For Want Of A Son

by tubendo

The Phoenix King has been defeated by the Avatar, Ba Sing Se has been liberated, and his daughter Azula is in chains. However, she is the uncontested Fire Lord, and the post-war settlement looks to be more divisive and challenging than our heroes could have imagined. However, things are not as they seem in the Royal Family, and secrets are hidden from the Fire Lord, and by her.

9. Chapter 9

The Capital had been strange since the Comet. Mai had been more than cognizant of the events that had transpired, even if she lacked many of the details; her friend, Princess Azula, had been crowned as Fire Lord, while her father had elevated himself to the title of Phoenix King, supreme ruler of the world. That had been a short lived reign, as he was defeated by the Avatar, and then, soon after, Azula soon followed; however, now, she reigned publicly once more as Fire Lord, while her father was nowhere to be seen.

However, Mai had not seen Azula since they returned from Ba Sing Se, about three months before the Comet passed. So, it had been over four months since she last saw her, and she had no great desire to see her. She had never told her what she wanted to know about Zuko, so she had refused to deal with her once their arrangements were done with. She had helped her win control of the city, and in exchange, she was able to return to her family home and live in tranquillity without her mother, father, or baby brother.

However, that was short lived, as after the eclipse, where the Avatar and his allies had attacked the capital, her family returned from New Ozai, bringing the bad news that it had fallen back to Earth Kingdom rule. She had been well aware of the resistance movement, so it was no surprise that they had seized the opportunity when none of their soldiers could firebend. Now she had to deal with them, and mother and father had been in especially dour moods, as her father had lost his Governorship and with it, all the privileges, and probably more importantly, the substantial salary.

Other than from Ty Lee, the only things she had learned about the inner workings of Azula's new government was from her uncle, who had sent a letter to her mother concerning a strange occurrence at the Boiling Rock. Two of their prisoners, both associated with the Avatar, were freed at the command of the Fire Lord and escorted back to the capital. She guessed it was part of some negotiation strategy to ensure Azula could hold power in the Fire Nation, as she was the one who was holding their allies prisoner. However, even if she was interested in all that, she had no present connection to Azula, and thus, no way to even influence the current situation.

So, she engrossed herself in the thing she had been able to avoid while on her journey with Azula: schoolwork. She had returned to regular classes, and had many stories to tell the other girls at school, or rather, she was constantly prodded until she gave in and explained what she had gotten up to with Azula. They were all fascinated with the Avatar, his group, and the city of Ba Sing Se, which no Fire Nation citizens had visited in a century, until they had infiltrated the place.

Now, she was walking back from school, after having completed the first test she had had to do since returning to classes at the end of the summer break. The test was on the history of the war, which felt quite relevant to the present situation, and some of the test answers were clearly out of date. It had not considered Azula's annexation of Ba Sing Se, the invasion of the Northern Water Tribe by Admiral Zhao, nor the battles that had happened during the eclipse or Sozin's Comet.

She was unsure how well she had scored, though in the aftermath of her return, that had been one area she had taken interest in reading about, having considered how her actions might be framed in the annals of history. She had not realised while she was in Ba Sing Se, but she had earned herself a spot, at least in the footnotes, whenever they would speak about the reign of Fire Lord Azula. Now, she realised there were many people who had fought for her nation, yet, their names were forgotten, or written only in the indexes of otherwise detailed history books. That made her feel a little bad for her father, as she felt he might be forgotten, despite being a Governor of a rather prominent, yet short-lived colony.

However, as she had been making her way through the streets of the city, she had an odd feeling, as if she was being watched. She had thought at first that it might have been a Dai Li agent, sent by Azula to report on her activities, but even then, she doubted the Fire Lord had much care for her at that moment. She had much more important things to deal with, and more important people to send spies after. She had not seen any agents, or anyone who could have possibly been one in disguise; their hairstyles were quite distinct, and unlike in Ba Sing Se, they were basically unseen outside of the agents themselves.

When she took a moment to stop, waiting to cross a busy street, she had noticed a stranger, wearing a straw hat, and fine robes, who had been following the same path as she had; they didn't seem to match up quite well, which told her that the stranger wanted to cover his face. Perhaps he was a spy, or perhaps he was simply somebody who didn't want to be seen. In any case, she kept a mental note of him as she continued to follow the path home. She lost sight of him as she made her way down a smaller street, running away from the centre of the caldera, leading her towards her home.

Mai was unsure if it was fair to be suspicious of the stranger, but being unable to see his face was immediately suspect. She pushed that thought from her mind, and continued down the street, noticing a few odd strangers ahead of her. They were foreigners, part of the group of fighters that had been freed in the aftermath of Ozai's defeat; they had clearly been out shopping, as she could see they had bags with them. She was unsure where they had gotten the money from to pay for their things, given they were not from the Fire Nation, and presumably unfamiliar with their currency, the ban. She guessed, however, that they had been given some kind of allowance to spend by Azula while they remained in the capital.

She glanced momentarily at their eyes, and noticed that they were Water Tribe, presumably from the South, as they were the Water Tribe that had actually sent forces to go fight the Fire Nation, while the North remained behind the protection of their icy walls. They seemed to notice her glances, and before they could ask her anything, she increased her pace and made her way further along.

"She's bloody afraid of us." one of the fighters spoke up, and Mai almost laughed at that; they didn't intimidate her, but she wanted to avoid any confrontation that could end with her in a lot of trouble.

"Ash-makers don't like us, idiot. Of course she's gonna avoid us!" one of the others responded, seeming frustrated by his comrade's observation.

Mai ignored them, and continued making her way down the street; when she reached another crossroad, she glanced across it, and noticed a few Home Guard soldiers moving about on patrol. There had been a few more of them in the past two weeks, after there was a violent protest that rocked the capital. They didn't pay any mind to her, and she continued onward. However, as she made her way up the next street, she found herself standing face to face with a masked stranger. She was confused at first, assuming him to be a spy, or some kind of criminal, if not working for Azula or some foreign party.

However, she recognised from his clothes that he was the man with the hat from earlier, who had dispensed of that and put on something far more intimidating. The mask was that of a lion-turtle's face, with its mouth open so it looked ready to attack; she recognised the expression as it was commonly found on lion turtle carvings, a common motif found in older architecture across the capital, and more broadly, the world as a whole.

"What do you want?" she asked, ready to shoot the man full of stilettos if she didn't receive an answer.

"Don't run." he warned her; he had a gravelly voice, though she assumed that the voice was part of an act, given he sounded far darker and cold than a normal person ought to.

"Saying it like that makes me want to run." she warned him, before raising her hands up, readying herself to shoot her stilettos, "You picked the wrong girl, idiot." she warned him, before firing off two of them at once, shooting them at his legs in hopes of getting him down and out of the way.

However, the man seemed to anticipate it, and lunged out of the way, narrowly dodging both of them. He somersaulted, and then covered one of his forearms entirely with flames, which burst out quite suddenly. He then shot his arm out and sent a spiralling fire whip right at her; that technique was impressive, but she had seen something similar before. Azula loved her elaborate firebending sets, and she would force Mai and Ty Lee to spar with her so she could practise them.

She weaved around the whip as it shot out and then dissipated, before throwing her sai at the foe. He reached a hand out and grabbed the blade by its handle, quickly enough that he was able to stop it from hitting his torso. He flipped it around in his hand, and then readied himself in a defensive stance.

"I'm not here to fight you." he warned her, as if that would stop her from beating him to a pulp, "But if you must... then I must." he justified himself, and she scoffed, before running at him.

She had had just about enough of this stranger's yapping; she would find out who he was, and exactly what he wanted with her. He weaved out of the way of a few more knives she threw at him, but that distraction gave her enough time to close the gap between them; she was able to reach out and grab his wrist, wringing it so she could free her sai from his hand. He dropped it, right into her left hand, after which she slashed it up his chest. He didn't seem hurt in the slightest, given his form remained steady. That told her that his robes were either well-layered, or that he had some padding beneath to prevent such superficial cuts from wounding him.

"Who do you serve?" he asked her, and Mai just kicked him in the shin, before pushing the sai up against his throat.

"Who do you?" she asked in return, and he coughed, before raising his hands up.

"Myself." he answered, "Do you think I work for her?" he asked, and she immediately knew who he was referring to.

"Who else would want to assassinate me?" she asked, "I know too much." she argued, and he scoffed.

"I already told you-" he began, and she grabbed the base of his mask by his chin, and pulled it up, "Wait!" he shouted out, and she pulled it free of his head before he could grab at it.

That was when she saw his eyes. Mai's heart sunk in her chest, as she realised she had never seen the mark itself, but the other eye, that was the same one she had always known. She was right: Zuko was alive. That realisation made her feel a momentary sense of elation; Azula's lies had not fooled her, but she could not be certain. She had held out hope, imagining a moment, though it was nothing like the one before her. Her face remained ever serious, not wanting to let those emotions out, even if part of her desperately wanted to.

So, Mai reacted in the only way she could think: she slapped him across his face, feeling the fury rise from beneath. He had hidden himself, and pretended he was dead, and never thought to tell her. Even a letter would have assuage her fears, but she couldn't even be spared that. More than that, he hadn't thought to contact her throughout his years of exile, and though she understood that he would have been angry, there was no reason to just ignore her like that. She did not deserve his ire.

He sputtered from the blow, and she grabbed him and dragged him over to a nearby wall, to make sure he was out of sight. He didn't resist much, and seemed more afraid of her than she was of him.

"Why are you here?" she asked him, not knowing what motivations could bring him to the capital; the fact he had been following her told her that he wanted to see her, but that didn't mean much given the circumstances.

"Well- uh, I thought we should catch up." he gave an excuse, which didn't sound believable, mostly from the tone in which he spoke; she secretly wished that were the case, but didn't make those feelings known.

Instead, she grit her teeth and raised the sai back up towards his neck, "Zuko, don't try and sweet talk me." she warned him, "I know better than anyone that you're no good at it."

That seemed to embarrass him more than anything, and he looked around nervously, "Mai, we're in the middle of the street. Can we please talk somewhere nobody will see us?"

"That sounds suspicious." she admitted, and he rolled his eyes.

"I am dead, remember? I have a promise with my sister that I'm not intending to break." he argued, and she raised a brow.

