I Don't own Avatar the last air bender.

chapter 50

'I still can't believe that the bribe to Yon Rha worked.' Zuko said inside his head as he was led back to the cells. 'I still don't know if making him the responsible for the boot camp was the right choice, the man is far from the image I want the new recruits to see and imitate.'

At Sai's idea, Zuko started to build the foundations of a sizable force that will act as his personal army. It will consist of not only fire benders and fire nation citizens, but of earth benders and people from the colonies as well. It will be the first unit in his imperial army.

Zuko adored the fire army, it served his family and the fire nation well and loyaly, but it simply wasn't fit for the future Zuko envisioned. There will be an empire, a single entity to rule over each and every corner of the world. The first global empire. And for that, it's army needed to be able to assimilate all the different cultures, something the fire army lacked.

Oh, sure. The fire army had its earth bending units and others from the colonies, but those were criminals forced to serve. Their loyalty was doubtful at best and the regular army never forget to remind them of it. No, the entire construction of the military had to be reorganized. And for that, Zuko needed to start small.

Loban offered a great platform for this. As a wealthy businessman with a lot of properties, no one would bet an eye if he creates a private military company to protect his interests. And Zuko offered through third channels a job as an instructor for _ if he spoke for Katara.

"He's ruthless, unreasonable, cruel and has the dire need to prove himself above others. What's more, he's a coward with a dire need to escape his overbearing mother." Sai explained. "He's perfect to break in the new recruits."

'But aren't you afraid that he'll discriminate?' Zuko thought back. 'It would be counter productive.'

"That's the entire beauty here. He is an equal opportunist, as in treating others beneath him equally. You can't be considered a racist if you hate everyone the same."

There was some warped sense in Sai's words.

"He's fear of returning to his mother will keep him in line enough, and the inferiority complex will motivate him to bring the best of his cadets as he can't gain glory on his own as an instructor."

'If you say so…' Zuko still had his reservation, but Sai hadn't failed him so far.

It wasn't long before he was thrown the his cell.

"How was Katara's part?" Jasmine asked as her brother skullked in the corner, Mi-Dved didn't take well the results of Jasmine's own trail. It was concerning, Zuko wouldn't lie.

"As good as it could get." Zuko answered honestly. "She isn't off the hook, but father postponed it enough to make it not matter."

Zuko checked beforehand that the guards couldn't hear what he says. Both those at the cell doors and the secret service in the walls.

"So now it's just you then." Mi-Dved said, not moving from his spot. Did Zuko already said that he was concerned? "You know that he's going to kill you, right? As someone who's father almost did kill him, I can recognize the look in his eyes."

"He will try." Zuko admitted. It didn't seem so far-fetched now after his father burnt him, again. "But I have a history of disappointing him after all."

Mi-Dved kept quiet. Zuko will have to do something about it soon.

"All the more reason to kill your father."

'Not now, Sai.'

"Then perhaps we should practice for your show? It must be perfect after all."

'Fine.'

Tomorrow was the big day after all.

Azula studied again the scene before her. The moment mom left her and Zuko's room for the one final time. Mom kissed Azula on the forehead before she left.

Azula already saw the entire chain of events that led to this, from the moment young Zuko barged in tears to mom to this very moment. The entire usurpation of her father. At least she knew why mom left now.

It made her think. Would father have done the same if it was her that the then fire lord Azulon demanded? Actually, if she already thought about it, was Azulon senile?! You didn't like your son disrespecting you dead grandson, so you order him to kill your other grandson? What the heck?!

No, seriously, who in their right mind would think that was a good idea? Azula wanted to think that it was just purging the weak, getting rid of the failure Zuko was. Yes, it did make sense in a way.

Uncle Iroh was old (or at least did his damn best to act like an old geezer), the fact that he was physically able to produce children was a big if, let alone remarry and raise them. It meant that Ozai's children, meaning her and Zuko, were the only candidates for the throne.

Now the choice between her and Zuko was easy, she was a prodigy and he was a failure, but his ill-fated birth date placed him above her in the line of succession. Therefore, getting rid of Zuko was only pragmatic. It was simple as that.

