Chapter 11: Harmony Now!

-Fire Nation Palace, Late at Night-

It was a clear night over the Fire Lord's palace, and Zuko was tossing and turning in his bed–which disturbed the sleep of his girlfriend, Mai.

"Zuko?" The knife thrower groaned, rubbing her eyes as she looked at her boyfriend's tossing and turning form. Then the Fire Lord shot up with a gasp, eyes wide.

"Who's there?!" He yelled in adrenaline induced alarm, which made the guards rush in.

"Sir, are you okay?" One of them asked. Zuko took a moment to calm his heart as he stood up.

"Sorry… I think it's my old warrior instincts acting up." The scarred ruler sighed, Mai giving him a comforting hug.

This moment of relief was shattered, however, when the cry of an infant was heard across the hall, along with the clanging of a weighted chain and a lightning bolt blasting through the adjacent wall to the Fire Lord's wall.

"UNHAND MY DAUGHTER, YOU INSOLENT SNAKE!" The voice of a furious Azula screamed.

"Move, now!" The second guard yelled in alarm, rushing to Azula's aid. The others immediately followed suit to Azula's room and found the blue flame user furiously fighting a woman in assassin's garb. There was also a crying baby that didn't like what was happening.

"Subdue the intruder!" Mai barked, and the guards quickly moved in with Zuko while the knife thrower herself got between the infant and the fighting.

"Death to the Fire Lord! Death to the Royal family!" The assassin yelled as she suddenly created a spiked fist out of floor tiles–pointing it at the small baby. "I'll make this one die first." She growled before launching it.

Right as it was in flight, one of the guards got in the way and took the hit and fell to the ground, a pained cry escaping him as he held his bleeding shoulder. His partner was by his side in an instant to tend to him as best he could.

Infuriated even further by the attempt on her daughter's life, Azula delivered an overhead ax kick to the assassin, slamming her onto the ground hard enough to daze her.

Mai was quick to catch the baby in order to try and help calm her down, and when the earthbending assassin got back to her feet, she soon went rigid as the edge of the blade of a very large sword pressed itself against her neck–and a pair of teal blue eyes glowed menacingly behind her.

"You have no idea what kind of trouble you are in…" Touya growled, thoroughly pissed the fuck off by the attempt on his daughter's life.

"Ursa! Oh darling!" Azula gasped as she took her daughter back. The infant mewed and whimpered as she clung to her mother.

Ursa minor's appearance was a nearly spitting image of her mother's, but while she had her mother's hair, skin and face, she had her father's eyes, nose, and three freckles on the left side of her nose–like Touya.

"I don't know why you came here to try and kill us, but if you talk carefully, I might let you live." The redhead told the pinned assassin, pressing his sword's edge against her neck lightly for emphasis.

"Why should I be loyal to a family that betrays its people?!" The assassin snapped.

"What are you implying?!" Azula demanded as she held her daughter.

"My father is the Mayor of Yu Dao, the colony that you're allowing to be in jeopardy with this 'vote' you're allowing the Earth Kingdom to conduct." The girl stated. "My family has served yours faithfully for generations, so by getting rid of me–you'll only be completing your betrayal." She added.

"And in your mind, that's enough to try and kill a baby?! Insolent little whelp!" Touya snarled before he slammed her head on the ground–knocking her out. Then he hoisted his sword on his shoulder and looked at Zuko. "I'll get this idiot restrained. It's safe to say we're taking a personal trip to Yu Dao and having words with the Mayor about this." He stated.

"I agree completely." The scarred ruler nodded in agreement. He wasn't about to take the attempt on his niece's life lying down. The redhead then dragged the would-be assassin out of the room to get her restrained.

"Shh, shh, it's okay Ursa, it's okay…" Azula cooed as she rocked her daughter back and forth. "Mother's got you." She added, trying to comfort her whimpering infant child.

"Rgh… Permission to join the trip to Yu Dao when I'm patched up?" The guard that took the hit meant for Ursa Minor requested with a grunt as he sat up slowly.

