantage up their sleeve. The airship wasn't in sight, presumably further across the city, firing down flames from its platforms. Firebenders were more accurate from the sky, but that didn't mean they'd be all too useful against other firebenders. The real advantage had come with the bombs, which she was almost certain had run out by that point.

As the group took cover by some buildings just in front of the walls, Azula let herself sit down, even if only for a few moments. She was exhausted after all the running she did, and then the massive lightning bolt she created, which probably wouldn't mean much in the grand scheme of the battle. It was but one tundra tank, perhaps out of dozens that the enemy would have brought along.

"How are we going to beat them if they keep sending so many men in?" Katara asked her, clearly sounding concerned that they might actually be losing the fight.

"We have to wait them out. They can only fight for so long, and we only have to wait for them to lose enough men that victory becomes impossible. That was the purpose of the traps." she explained the situation to her, hoping that she'd understand that the war of attrition was in their favour.

"They could wait us out... but we probably have more food than they have guts." Toph suggested, and the Princess just shook her head.

"Supplies won't win this battle. Morale will." she argued, knowing that her strategy couldn't fail now; it had worked wonders in her campaign thus far.

"Soldiers win battles." the earthbender retorted, "But you're right... scaring people is- well, it costs less than actually trying to box them up and beat them all." she noted an alternative to their present strategy.

Azula was amused by the idea of having the enemy soldiers stuck in the pits, forced to fight off her men from above. The traps might have worked like that if they were big enough, and she had more men; she had not the time to prepare such defences, nor the men to man them. So, fear tactics were the way to victory, at least while the numbers weren't in their favour.

She heard some shouts down the street they had just come down, and sighed, knowing what would come next; some of the soldiers dashed past their cover, realising that they were there waiting for them.

"Your highness... they've got a lot of men. No tanks this time. Just men... and they're about to march on the walls." he warned them, and the Princess just gestured to Toph.

"Looks like you're up again."

"Aw sweet." she grinned, "I've had enough sitting down already."

"We've only been here for a minute." Aang reminded her, and she just stepped past him.

"A minute too long." she snapped back, and gestured to the guards, "So are you going to protect your precious Princess or what?"

Azula considered shooting the girl in the head with a fireball for that, but she relented, knowing that she was technically just describing their jobs, no matter how belittling it sounded. The guards did follow after Toph, while the Princess rose back up to her feet. She readjusted her headpiece, touching it for a few moments as Aang eyed her; she felt a little self-conscious and stopped, before she took a deep breath, letting her inner fire flicker with the movement of air in and out of her lungs.

"Are you ready?" he asked her, and she just lit flames on her palms, eyeing the bright blue fire with a smile.

"I am always ready." she reassured him, before she dashed out of cover, and joined the others.

Toph had already created some low walls for her guards to cover under, while the earthbender herself was focusing on tossing boulders down the street and ripping the very street apart to try and slow down the soldiers. Azula began shooting out a few bolts of fire, which coursed down the street, striking some soldiers before they dissipated. She was impressed by the range of her flames, but knew it would be hard to create bolts that potent without wasting her precious breath.

She moved into cover, taking another deep breath, and gathered her chi around her right palm, before she aimed it out down the street. Unleashing the flames, the blue fire was so bright it forced her to squint, even when looking away from it, the fire stream licking around them as it coursed down the street. It took a lot of chi just to make an attack that strong, so she elected to wait for the enemy to approach before she tried anything like that again.

When she'd finished her attack, Aang leapt forward, and shot out a number of boulders, flinging them down the street in quick succession with a few kicks and spins, before he was followed by Katara, who raised her hands up, reaching for the water in the nearest sewer, which spurt out from the street, and formed a mass of spinning water.

"Aang, do it now!" she told the Avatar, who nodded, before rushing toward the water; Azula narrowed her eyes, confused by what he was trying, but when he leapt inside the mass of water, and it began to rise, she understood the plan perfectly.

She hadn't seen such a technique before, though in her defence, she hadn't seen much of Aang's training; he rose up above the street, with coils of water surrounding him, which shot out at the soldiers in front of him. Azula couldn't see much, given how massive the spiralling mass of water was, blocking most of the street, but she could tell it was working.

"What is that?" Toph asked, presumably unable to sense the water very well, despite it being in contact with the ground.

"A lot of water." she told her bluntly what she saw.

However, despite Aang's skillful use of waterbending, his attacks couldn't hold off all the firebenders for very long, and when the water funnel was burst apart by a number of fire streams, he froze the remaining water to try and keep the soldiers in place. He dashed back towards the group, taking cover beside the Princess.

He seemed proud of his efforts, and quickly raised some more boulders out, following after Toph to start pummelling the enemy. Azula followed suit with her firebending, her and her guard sending out volley after volley at the mass of troops. The pure numbers, however, were hard to beat, even with Toph ripping apart the ground beneath their feet; the ice melted quickly enough from their combined firebending, and though Katara and Aang could try and refreeze them, the soldiers persisted and moved closer and closer by the moment.

Azula grit her teeth, shooting fire streams out with both hands, hoping to keep them distracted for long enough for the earthbenders to come up with a better trap. Suddenly, however, she heard a whirring noise, her eyes turning up to the sky above them as she saw the airship flying right towards them.

"It's about time." Renshu commented, clearly relieved to see their airpower being put to use.

The craft swung around, slowing as it dropped a number of powerful explosives down onto the road; Aang quickly drew up some more walls to protect them from the explosions, leaving Azula to try and peer over, watching as the flames coursed up into the sky.

The ground shook violently, each explosion cracking the walls Aang had put up, and Azula knew the enemy soldiers had no chance. However, she heard and felt another explosion, this time higher up, and realised at once what had happened; one of the explosives had gone off inside the airship, perhaps due to the soldiers trying to hit it when it was launched. She could tell as the metal gondola had a smoking hole in it, and the balloon was now ripped in multiple places, making Azula's eyes widen.

"Shit... shit, shit, shit." she mumbled under her breath, turning to Aang, "Open the wall. We need to get to the airship before any of the enemy soldiers do. We can't have them destroy it." she warned him, and he glanced up to the airship, which had turned around fully, now heading towards the outskirts as it slowly lowered in height.

"It's going to crash?" he asked, and she just hammered her hand on the wall beside them.

"Get rid of it, now!" she demanded, and he and Toph broke the wall apart, the Princess wasting no time to rush down the street; the issue remained, however, of the massive holes and fires left over by the explosives that had been dropped on the street, so she gestured towards them, "Cover it up!" she ordered them, and they complied, pulling the earth up and turning it over, leaving them with a clear path.

She avoided looking at any of the bodies which remained on the surface, finding the sight both horrifying and disgusting, with the burnt, shrivelled corpses on full display; Toph seemed to notice this, and she grabbed Aang, and tried to make him look down. Even if she didn't have sight like them, she knew what was lying there. The group rushed on past the damaged area, moving back towards where they had been fighting before, where a number of tundra tanks lay in ruin.

Making their way further along, they reached the exposed, open traps and trenches that Toph had left over from their earlier fight, and beyond them, she could see some more troops, though they were moving along one of the circular streets that surrounded the city centre. She decided to just ignore them, unless they gave chase, in which case she'd make sure they quickly learned why she was going to be their Fire Lord.

She raised her hand up, and gestured at the traps and trenches, "Close it up!"

Toph heeded her command, and began throwing her hands up as they moved closer, filling in the traps and pits, so they could continue running forward; she could see the airship ahead of them to the right, still in the air, but barely, only flying just above the roofs of the houses and factories it was crossing over. When they got past the traps, Azula increased her pace, and began running right down through the outskirts, passing by the smaller, poorer houses, as the airship came into view.

It had landed, relatively softly, in a field by the edge of the city. To her left she could see the hills where the mines were located, and saw a number of smokestacks and clouds of dust, telling her that there was some serious fighting over there. She guessed some of the earthbenders had diverted up there to give the enemy a thrashing; she couldn't blame them when their homes were the ones on the line.

She ran over to the airship, and immediately reached her hands forward to bend any flames she could see and sense ahead of her, and drew the heat towards herself, pulling the flames from the downed airship and shooting them up into the sky. The Princesss panted, feeling her own energy drained chanelling so much fire, but she felt relieved to know the airship couldn't sustain any more damage. When the others caught up to her, they seemed surprised to see she had already dealt with the flames, and Azula just ignored them, pacing over to the door that led into the gondola, opening it before checking inside, seeing that the pilots were covering beneath their seats. They turned around and realised that it had been her that had come to save them, their expressions shifting to ones of near joy.

"Your highness!" one of them called out, "You have our thanks." he acknowledged, quickly getting up to bow for her, "The engineers were trying hard to put out the fires... but you must have dealt with them." he realised, and the Princess nodded.

"That I did." she confirmed, "We need to set up a perimeter around this craft to prevent the enemy from damaging it any further."

"Azula!" she heard Aang call out her name, and the Princess turned around, annoyed that she was being harassed when she was trying to ensure that everyone on the airship was safe.

"What is it?" she asked, stepping over to the door to look outside, only to see something she hadn't been expecting.

A contingent of earthbenders, clearly commoners from the city, given their very basic, varied attire, had just arrived, led by none other than Sokka, Ty Lee, and the other half of her guard. Her eyes widened, and she let herself smile, just glad to see that they were all alive. She jumped down out of the gondola, and approached the group; her boyfriend offered up a hand, waving eagerly as she tried to retain at least some visage of seriousness.

"It is good to see you all in one piece. I assume the artillery has been dealt with." she acknowledged, and Sokka nodded.

"Yes, we stopped them." he clarified, before smirking, "But, the earthbenders showed up at such a good time that we had to make use of them." he added, making the Princess furrow a brow, glancing back up towards the mines.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Yeah, you've probably been hearing shelling for the past hour. That... uh, that was us." he explained, making her begin to laugh; she hadn't expected that they'd go out of their way to actually seize control of the enemy weaponry and use it against them.

"Colour me impressed." the Princess spoke her mind, before gesturing to the whole group, "You all have my thanks. You have done us a great service today, and now, it seems that victory might be within reach."

"It's more than that, your highness." Shen spoke up, stepping forward, "We forced most of the enemy forces out of the mines. They fled into the city, and well, you would have been fighting them. They're on the run now." he explained, which helped clarify why there'd been so many soldiers moving in; they weren't just trying to seize the city centre, but get away from the artillery that had been turned against them.

"This turned out better than I'd expected." Toph piped up, patting the Princess on the back, "Better than you must have been thinking, right, Zappy?"

"Don't call me that." she warned her, pushing the earthbender away, before she glanced at the others, "But yes. We persevered, and..." she tried to say something, before sighing, "I really just want to sleep now." she admitted the honest truth, unwilling to continue putting up her visage of an unbreakable ruler.

"Eh, same here." Sokka agreed with the sentiment.

Before she could say anything else, Ty Lee leapt onto her, hugging her tightly, "You better not make us do anything stupid like that again!" she demanded, though clearly happy to see her, "I was worrying about you the whole time, Zula!"

"Y-yeah, I'm sorry about that." she mumbled, actually feeling a little bad, knowing she felt similarly, though the fighting had mostly distracted her from those thoughts; when Ty Lee stopped hugging her in a vice, Azula just patted her shoulder, "I'll make sure to avoid something like this again."

"Well... is this it?" Sokka asked them, before glancing towards the city, "There is going to be a lot to clean up." he noted with a dejected tone.

"Great." Toph sarcastically quipped, "Really looking forward to that."

"We can leave the cleanup to the troops. As soon as some more men get here, we'll head back to the City Hall. The engineers will deal with the airship as soon as they can." she explained her plans.

The pilots, who had climbed out of the airship, looked towards her, awkwardly standing while they awaited their orders; she gestured over to them, and pointed back towards the barracks that lay off in the distance, "You may take your leave when you wish."

"Oh, we'll probably... uh, stick with you for the moment, your majesty. In case there's any more soldiers around."

"Yeah, I would do that too." Aang agreed with the sentiment, before raising a hand to his forehead as he scanned about, "Should I go for another scout? Just to make sure we're not gonna get cornered here."

Azula stepped closer to him, feeling that she needed to warn him first, "Yes, but don't get too close to any soldiers. I don't want to have to run over to the other side of the city to save your sorry butt."

"Uh... got it." he reassured her with a thumbs up, before he unfurled the glider staff.

Once he launched himself into the air and began flying about, leaving the rest of them standing there awkwardly; one of the earthbenders strode up to Sokka and tapped him on the shoulder, "So, are we going to build some walls or something."

Azula snapped a finger at the earthbender, "Brilliant idea." she commended him, "Get to it!" she ordered them, and though the earthbenders didn't seem eager to take her commands, being civilians, Toph didn't have any issue, and quickly began raising up walls.

