The next day began early in Krozhny. Servants headed to Team Avatar's chambers long before the sun rose over the land. This caused Toph to let out a groan.

"Why are they coming here already?" she asked.

Apart from Sokka, the others began to stir. Katara's brows furrowed in concern.

"Maybe something is wrong," she suggested. "It could be about the farmer."

The waterbender started melting the igloo around them so that they would be able to speak with the guests. As soon as she did, the servants were stepping inside. They were holding items which resembled long strings in the darkness. A firebender lit a small flame in her hand to illuminate the room. The servants bowed their heads politely before approaching the friends.

"Is everything alright?" Aang asked, confused by their quick movements and silence.

"We need to measure everyone," one answered.

"Why?" Suki inquired, poking Sokka so that he would wake up as well.

"His and Her Majesties want new outfits to be worn each time you perform. The tailors rushed to create your clothing last time. It's why it did not all fit very well."

"Can you ask the tailors to make clothes that look more…normal this time?" Zuko requested.

"Sorry. That's not in our jurisdiction. We aren't allowed to make suggestions to the royal tailors. I'm sure they will create wonderful ensembles for you all."

The small firebender could not have disagreed more with the servant. Unfortunately, it was clear to the friends that making a fuss would get them nowhere. Still, Sokka had to try something.

"Where do the tailors work?"

One servant glanced up, having just finished measuring Aang's head. "They are on the level beneath us."

"Isn't that where the dungeon is?" Toph asked. "It seemed like that farmer was brought there yesterday."

"It is, but that is also where the servants rest or complete other tasks for His and Her Royal Highnesses."

A frown came over the friends' faces, but this time, they did not say anything else until the servants were gone.

"We should go there," Sokka proposed.

"Why?" Katara asked.

"We'll get to see what conditions the dungeons are in. Considering what we're planning, we should figure out how Vadim and Tatia deal with people they arrest. Could come in handy later."

"Makes sense to me," Toph said. "Let's go outside again before heading there. We're right above some giants now. We might just fall onto someone's head if we try to go beneath the ground here."

Agreeing with the plan, the friends hopped off the bed and returned to the hole in the wall. Rather than making a tunnel to enter the town, they burrowed one parallel to the castle. When they were across from where the lowest level was located, Toph and Aang created an opening. The team crawled out as the duo closed it again to prevent anyone from seeing what they had done. Where they found themselves was not crowded, but two giants were preparing a meal. The pair were so focused on their work that they did not notice the newcomers. Quietly, the group scurried below tables and chairs until they were out of the kitchen. The tiny people kept going until Toph stopped them.

"The dungeon's over here," she said, leading the way further to the right.

The team followed her, eyes widening when they reached a metallic prison. It was cold, had a foul stench, and there were plenty of sounds. There were more prisoners than the friends had anticipated. From what they could tell, there were enough cells to contain no less than several hundred prisoners. Over half of these had been filled. The people were the cause of the sounds. Several of them were muttering to themselves, some were hitting the bars in a futile attempt to escape, and others were weeping. The farmer fit into none of these categories. He was completely silent and his head hung low. He did not even see the friends, but they saw him and the blood dripping from his clothes onto the floor. Katara let out a gasp. This caught the attention of the other prisoners. They rushed to the bars, not even caring that their potential saviors were beneath their shins. If the group could somehow help, that was all that mattered to the inmates.

"Get us out of here!" one pleaded.

She had red marks all over her face and arms. Zuko recognized these as lightning scars.

"Please!" another added.

He was missing his right arm. Those around him seemed to be in no better health.

"We have to help them," Katara said. "Toph, you can metalbend everyone out of here."

"But she shouldn't," Sokka stated. He already knew what his sister was going to say, so he quickly spoke again. "If we release them without stopping Vadim and Tatia, everyone here will just be hunted down and recaptured. If anything, it'll be worse for them because they escaped."

"We'll also lose the royals' trust," Zuko added. "They know Toph can metalbend. It'll be too much of a coincidence if everybody is suddenly freed."

"So, we just leave them here?" Katara asked.

There was a slight pause before Aang's brows furrowed. "We might have to for now," he sadly admitted. "It won't be forever. The sooner we can find the rebels, the sooner we can help. We can't do that if we're trapped too because we caused trouble."

Suki put a hand on the waterbender's shoulder. "We understand more about how the kingdom works now. When we begin the revolt, we'll know to send healers for everyone."

Even though Katara was not satisfied with leaving the people, she grasped the importance of thinking deeply about these actions. Reluctantly, she left with her friends, eyes tearing up at the sound of the people's pleas. Team Avatar moved away from the dungeon and towards where they had entered.