"Denied, but your dedication to your role is appreciated. You'll need some time to recover from that wound." Mai told him in reply.

"Fair enough." The man chuckled despite his injury.

(Timeskip)

-Yu Dao Square-

Mayor Morishita was being carried through the streets of his city until he had his carriage stop in time to see his daughter being led through the streets in chains… Specifically by his own chief of police and his son.

"What is going on here?! What is the meaning of this?!" He demanded as he got out of his carriage.

"Your daughter just landed in trouble that can't be ignored. That's the meaning of it." Touya shot back in reply.

"What?! What evidence do you have? What charges, and on what grounds?" The mayor demanded as Zuko, Mai, and Azula came into view, followed by several soldiers.

"Your daughter is being charged with attempting to kill the royal family, including my infant niece." Zuko told the man with a stern look on his face.

"Honestly, I should burn this city to the ground for this atrocity." Azula growled, her hands sparking before orange flames ignited in them.

"My lord, I'm so sorry! I never realized my daughter would go to the lengths she did!" The mayor said frantically, getting on his knees and bowing.

"Why bother?" The man's daughter questioned, directing her statement at Azula. "The Harmony Restoration movement will accomplish just that, without you having to lift a finger." She spat.

"If this is what I was growing up around, then I question if this place should even be allowed to remain at all." Touya remarked quietly to himself, his opinion of this failed assassin was already low after the attempt on his daughter's life. She was just making his disgust run deeper.

"Why won't you colonists get this through your thick skulls? The vote in the Earth Kingdom is split fifty fifty, meaning King Kuei is left to make the final decision." Zuko stated. "And if he chooses that the colonies have to go, they have to go. It's meant to restore peace!" He added.

"Restore peace?" The mayor questioned with an angry tone as he rose to his feet. "You're allowing the home of your people to be in jeopardy with this vote! And Ozai may have had his faults, but he was no coward! He would have forced the Earth King and Avatar to let the colonies remain where they are!" He yelled.

This made Zuko clench his fists. "Should I dock your tongue, then?" The Fire Lord growled at the Mayor. "Because that is exactly what Ozai would have said and done for what you just said to me." He added with a hiss.

"U-Uh, n-no need for that." Morishita stuttered, backpedaling.

"Then do not compare me to Ozai again." The scarred ruler said sternly. "And as for your daughter, she will be doing five year's time in prison here in Yu Dao. I refuse to take any attempts on my niece's life lying down. Do you understand?" He demanded, his mouth engulfed in flames.

It was then that a spike of earth sprouted from the ground and broke the girl's chains, causing both Touya and Enji to jump back.

Everyone turned and saw Morishita's wife, an Earthbender. "Fire Lord, please. Forgive my husband's foolishness." She implored in an even tone. "I keep telling him to mind his tongue, but he never listens." She added.

"Oh yeah. Forgot she was an Earthbender for a bit there." The redhead muttered to himself while Zuko looked surprised.

"And so am I." The girl added as she took back her weapon. "And through my father's bloodline, I am a Fire Nation citizen." She added.

"We built this city on our own sweat and tears, Fire Lord." Morishita stated. "I think Enji and his family understands just what we would lose if we're forced to leave. The same for the other older colonies." He added, his family standing proudly with him.

"He's not wrong." Enji admitted with a sigh. "Lord Zuko, if you would stay a few days, you would understand what our lives are like personally and not through accounts of my son or Azula." He continued.

"It is true. All I've heard is second hand accounts." Zuko hummed, stroking his chin. "It could be the reason why the vote got split in the first place, I was basically asking the people of the Earth Kingdom to trust a third hand source." He mused.

Touya tapped his foot impatiently, he hated to admit it, but the mayor and his family was right–which rubbed him the wrong way, especially since one of them tried to assassinate his family.

"Azula?" The boy questioned his fiance and mother of his child as she held their baby daughter.

"... As much as I'd rather toss the Mayor's daughter in prison like my brother wishes, we should let him see what Yu Dao is like first hand." Azula reluctantly admitted. She really didn't like letting the man's daughter get off scot free like this… Unless something changed.