"So, is building easier than cleaning?" Sokka asked her, and she just gave him the finger as she began walking alongside the wall she was building around the airship, "Ah, so it is."

Katara grabbed her brother before he could go anywhere and pointed at him, "Don't you do anything again like that... please, Sokka." she requested, and he just chuckled.

"Ah, don't worry, Azula probably won't let me. So stick with her and you'll be fine."

"Heh." the Water Tribe girl let out a chuckle, glancing over to Azula, who just shrugged.

"I'll take that under consideration."

---

Sokka looked down at the disaster before him and let out a dejected groan; all his efforts were for naught, as Azula sat across from him with the smuggest grin he'd ever seen her give. Though he could have tried to continue, the battle was already over; he placed his hands on the table and dropped his head down.

"Fine, you win." he admitted defeat, and the Princess just hammered a fist into the table.

"Ha! Suits you right!" she ridiculed him, before pointing her thumb at herself, "Did you really think you could beat me, Princess Azula?"

He just let out a snicker hearing such gusto in her voice after such an inconsequential victory, and turned his head back up, "It's just Pai Sho."

"Exactly." she nodded, crossing her arms, "You thought just because I called my uncle and his White Lotus-loving friends fools, I didn't know any strategies... What a fool." she derided his efforts, and then pointed at him, "You might have beat Aang, but me? Hah, don't make me laugh."

"Out of all the things that could bring out the old Azula, I really wasn't expecting a stupid board game to do it." he observed her change in behaviour, and she just grinned.

"Oh, but I'll never change, Sokka. Winning is just my nature." she bragged, making him roll his eyes.

"Alright, alright, yeah, you're good, you can stop rubbing it in." he asked her, hoping she'd stop acting so uppity and prideful; he did enjoy it when she had self-confidence, just not when it was a result of his own incompetence.

"I never thought I'd enjoy it so much, but that face of utter despair just does it for me." she admitted her feelings with a grin, grabbing his cheek playfully to try and force him to smile.

"Hey, come on." he tapped her hand away, "If you're gonna grab my face you better at least kiss me."

"Nah, I'm not in the mood." she shrugged her shoulders, drawing her hands away.

"Dang it." he mumbled, "I thought that might work."

"Your flirting has never been your strong suit." she warned him, "Though it does have its charms at times."

"What are you gonna say next, that being a hick from the bottom of the world has 'its charms'?" he asked her, assuming what she might say next.

"The Southern Water Tribe is charming and admirable in its own ways, though that says nothing about you." she argued, making him cringe, impressed that he was able to compliment his people yet insult him at the same time.

"If being a smartarse was a competition you'd surely be world champion." he gave her his own backhanded compliment.

"Ah, a meta-insult, very nice." she noted with a tap of her chin, "But how could I one up you? Maybe... by actually knowing what meta means." she suggested, gesturing towards the Water Tribesman.

He grabbed his nose bridge, finding her biting statement both ridiculous and offensive, "Fuck, I don't know whether to laugh or get angry."

"In your defence, most people wouldn't. I have been afforded a premier education as Crown Princess of the Fire Nation." she noted, speaking more seriously than she had been before, and then rose up to her feet, "I guess you won't want to play again, given how thoroughly I destroyed you."

"I'll destroy you." he retorted back, and she looked at him, seeming amused before her cheeks flushed red when she realised what he was actually trying to say.

"I'll take that under consideration." she replied, before striding over to the nearby window, glancing out to the street below, "There's still things for us to do today."

"You could literally say that at any time. That's a terrible excuse." he retorted, and she raised a finger towards him, not even looking at Sokka.

"Yes, but it's not inaccurate." she argued, "Plus, I'm expecting to have a meeting with my war council at midday... which it nearly is. After that..." she began, before turning around, lighting a flame on her index finger, which burned a bright golden yellow instead of the usual blue, "You can try."

"You're saying that like it's a pitched battle." he noted, before snickering, "Shit, I really should stop reading Fire Nation strategy books. They're going to give me more metaphors and sayings to annoy you with."

Azula just shook her head, seeming to agree that he should avoid finding more ways to be a smartarse himself, "Don't get started on stupid proverbs... unless they're as pessimistic as me, which I will tolerate."

"Hey, I'm a realist... I'm on your side." he reassured her, before leaning his head back, and wondering if pessimists and realists really did agree, "I think. I'm not really ready to have a debate on outlooks."

"Yeah, because ours may be terrible... or brilliant, depending on the general intelligence of my father and his own war council." she warned him, and the Water Tribesman raised his hands to his chin, wondering if the strategy books would actually be more helpful than he was initially thinking.

"Maybe the books will do me some good."

"Oh, they certainly will." she agreed with the sentiment, striding back over to the table, "I could always use a second opinion from someone who's actually intelligent and not just following protocol they learned at an academy twenty years ago." she noted, and he smiled, glad she agreed.

"Yeah, I think I could." he admitted, before furrowing a brow, "But you should still listen to them. They've actually been fighting a war against the Earth Kingdom for all that time... I'm just a guy."

"Huh, 'just a guy'?" she questioned his humble statement, "That's the biggest understatement I've heard in a while."

"I am only worth as much as my... uh, actions, or whatever." he tried to give a proverbial response earning a snicker from the Princess, who just placed her left hand down his shoulder.

"Yeah, something like that." she seemed to agree, though she could have been trying to make another joke at his expense; it was a bit hard to tell at times, "But you are worth more than that." she added more quietly; because she was complimenting him, he knew she couldn't be making a joke.

He turned back to face her and smiled, glad for her support, even if he still thought he wasn't really as useful as she made him out to be; he might have been very useful for her personally, for advice and support, but for her people, and for her plans, he could only be as useful as the plans and actions he could provide.

That's why he felt so happy to have learned chi-blocking, feeling like he could even out the odds against even the strongest of opponents; Azula might have still been beating him in their daily spars, but she was truly the strongest- anyone else was someone lesser, weaker, and easier to deal with.

"So... what are we going to do then?" he asked her, knowing that Pai Sho wasn't an option anymore.

"Well, there's one thing I know you'd never refuse."

"Food?" he raised a brow, and she nodded, though she seemed slightly frustrated by his answer.

"As much as I'm offended you didn't say 'you', I am not surprised in the slightest."

"I mean, I can refuse you... because you can be stupid." he argued, and she raised a finger.

"Don't test me, savage."

"I literally test you every day. That's half my job." he argued, making her break down into a giggling fit; it wasn't the usual response he'd expect from her, but he didn't complain.

When she had regained her composure, she grasped him by the wrist and pulled him up from his seat, "Come on, if you want to eat, now's the time. Otherwise, we'll go into that meeting, while all you'll be thinking about is meat-ing." she warned him, Sokka not immediately spotting the pun.

When he did, he just grinned at her, "Oh, come here!" he leapt in for a hug, proud of her for pulling that one on him.

"N-no, no, no." she refused his hug, trying and failing to push him away, "I don't want approval for being genuinely annoying."

"Oh, you're usually annoying, but that was actually kinda cute." he argued, making her throw her hands up over her flustered face.

"Sh-shut- shut it now." she demanded, before taking a deep breath as she turned around, walking towards the door, "I don't want to look... nevermind."

"What, like we did something inappropriate instead of Pai Sho like we said we would?" he asked, assuming that was what she had refused to say.

"Yes." she confirmed, checking that her hair was in place; it wasn't, probably because his hug was a little rough.

Once her hair was pulled back up into the usual side bangs and topknot, she pulled the door open, "If you don't get out of the room, I'll melt the door handle shut."

He approached the door, though immediately considered a 'path of escape', as he would have if he'd actually refused, "I could just go through the window."

"And climb down two stories?" she asked, before tilting her head, "You could use the practice."

"Yeah, maybe I could." he agreed, before striding out the door, "But I want that food."

They then began making their way down the hallway, heading towards the kitchen that lay in the centre of the second floor, part of the mess hall for staff, which they'd been using as their own. When they arrived, he noticed that Toph was sitting there eating some noodles with Aang, who was trying to make Momo do tricks for his food, though he seemed to be failing terribly. When the Air Nomad spotted them, he gave the pair a wave.

"Hey, guys!" he addressed them, "How'd the Pai Sho go?"

"Terribly." Sokka admitted, making Toph snort, before she pointed at the Water Tribesman.

"Ha, so you got thrashed." she realised, "Of course the Princess is going to beat you, she's probably been playing the game since she was a toddler."

"That's not completely accurate, but... yes, I have more experience." Azula agreed with her point, before gesturing over to the pantry, "Go get something." she told him as she moved to sit down across from Toph and Aang.

Sokka eagerly paced over to the pantry, opening it up to see what was in stock; he knew that the staff hadn't been coming around as often since they took the city, so they were beginning to run low on food, meaning they'd have to actually start buying stuff. From a place where they shared all their food, the concept of paying for it was a bit odd to him, but he understood the reason why. People made a living off of farming and selling their crops, so of course, he'd have to pay for even the smallest morsel he could find in a market.

The best he could find in the pantry was some dried vegetables and noodles, and he took them out, before picking up a pot. Luckily there was a spigot of pumped water coming up to the first floor, so he didn't need to go downstairs to search for a well or something of the likes. He filled the pot up with water, and proceeded to place it down over the sink, hanging it up, so there was some space under it. He knew how a stove worked, but he had something far more efficient than a stove.

Whistling out, Azula turned her head, and she grit her teeth, "You've got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed, rising to her feeting, her eyes darting around, ready to grab something and toss it at his head, "I am not your stove!"

"No, you're my girlfriend, who happens to have the innate ability to cook things. I call that a great deal." he corrected her, and Toph snickered, clearly amused by their spat.

"Damn, he might have lost at Pai Sho, but he's got you there." she argued for his case, though that just earned her an icy glare from Azula.

She didn't seem any happier as she paced over to him, reaching her hands under the pot before setting them alight; the blue flames lit up the kitchen with their brightness, colouring their faces the same hue, making her look all the more intimidating, though he had to say there was an allure to it.

"You know, your flames make your eyes-" he began, the Princess leaning it closer, looking more like she was going to bite him than kiss him.

"Not another word." she demanded, his eyes turning down to watch as the water quickly heated up and then proceeded to boil; she drew her hands away and shook her head, her eyes reading disappointment, "Happy, savage?"

"Beaming." he told her, feeling that the only way out was doubling down; she did seem a little amused by that response, and she proceeded to walk back to where she was seated without smacking his head into the wall, which was a plus.

"I'm surprised you didn't hit him." Aang admitted, telling Sokka how well he'd gotten to know his girlfriend.

"It's called restraint, I've gotten very good at it." she clarified, sounding surprisingly smug, though maybe that was just to cover up her annoyance.

Sokka didn't pay her much mind as he grabbed the vegetables and noodles and tossed them into the now boiled pot, letting them cook; he then strode back over to the table, "It shouldn't take that long." he told her, though she initially refused to look at him.

After sitting there for long enough that he started feeling bored, and snapped a finger in front of the Princess's face; she turned her gaze back over to him, her cold glare more amusing than intimidating.

"What?" she snappily questioned him, and the Water Tribesman just shrugged.

"Well, you're not just gonna sit there in a mood, are you?"

"I can just watch Aang fail at getting Momo to do tricks." she argued, gesturing to the lemur, who was refusing Aang's beckonings as he tried to get him to do what he wanted with some berries as payment, "I don't need to talk to you."

"Maybe... but then I can just take that pot and eat the food all by myself." he suggested, and she just squinted.

"Wh-what? Are you trying to threaten me with food? I can literally just go into the pantry." she gestured behind her, and Sokka shrugged.

"Yeah, but will it taste any good?" he asked her, and the Princess didn't seem convinced.

"Do I look like I care?" she retorted, and Toph just snickered.

"I think you would." she gave her opinion, Azula pointing back at her without even looking her way.

"I didn't ask you." she snapped at her, before sighing, "I can't be bothered staying angry."

"Ah, see you're tired, that's why we need to eat." he reminded her, before scrunching his lips, turning to face the other, "What're you two going to do today?"

"Uh, help fix up the streets." Toph clarified, before turning her head slightly, not actually looking at Aang, "What about you?"

"I wanted to do some training, but I've got something else that needs doing." he explained, glancing over to Azula, "Remember that spirit thing you mentioned when we first got to the base?"

"Yes, that the villagers were complaining about. I remember." Azula confirmed, and he gestured to himself.

"Well now that we're done fighting, maybe I should go check it out. Do my Avatar duties, like you say." he argued, and the Princess shrugged.