"Wait, so you did make a-"

"I can explain everything, we just need to get out of sight." he pleaded, and Mai sighed, before gesturing to the closest alleyway.

"Follow me." she told him, and he did so.

They made their way over to the alleyway, and down its length, before they reached a small garden that lay between a few houses and the backs of some shops that lined a nearby street. She sat down at a bench, and Zuko exchanged his mask for his hat, no longer covering his face entirely, but still keeping it out of sight for any unsuspecting onlookers.

"So, tell me." she demanded, "Or I will start beating you again. After your silence, I think you're asking for it." she warned him coldly, and the Prince grimaced.

"I'm sorry, Mai, that I couldn't tell you, but somebody might have read whatever I sent you. And I didn't know you were in Omashu before you had already gone with Azula." he admitted, and she raised a brow.

"You know about that?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yes, well, it was pretty big news in the colonies." he clarified, and Mai narrowed her eyes.

"So, that's where you've been hiding. That makes sense." she observed a new bit of information she could pry from his words, "And what was this about a deal?"

"My sister and I made a deal when she caught me."

"Caught you?" she raised a brow, "How, where-"

"I was in some little port town in the colonies. I was trying to reach the Northern Fleet, so I could... deal with Admiral Zhao." he explained his intentions, and her eyes widened; Zhao had been assassinated by an enemy of the Fire Nation known only as the Blue Spirit.

That person, she realised, had to be Zuko; this also told her that he was the person who had freed the Avatar from captivity before his supposed death in an explosion. Those two facts, she guessed, were not unrelated.

"Wait- wait, so you're the Blue-" she began, and he raised a finger.

"I am." he answered her question, before she even finished asking it, "I did eventually get Zhao, but that was only because of the deal. Azula made me promise to stay away, so she could be Crown Princess, and make everyone think I was dead."

"You had a funeral." she recalled, "It wasn't anything magnificent, but it happened."

"Did... did you go?" he asked her with a surprising amount of unease, and she grimaced; he was probably thinking about his uncle, who, unlike him, was certainly dead.

"There were some rites made by the Fire Sages, but the proper thing happened after I had left for Omashu with my family." she clarified, "You would have to- well, actually, I don't know who you could ask." she admitted, unsure who had even attended the ceremony, beyond his father, the Fire Lord at the time.

"Nevermind that." he waved a hand to get her attention, "I'm sure you're more wanting to know why I came here, to find you." he presumed her thoughts, and he did so correctly; she nodded, and he continued, "The end of the war is going to change a lot of things for the Fire Nation, and I have come to realise that I need to make sure it doesn't restart." he explained his intentions, "I'm not here to become Fire Lord, if that's what you were thinking."

"Well, you did say you weren't going to break your promise." she observed, before furrowing a brow, "But how can you stop the war from happening again if you're playing dead?"

"Because I only have to play dead for the wider public, not for Azula herself." he answered her question, "She needs my help... whether she likes it or not."

"What can you even do- I mean, beyond being a decently educated Prince?" she asked him, not awning to offend him, but a bit confused how he could personally prevent the Hundred Year War from restarting.

"I-" he began, before sighing, "I know how things are in the colonies. I know what's been happening there. And I know that the Avatar having his grip over the Fire Lord will not end well." he explained, before narrowing his eyes, "And there are other things... I need to handle." he added, sounding far more dark and foreboding than he had before.

"What kinds of things?" she asked, and he looked away.

"Not things that matter to the Fire Nation. Things that matter to me." he explained, and that seemed like all he would say on the matter.

She didn't want to press him too much, at least at that moment, "So... where does that leave me?"

"You know Azula." he admitted, "I can't exactly enter the palace." he warned her, and she crossed her arms.

"What, you want me to tell her you want to see her?" she asked, and Zuko cringed.

"I mean... no, I need to figure out what is going on inside, and I don't want her to know I'm here, not yet." he explained, "She might get the wrong idea."

"She would." she conceded, "Azula has always been paranoid."

She knew the Princess well, and had known her most of both of their lives; she was not the kindest, and certainly had fears that she preferred to ignore or deny. Zuko seizing her throne was almost certainly at the top of her list at that very moment, so no matter Zuko's actual intentions, he couldn't directly reach her.

"I haven't seen her in months." she admitted, "And I had no desire to... because I knew she wasn't telling the whole truth about what happened to you." she explained why she had not seen the Princess, now Fire Lord, in all that time, "But Ty Lee has. If we can get her to talk with her, maybe that will help."

"Well, I don't prefer to make a spy out of anyone... but if she can help, I would appreciate it." he admitted, making a cautious smile, before sighing, "I have to go now. There's places I need to visit."

"Such as?" she asked, and his expression grew cold.

"Uncle's grave." he admitted, "I should pay my respects before I do anything else I might regret."

"You regret chasing after me?" she asked, and his expression became more embarrassed.

"Uh... no... I mean coming to the homeland." he clarified, and Mai stepped back.

"You best watch out for the Dai Li. I'm sure they'll report on you to Azula."

"I haven't seen any of them so far." he admitted, "They must be hiding very well, or they're not out on the streets."

"They haven't been forced to leave yet, that's all I know." she explained what she knew, before gesturing down the street, "If you need somewhere to stay, I'm sure you could come to my house." she suggested, and Zuko grimaced.

"I don't want to be a burden... and I don't think your father would be very happy about that." he warned her, and she shrugged.

"I meant in the attic. There's definitely space, and nobody's gonna come looking for you." she suggested, and Zuko's expression shifted.

"Uh, okay, I'll consider that." he gave his opinion, sounding a little less concerned.

He tilted his hat down, and began to walk away, "I'll need to go have these robes mended." he admitted, and she felt a little bad about that.

"Wait." she raised a hand, before reaching into her bag, pulling out a few ban; it was part of her allowance, but she thought it was improper to have him pay for it himself when she had cut up his robes.

When she offered it, he snickered, and shook his head, "It's fine, Mai. I have money. I'm not a vagrant."

"I didn't think you'd lie to me." she prodded him, and Zuko sighed.

"The capital isn't my home. I live somewhere else." he assured her, and began to walk back down the street, "Good luck with your schoolwork."

As she was left by her lonesome, she pouted slightly, and glanced down at her bag, thinking about the fact she would have to now go home and study, when all she had were questions about what Zuko had been doing that entire time. His exile, and then after his public death. However, her parents would not be pleased if her grades were to go down, especially now that her father was expecting her to get a job in the public service, given his governorship had fallen through.

"You think I can even think about that now?"

---

With sweat dripping down his forehead, Zuko wished that he was being paid more for the back-breaking labour he'd agreed to do. At the very least, he could afford to stay in a room in an apartment, given the spot by his employer, the port authority. However, in exchange, he was working most hours of the day, moving crates around, unpacking them, or packing them, and loading and unloading the ships that entered the port of Yoikaikou. He much preferred the farm labour, with all its breaks, free food, and lodging, even if the port authority admittedly was paying him a lot better.

The other labourers, like him, were all young men, between the ages of around fifteen and thirty, and all were physically capable. Some of them were scary, even to Zuko, with scars and muscles to suggest they weren't just mere port labourers; he had known from the start that he wasn't just expected to be a dockworker, and he had already had to deal with thieves. Zuko had pelted a few idiots with his firebending when they tried to snatch a delivery of alcohol from the homeland, and after that he quickly earned the respect of his co-workers.

When he was finally afforded his break, he immediately bought some lunch from the canteen, and made his way over to the stacks of crates that sat in part of the port, ready to be loaded on the next river barge when it arrived. He sat himself on top, and began digging into the lunch, looking down the river and eyeing people walking on the road on the other side.

The colonies, despite the poor conditions many people were living in, he couldn't say it wasn't peaceful. Despite the fact that they weren't allowed to earthbend, the local inhabitants seemed comfortable enough, and a few of them even worked at the port with him. They formed their own little group within the dockworkers, and generally refused to socialise with the likes of Zuko, knowing he was a Fire Nation citizen. One of the dockworkers who did socialise with him was Yeong, a colonial man who was a few years his senior; he seemed friendlier than the others, though he didn't seem any less capable of bashing somebody's head in.

"Oi, Lee!" he called out to him, "Why are you up there, anyway? he asked, and Zuko was unsure what to say; he was just there because he preferred the view to being down at the canteen.

"It looks nice up here." he told him the truth, and Yeong snickered.

"Aha!" he laughed, "Really? All that sewage in the river looks nice?"

"I'm not looking at the water. I'm looking at the hills." he clarified, before taking a bite from his lunch; it was some fried rice with bits of spiced vegetables, which wasn't that appetising, but it was filling.

"Huh." he murmured, before slowly climbing up the crates, sitting himself a little lower down, but close enough to Zuko that they could have a private conversation without any of the other workers eavesdropping on them, "So, I've been meaning to ask, how did a good firebender like you end up here?" he asked, "You surely could have joined the army."

"I- uh, I had other things I was doing... I've only left home recently." he explained, and Yeong hummed.

"Is it because of the mark?" he asked, and Zuko almost choked on his food; he always knew the question was coming, and Yeong had already asked about it before, but he preferred to just step around the issue.

He could come up with a lie about it, but he wasn't sure he could keep himself consistent. The truth was something he couldn't say, because it was both shameful, and revealing of his identity.

"No." he retorted, "Other... things. I don't think I'm unique in the colonies in that regard." he argued, hoping that would deflect away from his questioning.

"No, you're right." the dockworker agreed, "Most of us aren't here because we want to be. I was born in the colonies, and I can't say I like it here very much. More opportunities than in the Outer Islands, though."

He recalled Yeong saying that his family had come from there, before he was born; Zuko knew that the people there were worse off than in the more developed parts of the homeland, but if it was really that bad, he thought the Fire Nation ought to reprioritise its resources to help improve that part of their nation. It was shameful to have people languishing in poverty in the homeland while they were expending so much effort to build up the colonies. He forced that thought from his mind, knowing that thinking politics was pointless, given his circumstances.

"Are you going to head to one of those new settlements?" Yeong asked, "I'm sure you could get better work there. Maybe even get hired as a guard. I'm sure they'd appreciate the protection."

"I'd have to get paid enough to live... and then survive." he argued, before grimacing, "Getting crushed by a boulder is not the way I'd like to go."