Another shock was the supposed prophecy that talked about a union of Sozin's and Roku's bloodline ending the war. It was certainly a surprise to learn that her other great-grandfather was avatar Roku, but not such a world-shattering discovery. Even without the stupid prophecy, it was only logical to strengthen the royal family by having an avatar's blood assimilated.

Honestly, she was surprised by the fact that no one thought to do it before the prophecy, and her conflicted thoughts about it.

The first thing was rage, rage that anyone dared to dictate how she should live her life. Only her father had the right to do it. Second was that she was cheated.

It was clear that the prophecy meant her to be the hero, there was no doubt about it. She was the prodigy while Zuko was the failure, she was born on Agni's day. For crying out loud, she was the earliest to discover her fire bending in known history.

And then what happened? Zuzu got himself banished like the moron he is and instead of rotting himself at a wild goose chase around the world, the luck that seemingly left him from the moment of birth was gathered to one single event. Zuko accidentally (she refused to believe that her brother had any idea of what he was doing) found the only thing that made him the threat he is now.

That damn Oni stole her birthright! She was supposed to be the next fire lord, the child of the prophecy, the one who won for the fire nation the hundred years war. She was supposed to be the greatest hero of the fire nation since the first fire lord!

Instead, her brother used cheats to steal her spotlight. And that enraged her to no end.

But it also made things easier. If the Oni was what made her brother as successful as he is now, all she had to do was to take that Oni away and Zuzu will return to his normal loser self.

The scene of her mother giving her a kiss and leaving for the final time played again. Azula discarded it and opened her eyes, if a bit shakenly. She will kill Zuko and reclaim her place as the best, no matter what.

Zuko knelt for the final trail, his own.

"Prince Zuko." The royal accuser called. "You are hereby accused of fraternizing with enemies of the fire nation, knowingly giving shelter to a water bender and an air bender, compromising military operations, and undermining the fire lord's influence."

"You have been in bed with Hakoda of the southern tribe and even mentored his children. And instead of getting rid of the menace while he was in your grasp, you let him leave with both his children. Costing the fire nation a loss of great bargaining power over the south pole."

"Your decision had impacted the entire military strategy in all fronts, throwing decades long plans through the window. The invasion of Amora itself cost tens of thousands of personnel that lacked in more pressing fronts. To make matters worse, you have overridden the fire lord's decree numerous times and in doing so, made others sin as well. Your actions are bordering with treason"

"Yes, Zuko." His father said. "Explain."

Uncle Iroh was about to open his mouth, but Zuko beat him to it. This was Zuko's fight, and he had to say a few things that were critical for the crowd to hear. Here he laid his foundations for the empire, he wouldn't be silent.

"Easily." Zuko said casually. "It was by your order."

"What…" By dad's expression, and the complete silence of the court, Zuko figured he had about five seconds before dad goes berserk. So he explained.

"You sent me a letter, remember? An order to hunt down the corruption that spread through the colonies and those responsible by any means necessary. Everything I did, was by your orders."

Zuko saw how mad dad was as he heard those words. And honestly? Zuko didn't feel bad at all about it

"You dare to put the blame on me?!" Dad yelled, the throne he sat on burnt accordingly. "You made deals with active enemies of the state, you hosted and trained a water bender and an air bender, you wasted countless resources in your petty task, and that's your excuse?!"

The flames rose even higher.

"Even a brain-dead rodent would have been wise enough to report his plans and ask permission, and you mentioned none of those in your weekly reports! I should smite you here and now!"

"Brother, don't be hasty!" Uncle Iroh rose as dad seemed to stand up.

"Must have been lost in delivery." Zuko casually said as he rose on his feet as well, chains and all.

"All know now of Mi-Sha's reputation now, the boogie man that held the entire southern part of the continent at his none existed mercy with his crime empire. He was the strongest air bender in the world, and I couldn't even see half the battlefield."

Zuko pointed to his once again scarred eye.

"Some water benders have the ability to heal with their bending, such a healing is unparalleled by anything else in the world. If I wanted to bring my body back to full capacity to fight the likes of Mi-Sha, I knew that I had to find such a water bender. This is why I took her in."