"Can't hurt to try." she conceded, before scrunching her lips, "Are you going alone?"

"Well... does anyone want to go with me?"

"I'm sure Katara wouldn't mind it." Sokka suggested, "She loves feeling helpful."

"Don't you?" Aang asked, and the warrior just leaned back, putting his hands up behind his head.

"Oh, I do, but spirit stuff is not my kind of problem. I deal with people problems. The kinds that can be solved by persuasion, fighting or some technology." he explained his own stance; he knew he'd be less than useful when it came to spiritual matters, if not an outright hindrance.

"As would I." Azula agreed, and Toph nodded.

"Me too. Don't really care for the spirits either way."

"Well, we're all in agreement. Katara can go with you if she wants." Azula argued, and Aang scrunched his lips, seeming a little disappointed.

"Uh, what about Ty Lee?" he asked her, and she almost laughed.

"What about Ty Lee? Do you think she's going to want to head out into the sticks to deal with something she can't possibly understand?"

"Are you calling her stupid?" Toph asked, seeming amused by the suggestion; the Princess shook her head.

"Most people don't know much about the spirits, let alone spirits of another nation." she argued, "Ty Lee might be interested, but don't count her in just yet." she conceded, obviously wanting the girl's actual opinion.

The Princess wasn't so possessive as to make her decisions for her; perhaps in the past she might have, but she knew that Ty Lee was only around any of them out of her own free will, and could have stayed in the circus if she had chosen so. She still doubted her friend would go, probably wanting to remain with the comforts of civilisation found in Shengchang.

"And what about you, Sokka?" Toph turned her attention to him, and the Water Tribesman scratched the back of his scalp, unsure what to say; there were a lot of things that needed to be done, so he just had to figure out which to start with.

"Fixing the airship." he gave the first thing that came to mind, "We need that if we're going to get places... like Ba Sing Se." he suggested, and Aang squinted, seeming a little confused.

"Wait, what about Appa?" he asked, "Can't we just fly on him."

"With six people it will already be bad enough, but there's more people that might want to tag along. We need the airship to carry them. It can probably fit a few dozen people on it at least, especially if we retrofit it." Azula gave her own thoughts, and her boyfriend smirked.

"That's pretty much what I was thinking." he agreed, "When the fighters from New Omashu and the other warriors get over this way, we could definitely take them along."

"Well, we're not doing that for a while." Aang realised, "They haven't got here yet."

"Yeah, I know. That's why we've got to... uh, go deal with Arnook."

"The Chief?" Aang raised a brow, before he covered his face, recalling what had happened at the North Pole before they left, "Oh... yeah, that- uh, we kinda screwed up."

"That's on me, Aang." Azula took the blame, placing a hand on her sternum, "But yes, Sokka is right. We need to fly the airship over, preferably with some goods to sell to the North, so we can get that battleship back, and all the prisoners that come with it."

"Prisoners?" Toph raised a brow, "What, you actually want to have to deal with them?"

"Some of them included airship engineers and War Minister Qin, more importantly. He was the one in control of all the designs he had gathered in his position as minister. Most of those blueprints and plans are with us at the base, but many of them are with him personally." she clarified, "I cannot let him fall into the hands of my father, because that will allow him to make better use of those plans."

"So... he could make his own airships... probably even bigger, I'd guess." the earthbender presumed, and Sokka just cringed, knowing she was probably right.

"Yeah, that's what could happen." he agreed, "So, I need to go make sure it doesn't."

He turned around, and wondered if the food was cooked yet; he doubted it, and let out a sigh, wondering what he could do in the meantime.

"Already bored?" Azula asked him, sounding slightly amused, though she was probably just as bored herself.

"Hmph." he just grunted, and glanced at Momo, who was still taking the food without actually doing any tricks, "Maybe you should stop feeding him like that."

"But come on, if it works, it'll be so cool!" he argued, and Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." he grumbled, before glancing over to Toph, who didn't seem that amused anymore; she had finished her noodles, and probably wanted to go do something else.

"I'm going to find Ty Lee. Maybe she'll have something fun to do." she contended, and Sokka nodded.

"Yeah, she's pretty good at finding ways to waste time." he acknowledged, making Aang and Azula snicker, while Toph just shook her head, pacing away from them.

"Seeya." she farewelled them, making her way over towards the staircase.

Sokka glanced behind them, noticing some more footsteps in the distance that weren't coming from Toph; a few moments later, one of Azula's guards strode into the mess hall, with a scroll in hand.

"News!" Sokka exclaimed, "Ah, this ought to be interesting." he acknowledged, the guard ignoring his sudden words, and approached the Princess.

"Your highness, we've received a letter from... well, it's one of your brother's generals." he explained, and her eyes widened.

"Really?" she questioned the tenacity of what he'd said, before taking the scroll into her hands, "Where from, exactly?"

"A town called Heishan, due east of Yu Dao, past the mountains." he clarified, and the Princess furrowed a brow.

"Interesting." she mumbled, before rising to her feet, "Thank you, Yi." she acknowledged him, Sokka now recognising the man's voice; he'd been struggling to remember who was who, given they wore basically identical armour, though Renshu was rather obvious to pick out.

Yi strode away, presumably going back to his duty of protecting the building from assailants, leaving them in the room; Aang seemed intrigued by the letter, though Azula didn't seem to want him to look at it, pulling it closer to her chest.

"Sokka, let's go back to the room to read this. Aang, do me a favour and make sure the food doesn't sit in the pot for too long." she made requests of both of them, the two boys nodding, the Water Tribe warrior rising to his feet to follow his girlfriend as she paced back over into the hallway, intent on reading the letter in the privacy of their room.

Once she reached the door, she opened it up, immediately stepping inside, making him shut the door behind himself; Azula took the seat at the desk, and laid the scroll down. Sokka strode up behind her and stood while she broke the seal and unfurled the document.

Before them was an official military communication, with the seal of a general, which he recognised only from their earlier dealings with the Governor of Yi Province, General Boei. The seals were different, but of the same recognisable style. He didn't immediately start reading, more intrigued to see what could be deduced about the letter and its authenticity first.

"Do you know if this is real?" he asked her, and she nodded, seeming quite confident.

"It is."

"How can you be sure?" he asked, and she indicated down to another seal that he didn't recognise.

"That's my uncle's seal. He officiated this communication." she clarified, and Sokka's eyes widened.

"Huh, that's... yeah, that does it." he agreed with her confidence, glancing down to actually read the document.

It was a detailing of troop movements from Yu Dao, across the colonies, which told Azula that they were sending her a reinforcement of a whole division, the sixteenth specifically; a whole division meant a lot of soldiers, at least as much as they were dealing with in their last battle, and the actual composition sounded promising, given its prior role.

The letter indicated that most of the troops were part of the original expeditionary force Zuko had formed to secure the colonies after Azula's shenanigans in Yu Dao all those months prior; that meant that they would have been experienced with suppression of rebels, well armed, and trained to deal with weak supply lines due to insurgency. He understood this is what they would have been dealing with, because it was the kind of effect that was already being inflicted by Azula's army when it was under Zhao's command.

The letter quite helpfully gave an estimation of when the troops would arrive, which would be in four days, which was quite soon; sooner than any reinforcements on Ozai's side could move in to attack Shengchang again. That was good news, though he didn't really have any idea what the plans were on the enemy's side; they could have a whole fleet, full of troops, ready to move to the colonies.

He doubted Ozai had the manpower to spare for that, given most of the Fire Nation armies, from his own understanding, were still in the Earth Kingdom, primarily focused on occupying all the lands that were constantly beset by rebellion. The more they fought amongst themselves, the better a chance the rebels would have to rise up, which given their own plans, would only assist Azula's rise to the throne.

"They sound like they'll be useful." Sokka gave his opinion, "That means we could leave this city's defence to them, have a supply line to the Mo Ce Sea for your fleet."

"Leave and?" she asked, the Water Tribesman raising a finger.

"Go east, obviously." he acknowledged what that would mean.

"Yes... well, Ba Sing Se is next, if my father's men don't rain hell upon us again." she decided, before glancing towards him, "Do you think we can trust them?"

"We don't really have much of a choice." he conceded, cringing as he recalled what happened last time they went to Shengchang, "No matter what's already happened."

"Those bounty hunters were dealt with. I hope my father got the message if Zuko didn't." she spoke her mind, clenching a fist with a silent rage, rising back up to her feet, "We need to discuss this with the officers."

"So... are we really planning to go to Ba Sing Se?" he asked, and she nodded.

"It's the most obvious choice. Without the Earth Kingdom's capital, how can they unify themselves?" she asked rhetorically, raising a finger to her temple, "The Dai Li will learn why they should have remained in the shadows."

"I think they might prefer us over your father." he admitted, wondering what Ozai would do when he inevitably reached the greatest city in the world.

"He'd burn it all." Azula gave the answer he was looking for, "They'd be gone, but there would be little left to rule."

"We're not doing anything of the sorts." he assured her, "We'll find their leaders, have them face a tribunal for their crimes... and then, we'll make sure the people have the power for themselves."

"Don't want to give my own citizens any smart ideas." she suggested, presumably in jest, making him laugh awkwardly.

"Yeah... you might want to do something about that." he warned her, and the Princess just laughed, picking up the letter as she moved towards the door.

"They will see the truth of the world, and help us build a new world." she argued, "You heard what I said the other day. I am their servant, not the other way around." she acknowledged, before looking down at her robes, "I think I'll have to change my robes when I take my throne."

"What, do you actually want to dress like a servant?" he prodded her, and she just snickered.

"No, but I won't make myself look like a god. I don't need my ego stroked any more than it already is." she made a rather self-aware comment, something that amused him.

"Oh, so your ego is too big?"

"It's about right. Yu Dao and Shengchang balance each other." she explained her thought pattern, before opening the door, "Are you coming to the meeting, or what?"

"I can't miss your prideful, majestic speech. It'll be like music to my ears." he argued, though her expression made it seem like she didn't believe him.

"Was that sarcastic? You're getting too good at sounding like a kiss-arse and a smartass." she warned him, and the Water Tribesman just smirked as he strode past her and out the door.

"Your speeches are actually pretty good... I'm really going for the strategising though."

"Precisely." she nodded, before shaking her head, "Why do I have a feeling you would have done my own job better than me if you were in my shoes?" she asked, though he couldn't tell if that was a serious question.

"I don't think I would." he tried to reassure her, "I haven't been educated about... well, ruling and all that stuff, you have."

"Education isn't everything." she warned him, before sighing, "Though learning is the only way I've gotten this far."

The two of them paced around to the entrance of the chamber, which the Imperial Firebenders opened for them. Once the doors opened up, the officers lining the table rose up to their feet. He recognised almost all of them, and they bowed to the Princess, before returning to their seats; the couple strode around the table, sitting themselves down by the head, with Sokka placed at Azula's right, as would be expected. Once they sat down, Renshu and another guard, who he didn't immediately recognise, stood behind her.

"Good day, men. I am the bearer of good news, which you might have already heard of from my guards." she addressed the officers, whose expressions lit up, "The sixteenth division is moving east as we speak from the town of Heishan. It will be here in four days, approximately, and will solve our manpower issue permanently."

"That is good to hear, your highness." General Boei, the Governor of Yi Province, acknowledged; he was still in the city, awaiting the Princess's command to return to his base of operations, despite his work being effectively over once they had seized Shengchang, "Does this mean that my men and I may return to our original duties?"

"You may, though I do not believe my father's attacks are over. I will call on you when necessary, and I expect you to support the other colonial forces who are now aligned with us."

"Do we have any news from the Dragon of the West?" one of the other men, Colonel Baobi, asked; he was perhaps the most important man in the room, barring Sokka and Azula, given his high standing amongst the officers and the expectation that he would likely serve as military governor.

The Princess had not confirmed as such to Sokka, but he had guessed that ever since his elevation within the officer corps. He had achieved such a position thanks to the mutiny, meaning that he owed his success perhaps to his own cowardice, or conversely, his stalwart loyalty to the Princess, whichever made more sense for the Major himself.

"No, Colonel, I have not. I have sent some requests to my uncle, concerning the reorganisation of the navy to best protect our holdings in the Earth Kingdom, as well as sending some forces to Huang'an Province, as their garrison was what we utterly thrashed yesterday. The province should be easy pickings, and will help us form a land route to New Omashu and my allies located there. I have yet to receive a response, but I believe my requests will be followed as measured and straightforward as they are." she explained what she had told Iroh; Sokka did hope they heard back from him, if at least to ascertain he was safe, and had command of some troops to actually make effective the requests Azula was making.

Sokka cleared his throat, knowing that there were other matters that ought to be discussed, "Major Taka, do you have a scouting report?"