That made Yeong laugh, and he nodded along eagerly, "Me too. I'd rather die old and fat." he argued, and Zuko scrunched his lips; the image that came into his mind was not himself as an old man, but his uncle, who would be unflatteringly described as 'old and fat'.

"Y-yeah." he mumbled, before picking out some more of his food, and chewing it down.

"That's just the risk of living out in a place where half the people are afraid of you and the other half wanna kill you." Yeong noted, "I hope people will get used to each other, but they hate us for a reason."

"The Earth Kingdom?" he assumed, and the dockworker nodded.

"We took their land. It's a wonder there aren't more of them fighting." he admitted, before sighing, "All I want is a little peace and quiet."

"Yoikaikou's peaceful enough." he gave his own view on the situation, and Yeong shrugged.

"For now." he warned him, and he understood the sentiment; the war was in the Fire Nation's favour, but that might always be the case.

If that day came, people like Yeong would have everything to lose because of it, even if he personally had nothing to do with the war, or any crimes committed against the people of the Earth Kingdom.

"What's making you say that?" Yeong asked him, seeming nervous at the suggestion, "You haven't heard anything bad about the frontlines, have you?"

"No." he conceded, "But things can change quickly."

"Like with the Six Hundred Day Siege." he recalled, and that made him wince; thinking about his uncle, then his cousin, that only made him feel anguish and rage, because of the unfairness of it all.

He continued eating his lunch, and Yeong did the same, though he must have noticed his shift in expression, as when he took a break from chewing down on his lunch, he tapped Zuko on the side, "Your face." he observed, "Did you lose somebody in the Siege?"

"Yes." he answered truthfully, "My cousin."

"That must have been a terrible way to go. I've only heard bad stories about the fighting there... and for it all to be for nothing-"

"Worse than nothing." he mumbled in response; even if he didn't wish ill upon the people of Ba Sing Se, his uncle's failure was the reason he wasn't Fire Lord.

As much as he tried to respect his father, there was no use in denying it; Iroh would have been a much better Fire Lord, and he would have handled the end of the war much better. The attack on the Northern Water Tribe would have never happened, for one, and with Ba Sing Se theirs, the Earth Kingdom might have finally sued for peace. He wished that they would already, for their own sake, but he knew that they would continue resisting, as they had for the past century.

"I'm sorry." Yeong apologised, clearly feeling sympathy; however, he was really more aggrieved by what had happened to his uncle a matter of weeks prior, and not the death of his cousin, five years ago, when his life was so much nicer.

"We can't do anything about that now." he argued, and Yeong shrugged.

"I mean, if you're brave enough, the army might have you." he suggested, and Zuko knew he could not do anything like that, even if he thought he might be good at it, and find meaning from service, as he had before, hunting the Avatar.

However, he knew that was just another way he would be stuck, unable to live for himself; that had been what Iroh had wanted for him, that entire time, yet he had been too stupidly obsessed with returning home to realise it.

"I'm unsuited." he gave an excuse, before continuing to eat his meal.

"Yeong! Lee!" another dockworker, by the name of Akimitsu, addressed them, "You better get your arses up. We need to get those crates on the next barge!"

Zuko quickly finished his meal off, and put the bowl down, leaving it on the crate while he went off to get back to work. He would take the bowl and chopsticks back to the canteen so they could be washed later, but if Akimitsu wanted him working, he wouldn't deny him. The man was massive, yet his patience was tiny, and he did not want to test it. Obviously, he wanted their work for the day done as soon as possible, and would harass any of them if they slacked off, even if that slacking was required as part of their job, as with their lunch break.

"Alright." he heard the head of operations, a man by the name of Tao, spoke up, "I want each of these crates of furniture put on the barge. These are fragile and expensive, so you better be bloody careful, got it?"

"Yessir!" they all chanted in response, and he strode over to get to work, taking the first box he could reach in the set that lay before him.

Zuko found the work easy enough, given his own strength, and the fact that he was eating well, meant that he had the energy for it. However, the strain meant that he was starting to hurt; his hands, feet, back, and knees were aching after each shift at the docks, and he knew that he couldn't stand it long term. At that very moment, however, he could tolerate it, and tolerate it he did.

Crate after crate, the docks were emptied of their stock, and each was moved onto the barge, and stacked precisely so that the heavy crates remained at the base while the lighter ones were stacked higher up. The barge filled up quickly enough, and then, once the furniture crates were all in, they had to put in large pieces of furniture, which were in longer crates. Those required two or three dockworkers to carry them. Zuko was paired up with two other men who had similar heights and builds, Wu and Takeshi. The three of them carried four large crates over onto the barge, before it seemed that their work with the furniture was done.

Tao clapped his hands in approval, and gestured to the next stack of crates, "Alright, these are crates of crops. These are less fragile, but don't mess around... they're even more expensive than the furniture." he warned them, and Zuko cautiously nodded; he was unsure what kind of crop would be more valuable than furniture, but he guessed it was some premium cotton, or some kind of plant used for industrial purposes.

He didn't question that, and began heaving the next group of crates onto the barge. They were smaller, but a bit denser, making it no easier for them to carry them over. The barge was full soon enough, and all those crates were in place. Tao whistled, and some of the workers brought out the massive, rolled up piece of tarp, which they would cover the entire barge with. Zuko had to grab a part of it, and climbed over the barge, pulling it along so he could tie it up on the other side. He fastened it down, watching as the others did the same, before they had to cautiously climb around, avoiding stepping on any of the crates.

"Good job, boys." Tao acknowledged their efforts, and gestured over to the main office at the port, "Head to the office and you'll get your pay for the day. The next barge will be coming in tomorrow morning, so you better be here to unload it." he told them, "Just remember to close things up when you leave. I don't want any miscreants getting around and messing with our goods."

Zuko paced back over to where he had eaten lunch, and grabbed his bowl and chopsticks, bringing them over to the canteen, and putting them in the basket that lay ready for the dishes to be washed; the canteen workers must have been on break, as he couldn't see anyone inside, but he knew that somebody would come around and clean the rest of the dishes.

He turned around, and made his way over to the office; he was at the back of the line, so he knew he would have to wait a bit; however, the paymaster was efficient with their work, given that everyone was being paid the same, beyond any extra payment they received for overtime, which was hard for them to do when they worked on a barge by barge basis. One after the other, the workers received their pay packets, which consisted of small bags of ban coins. The paymaster would cross off a name on his list, and have somebody else come up.

When it came to his turn, he just eyed the man blankly, wanting it over and done with so he could head back to the apartment. "Lee, two hundred and ten ban." he told him how much he was being paid, "Lunch deduction of fifteen ban." he added, and pushed a bag of coins forward, "One hundred and ninety five ban."

He nodded, and paced over to the door out, which would lead him right onto the street; out there he could see some of the other workers chatting, and he tried to not get involved, as he wanted to head back off to his place, rest for a bit, before he had to go off and get himself dinner. It hadn't been that long since lunch, but the work was hard, and he needed some time to unwind. Yeong noticed him, and waved goodbye, Zuko returning the gesture.

"Good luck, Lee." he farewelled him.

As he turned the corner, heading back out towards the main street of Yoikaikou, he spotted a few of the workers, led by Akimitsu, harassing a stranger by the entrance of the docks, right where he'd have to go to request a shipment or pick up an order.

"Don't you think that's a little too much, buddy? I know Tao won't appreciate getting shortchanged." he warned the stranger, who grimaced.

"Hey, the payment is twenty ban per cargo space, right?" he asked, and Akimitsu did not seem pleased.

"Twenty ban when you're not making us carry around shit that can have us arrested." he warned him with a hushed voice, though Zuko could still just make out his words, "Now, where's the other ten each? That makes it five hundred total." he warned him, and the stranger grimaced.

"I can't- I don't have it on me now." he tried to excuse himself, and Akimitsu scoffed.

"Yeah, alright, do you really think I'm that stupid."

"Come on." Wu tried to dissuade Akimitsu from resorting to violence, "Just give him until tomorrow morning. That's when it matters."

"Yeah, be reasonable." the stranger requested, and Akimitsu smiled, offered him a handshake which he accepted, before the dockworker suddenly headbutted him.

Zuko winced as he watched the stranger stumble back, blood pouring out from his nose; he looked mad, but didn't fight back, and instead turned around and began running away.

"Yeah, that's rightǃ" Akimitsu shouted at him, "Come back with the money, you miserly shitǃ"

Zuko realised that the other workers had noticed him, and he turned around a corner, hoping to just head back to his apartment and not have to deal with the issue. He was not naive enough to miss what was really going on. The port authority was allowing illegal goods to be smuggled through, and was accepting, or perhaps, demanding bribes, in compensation. He did not sympathise with the man undertaking the smuggling, but he knew that what Akimitsu and the others were doing was wrong.

Zuko paced along down the street, and spotted the stranger, who was in an alleyway, trying to clean himself up; he saw him, and the stranger's eyes filled with unease. He looked ready to accuse him, before realising he wasn't hostile. He seemed relieved, and gestured off to the side.

"Do me a favour and fuck off." he requested, "I don't want your friends coming to bash me."

"They're not really my friends." he conceded, "Don't be stupid." he gave the only words of advice he could, and went on his way; the stranger was lost for words, and didn't say a thing.

He didn't waste his time waiting for a response, because he didn't care enough. He knew that involving himself, either for the financial benefits, or for some moral qualms, would only cause him more issues in the long run. Zuko did not stop or even consider it; he had his goals, and those were not starving and having a roof to sleep under. He would not interfere with those goals by doing something stupid.

When he made his way towards the apartment, he came through Yoikaikou's town square. His eyes fell upon the wanted persons posters, which were otherwise plastered around the city: for better or worse, the Blue Spirit was one of them, and the posters had clearly been updated since he first arrived in the town, as they said he was last sighted in Liangyuan. He momentarily scanned his eyes across the other ones, seeing wanted posters for a few other miscellaneous criminals, as well as some Earth Kingdom rebels, though none of those really interested him that much.

He wondered how many people were looking for him, the man who had freed the Avatar from captivity, and had killed Admiral Zhao. His poster was bigger than the rest, and that slightly boosted his ego, though he was more concerned than anything. He did not want to be on the run forever, and had tried to keep his head down. Liangyuan had just not gone his way, but he knew he might have a chance in Yoikaikou, if he just stuck to doing his job, and didn't do anything suspicious.