"I can't believe the prince was in support of that awful arrest," one giant commented.

The tiny people stopped walking to hide beneath a table. They went unnoticed by the talking giant. The servant near a large pot was also unaware of the team's presence.

"I can't either. He's never done something like this before."

"Hopefully, this doesn't mean that he's going to begin acting more like his parents."

"If he does, all of Krozhny is doomed. We won't be able to survive two consecutive reigns like that."

The giants became quiet, both now focusing on their work instead of the troubling thoughts which were threatening to take over their minds. Team Avatar took this chance to continue their escape, going back to their chambers. A few hours passed before the servants returned with new outfits. They were as bizarre as before, but this time, there seemed to be a common theme which connected the clothing. Unhappily, the friends put these overtop of their regular clothes. Then they were promptly brought to the throne room. Naum was there as well and regarded the friends with an unreadable look. He approached them, handing over a scroll.

"Their Royal Highnesses have selected a pirate themed story for your next play."

"We weren't given one of those to memorize," Zuko said. "It doesn't look like just a prompt either."

"It isn't. It's fully written out." Naum paused, lifting an eyebrow. "Is this an issue for you to perform?"

Begrudgingly, the firebender moved so that the scroll could be placed on the table. The friends tried to go through the script as quickly as possible, reading it off for Toph to hear as well. They were cut off by Vadim snapping his fingers.

"Enough. Now, you'll perform."

Naum gestured to a bath which had been carried into the room. There was a toy boat floating on the calm water. The friends hopped onto the jester's hand so that he could put them on the boat. Aang wore a pirate captain's hat and tried to remember what he had seen on the scroll.

"Argh, matey! We be looking for loot in these parts," he said.

"Wrong line," Vadim corrected. "You're supposed to say that you're looking for merchant ships to raid."

"We be looking for merch–"

"Just move onto the next line," the king ordered, frowning.

The group noticed something a little more severe than mere irritation in Vadim's voice and eyes. Unsure what it was, they kept going with the show.

"I think we'll get more treasure here than from the last crew we fought," Katara said.

"Then we'll have enough gold to buy anything and anyone we want," Toph added, frowning a little at the sentiment of these lines.

"If we survive, that is," Sokka added, pointing outwards. "There's a storm coming!"

"Good job," Aang whispered. "That was really convincing. You even look pale."

Sokka's eyes were wide. "That's because I'm not acting right now," he said in a quiet voice.

The Avatar followed his gaze to see an edge of the tub. Waves were beginning to grow until they were high above the friends. Katara and Aang tried to stop them, but they were fast and powerful. Even as the waves slowed down, they still caused the miniature boat to be thrashed about by the current. The friends saw Tatia with her hands out, a cruel look on her face.

"We can't perform if we're dead!" Toph yelled.

Tatia did not seem to be listening. To make matters worse, Vadim made them deal with a lightning storm as well. Electricity crackled close to the friends. It sparkled on the water and all over the air near them. Being thrown around by the waves made it difficult to avoid being hit by the lightning as well. Tatia made the waves get stronger. A hurricane was created in the tub and several blasts of lightning shot the deck of the boat. The friends had to protect one another if they all wanted to survive. Suki and Sokka held onto Toph securely, preventing their friend from being hit by an unseen blast or getting flung off the vessel. Aang and Katara did their best to calm down the water, but it was like every drop was being pulled into that cyclone which was sinking the ship. It was nearly impossible to keep anyone from drowning and stop the hurricane. Anger appeared on Vadim's face, then his hands lit up. More tiny blasts of lightning fired out, almost hitting the trio who were huddled together. Seeing what was about to happen, Zuko hurried and caught the blast with both hands. With it being a smaller size, the tiny firebender could redirect it. As soon as he did, his eyes widened.

"End the play!" Vadim ordered.

The water in the tub immediately became calm. Team Avatar nervously adjusted to being able to stand safely on the boat again. They could sense the anger coming off the royals.

"You," Tatia said, pointing at Zuko. "You lied to us. You said you weren't a lightning bender."

"I'm not," he insisted.

"Now, you're calling us fools! What did we just see?"

"I can't create it–just…redirect it," Zuko admitted, wishing that he could think of another answer.

Vadim approached the tub, glaring down. "You can redirect my lightning? You've disrespected me."

"You were the ones who tried to kill us," Toph countered.

"We just tried to put on a show like you both wanted," Suki added.

Vadim glared at them as well. "That's hardly important. It was all part of the show." His gaze was directed back at Zuko. "That lightning blast wasn't an example of my true power, little bender. I wonder how you'd fare against a real one."