"Each and every step I took was for the nation and its people. I devised instruments that made the army jump decades from what it was before, my reforms gave a major rise in the quality of life in all parts of the empire. All those far outweigh whatever benefits I took, who all were as well for the sake of hunting down Mi-Sha."

Sure, Zuko was dancing a lot around the legality of a single letter from the fire lord, but Zuko knew his father well enough in this situation. If dad dismisses Zuko's argument, then he basically admits that his word is not absolute. And that was out of the question.

Now it was the question of what was more important to dad, his pettiness or his authority?

"This was not what I meant when I wrote you this letter." Ozai replied. "You were meant to deal with petty crime, no more."

"And yet the letter meant all the same." Zuko continued. "Besides, I am expected to find and capture the avatar while maimed. Greater nigh impossible tasks seem to be the norm here, the confusion between such a trivial task and what is usually expected of me was great. But the results speak for themselves, I believe."

"Your results led to the safe escape of Hakoda, the presence of a trained water bender in the south pole, a displacement of tens of thousands of troops, and severe demographic changes." Ozai accused. "Mess that will be a thorn for generations."

"What I gave in return overshadow the so-called setbacks in the war." Zuko answered. "And was it not in both yours and mine duty to protect our subjects? Correct me if I'm wrong, but their safety takes priority over conquering new lands."

Zuko looked into his father's eyes as the older man gritted his teeth.

"As for the south pole, it was all part of the plan." Zuko explained. "I needed someone to backstab Mi-Sha as well as a competent yet disposable fodder to take care of his high-ranking generals, Hakoda proved himself prime candidate. And in doing so, I killed two birds with one stone."

"His forces got crippled, in a way that they will never be the same threat they once were. Hakoda lost his excuse to go to war, and the best part is that all of this didn't cost even a single fire nation causality." Zuko said with pride. "In 'fraternizing' with the water bender, I showed her exactly what her standing is there, and what her standing is in the civilized world. She will grow contempt there sooner than later, and in doing so will truly leave the south pole bender-less."

"If so, why are you giving those savages the means to feed themselves?" Dad accused. "This 'greenhouse' project of yours gives them the food they need to survive and defy us. What is your excuse for this?"

"Plenty." Zuko said. "But firstly, what is the status of the south pole? Have we conquered it or not?"

"Of course we conquered it." Ozai said impatiently. "They were broken long ago."

"And you admit that they never regained their independence, right?"

"What's your point?" Dad tapped his fingers on the throne.

"Well, if the south pole was assimilated, and haven't broken off, then lawfully speaking it's a part of the colonies and is under the royal families care. As it is our duty to evolve and spread the flame of enlightenment to the colonies, so it is our duty in the south pole. To tame the wilderness, to spread civilization, this is our purpose."

This patriotic look will gain favor among the select few nobles who still gave a damn about such thing, as well as whitewash other activities that may seem to be not in the fire lord's best interests.

"You are unbelievably naïve." Dad said with disgust. "You still are the same delusional weakling you were when I banished you, unfit to be a prince."

"I object." Zuko said calmly. "This entire nation was built on a hope for a brighter future as the first fire lord united it, this entire war is waged for a dream for peace, security and the betterment of all. To discard this, is to discard what we stand for."

"Nicely said, your highness." Sai spoke inside Zuko's head. "I'm impressed."

It did make Zuko feel better.

"But I did have ulterior motives." Zuko admitted. "It is true that the water tribe, such as it is now, is hardly fit to be brought to fold. They are too fixated on their outdated traditions to appreciate what they are offered. A wolf is just another dog in the end, and with dogs like those a beating isn't going to cut it."

"Fortunately, with the big bed wolf leaving the den with the rest of the hunters, the she-wolves and the pups were left unguarded. I knew that the window was closing in, so I struck."

"Long sleepless nights I thought how to solve this problem. The changing location of the village itself, if it was so easy to find, would have ended this problem long ago. Therefore, I needed to lure them in, like insects to a flower. And so, the most obvious solution was bribing them with the only thing they care about, food."

"I studied all the ways Hakoda could have fed his entire village while every hunter was away, and reached to the conclusion that the village is surviving through a smuggling line. Using this, as well as the eye I have developed for similar purposes, I have strangled that line completely. Leaving the south pole with no means to cope."