However, if somebody recognised him as Zuko, then things would surely go even worse. They would either think him a traitor, or try to get him to the Fire Nation authorities, so he could go and 'do his duty' for their nation. As much as he hated his present circumstances, being a tool for his sister sounded a lot worse. He turned his heels, and didn't look back; the Blue Spirit needed to die, and Lee needed to live.

---

Katara had forgotten in the time since they were last there that the Fire Nation Royal Palace was massive. The sprawling complex took up a decent portion of the Caldera City, and much of the area was dry ground, surrounding the complex on all sides, making it seem all the more imposing and stark against the rest of the city.

It had been a rough few weeks, spent meeting with dozens of groups, both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, trying their hardest to keep everyone appeased. She thought Aang had done a decent job, but the more they went around, the more they both realised things were not going to be solved so easily. The colonists were steadfast, especially in the older, more established parts, and they had no desire to leave their homes, especially without the chance to fight. That worried them both, but all of them seemed willing to compromise, given they received compensation by their Fire Lord.

They had yet to hear whether Azula would support such things, but they had been guessing she would have already sent her orders out to the colonies, given the oldest of the pleas must have reached the capital at least two weeks prior. However, they had spent their last leg of their journey travelling across the Mo Ce Sea, visiting the Western Air Temple briefly once more, before flying south to the Fire Nation's main island.

The Fire Nation locals were interested when they flew around, and to her relief, they weren't harassed; local officials knew to treat them with respect, and even provided them with some places to stay on the occasion that they landed in a town or village on their way back to the capital. She had been pleased with that, at least showing that the Fire Nation could be hospitable when it was required of them.

As Appa drew down to the ground, Aang directed him towards a courtyard within the palace, next to the part of the palace where they had been staying, the diplomatic suites. There was nobody waiting to greet them, presumably because they hadn't actually seen Appa flying in, given the insular design of the palace. When they landed, Appa let out a low groan, and Katara stood up at once, deciding she would go find Sokka, as he had to be nearby.

He could tell her what had been going on since they left, and then, they could go see the Fire Lord. She wanted to make sure she would make good on her word, and provide the aid to make the peaceful exit of the colonials possible. She climbed down from the saddle, and glanced around, orienting herself; the courtyard was near enough to their quarters, from what she could recall, but to be certain, she approached one of the guards she could see stationed nearby.

He was surprised by her sudden appearance, and stiffened his posture, turning to face Katara, "Do you need something?" he asked, and she gestured up and down the hallway she had entered.

"Where exactly do I need to go to get to the diplomatic suites from here?" she asked, and he gestured to her left.

"That way, my lady." he answered, and she almost laughed at the formal address; she turned around to glance at Aang, who was just checking Appa.

"This way." she gestured the direction she was going to go, and he nodded to tell her he understood; with that, she was on her way.

Katara didn't waste any time, walking down the hallway until she recognised where she was; she turned a corner, which led her up to the entrance of the diplomatic suites, where a pair of Water Tribe warriors were standing guard.

"Oh, Katara." one of them, a warrior by the name of Ivaaq, addressed her, "I'm guessing you and the Avatar just got back."

"Yes." she confirmed, "I'm looking for Sokka... or Dad. Both of them would be good." she explained her intentions, and he gestured at the door behind him.

"Hakoda's just inside. He was just having a meeting with some of the leaders from the other nations."

"You mean the people from the Day of the Black Sun, right?" she questioned, and he nodded.

"No, he didn't just meet with the Earth King." he reassured her with an amused smile, and with that, Katara stepped through the doorway.

She made her way towards where she knew her father had been staying before she and Aang departed. Winding down the hallways, she approached that room, which was shared with a few other people, but she guessed that he was probably there if he wasn't out around some other part of the palace. She knocked on the door, before opening it, and she could see that a few of the fighters from the Day of the Black Sun were in there, playing some card game with each other. Her father was there, sitting on his bed, reading a scroll.

"Katara." he gasped out her name as his eyes darted up from the scroll; he put it to the side and approached her, giving her a hug, "It is good to see that you're back safely. After all that time, you had me a bit worried."

"We were fine, Dad." she assured him, "I'm more worried about the world than about us."

"I understand." he whispered, before breaking the hug, "Have you seen your brother yet?"

"No... did he have some urgent news or something?" she asked, before chuckling, "Are he and Suki getting married?" she came up with the most absurd, but plausible answer, knowing it was almost certainly not the case.

"No, no, it's nothing like that." he assured her, "He's just been waiting for you to return so we can do more negotiations with the Fire Lord. He thinks it would be best if Aang were there, and of course, you were witness to everything he was doing."

"I was participating." she corrected him, feeling slightly offended, but not all that much, given that she knew everyone was expecting the weight of responsibility to fall on Aang's shoulders, for better or worse.

She had only hoped to lighten that weight, and help with his burdens as Avatar. She didn't think herself all wise, or anything so grandiose, but she thought that her compassion and interest in ending the war would at least help push things in the right direction. However, after all that she had seen, said, and heard, she felt that she might have been more of a problem than a help. She didn't like the Fire Nation, and didn't want them abusing the new peace for their own gain. However, the more and more they tried to negotiate with people, the more likely that outcome seemed to be, and the more angry Katara became with the whole situation.

"I don't know if I was very helpful, though." she admitted her feelings, and her father's gaze became uneasy.

"Katara... don't be so harsh on yourself. I am sure you helped Aang as much as you could." he assured her, and she turned her eyes away.

"I think I was trying to do what I thought was right... but I don't think 'right' will stop the war from restarting."

"Huh." he mumbled, before placing a hand on her shoulder, "I know you don't want to hear this, but I think the Fire Lord feels similarly."

"Hmph." she scoffed, unsurprised by that fact; it was her who had sent them on their way, and had already made her derision towards the peace process clear, and now, she could understand her reasoning.

The Earth Kingdom would use force to achieve their ends, and the Fire Nation would have to respond in kind. The only way that could be avoided was with the Fire Nation conceding everything the Earth Kingdom wanted, and even if it was within the Fire Lord's power to do so, she could not reasonably see it happening. The colonials would be up in arms, and not figuratively; the Fire Nation would tear itself apart, and even if that helped the Earth Kingdom reclaim its land, it would not make peace between them any easier.

She knew that peace was the goal she wanted, and the fact that peace required compromises, compromises that would benefit the aggressor, that frustrated her, but she knew there was little that could be done about it. They could find a way for the Fire Nation to repay the other nations of the world for their crimes, and hopefully, they would stay true to their word.

She could not trust Azula as a person, but as a leader, she at least seemed reasonable enough that she would not endanger peace for any minor victories she could score by abusing the technicalities of whatever agreement they ended up with. She was too afraid of Aang, and as much as Katara didn't want the Avatar to be feared, if that was the only way he could do his duties, she had to accept that it was necessary.

"So where is Sokka?" she asked, knowing she needed to get him before she thought to go speak with the Fire Lord.

"I think he was off training with his sword." he clarified, and she nodded, knowing where the closest yard was.

"I should probably find Toph as well." she realised, knowing that even if she couldn't tell if Azula was lying, she still had a good knack for reading people; she could read between the lines and cut away at all the excess in her words, much more easily than Katara could.

"Find Toph?" she heard the girl's voice behind her.

"Heh?" she turned around, and smiled as she realised she was standing right there; as much as she didn't appreciate being snuck up on, she was glad she was already there, "How long have you been listening?"

"Well, I felt your heartbeat as soon as you got here." she reminded her of her seismic sense, "So, why don't we go find your dumb brother, and get down to business? I'm sure you and Aang have a lot to say."

"I guess." she nodded, "I'm not really... well, I can't say I'm any more hopeful we can resolve this easily."

"Well, now you know the facts on the ground." she argued, "That levels the field a little. She can't act all high and mighty when you've seen it all yourselves."

"I don't appreciate her smugness." she agreed with the sentiment, before glancing down the hallway, where she could see Aang was approaching.

"You ran pretty fast, Katara." he admitted with a sheepish look on his face, "Did you find Sokka?"

"No, I was just speaking with Dad." she clarified, and when Hakoda stepped out, Aang awkwardly waved to him.

"Oh, hi, Hakoda, sir." he addressed him rather formally; perhaps it was because he was Katara and Sokka's father, and he felt like he ought to be more respectful, but in any case, it was just funny, and a little endearing.

"Hello, Aang." he replied, "Did you have a good trip?"

"I mean... we didn't have to fight anyone. So yeah, good." he answered, "I made sure Katara didn't hit any stupid Fire Nation people." he clarified, and the Water Tribe girl raised a brow.

"Sorry, what?" she asked, and Hakoda made a sheepish look.

"Uh, well, I know how you get at times, Katara. I made sure Aang promised to keep you from doing anything too brash." he explained, and she scrunched her lips, feeling embarrassed that her father had actually made the effort to ask that of Aang.

"What?" she asked, raising her voice perhaps a little too much.

She might have been abrasive when it came to dealing with the Fire Nation, but the fact he had to ask made her feel that she needed to make an effort to be nicer around them. She didn't want to do that, but she knew that was the right thing to do. She wasn't going to help make peace with them if she kept treating them like they were still at war. The war might not have been truly over, but acting like they were about to start attacking each other again would not end well.

"Sorry." she dropped her head down, "I realise you mean well, Dad. I just can't trust them." she explained her feelings, and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand, dear. You're right not to... but we have to start somewhere, otherwise nobody will ever trust anyone, on either side. Without trust, there will be no peace."

"That's a wise way of looking at things." Toph complimented him, before gesturing down the hallway, "Sokka's that way."

With that, Katara, Aang, and Toph all began making their way down the hallway, which led them out to a garden; they made their way through that, and across to a small courtyard, beyond which was the training yard. That's where she spotted her brother, training with Suki, the two of them wielding their respective swords.

She was impressed by the speed at which they were sparring, blades clashing against each other, drawing back before swinging at each other again. Suki had a notable edge in the fight, but that didn't surprise Katara, as she had had more practice with her own sword than Sokka had with his. The two of them didn't notice them at first, as they were enthralled in the spar. However, when Suki finally got Sokka to drop his blade, by having her own up against his neck, both of them realised that they were there. The Kyoshi Warrior raised a hand and waved.