"...Fine–but I don't like it." Touya sighed. "Come on Zuko, allow us to show you around." He added, gesturing for the teen to follow.

(Elsewhere)

With Team Avatar, they were in a frantic rush to the Royal Palace in the Fire Nation. Once they landed, they were quick to rush inside but only found Mai present.

"What's the rush?" The knife thrower asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Kiyoshi Island was ransacked! That's what!" Aang exclaimed as he caught his breath, causing Mai's eyes to widen in alarm.

"What?! Shit!" She hissed to herself before looking at the group again. "Okay, listen. The daughter of Yu Dao's mayor tried to kill Ursa Minor a few days ago, so he's gone! If you need to warn him about what happened, don't waste any time!" She told them urgently.

"What?! When'd that happen?!" Ty Lee gasped in horror.

"It was when almost everyone was asleep." The knife thrower told her.

"That's horrible." Katara gasped. "I wish I could have been here for the birth. But it took us a week just to get here." She added.

"That's okay." Mai nodded. "Now, what's this about Kiyoshi Island being ransacked?" She asked.

"Apparently a large group of bending raiders hit the island, according to the survivors that escaped into the woods." Aang explained. "They said they called themselves the Icelanders." He added.

"I've never heard that term." Mai frowned in confusion.

"Same here." The former circus performer nodded in agreement.

"We think they came from outside the four nations. They must've come here looking for new treasures to take." Katara explained. "There were fragments of what we think were their shields that had artwork we were unfamiliar with." She added.

"Well regardless, we'll need to tell the Earth King and Zuko about it, this is definitely really important." Mai nodded gravely. "Which means we have to leave. Now." She added.

"Let's go!" Aang exclaimed as he spun on his heel and speed walked out of the room, the others hot on his heels.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile in Yu Dao, Zuko had been spending about a week in the city to better understand it himself, and was now having dinner with Mayor Morishita, his wife and daughter, and the Katsuyas with Azula.

This was meant to be a sort of "peace" dinner to help appease the angered royals.

The dinner consisted of a few Yu Dao exclusive dishes, such as Little Meat Cakes–which were patties of seasoned meat fried in lard. Cabbage and miso noodle soup, simple rice flour pancakes, glutinous rice balls, and lastly a nut and honey "guilla-goat cheese" cake.

Had Azula still been pregnant and having cravings, she would've eaten nearly all of it.

"Where exactly did you get inspiration for some of these?" Zuko asked as he ate a Little Meat Cake.

"If I recall correctly, Earth Nation folks ate these raw in the past. During the times when the people were nomadic." Touya explained. "I think a firebender was irritated by the concept and accidentally cooked them without thinking." He added, looking like he was trying to recall the story fully.

"That's partly true." Morishita's wife explained. "The nomadic ancestors to our people were great mounted warriors, and often put the meat under their saddles to keep them from bouncing, which helped cook it somewhat."

"And eating this meat in that not so cooked state is where the term "tar-tar" comes from." Temari added, before chuckling as Azula nearly turned green. "Though that form of the dish isn't for everyone." She added.

"I can tell…" The princess groaned as she held her stomach, swearing she could feel bile rising in her throat at the thought of the raw meat.

"Easy, Azula." Touya told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "She had a bad experience with a bit of Serpent-Beef Tar-Tar she had when she was recovering from her amnesia." The boy explained to the three villagers.

"If by "bad experience" you mean food poisoning, then yes. That's exactly what happened." The princess stated dryly, feeding Ursa some milk.

"Then she vowed to never eat it again." Enji chuckled, recalling what she said after her first experience with the dish in question.

He'd be a liar if he said he didn't find it funny.

"Why am I being teased?" Azula asked with a pout.

"On a different subject." Zuko said, trying to lighten the mood for his sister. "Enji, Tamari, my Uncle tells me that Yu Dao is one of the largest exporters of the Lapsang Souchong black tea that's popular with both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom."

"That's true." The woman nodded.