"But it wasn't enough." Zuko continued. The crowd was silent, eager to hear their prince's story. "By their very nature, the water tribes are adaptable. I have no doubt that they would have found a way to endure, even after a great cost. And here is where the true fangs are."

"Here, in their most vulnerable state, I gave them an out. I created the greenhouse and killed three birds with one stone in doing so. I made a proof of concept that the brilliance of the fire nation can reach every corner of the world and tame even the frozen tundra."

"In addition, I gave a solution to the desperate and the outcastes who otherwise would have turned to banditry out of no other choice. They became a helpful instrument for the empire. And last but not least, I have made an in with the water tribe."

"The greenhouse, bare of any outward connection to the fire nation, ensnared the locals. I did in a few weeks what the navy takes years to accomplish, by having the water tribe come to me like the scavengers they are. Without the men, they lacked the power to raid the greenhouse, therefore, cooperation was their only chance to get fresh food. It was a gamble using their darkest hour, and I won."

"They took the bait, they worked for the nation. And when they finally discovered just who they were working for, they were already too dependent on the food provided. And worse, they left their usual way of life. And with the men away for so long, it is only a question of time when the women will seek comfort elsewhere."

"You can't be seriously expect…" Dad said in an unbelievable tone.

"Actually, Loban." Zuko addressed the man in the crowd. "What is the status of the greenhouse?"

"I? Oh-well." Loban fumbled a little from the unexpected question, as well as him being put in the center of attention. And in front of the fire lord no less. Zuko silently apologized and promised himself to compensate the guy, but when needs, musts.

"Actually, it's a little funny." Loban continued as he fixed his glasses. "Just a day ago I got a quarry about a situation down south. Apparently, one of the women there was relocated permanently to the greenhouse after she was banished from her tribe. I wouldn't bore with the details, but an affair was involved."

"See?" Zuko made a point. "Dissolves already. If that's not a sign from Agni, then I don't know what is."

It seemed, however, that his response wasn't very much to the fire lord's liking. If the rise in temperatures was anything to go by.

"Then why did you let Hakoda and his dogs return?" Ozai asked in a barely concealed rage. "This is the very thing that your plan depended on."

"Hardly." Zuko said, undisturbed. "All it did was making them fight each other, killing each other from the inside. They can't get up from that without outside help, a help that will never come. This is the twilight of the south pole as a separate entity, and all was orchestrated by me."

Dad's temper began to rise higher and higher, the idea of being surpassed by his son was almost too much for him to handle.

"It seems that respect is still not something you learned than, boy." Ozai snarled. "And your overreaching is an enough sign of it. You put your hand in any new nonsense, you plaster your face on any wall available, are you trying to usurp me, boy? What is your excuse for that?!"

"Excuse?" Zuko asked in confusion. "I do the best I can to better the lives of all the people under the royal family's care. And if they use my achievements to advance their selling it's hardly my fault."

"Besides." Zuko said. "Last time I checked, none of those were crimes."

In other words, you're a whiny baby with a fragile ego and you can't press forward without admitting it to everybody. The smell of Ozone, and the cracking of electricity, however, showed that the whiny baby in question was far too aggregated to care.

"I had enough of you!"

Uncle Iroh, who understood what was going to happen, ran to the fire lord while yelling at him to stop.

"Oh, you've done it now." Sai said inside Zuko's head.

"DIE!"

A lightning bolt, not some run in the mill lightning achieved by bending but closer to a real honest to spirits lightning bolt, shot right at Zuko. The blast was so strong and so loud that everyone had to shut their eyes to not get blind, and even the farthest people in the crowd were thrown backwards.

Once the dust settled, and the people stopped screaming, Zuko was lying there. Barely moving, but alive all the same. He tried to get up, which had proven a herculean challenge.

Ozai was about to release another lightning bolt, but Iroh stopped him physically just in time.

"Enough, brother." He said calmly but with authority, holding back all the rage he felt right now. "You are embarrassing yourself."

Ozai, with a murderous look, relented in the end. For despite his disregard for those beneath him (which for him were everybody), he cared very much about his image.

