Tiya clutched the silver cross close to her chest as she sat idly in her room. It was nicer than any metalwork she had known, yet she could only picture the horrifying scene as she stared blankly out the window as she had for the past week. The girl had hardly eaten despite the Grand Duke's offering to host her, and what food she received, she would take a few bites before putting it outside the door to be taken by the servants. Many would say she should've been ecstatic to receive such kindness or that she discovered she was an Earthbender and helped save the Grand Duke. Yet, despite the man's gratitude, the discovery she made next destroyed any joy she felt at the prospect of not being useless when she found Vassili slumped against the wall, blood and guts pouring from his multiple wounds like a stuffed toy busted at the seams. When she reached him, he had put a hand on her cheek and smiled. Though he couldn't speak due to the blood pouring from his mouth and eye, Tiya had told him what she'd done, that she did as he ordered, and both Grand Dukes were safe- She shook her head and wanted to scream, to cry out in rage as tears began to form again. "I-I can't believe I ever hoped to see him."

Of course, she spoke of the Avatar, the supposed keeper of balance—the boy her parents told her would save the world when the rumours of his return started. What got them interested in the resistance, and now that she thought about it, was most likely what got them killed. No, she saw things differently now. The Avatar was a monster! A judge and executioner, no more- Then, she heard the door open, and Tiya turned to see the Earth Kingdom General she'd met with- "Um, pardon me, child. But may I have a seat?" He asked somewhat awkwardly, his posture appearing nervous.

"What do you want?" She asked, wiping away the tears. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

The General cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but can we talk?"

The brunette slowly turned around to face him. "And when do prisoners get to ask questions?" she asked, shakily standing up and turning to look up at him with a defiant glare, even as tears continued to spill forth. "What are you even doing here? I don't even know you!"

The man sighed deeply. Of course, he didn't fully understand her story, but he knew she had lost someone very dear to her, or at least, that was what the Grand Duke told him when he met with him the morning after the Avatar's assault. It still shocked him that General Fong's plan worked, and the Avatar came in a blaze of power, at least until his Son had killed the Last Airbender. "Look, I- The Grand Duke, he inquired if I would care for you-"

The girl pouted at him. "And why would he trust you with that?"

The General thought about it for a moment. Of course, one could reasonably ask why he waited so long to contact her, but he wanted to give her time to collect herself, which she had to some degree. Besides, Galong found himself busy helping the Grand Duke with his duties, and it was his initiative to attempt to reintegrate any prisoners and wounded Earth soldiers to keep them out of trouble and prevent another open conflict. Of course, he had questions for the man, namely about the nature of the relationship between the Fire Nation and his country. But he would wait until he got to know him better. As for this girl, after the death of her caretaker, the Grand Duke asked if he could assume responsibility. He didn't fully understand why, but the General felt it was the least he could do to make up for his current position. Sure, he didn't have a wife or girlfriend and wasn't around children much, but how hard could it be? "To be honest, I am not quite sure myself. But, if it is what I must do to continue serving my people, then so be it."

Upon reaching the station, Nikolai and the others found it empty, save the workers who lazed about, probably waiting for his new government to pay them. "HELLO!" He greeted them, causing them to stir.

One of them, a young man, slowly turned on his bench and looked up at him, his eyes bloodshot and his movements ponderous and clumsy. "Wha-What do you want?" He slurred.

Nikolai sighed deeply and shook his head. "Thank goodness we don't drink," he whispered before clearing his throat. "Are there any of you who are sober? I do not wish to risk my safety on a bunch of drunkards."

The man glared at him but shook his head. "Look, I don't know who you think you are," he began as he suddenly stood up. "But I'm gonna teach you a lesson-" Just as quickly, as he stamped and summoned a rock, he slipped and fell on his back, and the rock flew harmlessly to the ground below Nikolai's feet.

"Right..." The Grand Duke let loose a long huff before turning to the others, who seemed in much better condition.

"Well, are any of you able to help us? Or will we have to force you?" Azula asked, momentarily surprising the Grand Duke as he turned to find her checking her fingernails.

When Azula finished, the train workers glanced at her before turning to Nikolai, realization donning their eyes. "We—We're sorry. P-please, how can we help you?" he asked, his body shivering with every desperate word.

Nikolai cocked a brow. "You know about the protests in the Lower Ring, do you not?"

The man nodded. "Uh, yeah, we do."

"Then why aren't you there with them?" He questioned.

The railworker seemed perplexed by this. "I don't see a point to the whole thing. I want to get paid, and it's the same with everyone else here."