"Hey!" Aang called, upset. "You're the ones who wanted performances and then started trying to drown and electrocute us. It's not like Zuko tried to even shoot the lightning at you."

"Irrelevant. You all knew the truth and intentionally misled us." The king's brows furrowed deeply. "It makes me wonder how much else you've been deceiving us about."

"Let's call it even," Sokka suggested. "We weren't totally honest and you almost killed us."

Ignoring him, Vadim picked up the boat out of the tub. He did so quickly, causing the team to stumble. The firebender brought them over to where Tatia was sitting.

"Should we excuse their deceit?" he asked.

Tatia tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe if they all apologize."

"We're not apologizing for defending ourselves," Katara stated.

Her friends had glares covering their faces. Almost all of them were ready to refuse. This was ridiculous. They would not apologize without reason.

"We're sorry," Aang said, respectfully bowing his head.

His friends were in shock at first, then they saw a subtle glance he gave them. They began to do the same and Toph realized what they were doing, following suit. This satisfied the royals slightly and Vadim handed the boat to the servants.

"Take them back to their chambers," Tatia instructed.

The servants obeyed this request and the royals glared after them. When the doors to the throne room were closed, Vadim turned to Naum.

"Did you know they could redirect lightning? Is this why you suggested we use a more dangerous story?"

"I was not fully certain what they could do, but I had my suspicions."

"How?" Tatia inquired.

"Because, Your Majesty, I have reason to believe that they are not your allies. Yesterday, there were sightings of them outside of the palace walls."

The royals' eyes widened.

"Outside? What were they doing?"

"Although no one will admit to this, I believe they were speaking with the nobles."

"How did you find out if no one will admit it?" Vadim questioned.

"When people are scared, they do not think clearly, Your Highness. They either do not speak at all or they speak far more freely than they normally would. They were overheard by some associates of mine."

The queen frowned deeply. "What could that group be talking to the nobles about?"

"If they want to do this secretly, it must be something against us," Vadim stated. He sighed. "Even still, they're so much fun to toy with. I doubt they're planning anything dangerous."

"They're probably trying to get back to the coast," Tatia offered.

Vadim nodded. "Good idea. That's most likely it."

Naum frowned slightly. "I do not think they should be dismissed so quickly."

"They're doll-sized people, Naum. What harm can they do?" The firebender started to frown. "It's just disturbing that they could have more power we do not know."

"I agree, but we can learn more about that with time," Tatia steed. "I'd prefer to discover more about them instead of killing them so fast. They can't be replaced like other entertainment. Once they're gone, we might never see tiny people again."

The couple missed the frown from Naum, beginning to amuse themselves in conversation with each other. As they did, the jester left, muttering under his breath. Evidently, he would need more time if he wanted to accomplish his goal. He considered new ways to do this. Meanwhile, food was being rationed in the tiny lands. The leaders of Rhijaj and Xei organized everything that they had, grouping grains, fruits, vegetables, and meats together. They had a lot, but it was known that this amount could be gone quickly.

"We can't let everyone starve just because the giant wants to have feasts every night," Buraid stated.

Megat nodded. "We can put some of the food in the statue. If she doesn't know we have it, she can't request it."

In agreement, the others began portioning out how much of the food would be hidden and how much would be kept in plain sight. As they did this, a question remained at the forefront of everyone's mind.

"How are we going to stop her?" Inaya asked.

"I think the best choice right now is to play along," Durnaz stated. "It's going to be difficult to obey her commands all the time, but we don't stand a chance overpowering her."

"We need to trick her," Sabit added.

"Exactly. If we lull her into a false sense of security, she won't think we're capable of something like that."

Ebrah frowned slightly. "There's one way I can think of to trick her, but it doesn't help us now."

"What is it?" Tipah asked.

"It'll be during the next Winter Solstice."

The group got quiet, none of them enjoying the sound of a full year with Azula. Unfortunately, they were not sure if there were many options.

"If we have to wait a year," the vice president said, "then let's make sure we have enough food to last."

Feeling the weight of this responsibility more than ever, the group did their best to ensure that they would have sufficient resources for everyone if they had to wait so long to be rid of the tyrant. This ruler of theirs was in her palace, walking through the halls. They were so large, yet so empty. Azula could faintly hear the sounds of tiny people walking around. At most, this only made the giant paranoid. Where were they going? Were they cleaning the palace, making sure not a single speck of dust existed, or were they plotting against her? Azula swiped part of a table with her finger and glared. It was not dusty. She could not even punish them for this unless she lied about the reason. At last, the princess was comparable to a fire lord. She was the absolute ruler and was enjoying so few aspects of this. It was mind-boggling. What did she need to do in order for this to become an exciting place to rule? Suddenly, Azula's eyes lit up with an idea. She walked out of the palace and shot a bolt of lightning into the sky. It was a signal for her subjects to approach. They did this as quickly as possible.