"Two thousand whips, from tomorrow's dawn till sunset." He ordered as he turned his back and started leaving. "And get this thing out of my sight.

Zuko, who was now on his knees trying to stay conscious, was having a different conversation.

"You know that you're lucky that I absorbed 99.999 percent of the attack, right?" Sai stated. "If he had decided to be more mundane and merely burn you alive there would have been little I could do."

'Thanks for having my back…'

"Always, your highness."

'Agni, that hurts… I would have been ashes now…'

"And that was a single strike. Do you understand now why I decided to avoid confrontation? For now, at least."

'Yeah… A head on fight is definitely off the table. Spirits, I hope whatever was torn now wasn't important.'

"I'll worry about it, you should take your rest for now. You should prepare yourself for your big day tomorrow."

'Don't remind me…' Zuko said as everything became dark.

That was… something. Hamma thought to herself as she watched the unconscious prince being carried away. Today was honestly frightening, for all kinds of reasons.

At first, she didn't know what to make of the prince. He didn't look special at first glance to her, especially compared to his father whose mare presence made her sudder, but she was proven wrong. The prince was just as dangerous as his sire, if not more so.

The fire lord was might incarnate, no ands, ifs, or buts, to face him was to face to court death. The prince, however, was akin to a colorful serpent that breathed deceit like perfumed air. You wouldn't suspect a thing as it slithers and bits you.

A quick conversation also told her that the scar on his face was days old, made by his own father. That created a lot of other disturbing questions, but Hamma wasn't going to go down that rabbit hole. In any case, she saw how the prince should have looked without the maiming from a poster on the street. Yes, the boy could sway the hearts of maidens aplenty alright, she will have to make sure that this Katara isn't compromised.

Which brought her to the main reason why the prince frightened her so. This scheme that he hatched, the machinations he applied, the sheer size of this conspiracy… it was scary. What he laid down so systematically is nothing less than the destruction of her entire civilization. As genocides went, it was no less severe than what Sozin achieved with the air nomads. Even if it is much less violent.

And to think that he thought about it just recently…

No, the prince had to die. The fire nation is already overpowered the southern tribe ridiculously, there is little change if the fire lord is a complete monster (in more than one sense) like Ozai or not. But if there would be a fire lord as ruthlessly cunning as Zuko, there will be no place to escape or endure.

Fortunately, it seems like this problem at least is going to take care of itself. Hamma knew that all the people of the fire nation were monsters, and it was only expected from the fire lord to be the biggest monster of them all, but even she wasn't expecting the sheer depravity of the fire lord.

La and Tui, she thought that she was going to die when she was thrown back from the blast, and she was at the end of the crowd! Honestly, she was downright bewildered to see that the prince was alive and in one piece, the charred carter on ground around him made it very plain that Ozai didn't pull his punches (at least she hoped so).

So he wasn't just fatally cunning, but ridiculously sturdy as well. Just great. At least it looked like the fire lord has things handled here, sturdiness means little against that amount of power.

Ozai will have to go as well there was no other way. If Hamma wasn't sure before, now it was clear. She alone can't match Ozai, so she will train someone who could. A squad of blood benders, young and strong, will sneak and into the palace and murder the fire lord as he sleeps. There was no other way, nothing could stand up to this monster.

Now she was at a crossroad. On one hand, she had what she came for, she already confirmed the existence of a water bender in the south pole and heard the plans that the fire nation has for her people (disturbingly detailed as well). On the other hand, tomorrow the prince will probably die, but considering the fact that he survived a lightning bolt hit head on nothing was to be taken for granted.

In the end, Hamma decided, it was worth sacrificing another day for certainty. The fire nation isn't going to immediately attack, and the water bender isn't going anywhere after all.

"By mom! By dad! See you later?" Katara called as she and Sokka left their village.

"Be back soon!" Mom replied as Sokka and her went farther with their canoe.

"Remind me again why did you insist on taking a boat for your water bending practice?" Sokka said as he prepared the canoe. "Don't get me wrong, I love being outside in the freezing middle of nowhere just like the next guy, but why doing all of this?"