"Hi, Aang, Katara." she addressed them both, "Things must be okay if you're already back, right?" she presumed, and they nodded.

"Y-yeah, things are okay." Aang gave his own opinion, before Sokka stepped forward, after picking up his sword and sheathing it.

"We should go speak with the Fire Lord." he declared, "I mean, Aang should, at the very least."

"Yes, I agree." Katara nodded, "That's actually why I came over here."

"Good." he nodded, "I don't want her thinking she can do whatever she wants just because Aang wasn't here to threaten her."

"I- I'm not trying to threaten her." the Avatar made his own position clear, though he didn't sound very confident when he said it.

"I know you're not, but you are. Because you're the one who beat her, remember?" Sokka tried to reframe what he said, and Aang cautiously nodded.

"Y-yeah." he accepted his point, before glancing towards the hallway, "So, we should go?"

"Yes, we should." he nodded, "Suki, are you gonna come along?"

"I'm a bit tired after the sparring, to be honest." she admitted, and Katara was unsure if that was an excuse, "We can talk about what happens after, okay?" she suggested, placing a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

He smiled, and nodded, before the rest of them paced off in the direction of the Fire Lord's office, where they all assumed her to be. The fact it wasn't stated made that assumption clear; there was nothing to suggest the Fire Lord would be anywhere else when she arrived. She probably had a lot of reports to deal with now that she was surely enacting the requests the colonials would have been making of her.

"So, has she done anything?" she decided to ask Sokka, who nodded.

"I mean, if by anything you mean actually moving the colonists away from the frontier, then yeah... but I don't know how much that's going to help the Earth Kingdom." he admitted, and she narrowed her eyes.

"Why?" she asked, "If the Fire Nation leaves those lands, they can reclaim them."

"Well, it's about the rest of the colonies. The more Fire Nation people that are there, the less of a chance the colonies can be easily removed." he explained, "I think the Fire Lord wants to try and keep as many of them as she can."

"Of course she does." Toph scoffed, "This is war, not a game. She won't just give up everything because we ask."

"That would be better." Aang admitted, "But it won't happen. The colonists probably wouldn't all leave, even if the Fire Lord told them to."

"I mean, the Fire Lord telling them might get a lot of people to move." Katara conceded, before grimacing, "But a lot might just try to fight instead."

"And there goes our peace." Sokka sighed, "Speaking of... do you have any idea how we're going to get the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation to the table. I mean literally at a table."

"The people we met with said they wanted to have a settlement by winter." Katara explained, "If not, next spring, they'd move into the colonies and start forcing the settlers out."

"That's still a few months." Toph admitted, "More than enough time to drag the Fire Lord over to some nice little neutral spot for us to talk it out."

"Where would we even go?" Sokka asked, "There's not many places that I would say are... uh, neutral."

"There's probably some places on the frontier, near the colonies, where everyone could meet without it being too dangerous for either side." Toph argued, "I mean, you've flown through there more than once. You must have seen some places."

"What about that one town... where Katara stole the waterbending scroll?" Sokka suggested, "I remember them saying it was a free port or something. It was kinda in the colonies, but the Fire Nation didn't really control it... but it definitely wasn't run by the Earth Kingdom either."

"That does sound like the kind of place we could have them meet." Katara agreed to the idea, "But we'll have to hear what the Fire Lord has to say... and knowing her, she'll have a lot to say."

"Yes, she will." her brother mumbled, sounding annoyed, though he didn't elaborate.

They made their way into the depths of the palace, and wound through the complex of corridors, halls, and courtyards, before arriving at the Fire Lord's office; there were a pair of guards standing outside the door, and both seemed surprised to see the Avatar. One turned around, knocked on the door, and pushed it ajar. Though she couldn't hear what exactly he was saying, a moment later, that guard stepped forward.

"The Fire Lord will see you now." he told them what she wanted to hear.

When they approached, the guards opened the double doors up to reveal the Fire Lord, who was seated in her office, looking over some documents; Katara noticed that on the wall, as opposed to the last time she was there, a large map was hanging up, marked with various coloured pins, which she could tell had to do with the various movements of people within the colonies.

"I see you have returned unharmed." the Fire Lord observed, before gesturing to the chairs in front of her desk, "And now, you are here to inform me of what you have done, I assume."

"Yes." Aang confirmed, and he took a seat; Katara and Sokka followed, while Toph remained standing behind them, her arms crossed.

She probably was still trying to figure out how to determine when the Fire Lord was lying, and from the look on her face, it seemed that she was no closer to a solution than she had been when Katara last left the Fire Nation Capital.

"So, what does the Earth Kingdom have to say?" she asked, and Aang and Katara eyed each other, before the Water Tribe girl decided to speak up.

"The Earth Kingdom officials and soldiers have come to... well, they have a deadline."

"For what, exactly?" Azula pressed her, seeming frustrated by her lack of detail, though she hadn't given her much time to actually explain what was going on.

"The peace settlement." she clarified, "They want it done by winter. I know that moving people and changing how things work in the colonies will take longer than that, but that's when they want the agreement done."

"A few months." the Fire Lord mumbled, before sighing, "I imagine that means we will have to organise the actual negotiations." she realised, "Soon."

"Yes, Sokka had an idea about that."

"Oh- uh, yeah." he nodded, "I thought that we could have everyone meet..." he began, before rising up to his feet, approaching the map that she had marked with pins, and pointing at a spot south of the main set of colonies in the northwestern Earth Kingdom, "Here."

"And what is here, exactly? That's just a random spot by the Mo Ce Sea coast to me. Is it some colonial settlement, or an Earth Kingdom military base?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"No, it's a port. The Fire Nation never occupied it, and there weren't any Earth Kingdom soldiers there from what I could tell. We've been there twice now." he explained, "I think it's good neutral ground."

"Well... if nobody occupies it, then it must be infested with-"

"Criminals, yes." Katara conceded the truth of the matter, "But they're not going to try and rob or harm important delegates, not when the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation would probably be able to blow the place to bits in an instant."

"Well, I was expecting to bring some ships with me... but I am glad for the permission." she smirked, and Aang raised a hand up.

"Wait, wait, we don't want too many soldiers there. We don't want anyone to try and- uh, well, assassinate anyone."

"And what would you know about assassinations, Avatar?"

"Not much." he conceded, his eyes flickering for a moment, maybe because he was thinking about when Azula had tried to kill him, "But the Earth Kingdom people we were speaking with were worried they might be assassinated if they had to come to the Fire Nation to negotiate."

"That is a reasonable fear." she conceded, "And I assure you, there are enough aggrieved citizens that I would never even need to send anyone to do anything of the sort." she warned him, and Sokka nodded.

"Which is why you want to go somewhere neutral. Nobody will be trying to fight each other there." he argued his point once more, before sitting back down in front of the desk.

"So when will you be ready to meet?" Katara pressed her, and the Fire Lord sighed.

"I am still organising my own proposals, and I will select a negotiating team." she explained what she would need to do, "However, this can all be done quickly. I say that within a few weeks, I will be ready to depart, assuming that the peace conference's location is decided." she explained, seeming frank and forthright, "I do not want to give them any more time to potentially attack the colonies... which they might well do, even with a conference."

"That's the other thing." Aang spoke up, "They said that if the agreement isn't settled by winter, they'll be going into the colonies and..." he trailed off, seeming too uncomfortable to say it.

"Getting rid of everyone." Toph finished his sentence for him, "I don't know if that means actually hurting anyone though." she conceded, and Katara grimaced.

"They weren't very specific about that." she admitted, "I don't want that to happen, because I know what you'll do with that."

"Of course." the Fire Lord gave a smirk, telling her that she was more than confident that things would go her way, "You don't want your precious Earth Kingdom to receive a thrashing, do you?" she asked them rhetorically, and everyone seemed a bit unnerved; Katara kept her gaze on the Fire Lord, and didn't dare to consider that she was right.

"We won't let the war start again." she assured her, and Azula scoffed.

"And how exactly will you prevent it? Deposing me? Deposing the Earth King? Getting rid of all armies?" she asked her, her suggestions clearly intended to be absurd; there was no way the Earth Kingdom would accept a peace where both of them had to just act like nothing had happened, even if both sides would be safe from attack.

"By making sure you give the Earth Kingdom what they need to rebuild." Katara declared, and Aang nodded.

"That's fair, isn't it?" he proposed, "And I'm sure they'd prefer help over fighting."

"But would they prefer help over land?" she countered, and Katara grimaced, realising that she had a point; even if the Earth Kingdom would certainly benefit from whatever aid they could force Azula to provide them, that would not prevent them from wanting to retake every inch of land they saw as theirs.

"Then you've got to offer more." Sokka argued, "Enough to keep everyone happy."

"There is no way this ends with everyone happy."

"How about enough?" Toph asked her, and the Fire Lord laughed.

"Humans are such fickle creatures. Nothing is ever enough."

---

Zuko seemed to have the worst luck. He had left some of his things at work and had to go back to retrieve it; in hindsight, he could have just forgotten about his water flask and a bag of a few coins. He had come back to his workplace at the docks, and entered the locker room, which he had been given a key to, like all the other employees.

However, he had heard some odd noises nearby when he had retrieved his money and water flask, making sure nobody had stolen any of his coins. Grunts and groans, like somebody was moving something outside, within the docks. At first, he imagined that it was some thief, or perhaps one of the workers moving something illegal into one of the barges, while nobody could see. In either case, he knew it couldn't be something legal, so he felt compelled to at least check. That was his second mistake.

Zuko had stepped out the doorway, and had a glance around, seeing a few of his fellow workers; he couldn't identify them from their faces, but they were still in their work outfits, and they were carrying what looked like a long piece of cargo, like a piece of lumber. However, he realised that couldn't be the case, as it was covered by fabric. It only took him a few moments to realise what he was looking at. They were disposing of a body; it was further confirmed when they put some rocks into the fabric, presumably to weigh the body down.

He didn't know who they had killed, but only that they had done it; at the very least, they were covering up a killing, and at the worst, they had done it, and of their own accord. He was so disturbed by it that he had to do something; he usually wouldn't comment on the workers doing something corrupt, because it was not his place to punish them. But murder was more than one step above mere corruption.