"Yes I do, Sir." he confirmed, pulling out a map that he laid down on the table before them, "We have sent out mounted squads to the west and south of the city, and the enemy forces seem to have been dispersed, taking up encampments in the hills; the core of the army, however, seems to be heading back towards the coast."

"Will they make contact with the Sixteenth Division?" Azula queried, the Major pointing down on the map, indicating the location of Heishan.

"According to the reports I've received, the Sixteenth Division will likely be too far north to catch the retreating enemy forces. The enemy has little reason to head west. It's full of mountains, and the railroad makes it easy for your brother's loyalists to mount a defence... not to mention Pohuai Fortress is located at the end of the railway. The Yuyuan Archers would make quick work of the scattered fools." he explained the reason they would likely not make contact, before stroking his goatee, "I do believe that those railroads will be of use to us."

"Have repairs been made?" she questioned Major Chui, who was expected to deal with such issues.

"My men have made preliminary assessments of the damages left by saboteurs after the first battle. We probably won't have trains running for at least another week, though we could use a combination of the railway and baggage trains to move supplies from here to the coast." he explained, "I also have the airship to be worried about, so I am unsure what should be prioritised at the moment."

"The airship, certainly. My brother's forces are avoiding the railway anyway, presumably because of the saboteurs... we will use it when the time comes." she gave her answer, and placed her hands down on the table, "So, what is the latest report from Yingang?"

"Commander Koun has secured access to the shipyards, and has acquired some brand new vessels to supplant some of our vessels damaged in the earlier campaign against the Northern Water Tribe." one of the officers clarified, "He tells me that he has complete confidence that we can have supply lines into the Mo Ce Sea within a week. If Yu Dao dares to resist your rule, it will not last long."

"We aren't going to force any surrenders just yet, Major." Azula assured the officer, "My brother's forces at least seem open to supporting me due to my agreements with my uncle. They will fall in line as soon as Koun's ships arrive in port." she explained, before furrowing a brow, "Have we received word from Admiral Liang yet on his dealings with my father's forces?"

"No word just yet, your highness." the Major clarified, sounding frustrated, "His loyalty to General Iroh is well known, though I am unsure if he will be able to prevent your father from landing troops on the mainland, especially with the Southern Raiders potentially sailing north to your father's aid."

"I was aware of that possibility, that is why we need to move as many forces into the Mo Ce Sea as possible. Without control there, we will never be able to reach the capital and depose my father." she acknowledged the importance of their naval strategy.

Sokka wasn't as well versed on what exactly was going on in that regard, but he understood that the two sides of the civil war, if that's what one wanted to dumb it down to, were primarily contesting things at sea, splitting the massive navy of the Fire Nation between themselves. It was presumably going to be easier for them there, given they had more than half the original navy on their side.

Azula had a large portion of the whole navy under her direct control, which was originally placed under Zhao's command for his battle with the Northern Water Tribe, and the Western Fleet, another large portion, was commanded by Liang, a Zuko loyalist. Only Admiral Chan, leader of the Eastern Fleet, the Southern Raiders, and some renegade commanders stood against them, though Ozai had control of the homeland, where they must have been constructing most of their ships. If given enough time, he could produce the ships to defeat them, creating more urgency for them to move on the capital and defeat him. He guessed that once they took Ba Sing Se, it wouldn't be a huge stretch for them to push out of the East Lake, and go back to the Eastern Sea to defeat Chan.

Sokka didn't know if he wanted to return there, given the memories he had associated with his first fateful encounter with Azula. Things certainly hadn't gone his way then, though in hindsight, if he hadn't failed, then perhaps the Princess wouldn't be sitting beside him, ready to rule her nation in a way that even he could get behind, a foreigner who once despised the Fire Nation.

"Now, we will likely have a number more meetings before I have to deal with the Earth Kingdom issue, but until then, I hope that we can gather more intelligence to plan our liberation of the colonies. Until then, I wish you all the best, and please, make sure to report any suspicious activities to Jianren or my guards. They will make sure that any traitors are dealt with... we cannot have them breaking our pace now."

The officers rose to their feet, and bowed to the Princes, before they all strode out the door, leaving them in the chamber with just her guards.

Sokka, having waited for them to leave, finally let out a sigh, "Well that went better than I thought it would."

"What, did you expect them to tell me to march further west and strike Pohuai?" she asked her boyfriend, who shook his head.

"No, I was just expecting worse news. It actually feels like things are coming together."

"You're going to curse our chances." she warned him, and Renshu leaned over.

"Things are terrible, your Father is Fire Lord and wants us all dead, and soon enough he will bring all his energies here to kill us all, and there is nothing we can do to stop him." he gave comments of the complete opposite attitude, and turned to face her, "So, does that even out his comments, your majesty?"

Azula just let out a sigh, perhaps actually believing some of his extreme comments to be true, even if they were just in jest.

"If fate works that way, then we might yet have our victory."

"Well, enough about victory." Sokka hammered his fist onto the table, "What about lunch?" he asked her, and her eyes widened as she realised they had forgotten about it, having gone to read the letter and then to meet with the officers.

"He's right." she mumbled, raising a hand to her cheek.

"I'm more hungry for lunch than I am for victory."

---

Dusting off his robes, Aang smiled as he realised he was finally going to be wearing his normal clothes again; it had been months since he had been consistently wearing his monk's robes, which were replaced by a Fire Nation disguise, Water Tribe parka and tunic, and then back to the Fire Nation disguise. Though he didn't mind any of those clothes, he much preferred his old ones, though they felt weird paired with his now messy short hair.

His hair had not been growing for very long, but it was already forming a short set of bangs over his forehead, and the hairs flickered about whenever he was airbending, causing an odd sensation. He hoped once he no longer had to disguise himself any more, he could shave his scalp again, though he didn't really mind the hair; Katara had said she thought suited him, so he wouldn't change it any time soon.

He picked up his bag, which contained some dried food and tools for him to use when they went camping out in the wilderness, and hung it over his shoulder, before grabbing his glider staff. Katara was across from him, picking up her own things and putting them into a bag, while Toph, as per usual, was lying off in the hammock nearby, seeming completely ignorant of their imminent departure.

"Toph, are you gonna say goodbye?" he asked her, and she tilted her head his way.

"Bye." she briefly spoke, before turning her head away once more; the smug look on her face immediately told him that was a joke.

"Real funny, Toph." Katara sarcastically acknowledged her fake farewell, "Come on." she prodded her, and the earthbender let out a long groan.

"Fine." she grumbled, jumping out of the hammock, before she punched Aang in his arm, despite the fact he hadn't been the one to prod her.

"Hey!" he gasped out, before glancing down, realising she hadn't even used her seismic sense when she went to hit me, "How'd you even do that?" he asked, and the earthbender just smirked.

"I'm blind... but you were really close. It's not that hard to guess where you were."

"What if you punched me in the face?" he asked, and she just shrugged.

"Well, that was a sacrifice I was willing to make." she reassured him with a mocking tone of airy nobility, "You are but a peasant on a sky-bison." she derided him, making him snicker, finding her comments rather stupid.

"And you're- uh, you're short." he tried to come up with an insult, and she crossed her arms.

"I'm not short." she argued, "I'm nearly as tall as Katara!" she gestured in the general direction of the other girl.

"Uh... nearly is a stretch." the Water Tribe girl implicitly agreed with Aang's comment, which annoyed her more than his actual attempt at insulting her.

"Oh, shut up, Sugar Queen. If I met you a year ago, I would have thrashed you without a second thought. You're just lucky you happen to be good at stealing and your brother's good at persuading." she argued, making Aang scrunch his lips up; the Water Tribe boy had played a role in persuading Pakku, but his guilt over how he treated Katara's grandmother was what really persuaded him to train her.

"But Sokka-" he began, and Katara raised a hand.

"No, let me handle this." she stopped him from saying anything else, "You're right, but I wasn't talking about fighting. I was just saying you're really not that tall." she argued, and that just angered Toph even further, who reached behind her for the brick wall.

Aang leapt at her, grasping her arm before she could try anything, "N-no, no! Don't do that." he pleaded, "Can't we just stop arguing? I'm sorry for calling you short."

"You're not good at insulting me." Toph pulled her arm free, "Shithead here definitely is." she pointed at Katara, not even trying for a nickname, jumping straight to a hard insult.

"Hmm... Thank Azula for all the practice I got. I had to deal with her shit for six months straight." she reminded them, and the earthbender let out a laugh.

"Wow, she's better at training you to be a dick than she is at training Sokka at chi-blocking." she commended Azula with a sort of back-handed compliment; he wasn't sure if it was that nice to say, but he ignored it anyway.

"Can we stop it now?" he asked them, and Katara just raised a finger to her chin.

"Maybe I was always mean, and she just let me express it."

"I don't think being a dick works like bending." Toph gave her own opinion, "That's learned, not inherent." she argued, crossing her arms, "Otherwise how can you explain Azula becoming... uh, less of one?"

The Water Tribe girl nodded approvingly, "Hmm, okay I've got to agree with you there."

Aang had had enough of waiting for Katara, seeing her bag was already looking full; so he stepped over to her, and said it straight to her face.

"Are you ready?" he asked the Water Tribe girl, who had just finished tying up her bag, and slung it over her shoulder.

"The cookware bags are on Appa, right?" she asked, and he nodded; they had left them there, given that the warehouse had all the kinds of cooking equipment they'd need to make meals for themselves, "Then yes, I'm ready."

With that, the two of them made their way down the stairs, following after Toph, who led them down to the front door; the pair waved to some of Azula's supporters who were still working away with their printing presses, creating posters to laud the new rule of the Princess in the city. It seemed that they were still going strong with their goal of making propaganda for Azula, or simply just about her; he couldn't recall if she ever even called herself 'the Blue Dragon'.

When they got out the front door, they were greeted by Appa, who was flanked by the rest of the group, awaiting their departure. Ty Lee and Azula were chatting, or gossiping, which specifically he couldn't tell, while Sokka gave Appa a pat; Toph just stood there in front of them with her arms crossed.

"Ah, so you're ready to go?" the Water Tribe warrior asked, the two of them nodding; he stepped past Toph and gave them both a hug, "You better not let my sister get into any trouble, Aang."

Katara seemed offended by that, "What do you mean get in trouble? He's the twelve year old." she argued, and Azula raised a finger, jumping into their conversation.

"But you see, you were the one who thought stealing a waterbending scroll was a genius idea." she reminded her, the Water Tribe girl pouting.

"But they stole it first."

"That didn't make it a stupid idea." Sokka warned her, before rustling her hair, "Love you." he told her, and she just giggled, butting her forehead against his own.

"I love you too." she reassured her brother, before the hug was broken.

"So, how long do you think this will take?" Ty Lee asked the pair, Aang raising a finger to his chin, knowing only the name of the village he was heading to and its general locale.

"Well how far away is Chunxi?" he asked, and Azula scrunched her lips up.

"Major Taka told me that from here, it's around a four day march, situated between here and Huangcha." she clarified, "So, it will take around a day to get there and a day to get back here."

"So, not very far." he realised, "If the spirit is nice, and doesn't kick up a fuss... I guess I'll be back in three days. But it could be longer than that." he conceded, and Azula placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm expecting that Hakoda's ships will be heading here as we speak. They might arrive by the time you return."

"Well, they can't get here." Toph noted, "How can a boat get here?"

"They're going to the base." Azula reminded her, "We will meet up with him there, along with the airship, and move as many forces as we can east. Within three weeks, we shall be within Ba Sing Se's walls."

"According to your plan." Sokka reminded her, "When have all our plans gone as expected, can I ask?" he rhetorically questioned the solid nature of her timeline; Aang understood that things weren't always going to turn out the way they wanted them to, but that didn't mean that he'd expect them to flop again.

"Shut up." she retorted, not coming up with an actual response, "Unless a spirit decides to terrorise Shengchang itself or the base, there is no way we will be delayed any more than a week." she declared, "In which case, we use Aang to destroy said spirit."

"I don't know if that's a good idea." he admitted, and she rolled her eyes.

"You did remember what the Fire Sages said, didn't you?" she asked, and Aang scrunched his lips, confused about what she was trying to say, "They were saying that the destruction of the environment is causing the spirits left in our world to turn against humanity. This won't stop because of the war ending... so, the spirits should learn their place."

"I- uh, got that, but I can't kill spirits. I mean, I don't want to, and don't think I can." he explained himself, hoping she'd understand, "Maybe I could get them to return to the Spirit World, but that might not work."

"Azula's got a point here, as stupid as it sounds out loud." Sokka backed up the Princess, "The spirits might be worshipped by some, but if people don't want to, it's not fair that they should destroy their homes. The spirits have their own world... humans only have this one."