The Grand Duke smiled. "I can respect an honest man. Rise," The man did as commanded, the other dozen standing quietly behind him. "If it is money you require, I assure you, you will receive it. There has been much to do, and until now, the rail network hasn't been on my list of priorities. However, if you value the well-being of yourselves, your nation, and your people, I suggest helping us resolve the dispute before things get more out of hand."

Despite his rousing speech, the men still seemed unmotivated. "And what about money?"

The Grand Duke sighed. "If you do this, I will ensure you get your money by this time tomorrow."

The men looked at each other before the lead man gave him a sideways glance. "How much-"

Suddenly and without warning, a blue ball of fire hissed through the air and impacted centimetres above the man's head. Nikolai's eyes darted to find Azula standing with her arm extended, smoke rising from her fingers as she drew back, looking disinterested. "How about you get whatever the Grand Duke feels generous enough to give you and get on with it already!?"

Without a word, the men did as ordered while Nikolai shook his head as a scene came to mind. He recalled doing something similar once before, only he'd used his sidearm. Many years ago, when Nikolai became Chief of the Zlachny Life Guards, the bulk of the men were veterans of the Patriotic War and Civil War, and since the Grand Duke had yet to see action, they mocked him. Not openly, of course, but he recalled their stubbornness and refusal to follow his instructions and those of the younger Officers he'd chosen to replace the aging commanders who'd fought under his Father. Yet, due to their practised nature, they ensured his brother never noticed: A second's delay here, a slightly incorrect timing there, things the soldiers knew would frustrate him to no end. They were right, but he couldn't have imagined they knew what he would do in response-

"Papa?" The Grand Duke shook himself from his thoughts and turned to his Son.

"Yes?" He asked.

"What order should we take? I imagine you would prefer that not all of us be in the same car."

Nikolai pondered as he looked at the "train." Each of the four cars seemed to be a passenger car, and they resembled long stone houses with tiled roofs and paper windows and doors. "Hmm... I, too, think it would be best to split us up. But I must be the one to meet them first," he replied, his Son's eyes widening in response.

"W-What do you mean, Papa?"

The elder Grand Duke smiled softly. "Don't worry, I have a plan..."

Hei and the other agents with him had been tracking the Ruskians' movements, though the agent was slightly perplexed when he realized they had gone to the rail station. But he quickly shadowed them and was currently perched alongside his Dai Li comrades, waiting for the monorail to leave. No one needed to ask what they were doing, no one needed to know, least of all the man Hei once believed to be the only one capable of righting the wrongs done to his nation. But now, after the events of the past two weeks, he'd begun to question. "Are we ready?" He asked, turning to his subordinates. He received no words of reply as the agents nodded before leaning in, preparing to jump onto the monorail as soon as it left the station. Suddenly, the sound of moving stone entered their ears, and they watched as the train slowly exited the tunnel and began picking up speed.

Azula, Ivan, and the rest of their group sat in the rear-most car, which was mostly empty, save a small number of Hussars guarding the door leading to the car ahead of them. Ty-Lee and Pyotr sat side-by-side in surprising stillness while Mai and Antonov spoke quietly behind them. Azula and Ivan sat facing each other, with the Grand Duke silently gazing out the window. Since their encounter two days ago, neither visited or spoke with the other, which she didn't mind due to the awkward way it ended, at least from her point of view. It was the most intimate Azula had been since childhood. Sure, she would get hugs from Ty-Lee, but she rarely, if ever, returned such affection. Yet, in the heat of the moment, she had hugged a man she hardly knew over the death of his friends. Why? The Princess had no clear answer. But she realized she had a golden opportunity to get to know him better without the awkwardness of trying to catch him alone. "Say, Ivan, where did you go to school?"

He snapped his head around and looked at her with a cocked brow. "Why do you ask?"

Azula sat back, resting her head on her fist. "I'm just curious."

Ivan shook his head, a slight smile adorning his features, the first she'd seen since the incident. "Where do I begin? I was twelve years old when I went to Svozran Officer Cadet School, and before that, I studied under Mr. Siberovski, our family tutor. He taught me how to speak Vusonian, Kordish, and-"

"Our tongue, I presume?" Azula interrupted.

Ivan frowned slightly, much to her surprise. "No. Colonel Alexeev taught me to speak it. His Grandfather was Pogyinese."