He knew he couldn't intervene, as that would only get him into far more trouble than he would like, so he had to run. He decided that he would inform the proper authorities. He preferred to go right to the colony's mayor, but he knew he didn't have the privilege of a direct line of communication, so going to the guards was the next best option.

As he was making his way through Yoikaikou, Zuko kept looking back down the street, afraid that he might be followed, and he knew that there was a good reason for them to do it. He was afraid that they had seen him; it had been so dark that there was little chance they had spotted his face, and thus identified him, but that did not mean they couldn't have noticed him leaving. In any case, he remained cautious, and kept up his pace, knowing he ought to just warn the guards and be done with it.

The culprits might make a break for it, or resist arrest, but he knew that was fair; he could not simply accept such brutality, especially from people he might otherwise trust. He had no idea who exactly was involved, other than them being fellow dockworkers. He could imagine a few of them being capable of such violence, but he would prefer to just focus on making sure the guards uncovered the crimes.

If Zuko lost his job, that would be it for him in Yoikaikou, but he would prefer that over just letting people get away with murder. The body would be flowing down river, and though he could run to try and retrieve it, as to prove his claims, he knew that pulling a body out by himself might seem suspicious without any further evidence. Perhaps his claims wouldn't be taken seriously, and if they weren't, then perhaps he would be forced to take matters into his own hands. He wished that he would not have to, but he knew that he was capable of dishing out punishment when it was needed.

When he finally reached the guard's barracks, located in the centre of town, he approached the men manning the gates, hoping they might be able to do something, "I'm here to report a crime."

The guards seemed almost amused, and one of them stepped forward, "Alright, of what nature? Property crime? Violent crime?"

"Violent." he clarified, "I... I saw some people disposing of a dead body." he explained, and the guards were surprised, the other guard stepping closer.

"Sorry? A dead body?" he asked, as if he thought he misheard him.

"Yes, a dead body." he nodded, "I have no idea when they were killed, but they were thrown in the river."

"Oh." the guard mumbled, before turning to face his comrade; both of them nodded at each other.

"Alright, can you come with us to make a formal statement? I'm sure the Commander will want people to look into this, if you really saw what you say you did." the first guard explained what would happen, before gesturing for Zuko to follow them inside.

"Thank you." he nodded, approving of their punctual response; that did not necessarily mean that the culprits would be caught, but simply that the authorities would do something about the situation, which might prevent anyone else from being needlessly killed.

He did not know who they had thrown in the river, but he knew that they were obviously doing it for the wrong reasons. If the person they had disposed of was a wanted criminal, they could have simply reported them to the authorities, rather than taking matters into their own hands.

He was led by the guards inside the compound, and to the main building, the guard barracks. Once inside, they took him down the hallway to a room, where he could see a man sitting at a desk; he was dressed well, and had garbs comparable to a Fire Nation military officer, though he was clearly not one, given he was commanding the town guard.

"Why have you brought this civilian here?" he asked, and he narrowed his eyes; Zuko tensed, hoping that the man hadn't just recognised him as Prince Zuko.

"He says he saw people disposing of a body in the river." one of the guards explained, "We thought he ought to make a formal statement."

"That is reasonable." the Commander nodded, and he gestured for Zuko to approach, "I can handle that at once. You're just lucky I was still in my office." he admitted with an amused look; one of the guards brought over a piece of paper, and handed it to the Commander, "Now... uh, well, what's your name, son?"

"Lee." he answered; he had gotten used to referring to himself as such, so he hoped that he didn't rouse any suspicion on that matter.

"And Lee, can you recount for me what exactly you saw?"

"I saw five men carrying a body, wrapped in fabric. They threw the body from the docks into the water."

The Commander stroked his goatee, and hummed in thought, "But to see that, you would have had to be inside the port. Were you trespassing?"

"N-no." he assured him, "I'm an employee there. I had just come back to pick up some things I accidentally left in my locker." he clarified his reasons for being there, before showing him his card which had the Port Authority's seal on it, assuring him of his truthfulness.

"Hmph." he nodded, seeming to accept the evidence, "And these men, could you identify them?"

"I could not see their faces. It was too dark. I could see that they were wearing the uniforms we wear at the port. They had to be workers." he argued, "Or some people dressed as them."

The Commander nodded a few times, before writing that down, "Well, this is a very serious accusation, Lee. I will have to have my men investigate this thoroughly." he declared his intentions, before glancing behind him, "When did you see this happen?"

"I came here right after I saw it." he clarified, "A few minutes ago."

"Well then." he mumbled, before nodding, "That's all I'll need from you. We'll have to check these claims against the evidence we can find. I will have men look over this in the morning." he explained, before gesturing to the door, "You may leave now."

He cautiously stood up, feeling that the man was not treating it as seriously as he ought to, though maybe that was just because he was tired.

"Sir, are we-" one of the guards began to ask, and he raised a hand.

"Just take the boy out, and let him go." he directed them, and the guards followed Zuko out of the room and down the hallway.

As they approached the front door, he decided to ask, "Is this a common thing?"

"What, murder?" one of the guards asked him, and he nodded, "I mean, not that I know of. If anyone's doing it, they must be covering their tracks better than whoever you saw."

He cringed, and wondered how many people they had killed before he had caught them.

"What is going on?" he whispered, and as he approached the front door, he reached a hand forward to open it, only to notice the door was locked, "Uh, it's locked."

"Yeah, we know." one of the guards admitted, before Zuko turned, seeing a baton swinging at his head; it struck him in the forehead, which was probably the safest part of his head that could be hit in any situation.

He stumbled back into the door, and tensed up; the guards were attacking him, and on purpose. They readied their weapons, and before they could hit him again, he somersaulted between them, narrowly dodging their batons, before he jabbed them both in their backs, hoping to stop them before they actually landed a hit.

"What are you doing?!" he asked them, and they looked mad, turning around to face him.

"You're not telling anyone else about that." one of the guards warned him, and swung his baton down hard; Zuko grabbed it with his left hand, before punching him square in the nose with his right.

"Do you have any honour?" he questioned them, trying to give a visage of confidence when he was realising that he might have gotten himself even deeper in shit than he first thought; Zuko was afraid, but mostly of the consequences of what he had just done, and not because he was in any immediate danger.

The guard wiped the blood dripping from his nose, before he moved to tackle him. Zuko weaved out the way, before kneeing him in the gut. The other guard swung his baton across at his head, and he narrowly dodged that one. When he tried to grab Zuko by the throat, he spat out a fireball from his mouth, as it was the only thing he could think of when he didn't have an actual weapon to defend himself with. That set the guard's face alight, and though he quickly swatted out the flames, that gave him more than enough time to run around, kick the door open and shatter its locks.

Zuko ran right for the gates of the barracks, where other guards had come out to take the spots of the guards he had just beaten up. They seemed confused initially by his frantic behaviour, but all it took was a shout from the guards to make everyone's loyalties clear.

"Get him!" the guard whose face he had set alight shouted out, and the guards turned around, aiming their polearms towards him.

"Halt!" one of them demanded, and Zuko did not relent to trip them over with a sweeping kick before he ran out into the street; he needed to reach his apartment, where all his things were, and then, make a break for it.

If the guards were in on it, then things were much worse in Yoikaikou than he had first feared. He ran down the street as fast as he could, hoping to get out of sight of the guards by taking a few corners before he headed to his apartment. However, as the apartment had been chosen by his employer, he was sure the guards knew where he would go, so he had to be fast.

Once he had rounded the block, he slowed his pace, hoping not to draw too much attention to himself from any guards that weren't yet informed of what had happened. He walked past a single patrol of two guards, and they didn't pay him any mind. He was all good until he approached the outside of the apartment building, where he saw Yeong sitting outside, eating some hot food he must have bought on his way home.

"Lee, you're... looking exasperated." he observed, and though he thought to be polite, he had no time for formalities when he was most likely going to be arrested, now that he had publicly attacked some town guardsmen.

"Yeah, well, some idiot tried to steal from me." he made up a story on the spot, "I had to chase him down." he added, before approaching the entrance to the apartment building.

"Lee." Yeong addressed him once more, "Are you sure that's what happened?" he asked him, and his eyes darted back to Yeong, feeling more than a little concerned.

"Don't tell me." he mumbled, "Please, don't say it." he begged, hoping that Yeong of all people wasn't knee deep in the things he had witnessed.

"Lee, why are you so-" he began, before his eyes widened, "What did you do?"

"Something that can't be undone." he admitted, "Just go for a walk or something." he suggested, "I don't think you'll want to be here in a moment."

Yeong seemed more afraid than anything, and he got up, and darted his eyes up and down the street, "Okay, I believe that." he admitted, before slowly stepping away, "I'll be back."

"Goodbye, Yeong." he farewelled him, not knowing if he was guilty, or if he was really just that suspicious of Zuko's behaviour; in any case, he had to get his things and leave, there was no question on that front.

He unlocked the door into the apartment building, before rushing up the stairwell; he climbed two flights of stairs, before dashing down the hallway to his room. He unlocked his door, and then locked it behind him, knowing that he wouldn't be going out the way he came in. His things were always in his bag, not strewn around, so all he had to do was tie it up, and then pull out his second bag from under his bed, which had his mask and swords in it.

He dispensed with his work uniform as quickly as he could, before redressing himself in his 'Blue Spirit' garbs; then, he put the mask over his face. That was followed by fastening his sheathed dao on his back, after which he just had to put on his boots. Fully dressed and packed to leave, he let out a sigh, frustrated how things had turned out. Leaving again as the Blue Spirit, but for a change, having nothing to do with his actions under that persona.

He opened the window up, and reached over to the drainage pipe that flowed down the wall. He grabbed a hold of it, and then slowly scaled down it, not wanting to slip and fall. Zuko might have been good at climbing, but there was only so much one could do to break a fall. When he was back down at street level, he found himself in an alleyway, right behind the apartment block.

Zuko didn't waste any time standing there, waiting for the guards to come around and spot him; he dashed down the alleyway, and once he turned a corner, he ran straight west, towards the closest gate out of town; he knew he wouldn't be let out, but he had no intention of actually going through the gates. As he made his way down the street, people gasped, and they frantically moved to avoid getting slammed to the ground. He was not stopping for anyone's sake.