"I know." Aang nodded, "We just can't fight them... that won't help anyone. You don't want to make people think Zhao was a good guy, right?"

"Well, I don't remember any koi fish gods going around kidnapping people or vanishing whole villages... assuming the sages weren't exaggerating on those parts." Sokka argued, and Aang looked down, feeling conflicted.

He knew the boy had a point, but he couldn't just let people fight the spirits, or undermine them further; balance couldn't just be about the nations, it had to be about humans and spirits too.

"Well, I'm trying to balance the world, not... get rid of every and anything that might ever hurt a person. Do you want me to- uh, I don't know, get rid of sabre-tooth moose lions, because they might try and eat someone?"

"I mean, that's not completely unreasonable." Azula argued, as she obviously would.

"Uh." he mumbled, facepalming as he hoped somebody would just change the conversation topic.

"So... uh, what are you all doing while we're gone?" Katara asked the others, finally letting somebody speak about something that wasn't going to make Aang either stressed or afraid.

"I'm gonna do some building." Toph declared, pointing her thumb to her sternum, "I know it's dirty work, and it's not as fun as fighting, but I mean, I've already been doing it here."

"So, at the base?" Katara guessed, and the earthbender nodded.

"Yep, that's the idea. Jianren wants to make it into a village... or a town, or whatever, it better be one with nice, big buildings, made of stone, of course." she explained her idea, Azula placing a hand on her shoulder.

"As much as I would hate to degrade my own bending art in such a manner, I am impressed you have a liking to something that doesn't involve smacking people with rocks." she gave her thoughts, which sounded a little offensive; she spoke as if Toph was unable to think of anything but fighting.

"Hey, you might be less of a dick than my parents, but don't start acting like one." she warned her, and that made both Sokka and Katara giggle, the Princess immediately shooting them a frustrated, cold glare, making them shut up immediately.

"So then... what after that?" Aang asked, and Toph shrugged her shoulders.

"You heard Azula. The Water Tribe ships will get to the base soon enough. Then we're all going." she reminded him, "So, we'll do work for as long as we can."

Katara crossed her arms, and turned her gaze to her brother, "So, what are you going to do? Spar with Azula?"

"No, I have other things to do." he reassured her, "The airship isn't fixed yet, but when it is, I'm going straight for the North. Once Arnook is appeased with the reparations I'll bring along, we can get the battleship back, and make sure none of the prisoners end up in Ozai's hands." he explained his plan, and his sister nodded.

"That's a good idea. Maybe you can ask about the whole... uh, reconstruction thing." she suggested, and Sokka grimaced.

"I have a feeling they're still going to want to do things on their terms. In any case, Dad can deal with them when the time comes." he decided; Hakoda was the leader of the South's warriors, after all, so he'd be the first person the Northern Water Tribe would want to address before they started any plans to provide aid.

"How long will that take?" Aang asked, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"As soon as we have the airship working, I doubt it'd take any longer than Appa would to fly there and back." he gave an estimate, "So a week at most."

"Then we take the airship to Ba Sing Se." Azula clarified, "That's the plan."

"What about the other Earth Kingdom rebels?" Aang asked, knowing that they were intending to find some more of them to ally with.

"The airship just makes it quicker to reach them." she argued, "That should take a few weeks at most, and we'll have all the support we could need to assist the new government."

"Uh yeah... speaking of that, who is going to rule?" Toph asked, "I mean, you're not just going to let some random guy from Ba Sing Se rule the whole country."

"Precisely. The Earth Kingdom will decide upon its system of government, but they will need a ruling council in the meantime. It will be formed of rebel leaders, obviously." she explained her plans, "That's part of why I want Jianren to come with us to Ba Sing Se. He's just one of many."

"Yeah." Sokka nodded, crossing his arms, "So, you better get this spirit stuff dealt with quickly, alright?" he asked, and Aang gave him a thumbs up.

"I'll try my best. I haven't really tried anything like this before." he acknowledged his own inexperience.

"Eh, you're pretty quick at learning things." Toph noted, "How quick did you learn waterbending?"

"In a few weeks." he realised what she was saying, "I mean, I'm still not that good."

"But compared to Katara before we left the South Pole?" Sokka asked in return, offending his sister.

"Hey! I wasn't that-" she began, Azula raising a hand.

"Don't bother." she warned her, "You might be a prodigy like me... but you literally could only, what, break an iceberg apart? You were like a toddler trying to pick a lock." she gave an analogy that amused Aang; he just tried to imagine a baby trying to lockpick and realised that the only way they could open a lock would be by breaking it, "Strong, but not skilled."

"Why are you all so mean?" she asked with crossed arms, and Aang placed a hand on her shoulder, making her tilt her head back up to look at him.

"You're really good at waterbending, Katara. You just didn't have any way to learn... like I had the monks since as long as I could remember."

"And I had tutors." Azula noted, Toph snickering.

"I had badgermoles." she recalled, before crossing her arms, "Hmm, then how come you couldn't learn from the moon?"

"Uh... I don't think she thought of that." Sokka conceded, "I mean, we're not like the Northern Water Tribe. They worship Tui and La as their gods... we just think the moon and ocean are just that, things that are part of the world."

"So the choice is between being unaware and untrained or being, uh, forced to learn only healing?" she asked, and Katara nodded.

"Well, I learned how to fight anyway. They couldn't stop me... I mean, Pakku couldn't stop-" she began, before imitating Sokka or Ty Lee jumping around using their feet and hands to chi-block, "All that!"

"Is that what I look like?" the acrobat asked Azula, seeming a little embarrassed by the idea.

"You're far more graceful." the Princess reassured her, and glanced over to Sokka, "That, however, would be an accurate depiction of you." she argued, making him pout.

"Thanks, Azula." the Water Tribesman mumbled, before he perked his head up once more, "So, what are you doing?" he asked his girlfriend, "I mean, I can guess, but you might as well tell these two." he gestured to Aang and Katara.

"Making sure the factions in this city don't kill each other over their petty grievances."

"I mean, not all of them are that petty. Some people here are really suffering because of the Fire Nation's unfair treatment of foreigners and poor people." Toph warned her, and the Princess just raised a hand to her cheek.

"Yeah, and so that makes it more likely they'd do something stupid." she argued, before shaking her head, "In any case, I need to make sure Shengchang doesn't fall apart before we leave... and make sure my brother's cronies don't screw everything up either. Once my uncle actually gets his act together, then we won't have to worry, but last thing I heard from you all was that he was holed up in New Omashu with his White Lotus buddies." she recalled, and Aang sheepishly grinned.

"Should have we... uh, given him a ride here?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"No, you shouldn't have." she retorted, "He has no allies here, other than Boei, who can't take all the colonies himself. It's best that he remains with those he trusts, who won't betray him to Ozai at the first opportunity." she argues, "That goes for all of us. We need to be cautious when dealing with these people."

"Which people, specifically?" Sokka asked, and she raised a finger.

"Anyone. It could be the local Fire Nation businessmen, Chief Arnook, Boei himself. Anyone could betray us if they see the opportunity."

"The North wouldn't side with them." Katara argued with crossed arms, clearly in disbelief of what she was saying.

"No, but if the choice was between aiding my father and getting invaded by his armies once he gets around to destroying us, what do you think Arnook would choose?" she questioned her in return; Aang quivered for a moment at the suggestion of what she was saying, because it made sense.

If he was really trying to serve his people, like how Azula wanted to serve her own, then he would do what would make them safe, not what was the most honourable or righteous thing. Azula had already proved that with all her prior actions; she was never going to be nice, but she wouldn't undermine her own nation, that was obvious enough. Though he didn't think Arnook was the same kind of leader as Azula, he must have had the same things he had to worry about.

"Wow, she's... not wrong." Toph admitted, before glancing at the group, "Before you ask, I promise I won't betray you for the chance to rule the Earth Kingdom."

"Wh-what?" Ty Lee asked, "You think Ozai would offer the country to you?" she asked, and the earthbender shrugged.

"I mean I'm a noblewoman from one of the richest families in my country, and I am the greatest earthbender alive." she argued her case, before raising a finger, "But I won't do anything like that. I've spent the past few years trying to destroy all the guys like him."

"Yeah, enough hypotheticals." Azula argued, "The point is, I have my work set out for me. We have to remain a step ahead at all times."

"So, who's next on the list?" Katara asked, "I mean, first Zhao, then who's going after him? You must have people that oppose you... I mean besides your dad." she clarified, knowing that Azula had basically been fighting with others constantly since she took over the base.

"If you'd asked me a few weeks ago, I would have said my uncle, but now... I don't know, whoever's willing to aid my father but professes loyalty to my dead brother." she guessed, and Sokka tapped his chin.

"Uh, so Boei?" he guessed, and the Princess sighed.

"Yeah, pretty much." she confirmed, before she turned her attention toward Aang and Katara, "But don't worry about any of that. That's my problem, and these spirit matters are just as important. In the long term, they might be more important than anything we do here." she acknowledged what really mattered; Aang was surprised to hear her say that, but her earlier statements about destroying the spirits and keeping them out of the human world lined up with that- she wanted the problem solved, one way or another.

"I'm glad you're- uh, treating the spirits seriously." Aang acknowledged, and she stepped over, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you take me for a fool?" she asked him rhetorically, though he felt obliged to answer.

"N-no! You're smart." he reassured her, and the Princess just huffed.

"A fool would ignore power when it is obviously there. You might not be a spirit, but you wield some of their power... they are not like humans. A bender can be restrained, or killed. Can a spirit?" she asked him, and he gulped, not actually having an answer to that; being pacifists, the Air Nomads would never consider actively harming a spirit, so he had never been told if they could be physically defeated.

"I already said... I don't know if I can." he admitted, before shaking his head, "I'll make sure the spirits understand why the world has changed... if they listen."

"Make them." Sokka spoke up, "You have all that power for a reason. I think this is one of them."

He nodded, resolute in his aim to bring peace between humans and spirits, wherever he found strife; he knew that the spirit in Chunxi was just one of many, and it could take years to deal with them all. That was his job, after all, so he would do everything he could; however, he couldn't just ignore the issues in the physical world, between humans. Whatever Ozai had planned, it would only further anger the spirits, that was certain enough.

Thinking back to their farewells, he realised neither he or Katara had bothered to ask Ty Lee what she'd be doing, though he guessed she'd probably be trying to help Azula; with her kind personality and affability, he wouldn't be surprised if she'd be better at trying to get the local groups to agree with each other than Azula would, even considering the Princess's political skills and training.

"So, uh, Ty Lee... what will you do?" he asked her, and her head perked up, seeming surprised to be addressed.

"Uh, I'm going to help Azula. She's hopeless when it comes to people." she joked, the Princess scrunching her lips up, not even getting visibly angry.

"I think I've improved."

"Yeah, but that's mostly because of Sokka." she reminded Azula, who crossed her arms.

"You can't give him that much credit. Do you think he could persuade everyone here into doing what he wanted them to?"

"Not without a proper show of force." Sokka gave his own opinion, "That's where... uh, well, your reputation helps." he noted, reminding them all that Azula was only able to get as far as she had due to the world's preconceived views of her, though they seemed to have gotten in the way of her making allies at times.

"Force was shown." Azula noted, before glancing back at her friend, "So you think you can do politics better than me?"

"Uh, politics, no. Get people to like you, definitely." she argued, "I'm your number one supporter, remember?" she declared, the Princess seeming amused by the suggestion.

"Well, you can try, but I think I've got this under control."

"No, I think you can use all the help you can get." Katara gave her own opinion, "Ty Lee's pretty good with people, and there's a lot of people who probably have issues with what you're doing. How are you going to get them to support you without talking to them?" she asked, before raising a finger, "And before you say having the airship tower over their homes, that's... that's not going to work forever."

"Someday you'll have to be Fire Lord, without a war to fight." Aang noted, and the Princess just smiled.

"And I look forward to that day. Ruling is so much easier when you can just delegate to competent individuals." she argued, and both Sokka and Ty Lee turned their gazes to her, probably assuming they were the ones being referred to.

"Uh, yeah. That's how it works." Sokka agreed, before he gestured to Appa, "So, are you two heading out now?"

"Not without a group hug you aren't!" Ty Lee declared with a raised fist, before grabbing Azula and Sokka, dragging them over into a hug with Aang and Katara.

The Air Nomad let out a giggle as the group tightly hugged each other; though she was hesitant, Azula even reached around, scruffing his hair.

"Toph, you're missing out." Sokka warned her, and the earthbender let out a sigh; he couldn't see her, but she reached into the hug; he knew she was there, because she flicked him on the shoulder, before the hug was broken.