The Princess cocked a brow. "But, how did you know him then? I thought he was just your commander?" Of course, she knew he meant more than that, but she wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"He was a good friend of the family, and his Father served under my Grandfather during our Civil War and the Patriotic War," Ivan explained. "His family would often attend dinners and other such activities. His Son was a good playmate, too, though I didn't see him very often."

Azula cocked a brow. "You had a civil war? When?"

"It ended 43 years ago," he told her. "But I would rather not talk about it. It affects many of us to this day. After all, it is a shame when brother fights brother—" Azula felt a chill down her spine, recalling the relationship between herself and her brother. They had never gotten along, not since Mother started to try to control her, not since she called her a monster, and it only got worse over time. But when she noticed he stopped, she looked at him and saw he was deep in thought.

"What is it?" She asked, curious to know what he was thinking about.

"Sorry, it's just- At the Teahouse, one of the servers had eyes that reminded me of you, and he was also a fire bender, but his flames were orange," he explained, causing her to cock a brow. It couldn't have been Zuzu, could it? "He also had a nasty burn scar on the side of his face."

"Which side?" Azula blurted without thinking. She wanted- No, needed to know if it was Zuko and why Ivan remembered him or knew he was a Firebender.

Ivan thought for a moment. "I'm pretty sure it was his left, though I only saw him twice, and both times I was concerned with other matters."

Azula's eyes widened. It must have been Zuko, for unless another Firebender undercover in the city matched that description, it couldn't be anyone else. But she was curious to know what he meant by that. "And what matters were you concerned with, exactly?"

Ivan rubbed his chin. "Well, the first time, after the Special Gendarme had arrived and announced they were going to arrest some people your country was looking for, he freaked out and nearly roasted me. The second was after I, Antonov, Mai, and Dimtriev found him with that boy..." She noticed that his knuckles clenched. "He was watching as that, that monster held my Father and prepared to strike him, but it seems neither of them expected anyone to interrupt them."

Azula was a tad surprised that her brother would become a genuine traitor. Of course, he'd fought her during the little chase Northeast of Gaoling, but she also remembered he had still attempted to fight the boy until Uncle had arrived and convinced him to aid the Avatar's group. "Hm, it seems Uncle might have finally got into his head..."

"Pardon?"

Azula snapped up, realizing her mistake too late. Of course, it wasn't usually a problem, but she occasionally expressed her thoughts aloud, and even then, it was when she was by herself. So, it took her completely off-guard when Ivan responded. "Oh, sorry, I was, um..." the Princess shook her head. "Just ignore that."

Ivan cocked an eye, but he didn't question further as four men dressed in dark green robes and conical hats crashed through the windows all at the same time. Ivan quickly leapt from his seat as Azula did the same, followed by the others in the car. "Who are you!?" Ivan bellowed as he drew his revolver, the same one that presumably slew the Avatar.

Though the Agents stood in familiar stances, clearly ready to bend the stone floor of the rail car, they stood back, their bodies relaxed. "This isn't him," said one of them to the others, his eyes lifting just enough that Azula could glimpse them for just a moment before he bowed his head again. "Where is the Grand Duke?"

Ivan scowled as he pressed down on the hammer at the back of his weapon but kept his finger off the trigger. "And why should I tell you that?" He began the bile in his tone evident. "Now answer my question before I blow your head off!"

Azula felt a slight tingle up her spine as she heard him threaten them, but she had no time to dwell on it when a fifth man entered the car. He was attired the same as the others, though he seemed their superior as he walked through the group's center. Ivan switched his aim to the middle man as the others stood behind them, and she stood at his side, keeping a calm appearance, though, beneath the facade, she was ready to go. "Sir, the Grand Duke isn't here," the same man who'd spoken earlier piped up.

"I see," the man in the center replied.

"Enough of this!" Ivan shouted before firing a shot into the roof, causing Azula to wince as her ears rang, though evidently, she wasn't the only one who did. "Now, tell me who you are?"

The man, seemingly shocked by the display, quickly recovered. "We are agents of the Dai Li. We have come to defect."

Azula and everyone else on her side felt caught off guard as Ty Lee summarized their collective thoughts in a single word: "What?"

As the afternoon wore on, Toph, Sokka, and Zuko finally concluded scouting the town and drawing up a plan. From what they'd seen, the Ruskians had bought quite the horde and had stowed almost everything onto carts before sitting down and cooking the rest while their mounts feasted. "Okay, they're going to have lunch soon, so we'll need to time it right so there are as few guards as possible," Sokka said as he lowered the spyglass he'd pilfered from one of the Ruskian officers during their attack on the palace.