He ran past a few guards on patrol, who turned around and pointed him out, "Somebody, stop that man!"

"It's the Blue Spirit!" somebody else decried him, though perhaps they were acknowledging him out of respect; he wasn't looking back to see their faces, so that was something he would never know.

A pair of guards stepped out into the street and crossed their pikes, hoping to hold him back; however, Zuko just skid on the ground, right underneath the crossed poles of the weapons. He almost laughed at their reaction as they tried to chase him down. He was far more concerned with actually reaching the edge of town than he was about two random guards.

As he drew closer and closer to the gates, he could hear more guards behind him, and then, he heard the unmistakable sound of flames bursting out into existence; he somersaulted forward, narrowly dodging the flurry of fireballs that were sent his way, before he decided to divert his path, meaning he wouldn't have to worry as much about getting hit by their attacks.

He ran to the right, down a narrow street, before turning left at an alleyway, hoping to use that as cover as he approached the gates. However, at the end of the alleway, he came across another patrol. They blocked his way out, and Zuko let out an exasperated sigh; he could attack, but he didn't want to be caught in one spot for too long, given he knew he would have at least a dozen guards on his tail by that point. So instead, he leapt up onto a ladder which led up the outside of the building he was beside, which led up to some balconies.

As he climbed the ladder he weaved from side to side, dodging the fireballs as best he could, though he did still end up getting swatted by a few of them. It hurt, but his robes were fire-retardant, ensuring he wouldn't end up on fire, even the searing heat could hurt him through the fabric. Once he reached the highest balcony, he turned and jumped across the alleyway, landing on a neighbouring roof. Zuko had a few options at that point, but all of them would lead him out of Yoikaikou.

"Get up there!" he heard one of the guards order another, and Zuko dashed over the rooftop, heading north rather than his preferred west, before he leapt across another alleyway, landing on an angled rooftop.

He almost slid off, but he was able to dig his soles into the roof tiles, before getting back up and running across to the narrowest gap he could find on the north-south running street, which he leapt across onto the next roof. The building he landed on was a whole floor shorter, so he ended up hurting his feet a bit. However, Zuko had done things like that before, and he only needed a few moments to recover before he dashed across the roof, heading right towards the walls.

When he reached the street that lined the edge of the walls, he was forced to scale down the side of the building, though the pipe he had chosen was rickety, breaking apart half-way through and falling to the side. Luckily, it was long enough to strike the alleyway on the other side as it tipped over, giving Zuko a wall to skid down as he approached ground level once more.

He turned behind himself, and saw four guards running up the alleyway; they were not as fast as him, but he would need to dodge their firebending if he hoped to escape. So, he somersaulted on the ground, narrowly missing a fire stream that was aimed at him, before he drew out his swords, wanting them to expect him to fight back.

However, Zuko just walked backwards over to the stairs that led up the side of the wall; he ran right up, dodging another volley of fireballs, before he vaulted right over the battlements. Zuko had not bothered checking what was on the other side, though as he couldn't see any trees, he was sure it was just a field, or at the very worst, a drainage channel. He landed on his side in some thick bushes, which broke his fall. The thorns cut him up, but they were preferable to actual blades.

He picked the thorns out of his robes, and sheathed his swords, before making a break for it; he ran across the field that lay next to the walls before heading into the woods. It wasn't a thick forest that would provide good cover, but given the darkness, the guards were unlikely to spot him in there without some good lanterns or firebending. By the time it would take them to find him, he would already be gone.

Zuko kept running through the woods, until he came back around to the road that ran to the town. He glanced up and down it, before he continued on his way, pulling his mask from his face and putting it back into his bag. He was now just like any other traveller, though his swords would tell would-be highway bandits to think twice before facing him. He would certainly want them to; Zuko felt he had enough blood on his hands as it already stood.

The road he was taking would lead west back towards the coast, and he wondered if that was a good idea; the deeper into the colonies he was, the easier it was to blend in, but now, he had every reason to fear the authorities would be sent after Lee, as well as the Blue Spirit. Actually playing himself would only cause further problems, even if he could gain the sympathies of patriotically-minded citizens; it would only take one person spreading word of his status for Azula to come back around to drag him back into the fold.

He made his way down the road, walking with haste to avoid any guards, but not so fast as to alert any passersby to the fact he was fleeing the town. He made his way down towards a crossroad, where there was a bridge that crossed over the river to the south, and another road that led up into the hills, back the way he had come when he first arrived in the region. At the crossroads sat an inn, and he wondered if he ought to try and rest there, if only for a few moments.

He decided to approach the place, knowing that the guards would be slower than he was, and he could just slip out in any case. They were surrounded by farmland, and wilderness beyond that; he had already had to run out there before, more than once. Zuko approached the front door, and opened it up; he found that the place wasn't as busy as any of the inns back in the town, but that was probably because the inn only really served travellers, going north-south through the colonies.

"Ah, stranger!" the barkeep addressed him, "Are you here for dinner?" he asked, and Zuko cringed, knowing he didn't have enough time to eat.

"Uh, no, just a drink please." he requested, and the barkeep looked at him with a bemused look.

"What can I get you?" he asked, and his eyes darted around, seeing what other people were drinking.

"Just... uh, tea, please." he requested, and he placed down a few copper pieces, "Just a cup."

"What flavour? Green or jasmine?" he asked, and that made him wince.

"Uh, jasmine." he answered, and the barkeep took his coins.

"I'll have that for you in just a moment." he assured him, and Zuko's eyes moved around the room, trying to see who the patrons were.

He didn't seen any guards, soldiers, or anyone that might be hunting his bounty as the Blue Spirit. Bounty hunters stood out because they were always armed and rather gruff looking, but not obviously soldiers or guards, who wore uniforms. The patrons were all apparently travellers, as well as a few local farmers. However, he did spot somebody strange looking in the corner of the room, at the Pai Sho table, which was a common feature of most inns and taverns.

The stranger was wearing robes that covered his body and partially obscured his face, which made him look like either a vagrant, thief, or both of those things at the same time. Zuko could not say he looked any less suspicious, but he was sure nobody there was looking for him, at least not yet. When Zuko received his cup of jasmine tea, he took it with him as he looked for a seat; the stranger looked up at him, his piercing gaze a little unnerving.

Zuko could see that in his hand, he was playing with a piece, specifically a white lotus; he wondered for a moment if the stranger had something to do with the other person he had seen. They didn't look that similar, beyond having ragged cloaks and a Pai Sho piece associated with them. He stepped over to the man's board, and pulled the piece he had out of his bag.

"Stranger, can I ask you something?" he requested, and the man nodded.

"Yes, go ahead." he allowed, and Zuko showed him the piece.

"What does it mean when somebody gives you a tile like this?"

"It's a gesture of goodwill." the stranger told him bluntly, before gesturing to the seat opposite, "Please, join me for a game."

"Why?"

"I have a feeling you could use the cover." he suggested, and he sat himself down across from the stranger.

"What do you know about that?" he asked him, and glanced around, "You seem like you've been sitting here for a while."

"I'm just observant, that's all." he reassured him, "Paranoia is not an admirable trait." he gave a rather blunt suggestion, even if he was not directly referring to Zuko's behaviour.

"I have every reason to be." he admitted, before taking a sip from his tea cup.

His eyes scanned over the man's face; he had a scar up his cheek, and shaggy white hair, along with a scraggly moustache and goatee. He looked like some kind of outlaw, though his demeanour suggested he was just a tired, middle aged man, not too unlike somebody who he couldn't forget. He felt like he recognised his face from somewhere; he had never met the man, but the glare he gave felt so familiar. He couldn't put a name to the face, and he decided not to ask for it.

"Is there something wrong with my face, boy?" he asked him, his tone sounding more stern than annoyed by his gaze.

"No, sir." he apologised, and turned his eyes down to the pieces, "I have not played Pai Sho in a while." he conceded, knowing the only person he played it with was his uncle, and he thrashed him every single time they played, making it a rather unenjoyable experience, even if it allowed Zuko to hone his skill at the game.

"Are you unfamiliar with the rules?" he asked, and Zuko shook his head.

"No, they've been drilled into me." he assured him, and that made the stranger smile.

"So, you had a good teacher." he observed, and gestured to the board, "You may move first."

He glanced down to the board, before looking at the white lotus tile that the stranger had given him; he let out a sigh, and turned his eyes back up to the man he was facing. He did not know who he was, what he wanted, or if he could help him, but the man seemed surprisingly cordial, despite his cold demeanour.

"I can't help but think I know you, sir." he admitted, and the stranger pursed his lips into a smirk.

"You might. However, I think it is in both our interests that we do not discuss our pasts here." he suggested, the implication being that he knew who he was; whether that was as the Blue Spirit, Zuko, or both, he could not be certain, but the man wasn't trying to threaten him, so he had to at least hear him out.

At the very least, he didn't seem like the kind of man prone to violent outbursts or brutality; he was calm, even calmer than his uncle, who was usually the most serene person around. That made Zuko feel at ease; if a game of Pai Sho was all it would take to get answers, then he'd play the game.

---

Another creaking door, another visitor. The man who would call himself Phoenix King turned his head up, wondering if his daughter had returned to seek his wisdom. Between getting a decent meal and having his ego stroked, he was undecided what made him feel better. When he heard footsteps approaching, they weren't light enough to be his daughter's, but they were still slow and cautious. He thought perhaps the Avatar had grown a pair and sent somebody to finish the job, so he could have his precious peace.

"If you're here to kill me, I'd prefer you got it over and done with." he mocked the stranger, whose face he couldn't see, because of the darkness; without his firebending, he could only sit there in anticipation, unsure whether he was about to meet a friend, foe, or something else entirely.

There were no flames, and the darkness remained as he heard the stranger shuffle around, before he heard something touch the metal bars of his cell. Ozai was confused, but just waited to see what would happen; he could not run, so he had little choice. Then light sparked out; he could not see a face, but only a torch on the end of an index and middle finger, pointed at the lock of his cell. Perhaps it was his lucky day; Ozai let himself smile, if only for that moment, before the lock shattered and the door swung outwards.