"Hugs are nice." he smiled at them, before he let out a sigh, "Well..." he began, before launching himself up into the air, landing on the saddle.

Katara stepped past the group, reaching a hand up, which he grabbed, helping him push herself up onto the saddle. Once they were both on top, their eyes turned back down to the others, who all looked up at them intently, barring Toph, for obvious reasons.

"Well I guess we're going to get flying." the Water Tribe girl admitted, "I hope everything goes well here... I mean, things haven't been great, but- well, we won."

"For now." Azula conceded, before nodding, "Don't do anything stupid while I'm not there."

"What kind of stupid?" she asked in return, and the Princess pointed at the two of them.

"You know what I mean. Anything like back when we went to the circus. Remember that?" she prodded, reminding them to not steal anything as Katara had done.

"So, don't annoy people by stealing their stuff... got it." Aang agreed to her request, "I promise I'll stop Katara from stealing anything." he added, wanting to emphasise he wasn't to blame for her actions, even if he had aided her at the time.

"How responsible." Toph mumbled with a smirk, while Katara turned to face him.

"Come on." she pleaded quietly, and he just chuckled.

"The jokes are funny. You're older than me. I trust you." he reassured her, before glancing back at the others, "What's happening today, anyway?"

"The airship needs fixing." Sokka spoke up, before glancing at the others, "Repairs need to made to a lot of houses... but we can't expect the soldiers to do all the work there."

"I mean it is Azula's fault." Toph argued, "You should make your people clean up the mess." she suggested, and the Princess pinched nose bridge.

"I don't have any earthbenders working for me who could get the job done quickly, unless you're suggesting I make Jianren do all the heavy lifting?" she asked, the double meaning not missing Aang, who let out a chuckle.

"Nice one." he commended her joke, and she just smirked.

"Good, I was hoping Sokka's humour would rub off on me eventually." she spoke her mind, and the Water Tribe warrior just placed his hands on his hips, looking rather triumphant.

"And thus, everything good in this life of ours is thanks to yours truly."

"Don't blow your tsungi horn too much, Sokka." Aang warned him, knowing that being arrogant was a surefire way to mess up easier; he'd learnt that well from the monks after his antics had gotten him in trouble more than a few times.

"Hey I want credit where it's due." he argued, before scrunching his lips, "Though crowds are a bit of a problem. That's why I prefer she does the talking." he gestured to his girlfriend, who gestured to Ty Lee in turn.

"Why don't we let the 'one who's good at getting people to like her' to deal with them?" she suggested, and Ty Lee raised her hands up.

"Hey, I can't write speeches, unless you want me to give a rousing speech on the benefits of acrobatics to your health." she warned them, and both Sokka and Toph laughed at that.

"You know, I really wanna hear that one." the earthbender admitted, "It's probably gonna be hogwash, though."

"Sorry?" she asked, "It does help. It gets rid of all the negative energy, and helps you work up your strength. I might not be a hulking wrestler like you, but I'm not a twig." she argued with a degree of confidence and gusto Aang hadn't really heard from her before.

"Arm wrestle?" Toph offered her in return, Ty Lee raising a fist with a smirk.

"Oh, you're on!" she agreed to the proposition before the two of them walked inside.

Aang and Katara gave them a wave goodbye, and Ty Lee waved back, though Toph seemed to ignore them; he thought maybe it was because she couldn't sense them while they were sitting on Appa.

He turned his gaze over to Azula and Sokka, who seemed to be eyeing each other more than they were looking at him and Katara, "So, I guess we're going to have to go."

"Yeah, I guess." the Water Tribe girl agreed, before waving to her brother and his girlfriend, "We'll miss you. I mean, as much as we can. You're both pretty annoying." she added what seemed like an obligatory insult, making the pair laugh.

"Oh, you say we're annoying, but when was the last time I tried to moralise you?" her brother asked, and she shrugged.

"I mean you moralised those Northern nobles. I mean that what it sounded like you were saying... though it wasn't the most interesting thing that happened that day." she acknowledged, making the Water Tribe boy furrow a brow, seeming confused; Aang recalled, however, what she was referring to- Yue had tried to flirt with him, or at least, that's what Sokka made it sound like.

He was obviously going to try and forget that so it couldn't be used against him by Azula; when he realised what they were talking about, his jaw dropped, "Uh, yeah, definitely was." he responded nervously, "How about you get going, or I'll bear hug you both to death." he warned them, and Katara feigned fear, moving over to the reins.

"You heard him Aang, our hands are tied, we gotta go." she told him, before giving a wave to the pair.

"See you guys soon. Stay safe!" she called out as she whipped the reins, Appa groaning.

"She was talking about the Water Tribe Princess, wasn't she?" Azula deduced, and that was the last thing they heard before Katara made the call.

"Yip yip!"

With that, the sky-bison groaned and launched himself up into the air, Aang leaning over the saddle's edge to wave at the others as they flew up into the air; their figures shrank with each passing moment, though he could clearly see Sokka frantically defending himself before he rushed inside. By then they were just blurs on one of many streets. Shengchang's sprawl became quite apparent in the air, and the devastation caused by the battles had become obvious.

The outskirts remained in tatters, and though nothing was burning anymore, countless homes lay in ruin, wooden beams and partial brick walls standing up where there wasn't otherwise a building to support. Beyond them he glanced over to the woods, where the city's iron mines lay; they were surrounded by clearly leafless trees, burnt during the fighting, which allowed him to make note of a number of craters that must have been formed when Sokka and the others destroyed the artillery pieces there.

As the familiar sights grew further afield, his attention was turned back to Katara, as well as Momo, who had been sleeping on the saddle, but was now flying with them, whether he liked it or not. He expected that the flying lemur would tag along anyway, but now that he was awake, he seemed a little confused.

"Don't worry little guy, we're just going on a trip. I'm sure there's going to be heaps of berries and fruit for you to eat." he suggested, knowing that it was now spring, and with the warming weather, fruits and berries would be growing on trees and bushes.

"We sure will." Katara agreed with his suggestion, before glancing back at him, "Do you think they'll be okay?"

"I don't know." he admitted, before giving as reassuring a smile as he could muster, "But I trust them. Azula knows what she's doing."

"She might... but I'm- well, I don't want a repeat of what happened with Zhao." she acknowledged; though Aang didn't understand all the specifics, it was obvious that Azula had miscalculated when it came to Admiral Zhao, and might have been better served arriving and arresting him on the spot, along with any of his cronies.

Of course, Aang didn't know what would have happened when she left their campsite, set on dealing with Zhao and making herself the Fire Lord. Nor could have they known what would happen to her brother; things had become more complicated, but had become more simple in other ways. There was one enemy, Ozai, with a swathe of people that might support him, for whatever reason. Then there was the Dai Li, who had made all of Azula and Sokka's prior efforts pointless, taking back Ba Sing Se. The only good thing about that was that he could more easily get the Earth Kingdom public to support him getting rid of them rather than forcing some Fire Nation soldiers to vacate the city just because he or Azula asked nicely.

He might have been optimistic, but he knew what they were all capable of; his friends were not weak, and they were not stupid, no matter what insults they threw each other's way, "I trust you all."

"Thank you." Katara smiled, glancing back ahead to the forest they were flying over, "I just hope that other people will too... I mean, trust you, and Azula. The Fire Nation obviously doesn't like you that much... but I think they will. You're not trying to destroy them, and you're not just the Avatar. You're a person." she gave her thoughts on his own position, which he wished was better; he had no control over the propaganda that Sozin and his successors had made against the Avatar, but he could act in the present, and disprove it all.

"I don't really know what balance is... I mean, what the other Avatars might have said would have worked before the war. But now, things are different. I don't want all these people to just keep fighting each other."

"Neither do I." she agreed, before sighing, "But I want justice."

"For your mother?" he asked, knowing that, of all things, was what was probably on her mind; she wanted to help the world, but she had her own heart to worry about too.

"Yes... and for everyone who's lost their families. I might think Jet and his friends are a little misguided, but so was I. That doesn't mean that their anger is wrong."

"Yeah, it isn't." he agreed, scrunching his lips; he didn't want to think about what happened to Monk Gyatso and everyone else he knew, but he couldn't help it- the image was etched into his mind forever, "Hurting people isn't the answer."

The Water Tribe girl mightn't have truly agreed with him; he could see the anger in her eyes, but she nodded, and put on the smile nonetheless.

"It never should be."

---

The wooden boards beneath Jet's feet didn't stop creaking, despite the boat having come to a stop. He groaned, finding that his seasickness hadn't improved despite the weeks he'd spent sailing on the same little boat. The Water Tribe, unlike the Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation, didn't have bigger boats, like the ferry he and his group took to Ba Sing Se all those years prior, so he was forced to endure every rock and sway as they moved through the choppy ocean.

Even as they reached the West Lake, things really hadn't improved that much, and so he was more than relieved to finally have some respite. He guessed it had to do with the fact they'd been sailing for days, and were starting to run low on fresh food and fresh water. He expected the boat might have been able to last a lot longer when it wasn't cram packed with Earth Kingdom fighters. On the boat he was on, there had to be at least twenty men and women, plus a dozen or so Water Tribe warriors who manned the boats.

Bato, who'd tagged along on the same boat, perhaps out of familiarity with Jet and his Freedom Fighters, had come down to tell them to get off and start setting up camp. They could finally use a fire to cook some food, and maybe, if they were lucky, they could catch some fresh game in the forest. However, Jet, unlike most of his friends, was really not coping well with the sickness, and had curled himself up there, just waiting for it to wear off.

"Are you alright there, kid?" he asked Jet, who grimaced, glancing back up at him, trying to offer a reassuring smile.

"I've been worse." he told him, before slowly getting back to his feet, "I'll get out... What do you need me to do?"

"Given your familiarity with forests, Hakoda's decided you'll go with the scouting party to check if there's any villages nearby. Maybe they could provide us with some more information about the area. We still need to find more people to support King Bumi's cause." he explained what he needed to do, and Jet smiled.

"Ah, I've missed the smell of a good forest." he admitted, pacing up to the small set of stairs that would lead him up onto the deck, "Who are we going with?"

"Those prisoners we were able to help." he clarified, Jet furrowing a brow.

"The ones on the shipbuilding platform?" he asked, knowing that they'd aided a few groups of earthbender prisoners, sneaking into labour camps and platforms they came across on their journey north; some of them wanted to join up and help them on their path to Ba Sing Se, but others returned to fight for their own villages.

"Those ones, yep." Bato confirmed, and Jet nodded, recalling he'd gotten on well with one of the younger ones in that group, a young man by the name Haru.

He was pleased he would have somebody new to talk to, that was outside of his own little group of Freedom Fighters, who despite being his only real friends, didn't really have all too much to talk about when they spent basically all their time cramped up together in the same little hull of a boat. Any conversation topic they had had already been well exhausted by that point.

When he climbed on out to the deck, he glanced up to the clouds that hung over his head, lit orange by the evening sun, which was already obscured by some hills to the west of them. His friends were already out on the gravelly shoreline, chatting amongst themselves, though they noticed as he jumped off the boat, and paced over to them.

"Hey, Jet." Smellerbee addressed him, "So, you heard we're scouting?"

"Yeah. Should be a good chance to stretch our legs. I hate being cramped up in there." he argued, and Pipsqueak snickered.

"Yeah, that's 'cause waves make his tummy go the wrong way." he whispered to Longshot, who elbowed him; it was pretty easy to hear the comment, though he wouldn't deny it.

"Sailing doesn't sit well with me, that's true." he conceded, "But that doesn't matter, we've gotta go see what's out there." he gestured to the forested hills ahead of them, noticing a few smokestacks off in the distance, a telltale sign of human occupation, "So, when are we heading out?" he asked, The Duke gesturing off towards a few of the earthbenders he could see by another boat.

"They're just getting some stuff ready. In case we need to camp out there." he explained, and Jet glanced back to the boat.

"So does everyone have what they need?" he asked, and turning back the group nodded; Jet was glad they had more foresight than he did.

"Let me just get my bag from the boat." he explained himself, though before he could try and climb back onto the hull, Bato popped out with the bag in his hands.

"Looking for this?" he asked, making the Freedom Fighter scratch the back of his scalp sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah." he confirmed, and Bato tossed it back his way.

"You're really out of it today." Smellerbee noted, "Are you going to be up for this?"

"Yes, I can do it, don't worry... seasickness is just a pain." he tried to reassure them, slinging the pack around his back, checking momentarily to make sure he had his hook swords; touching them made him recall when he used to use them to swing on branches in the forest back in Gaipan.