Zuko cocked a brow. "Okay, and what about the ones that would be there anyway?"

Sokka rubbed his chin. "Hm, I'm not sure..."

Toph punched her knuckles together. "Why not just take them out?"

Sokka shook his head, even if Toph wouldn't see it. "No, too many of them, not counting the rest. I think I counted over a hundred."

"There's 320 of them," the girl stated. "But there's only 20 guarding the carts, so it shouldn't be that hard."

Sokka, while shocked by the accuracy of his blind companion, put a hand to his chin. "Well, maybe if we can take them out quickly enough..."

Zuko sighed. "Look, are we doing this or standing here while they finish up and leave?"

Sokka nodded. "Okay, let's go."

Agent Hei knew what he was doing could get himself and his men killed, but if he wanted to prevent greater bloodshed, he would risk everything to ensure the best outcome for his people. Hei would never forget what he felt when he saw the Avatar fall, nor would he forgive Long Feng for trying to suppress such an earth-shattering truth. Sure, he'd given him this chance to "redeem" himself, but he thought differently. The pieces had already begun moving, and the rumours of the Avatar's death spread through Ba Sing Se's keepers like wildfire. The protests and the planned assassinations were the final gasp of a man who Hei'd once seen as unassailable. No, the old way was over, and perhaps, with luck, the new world would be better. But unlike the other higher-ups, he had no intention of going down with them, not when they threatened to set the whole city alight. So, he'd made his choice, and now, he was going to deal with the consequences- "-What?" came the meek response of one of the girls in the back, her attire clearly of Fire Nation origin.

He quickly snapped from his thoughts and noticed the stunned and bewildered looks the foreigners expressed, so he took a deep breath. He would need to make this quick. "I and my men came to defect," he began. "I saw one of you end the Avatar. My comrades have also seen how you have conducted yourselves," he began, quietly swallowing a gulp as the officer in the center of the group lowered his weapon, one that looked strikingly similar to the one that ended the Master of all elements.

"Go on," the... boy commanded. He'd thought he was a man. Curiously, he also noticed the young man's voice coincided with that of the Avatar's killer. He wasn't speaking to him now, was he?

"Yes, of course," Hei nodded before continuing. "We've seen the good your people have done despite the carnage, and given current circumstances, we believe it best you continue your efforts to aid our people."

The boy officer stowed his weapon. "I see..." He began. "Then why do you wish to speak to my fa- The Grand Duke?" Hei's eyes widened as he put together what the boy almost said: The Grand Duke was his Father.

"Because there is a great danger waiting for you, all of you," the Dai Li man began. "Long Feng has inserted members of the Dai Li to stir up the crowd, and our mission was to assassinate the Grand Duke, the Fire Princess, and anyone else in the entourage."

"Then why would we send you to him if your mission was to kill him? How do we know this isn't a trick?" Questioned the girl standing next to the Grand Duke's Son, her expression calm, yet he noticed her hands twitch with anticipation. She must have been the Fire Nation Princess, meaning the rumour that she was in the city was true.

Sighing deeply, he took off his hat. "As much as I hate to say it, you're right," he began, turning to the Princess. "But if the protests continue, or even succeed in restoring the King, who would stop your Father from marching in when the comet arrives? Wouldn't that only make things worse?"

Surprisingly, his statement seemed to strike a chord with the Princess as she stood, puzzled and conflicted, though for what reason, he knew not. "I. I concede your point," she replied before turning to the boy. "Ivan, should we-"

"-Yes," he said. When Hei turned to him, he felt unnerved by the calm surrounding him. Any hint of previous hostility seemed to fade as the boy gestured for him to follow, which he did.

"Sir, should we-"

Hei shook his head before turning to the man who spoke. "No, Sergeant, you remain here," he ordered before following Ivan and the Fire Princess. He didn't know what would await him, but he hoped he could turn the tide enough to end Long Feng's control of the Dai Li and, with it, his grip on the city.

Hello and Happy New Year to everyone! I am so sorry for not posting this earlier, but it is finally finished. Now, I didn't quite get to where I wanted to, but next chapter should at least resolve all the stuff on the Ruskian side of things, though I'll see if I can tie-up Team Avatar's little mission as well.

As always, thanks for all the support, and while I didn't get to my personal goal of 200 favs and follows, hopefully we can get there before the middle of 2025, if not sooner. Also, for those who want to support the story, or discuss it with me, please join the Discord or send me a PM, as I love to hear what you all think and see how I can improve my writing.

Discord: /u56qMgnU