He could only make out what looked like a mask covering the strangers' face; presumably, so they could hide their identity while they liberated him from his imprisonment. However, he did recognise the mask; it was that of the Dragon Emperor, from the play, 'Love amongst the Dragons'. That stupid play his wife loved so much; just the thought of her soured his mood, and as the stranger approached, he shuffled back, realising that the stranger wasn't getting rid of the torch on his finger-tips.

He would not beg, but he wanted to know why, if this was truly his doom, "Why are you here?"

"For answers." he heard a croaky voice speak up, and was filled with frustration; he would not forget that voice, because the last time he had heard it was in the form of screams.

"You shouldn't have come here." he told his son, who scoffed.

"Father." Zuko addressed him, "Do you think you're in any position to tell me what to do?" he asked, and Ozai crossed his arms; he thought he was being rather rude, given it was the first time they had seen each other in three years.

"I'm giving you advice." he clarified, "Your sister will not take well to your presence in the capital."

Zuko seemed amused, and stepped closer, "Then let's make this quick."

Ozai let out a sigh, and smirked, knowing that he could manipulate his son to his own ends; he could only guess why he had returned to the homeland, but there was a very obvious answer, and he was comfortable in assuming he was correct.

"What is your question then?" he asked, and Zuko grabbed him by the scalp, which hurt more than he thought it would.

"Maybe it should be asking why a man would mutilate his own son before forcing him on a mission that was never going to be seen through?" he proposed a question that seemed more like a threat than anything, drawing the flaming torch closer to his neck.

"I could call for the guards." he warned him, and Zuko scoffed.

"You think I didn't prepare for that?" he asked him, before making a high-pitched whistle, that certainly would have gotten the guards attention if they were conscious; that made Ozai feel sick, realising that he was at Zuko's mercy, and he clearly wasn't in a good mood, "Oh, now you understand."

"That wasn't your real question, was it?" he asked, and Zuko scoffed.

"No, it wasn't." he assured him, "I know that you had your... confusing reasons to banish me, and I don't care for them. Not anymore."

"So, does that mean you learnt your lesson?" he asked, and Zuko shrugged.

"Who's two inches away from becoming a mute?" he rhetorically asked him, and Ozai couldn't help but smile, impressed by his son's resolve.

"So you have." he conceded, knowing his son was not weak-willed and sentimental, even if he had not learnt to respect his father's authority; he could settle for one of two lessons learnt.

"I have every reason to burn your face off, Father, so, please, be truthful." he gave his demand, and Ozai had every reason to acquiesce, though he could not be certain it was not a bluff.

"Ask your question then."

"Where is Mother?" he demanded exactly what he had expected.

"She is alive." he gave an answer; he needed to make that clear, because if he hadn't, he had good reason to believe Zuko would kill him then and there.

It was not hard for Ozai to imagine; the only person he could say he had ever truly loved, or been loved by, was his own mother. If somebody had been responsible for ending her life, then he would waste no moment in punishing the person responsible, no matter who it was.

"I'm sure you're relieved to say that now." Zuko read him like a book, knowing what he thought he would do, "But you didn't answer my question." he stressed, before pushing the torch closer to his neck, "So, please... don't try to ruin your life any more than it already has been."

"She did not tell me where she was going. I banished her from the palace and forbade her from returning." he told him the truth of the matter, or at least, part of it.

"Why?" he asked, and Ozai scoffed.

"I thought you were smart enough to have figured it out by now." he admitted.

Zuko was not amused, and snuffed out his torch, before covering his palm with fire; he slammed it across Ozai's face, making him cringe from the sharp heat and force of the strike. He grit his teeth, now frustrated enough to consider striking back. When Zuko readied the torch again, Ozai grabbed him by the wrist, hoping to stop him from doing anything reckless again.

His son just sighed, before headbutting his nose with his mask; he winced and groaned, feeling and hearing his nose break from the force of the strike. His son then kicked him in the gut and let him fall over; he was struggling to breathe, and he was mad. His son dared to assault him, and he felt his pride coming back to him; he was more frustrated that he lacked his bending, and thus, an adequate means to respond.

"You have no power over me." Zuko told him, "Elaborate, before I give you something that you can't just recover from." he warned him, his palms covered with fire.

"Y-your... your mother did it." he told him, and Zuko shot a fireball into the wall beside him.

"What?!" he shouted at him.

"She killed your grandfather." he told the truth, and Zuko raised his chin up.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" he mocked him, before crouching down to his level, "So, where did she go?"

"I already-" he began, before Zuko slapped him once more with a flame-covered palm.

Ozai was forced down to the ground, and panted, feeling ready to jump at his son if he tried that again; he knew it was stupid, but he couldn't help but feel the need to let his rage out. He had been letting it fester like an infection since he was thrown in that cell.

"Make an educated guess." he demanded, his voice calmer than it had been before.

"Hira'a." he gave the first thing that came to mind.

"What is Hira'a?" he asked, and he turned his gaze up to the Dragon Emperor mask.

"Where she came from." he answered truthfully.

"See how easy it is when you just tell me the truth?" he mocked him again, "But I feel that you aren't telling me everything." he admitted, before sitting himself down in front of Ozai, "What was your reason for marrying my mother?" he asked him, and the former Fire Lord raised a brow, now surprised that was where he was going; he thought he was going to ask about state secrets, or something else that he could use to his advantage, not something as boring as that.

"My father had it arranged. It's not that interesting, really."

"No, but there had to be a reason. I don't recall her mentioning anything about her family." he argued, "Why?"

"Because she came from a far less prominent family than mine." he argued, "There was nothing to be proud of."

"You are the most prideful person I know." Zuko retorted, "You would not marry a peasant." he argued, before pointing his index finger at him, "So, stop lying to me, Father."

"The Avatar." he mumbled, and Zuko seemed confused, leaning closer.

"What?" he pressed him, "The Avatar? What does the Avatar have to do with any of this?"

"My grandfather was told that marrying the descendants of the Avatar into our family would produce powerful firebenders." he elaborated, and it took Zuko a moment to understand exactly what he was saying; he was looking down, not at his father.

He seemed to be in utter disbelief, "Th-the Avatar..." he mumbled to himself, before looking up at his father, "I can't believe it. Not after everything I was told. Everything you said."

"I cannot deny I despise the Avatar by principle, but powerful bloodlines cannot be ignored." he argued, "Though, seeing the results, I can only call it a taint."

"Azula is the most powerful firebender alive." he retorted, seeming amused by his explanation, "Is that the result of a taint?"

"She lacks the conviction to do what is necessary." he argued, "Though, I can't say if that is the result of her blood, or because she simply lacks the willpower. I cannot say you are lacking in that area, my son."

"Your honeyed words won't help you, Father." he warned him, before taking a deep breath, "Which Avatar?"

"Roku." he clarified, "Father would never sully our bloodline with the taint of foreigners." he argued, and Zuko turned around.

"And you had me chase the Avatar across the world." he recalled his mission, "You must love your irony, Father."

"I hadn't put much thought into it." he conceded, "I wanted you to prove yourself... not simply to capture your great-grandfather's reincarnation."

"And Azula nearly killed him." he recalled what she had done in Ba Sing Se, "I'm sure she'll have a fit when she finds out about this."

"She is not going to break like you." he retorted, "She at least wants to serve her nation. You ran away like a coward."

"I have my freedom. What do you have, Father?" he mockingly questioned him, before shooting a fireball right pat his head, "I can't say I don't appreciate what the Avatar did. I had never had the stomach to face you... nor the desire. I wanted to stay away."

"Then why did you come? Just to cry about your mother?" he retorted, hoping he could inflict at least a little emotional pain upon his son.

"To find the truth." he admitted, "And I am relieved I didn't have to beat you any more to get it."

"Don't you want to?" he asked, knowing that he would feel only hatred if he was in his position.

"I do." he admitted, "You cannot fathom the anger I have in my heart."

"Then why don't you do something with it? Claim the throne. Take your birthright."

Even if he didn't think his son was suited for it, he thought that it was more shameful for him to hide than to challenge his sister, even if he had technically committed treason by virtue of breaking the rules of his banishment.

"I am not interested in ruling." he retorted, "I am not interested in playing this game, either." he added, making clear that he saw through him.

"Then what do you want? To wallow in your misery and self-hatred?" he asked him, and Zuko laughed.

"Look in a mirror." he quipped, and Ozai couldn't help but laugh; he was right, after all, but they weren't that different in the end.

Zuko was just in a cell of his own making, while Ozai had fought with all his strength to prevent the outcome he ended up with; that was the difference between them.

"I am here because I have no choice." he retorted, "You chose weakness."

"I did not choose weakness. I chose justice." he retorted, and lit his palms aflame, "Do you want me to continue handing down justice, Father?" he made a rather blatant threat, and Ozai hung his head down.

"It would not change that you have failed." he argued, "The Avatar ran, and he ran, and then, he gathered the strength to defeat us. You are to blame for that."

"No, I'd say Fire Lord Sozin is to blame." he retorted, "He set us on this path. You never thought for a second to take us from it."

"To deny our strength would be a dishonour to those that fell before us." he declared, and Zuko seemed frustrated by that.

"Do not act like you care for the dead of our nation!" he shouted at him, before pulling the mask off, revealing his burnt face, "Do not forget what you did! Why you did it!" he shouted with flared teeth, "I will not forget it."

"And what will you do with your lesson?"

"Never let people like you rule my nation again." he declared, before turning his heels, "If you tell anyone about this... I'll know, and I'll come back and give you what you want."

"Death is preferable to this." he admitted, and Zuko laughed.

"I wasn't talking about killing you, Father." he assured him, "But you will suffer... just like you made me suffer." he warned him, and Ozai smirked; he was, if only for a moment, impressed with his resolve, as it proved that he had learnt his lesson from all those years prior.

"Then my son is no coward." he acknowledged, "So, will you kill your sister?"

"I already told you." he flared his teeth, "I am not going to be your tool." he declared, before pacing out of the cell, "If you want to run... you should go now. They'll be waking up soon." he suggested as he approached the exit, and Ozai laughed.

"There is no way I can truly escape."

"What did you say about choosing weakness?" he asked, "We are more than our element, Father."

"Only a weakling could say that." he snapped back, and his son shook his head, before putting his mask back on.

"And only a fool could deny it."