He missed those days, but they were long gone; the freedom he once knew was gone for himself personally, but he knew that he was helping bring about freedom for his country, which was something he'd always wanted, but had never had the ability to actualise. Striding over towards the earthbenders, he raised a hand to greet them, putting on his usual confident visage, trying to ignore his stirring stomach.

"Hey, so are you all ready to move out?" he asked the earthbenders, who all nodded, though at different times, indicating their reaction times and eagerness; which was the case for each fighter was unclear, but all it told him was that they were all poised to go out.

Their leader, Tyro strode forward and offered him a hand, "Jet, it's good to work with you again."

"And you, sir." he gave a smile as he shook his hand; with the formality out of the way, Jet pointed to the nearest hilltop, "We should head up there at once. If we're lucky, we'll get a good vantage before it gets too dark."

The earthbenders seemed to be in agreement, so Jet whistled for his Freedom Fighters and walked right for the treeline. Bato, who had been standing with his friends, joined in, though he hadn't been expecting his aid; it made sense, of course, so he could lead the group. He had done just that when they travelled across the Earth Kingdom to New Omashu, and he had earned all their trust. The sword he'd engraved was hanging from Bato's belt, and he tapped it as he approached.

"I hope you're not too eager to fight someone." he warned him, and Jet gave him a reassuring smile; despite his seasickness, he hadn't lost any of his reflexes and skill with his swords.

"If a fight comes, I will be ready." he reassured the Water Tribesman, who let out a chuckle.

"I believe your will, but not your footing." he warned him, Jet dodging his leg as he tried to test him by making him walk into it.

"Nice try, but you shouldn't make your moves so predictable." he warned him, and Bato just snickered.

"Yeah, you're right about that. Don't want you to get gravel and dirt all over your nice outfit." he gestured to his armour, and Jet raised a brow, wondering if he was insulting him on his homemade armour-set.

"Hey I made this myself. I think it looks cool."

"Yeah, it is cool!" The Duke piped up, "We make all our outfits!"

"Well, it isn't a competition." Bato reminded them, "Are they practical?" he asked, and Jet tapped his shoulder plates.

"Kept me from getting sliced up or burnt to a crisp, so I'd say yes." he gave his opinion as they strode into the woods, Jet narrowing his eyes as they adjusted to the lower light levels in the woods.

The canopy shrouded light from entering, and it was already getting dim with the sun obscured by the hills; he could notice that there were no well trodden paths, though a small dry creek bed lay nearby, and he guessed they could follow that to avoid any thick foliage.

"This way guys." he gestured to the creekbed, and with that, the group began following the relatively straight gully up the hillside; even better, the lack of trees in the creekbed meant that the canopy opened up slightly, providing them with a little more light.

He knew that if they encountered any enemies, being the ones who were lit up was not necessarily an advantage, but at that moment, he was seeking to get to the top of the hill as quickly as possible, not specifically trying to be as sneaky as he could. The woods weren't too thick, and the slope wasn't all that sharp, making it an easy trek by his standards. Back in Gaipan there were some serious slopes and cliffs they had to scale, so he wouldn't complain about such a gentle path; in Omashu it was even worse, as the whole place was within and surrounded by towering rock-strewn mountains.

As he was making his way up, he was walking behind Bato, but behind him were some of the earthbenders; he knew he wanted to make conversation with someone after a while, and decided that he'd go with his earlier idea and talk to Haru. So, he stepped back, switched spots with Longshot, and began walking alongside him.

"So, Haru, how's sailing been treating you?"

"I got a little seasick to begin with, but it's alright now." he admitted, and Jet scrunched his lips up; though things had gotten better for him over time, he couldn't say he didn't still feel like his stomach was trying to escape out his oesophagus.

"Good for you." he nodded, glancing up ahead, "I'm still a little curious."

"About what." he narrowed his eyes, and Jet scratched his chin, unsure if he ought to press the topic he had in mind.

"How you got caught." he clarified, "I mean, you didn't just end up on that platform because everyone knew you were an earthbender. And you couldn't have been in that rebellion with your dad, you would have been way too young." he deduced from the story that Tyro had regaled them when they first rescued him and the other prisoners; even though he knew that The Duke was a good example of a young fighter, Haru didn't seem to have the kind of confidence he and his friends had- he couldn't have been a rebel at such a young age.

"Uh... yeah, it wasn't... the nicest experience."

"Nothing ever is when it comes to this stuff." Jet acknowledged, "The Fire Nation burned down my whole village... so trust me, I get if you've, well, got the memories etched into your mind."

"About a year ago, there was a landslide near my village. Some people got caught in it, and I... well... I couldn't just stand there. My instincts just kicked in... and the Fire Nation guards dragged me away as soon as they heard about what happened. They were more worried about my crime rather than helping those poor people."

"Hmph." Jet mumbled, finding that to be a rather sad way to end up a prisoner; he wouldn't give Haru any fuss for not having gone after the Fire Nation himself, because he was going to do that with them at that very moment, "Well, you ended up with your dad; at least you got to spend your time there with him."

Haru didn't seem to be pleased by the comment, "Really? You think that's good?" he asked, and Jet nodded, not regretting his words.

"No, it is. Your father's alive. That's more than I can say for myself." he stated his case, and the other boy's eyes widened.

"W-wait... are you an orphan?" he asked, and Jet nodded, gesturing to his group.

"We all are." he clarified, and the earthbender just sighed.

"I'm sorry... that's just, well, it's terrible."

"That's what the war did to our people." he reminded him, "I guess we're all just lucky we were only affected as recently as we were... for better or worse. There's people I met in Ba Sing Se who'd been kicked out of their homes sixty years ago."

"Si-" Haru gasped, shaking his head, "And none of them ever could go back?"

"No. Some of them had friends, siblings, even children that they hadn't seen or heard of since they left." he explained the kinds of things he'd heard, "But, they will have a chance now."

"You think so?" he asked, and Jet nodded; he might not have believed everyone's claims about Azula's plans, but Hakoda and Bato were two honest, honourable men, and they told him frankly what they knew.

"The Fire Nation's rule over our country is crumbling as we speak." he noted, "Soon enough, we will be able to talk with them on even terms. That's what King Bumi wants, at least."

"And Ba Sing Se... that's where we're going?" he asked, Jet grimacing at the thought of returning.

"Y-yes... as much as I would have liked to not go back there again." he acknowledged, "It's just a sad place. Nobody has any say in anything, and the Fire Nation just made it worse. We got there not long before they took over... and even then it was just sad."

"Sad might not be the right word." Smellerbee spoke up ahead of him, "Ba Sing Se makes me angry... of all the places, we were always told it was this beacon of hope. What a load of shit."

"Well, if what you're saying is true, then maybe it could be that." Haru suggested, and Jet just smiled.

"Yeah, that's what I hope." he agreed, before glancing ahead, noticing that they were drawing up to the top of the hill, with the slope sharpening rather drastically, forcing them to climb over some rocks.

However, before they could get very far, one of the earthbenders whistled, "Oi, just move off for a bit." he requested, and glanced at his comrades, who nodded, seeming to have a plan in mind.

Suddenly, they moved into some form, reached their hands forward, and pulled down, shifting all the rocks. They didn't move far, but the results were rather impressive; the formerly haphazardly placed boulders, rocks, and pebbles now formed a rather direct staircase up to the top of the hill. Jet's friends paced on up after Bato, who then pulled out a spyglass, and began checking the horizon, pointing something out with his index finger. Jet paced on up, and stood beside him, unsure what the fuss was about.

"What did you see?" he asked, and he pointed ahead towards what was unmistakably some wooden pylons and metal rods, sticking out from the tree tops; he could even see what looked like a clearing, and he realised what he was looking at.

Back in Gaipan, there were a few small bases the Fire Nation soldiers used to patrol the various roads their forces used, and they were basically just a few wooden houses surrounded by metal sheet walls, with a gate. So, he realised that it had to be one of those, a Fire Nation outpost, though clearly by the fact there were no standing walls or tall roofs in sight, it was in ruins.

"Well, would you look at that." Smellerbee mumbled, hands on her hips, "Somebody already got to them."

"Bets they did it to themselves." Pipsqueak added, "They really like killing each other."

"Almost as much as they wish they could kill us." Jet agreed with the sentiment; the base might have been less interesting now that it was unoccupied, but it certainly would still be useful to check out for supplies.

"There's also a few smokestacks up that way, on the hills over there." Bato pointed out, "We'll check out the ruins, then head up there. If they're friendly, we'll ask them about the area" he explained, glancing back at Jet, with a slightly uneasy face, "Otherwise, well, you know the drill."

"Yeah, I do." he tapped the hilts of his hook swords, before following Bato as he began pacing down the slope toward the ruins.

As the group made their way down the slope, Jet found his view obscured by more tree branches and bushes, and was forced to weave around them to keep track of Bato, who was pacing ahead with little restraint. That worried him a little bit, but he didn't try to focus on that, but rather kept an eye out for any sign of human activity. The forest floor was visible enough that he could be sure there weren't any human tracks, though he noticed some that might have come from cat-deer or some other animals that would stalk the woods.

"I can't see any tracks." he addressed Smellerbee, who nodded.

"Me either. It seems there's really nobody around." she mumbled, "But there has to be someone at the smokestacks. What do you think... hunters?"

"Eh, maybe. There were a few of those back in Gaipan, but well... we scared them all off." he acknowledged, and she tilted her head.

"I thought Pipsqueak did that."

"Haha, yeah, I did. I just wanted to see if they had any to share... but nah, they just ran." he recalled the memory fondly, letting out a chuckle, "Mmm, I wonder if we can find something good to eat in here."

"If you stay quiet, then maybe we will." Jet suggested with a whisper, and Longshot turned around, nodding in agreement.

The group stayed quiet after that, moving through the woods, slowly making their way downhill, the slope far shallower than before. Through the trees, Jet noticed some cut stumps, and they increased in number as they drew closer to the ruins. Finally, they reached a small creek, which unlike the creekbed they were walking through earlier, it had water running through it. So, Jet knelt over and pulled out his waterskin, filling it up. The others did the same, filling their own waterskins up.

When he was done, he took a swig, letting out a sigh at the taste of the freshwater; it wasn't that dirty, to their luck. He tied the waterskin back to his belt and looked ahead, eyeing the clearing that lay across the creek, and the ruins lay undisturbed. Amongst the grasses lay wooden pylons and beams, supporting what would have been some kind of barracks. The wood was blackened from fire, and the metal walls were looking worse for wear as well, beant and pulled apart by what must have been blunt force. Some of the walls were still standing, as were the gates, which were broken open, the metal contorted inward.

"Looks like there was a big fight here." Smellerbee observed, "And a while ago. The grass has started growing here." she noted, gesturing to the gravel surface that was broken up by patches of fresh, green grass.

"Yeah, this must have been destroyed... well, maybe by Azula's army." Jet realised a possibility; that would have been almost a year prior, when she had an army sent overland out of Ba Sing Se.

Bato looked at the ruins with crossed arms, "There might be some supplies here." he noted, "See that warehouse?" he gestured to a wooden and metal sheet structure that sat near the corner of the walls, seeming mostly intact.

"Yeah, we'll check it out." he accepted his suggestion, leading the Freedom Fighters over to the partially collapsed warehouse; Pipsqueak grabbed one of the doors, which had fallen into the warehouse, right off its hinges, and picked it up, tossing it to the side, almost on top of Longshot.

"Oh, sorry buddy." he apologised, the silent archer just stepping past him, shooting him a cold glare.

The group remained silent as they stepped inside the warehouse, Jet crouching down to try and get into the part where the roof had caved in; he noticed that the shattered remains of a boulder was on top of the roof, which gave him an inkling that earthbenders might have responsible for the destruction of the base, or at least, had attacked it at some point. He could see some crates ahead of him, but they were broken open, and any perishable goods inside had probably gone bad.

With the collapsed roof too low, he had to move into a crawl, and shuffled himself under the collapsed portion, finding himself in a somewhat intact part of the warehouse. There remained some intact crates, jars, and metal canisters; Jet smirked, and grabbed one of the canisters, and popped it open; he took a smell and realised it was cooking oil. He closed the canister and pushed it back behind himself, giving one of the others a chance to pick it up.

"What's this?" he heard The Duke ask out, and Jet glanced back momentarily under the gap he'd squeezed himself through.

"Cooking oil, I think." he gave an answer, before looking at other things; he shook a few more canisters, noting that they had a similar consistency.

He then checked the crates, giving them some shakes to try and figure what was inside; he could tell that it was something hard, though they didn't weigh much. He guessed it was dried food or something similar, though whether it was still edible was questionable.

He pushed one of the crates back, "This might be food, somebody check." he requested, before glancing back once more.