"You don't have to follow me, you know." Katara said with a bit of a snark. "I can defend myself. Actually, I can probably defend myself better than you."

"Right. Last time I left you alone, you almost got kidnapped by a sadistic crime prince and his psycho girlfriend. So Koh no, I don't leave you alone here." Katara didn't have anything to rebuke this. "And you're avoid the question."

In the end, Katara sighed and relented.

"Sorry." She apologized. "It's just that… no one leaves me alone ever since we got here. It's always 'show this trick' or 'do that thing', they never stop. Apparently, being a real water bender is a much bigger deal than being able to water bend. And worse, they start asking questions about how I learnt a move, questions that the two of us know that I can't answer. I just… I just need a few hours of break."

"Some time to yourself without being judged, eh?" Sokka looked at the horizon as they sat on their boat. "Yeah, I can understand. All this attention can be overwhelming. A few hours away from everything is sometimes just what I need. The village can be… constricting something."

"Constricting?" Katara had never seen her brother so philosophical.

"It's like…" Sokka stopped as he thought of a way to explain, in the end he just sighed. "Look, I love the village, but don't you ever think that there is… more? It's just that after everything, the village seems just… dull. Wake up, practice, eat, practice more, help with some small hunt, practice. It's just so repetitive now. I want to live, you know, not just… be."

And she understood him, Katara really understood where her brother was coming from. They both experienced the wider world, under Zuko's constant gaze, sure, but experienced none the less. The experience the two of them gained in this last year or so was greater than any other period in their life.

And this put them in a conflict. It was a big no-no to just go and leave the community, everyone had to put their weight to survive, but what if they didn't need to? Katara will do anything for her family, which is why she agreed to stop her work in the greenhouse (not without some vocal arguments with her dad). She understood the fragile situation the tribe was in, and also understood the trouble of having the chief's daughter working in the greenhouse after that scandal. This is why she relented.

But her time outside also made her want to realize herself, to be more than the traditional housewife she was eventually expected to be.

"I know what you mean." She said after a while. "But it's still better than being out there in the frontline."

"Oh, totally." Sokka agreed. "It really gives appreciation for the mandate things in life."

They finally got to a good enough point for Katara to do her thing. A lot of ice, a lot of snow, and a lot of freezing yet unfrozen water.

"So, how do you want to start?" Sokka asked her. And instead of answering, she demonstrated.

She began with a simple kata Zuko thought her to warm up. Waves of water, arrows of ice, whips. With the last one she had some problems, she will admit.

"Say, have you ever tried walking on water?" Sokka suddenly asked. "Like, walk-walk, not surfing on a tide."

"Where did that come from?" She asked. Usually, Sokka wasn't that much invested in her bending.

In response, he simply shrugged his shoulders. "Just came to mind, I guess. Thought about it when skipping stoned on the water."

"Well, you can't just walk on water as you walk on land, it's not solid." Katara explained. "It's the force I put in the water to resist gravity that allows me to float, and it's not something that I can keep under surface. At least not with my current level of water bending."

"Besides." She continued. "Surfing is much more efficient in both practice and speed."

"Probably, I just thought that it may be cool. You know, performance wise and all that. Can give off a mystical vibe as well. When the water rises up than everyone knows that you're a water bender, but if there is no sign of water bending than it's like – How does she do it? Is she a spirit or something?'"

There was something in there, and the more she practiced…

"But how should I do it? Like I said, it's not like I can make water solid without turning them to ice. And that's an immediate giveaway."

"What about turning them to ice just beneath your feet? In a way that no one could see?" Sokka suggested.

"But it's it cheating?" The entire purpose was to walk on water.

"By what rules?"

Point.

Katara looked at the freezing water, a fall there will get her bedridden for a month at best. "Maybe we'll save it for warmer water." She suggested.

"Agreed."

They continued their training, unaware to how cloth they were to a certain slumbering person.

AN

Alright, a shorter chapter then usual, but it was the most I could come up with as of now. Another important thing, because of a much busier schedule IRL I can't promise a be-weekly update as usual. I'll try to get the chapters as fast as possible, but I can't promise a schedule for the foreseeable future.

Because of said busier schedule, I also don't have time to answer reviews this time, sorry :(