"The elderly," Azula stated, "bring them to my dungeon."

There was a pause as the group wondered if they heard her correctly. It was this pause that irritated Azula.

"I know you heard me."

"We do not understand the request," Ebrah stated.

"You don't have to understand it; you just have to do it."

Buraid bristled, but Durnaz sent him a look.

"Very well, Your Highness," she said.

This surprised Azula, whose eyes widened slightly. The people were taking this well–too well. Durnaz went with the others into the land and brought out people with graying hair. This was not as fun as the princess had hoped. She wanted tears, pleas–resistance. Such obedience was almost unnatural.

"Because I'm bored, I'll allow you to know what I'm planning," Azula mentioned. "We are going to run out of resources if everyone eats. The elderly don't need as much food and are going to die soon anyway. Now, those who can be strong workers will have more to eat."

The people did not say anything and just bowed their heads. Azula frowned at them before bringing them into the palace. They refused to create a fun situation for her. Simply, they entered the dungeon and said goodbye to everyone. The giant quickly sent the group away, too annoyed by how this had all transpired to want to be bothered with them anymore. Once they were out of the palace and out of earshot, Durnaz smiled.

"Our most feeble people are already hidden," she said. "The people in the dungeons just have prematurely gray hair, so they might look elderly to the giant, but they're physically strong. We can still get them food as well."

"You're right," Tipah added. "If we burrow beneath the dungeon, we'll be able to get to them."

This eased the worries of some of the people, but they still felt anxious. They imagined that these feelings would not leave until Azula did. Regardless, they had their small ways of revolting. Until the day came for freedom, those would just have to do. Freedom was also on the mind of the imprisoned farmer. His head remained low when he heard footsteps from the outside of the cell. Guards unlocked the bars and entered, dragging him with them. He put up no fight this time and was brought to the courtyard of the kingdom. The man did not look up to see the cruel faces of the king and queen. He just felt as water began to slowly cover his entire body. His breathing stopped when the liquid covered his face as well. Within seconds, he could no longer hold his breath. The prisoner inhaled, water burning his lungs and causing him to cough. This only caused more water to enter his mouth. He choked more and lurched until he went completely still. His body was burned and the ashes were put into the ocean. Vadim and Tatia returned to their throne room, but they did not have long before Yeva joined them.

"You said you were going to wait several months," he said, voice sounding tense.

"No," Vadim stated, "you said that. We said that we'd execute him when we chose. We gave him a night to rot in the dungeon and enjoy the pleasures that brings. Originally, he was going to die as soon as he left the throne room."

Yeva's hands formed fists and he bit his tongue so hard that he risked drawing blood. The couple saw the rage hiding beneath his calm expression.

"Is that not what you wanted?" Tatia asked, taunting. "Did you want to spare him?"

"I only want what's best for the kingdom," he answered, bowing his head. "May I be excused?"

"Fine, leave." Vadim scoffed. "You'll probably go to his family and cry together."

Yeva stood upright again and quickly walked out of the throne room. He went to his chambers, changing his clothes into plain ones. Then he left the palace. Slyly, he walked between crowds, blending in. Each step filled him with more anger. The young man was glad when he finally reached a building, because he could have exploded with fury otherwise. His presence made the place go silent. Only his swift steps were audible. He walked to the center of the building, but the people were already watching him with every bit of their attention.

"The king and queen don't care about anyone other than themselves," Yeva stated, removing his cloak. "They killed that farmer before we could have our revolt." He grinded his teeth together. "Don't let this discourage you. The dungeon is full of more people like him. They still need our help even if we can no longer offer him any. Don't harden your hearts. Strengthen your resolve. We'll need that. This can't continue. It won't! Human lives won't be played with as though we're all toys for amusement. The day will come when there's no difference between the town or village, when the full moon doesn't incite terror, and when Krozhny is a kingdom we can be proud of! I promise you that. I refuse to die before that day comes."

Everyone heard determination in the prince's voice. It was a surprise to none of the giants, but a small group was taken off guard by his words and fierceness. Yeva's eyes widened slightly when he noticed a particular table. On it, Team Avatar was standing.

"Well," Sokka said, grinning, "I think we've found our rebels."