He grabbed one of the jars, and popped it open, noting that it had a rather pungent smell. He guessed it was some kind of spice or condiment, and noted all the other jars had distinctive colourations, telling him that it was a set of spices, something that seemed very Fire Nation. One of the less frustrating things he noticed in Ba Sing Se after the Fire Nation took over was that the traders started selling lots more spices, and though he tried them, he found them to be too strong for his own taste.

"Who wants some spices?" he asked, and her heard some positive humming, before some shuffling noises behind him.

"Gimme." Smellerbee requested, and he picked up each one and pushed it down along the ground, so it was within her reach.

The last thing for him to check was a distinctive, larger crate, which he gave a shake; the sound was distinctive, and the crate weighed more, "Huh... I think these are bowls or something." he thought aloud, "Might be useful."

He didn't take that crate, as it might be hard to fit through, and he didn't really have much use for cutlery and ceramics. They already had stuff on the boats with them. The rest, however, seemed quite useful, even if they couldn't take all of it back with them at once. There'd be time before they departed for some of the Water Tribesmen to come up and help carry some of it back.

He crawled back out into the open part of the warehouse, dusting himself off as he eyed the crate that Smellerbee was looking at; she had opened it up, and pulled out what looked like rice crackers. She showed them off, with one already in her mouth.

"They're not-" she mumbled with her mouth full, "that bad."

"Well then, we can come back and get some more crates later. We need to go check that smokestack out." he reminded the group, who followed Jet out of the warehouse.

He glanced back once he exited, "What did the rest of you find?" he asked, and Longshot showed off a few armour pieces he'd found, making the leader of the group smirk, "Nice. Those could come in handy."

Pipsqueak stepped out, ducking the doorframe before he showed off a lantern, "Maybe that oil you found might burn in this?" he suggested, and Jet nodded.

"It might." he acknowledged, before glancing over to The Duke, who had a new cloak tied around his neck, which looked rather cosy, "Hmm... does that fit you?" he asked, noting how long it was, flowing down past the boy's feet.

"It works." he argued, "Plus it looks cool."

"Hmm... hello, my lord." Pipsqueak gave a mocking bow to The Duke.

"Yeah, that's right, I'm The Duke." he pointed his thumb at his chest, before striding away with a gusto pose; that made the others giggle, even Longshot letting loose a bemused smile.

The group followed after The Duke as he paced back over to the earthbenders, who were checking out the other ruins, pulling away the gravel and soil to try and find something. However, it seemed that there wasn't much but bricks, wood and some more sheets of metal. Jet strode up to Bato, who was examining the remains of the barracks, which seemed to have been cleared of anything useful, other than some broken furniture.

"We found some food supplies in that warehouse." he told Bato, "Should we get some more people up here to take it down to the boats. I'm sure we could use more supplies."

The Water Tribesman nodded, "Yes, it would be a pain to have to buy everything. We don't have that much money to spare." he conceded, before gesturing up to the hill, where the smokestack was still billowing, "Let's head up there now. With any luck, the fire won't be abandoned."

Jet nodded, and followed after Bato as he led the group towards the edge of the woods, which sat at the base of the hill; he beckoned the earthbenders over, who stopped searching the ruins and fanned out, forming a ring of sorts around the group, ready to take on any potential threats. The Freedom Fighters moved together in a tight group, right behind Bato, with their weapons on the ready.

The canopy hung over them as they made their way up the hill towards the smokestack, and silence fell over Jet and his friends. They might have usually been chatting or eager to search for food, but now, their minds were all set on the same thing. Back in Gaipan, they'd gone through the same thing time and time again, with camps of Fire Nation soldiers sitting in the woods, searching constantly for their hideout. He and his fighters snuck right up in silence, surrounded it and pounced on them when they were distracted by their meals or some pointless games.

As they drew up the hill, he did hear the distant sound of some voices, though he couldn't tell what they were saying, at least not at first. Bato directed them to split into two groups, so they could surround whoever they'd found on both sides. Jet and Longshot followed the Water Tribesman, while the others went the other way. As the drew closer, he crouched and readied his hook swords in his hands, moving as close as he could, through the cover of some thick bushes, to try and hear what they were saying.

"So, how much longer are we going to spend out here?" one voice spoke up, and another responded quickly.

"As long as it takes. We need to find them." he declared with a gruff, serious tone.

"Easy to say that when we have no idea who might be out here." somebody else added, sounding rather annoyed, "All we saw was what, a few boulders wrecking that old outpost. So what, there might be earthbenders around here? Might isn't good enough."

Jet glanced over at Bato, who nodded before he even had a chance to ask if they should attack; with that, Jet gestured in the direction of the smokestack, and Longshot drew out an arrow. He began to approach, slowly making his way to a tree that he could aim from, while Jet made his way up beside him. When he reached the clearing, he kept himself hidden behind a bush, peering through to see it was a group of five Fire Nation soldiers, though their gear was rather poor and worn, telling him that they were probably scouts or survivors of some earlier battle who had yet to regroup with the rest of their army.

Either way, they were easy pickings, and Jet hammered the tree trunk beside himself, and Longshot fired an arrow, striking the shoulderguard of one of the men, the rest of his comrades scurrying to their feet in fear. They didn't have much time to react as Jet and Bato rushed forward with their respective blades, and quickly took down the enemy soldiers, disarming them after a few quick swings and trips. One of them tried to run away, but walked right into Pipsqueak, who shoved him back to the ground.

"H-hey- wait a minute!" the soldier pleaded, "What's going on?"

"Bandits." one of the other soldiers guessed, grabbing his sword, which he thrust at Jet, who parried the attack, before aiming his own sword at the man's throat.

"We're not bandits." he reassured him, "But you're not where you should be, ash-makers."

"Wait." one of the other soldiers told his group; he was older and gruff looking, seeming to be their leader, "This might be what we were waiting for."

"Waiting to die, yeah, we'll get around to that." Jet reassured him as he swung the blade at the man who'd tried to stab him, disarming the man by slashing his arm, before using the hook of his blade to toss him down to the ground.

"Stop it now!" he heard a voice call him out, and Tyro strode out of the woods with the other earthbenders, "What were you waiting for?" he asked the older soldier, who glanced at all the people surrounding them.

"Are you rebels? Fighting against Ozai?" he asked them, and Tyro nodded.

"Yes, we are." he confirmed, "Are you- wait, where did you come from?"

"Huangcha." the soldier told them, "We were sent here by General Boei to find more Earth Kingdom rebels."

"More..." Jet mumbled, now quite confused about what the man was talking about, "What do you want with them?"

"Uh... we're gathering an army for the reunification of the Earth Kingdom." he explained, and Bato facepalmed.

"Ah, crap. So you work for the Princess." he realised what they were saying, "Uh... I apologise for attacking you. That was just as a precaution." he admitted, and the soldier glanced at the group, noting their diverse group of earthbenders, guerrilla fighters, and a single Water Tribesman.

"What are you doing out here?"

"The exact same thing." he admitted, "Well, we're heading for the Princess's base of operations. If you, uh, have any directions that we might need to follow specifically, that would help." he noted, and the soldier glanced away into the woods.

"Well, you're gonna have an issue, because she's not at the base. The Fire Lord took her army west to liberate Shengchang." he explained, and Bato stepped closer.

"Well then, we're still heading for the base. Could you send a message to Shengchang to warn her? We don't have a messenger hawk."

"Uh... well, not immediately. We'd have to link up with our comrades... they're at an encampment over these hills. About half a day's march." he explained, sounding frustrated by the fact, "We would certainly like to aid the Fire Lord's efforts, but we can't help you much here."

"That's a shame." he admitted, before offering him a hand, "I apologise. We were under the assumption you worked for Ozai... and were trying to hunt down rebels... well, for less than kind reasons."

"That is reasonable." he conceded, "If you'd asked me two years ago, I would have been trying to find them to send them to camps."

"Yes, we're well aware." Tyro acknowledged, before sighing, "We're looting that old outpost, if you don't mind." he gestured down the hill to the ruins they'd been scouring.

"No, well, that place has been abandoned for nearly a year now. It was already damaged before the civil war." he acknowledged what had happened to the place, "You should be careful travelling north. The Fire Lord and her forces destroyed an army loyal to one General Gyoko a few weeks ago, but we haven't been able to capture all of those who ran away after their defeat. They're probably hiding all over the wilds of Yi Province." he warned them, before glancing over towards the water of the West Lake, "You're going to go east to Ba Sing Se after you link up with the Fire Lord's forces, right?"

"That's the plan." Jet confirmed, "What, did you want us to say hello to the other ash-makers there?"

"No. Make sure you make all this shit worth it. If we've been killing each other for basically nothing, then... make sure the Earth Kingdom isn't just a shithole after all this."

"That's what we're trying to avoid." he reassured him, cringing as he realised he was receiving kind words from a Fire Nation soldier of all people, "Why do you care?"

"Some people in my country hate yours because you're inferior, but I disagree. Your rulers were corrupt fools, and they deserved to be destroyed... but you people, you're just like me. Fighting for your nation." he acknowledged their commonality, "So, do it."

"We will." he assured him, before turning away, Bato seeming as surprised by the interaction as he was.

"Yeah, kid. It's weird hearing those words come out of an ash-maker's mouth." he acknowledged the oddity of what they had just heard.

"Come on then." Tyro spoke up, "It's nice to hear that the Princess is actually getting people on the job, but we need to get back to the boats."

"Yes, you're right." Bato agreed, "I wish you the best of luck on finding other rebels. We've already got a few on our way here." he acknowledged, gesturing to Tyro, who glanced at the Fire Nation soldiers with an apprehensive, suspicious face, but he smiled, showing that he believed them.

With that the two groups made their way apart, Jet momentarily stopping to help one of the men he'd knocked over up, feeling slightly guilty about his actions; his anger still drove him, and though he was trying to work on it, it was always simmering below the surface.

"I hope you find who did it." the leader told him as he strode away, Jet momentarily glancing back at him.

"Did what?" he asked, confused by the stranger's words.

"Killed your family." he told him something he wasn't expecting, "I can see it in your eyes... because I've seen it before. There're kids like you all over the colonies."

"I don't know whether I should be happy or sad about that." he admitted honestly, knowing that despite the fact there could be more people who could be swayed to his cause, like back in the forest, he knew that it was just tragic; he wouldn't wish it upon any more children.

"You're not alone... take of that what you will." he acknowledged, and Smellerbee stepped over to Jet, grasping him by the wrist.

"Yeah, that's right, ash-maker. He has us." she told him, before Jet followed after her, not forcing her to drag him back down the hill.

"Didn't expect you to talk to 'em." Pipsqueak noted as soon as Jet rejoined the group, "Seemed like a sad bunch."

"Sad?" Jet asked, "That's what you took from all that?" he asked, surprised that he could really sympathise with them; he understood why the ash-makers would feel for them, given what they'd endured, but the feelings going the other way around was just unthinkable.

"They know they're the bad guys." Smellerbee argued, "Or maybe... they just know all the pain they've caused our country."

"Yeah, they'd be blind if they hadn't." Jet agreed with her point, "Whatever, that doesn't mean I'll let them get away with anything. We're going to make sure our country's free."

"At what cost?" he heard a voice behind him, realising it was Haru, who'd come back to follow them down to the boats.

"Oh, so you're listening. Do you usually sneak around like that?"

"You're all pretty loud." he retorted, crossing his arms, "You didn't answer my question."

"We have to defeat them. Once the country is unified in our cause, the Princess won't stop us. She can't. It's our land." he argued, "It won't be that hard, given how much they've been killing each other."

"And how many of our people will have to die to take everything back? I mean, this Princess... the one the Water Tribesmen keep talking about. She's their ally- our ally. Why can't we talk it out?" he asked, and Jet shrugged.

"We might... but she's a ballsy bitch. She won't let anyone control her." he warned him, knowing that much about the Princess from what he'd see of her, and what Bato and Hakoda had said about her.

"How about Sokka?" Smellerbee asked, "Aren't they a thing?"

"You think that's going to be an equal relationship?" he retorted, thinking that no Water Tribe warrior, no matter how persuasive, could really have an edge over somebody who was raised to rule an entire country.

"I mean, she's cooperating with Earth Kingdom forces... that's- well, a start, don't you think?" she suggested, and he sighed.

"I think you're just being a bit too optimistic."

"And you're a pessimist." Haru noted, the Freedom Fighter pointing at his sternum.

"I'm a realist!" he declared, "I know what has to be done, and I know people."

"Do you know her?" he asked, and Jet just frowned.

"I don't wish to... but it seems inevitable that I'll have to do her bidding. That seems to be what everyone's doing these days."