"Well, he also mentioned there being a story about its creation." Zuko states before looking at the whole table. "Do any of you know it?" He asked.

The Morishitas and Katsuyas looked at each other before shaking their heads. It was then that Touya cleared his throat.

"I'm pretty familiar with the story." The boy stated, clearing his throat. "Lapsang tea is a special kind of tea that actually found its origin in the early days of Fire Nation naval supremacy, before the destruction of "Fifth Nation" pirate republic." He began.

"Pirates, huh?" Azula grinned as she looked at Zuko, knowing how much bad luck her brother had with Pirates. This caused the Fire Lord to groan as he remembered that particular incident during the war.

"The story goes like this: A band of Fifth nation pirates were going around pillaging and rading nearby provinces for the usual yield of plunder. Generally attacking and burnerizing the villages in their path." The redhead continued as he poured himself some more rice wine. "This continued until they stumbled onto a Tea farm and had the impulse to ransack it, as ya do. Unsurprisingly, due to pirates not being known for their foresight, they sacked the farm before the tea was dry and ready to be moved or sold." He continued.

"Wow." Morishita's daughter snickered in amusement. 'Talk about a real downer.' She thought.

"So our resident geniuses were left with a bunch of damp, heavy, useless leaves." The blue flame user stated. "They then did the only logical thing and set it on fire." He continued.

"But Fire burns leaves!" Hanako piped up

"True, though–to their credit–the pirates really just smoked it over pinewood Fire to dry the leaves at." Touya nodded at his little sister. "This, unsurprisingly, made it smell like smoke–because that's how fire works, dummies–so they thought they knackered their yield and brought it to market to get rid of it. Along comes a Fire Nation tradesman and he asked to try some before buying a full crate. And when he did, he remarked that it was the most unique tea he'd ever had." He continued. "And so, he bought it all and brought it back to the Fire Nation, where it has gained a strong following to this day." He finished.

"Huh, to think that something so prized could have such foolhardy beginnings." Morishita hummed, stroking his beard.

"Yeah. I guess it is." Zuko nodded.

(Elsewhere)

"Alright, dunderheads! Let's move those coins!" Toph exclaimed as she stamped her feet on the floor of her "Beifong MetalBending Academy ''.

"Right, Sifu Toph…!" Her three students, a pudgy looking boy, a girl that looked like a fashionista, and an emo looking boy all chorused with different levels of enthusiasm as they tried to bend the coins that were wedged in the top of bamboo… with no success.

Toph could only groan as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I swear, you guys are making me look bad." She muttered with a sigh before stopping when she heard a commotion outside the dojo. "Take five. I'll be back." She told her students before she walked out and launched herself into the air before landing in Appa's saddle.

"Oh! Hi, Toph." Katara said in surprise, not expecting her to just appear like she did.

"Nice to see you too, sugar queen." The Blind Bandit chuckled before she frowned. "Where's Sokka? He's usually talking my ear off by now." She asked. The waterbender's face fell on this.

"Kiyoshi Island got ransacked." She revealed, much to Toph's shock, which was rare in itself. "According to the survivors, a group called the Icelanders attacked it. We're heading to Yu Dao to warn Zuko so he can fortify his territory." She explained. "Sokka and Suki also stayed behind at Kiyoshi village to help out." She finished. Toph took all this in and frowned heavily.

"I can definitely see why you wanna warn Zuko. The more far off Fire Nation villages and colonies might be targeted." She noted.

"Yeah. Plus, we heard that Ursa Minor was almost assassinated a few nights ago by the Mayor's daughter. So we're trying to get there as quickly as possible before it could cause trouble." Aang added.

"Especially since…" Katara added, looking over Oppa's saddle down at a crowd of people that was gathering around the gates of Yu Dao. "Apparently a group of Earth Kingdom citizens are trying to force the colonists out, since they think the vote will sway in their favor–even though the Earth King hasn't made his decision yet." She added.

"Looks like someone's counting their Ostrich-horses before they hatch." Toph noted.

"We should deal with that." Aang commented as he had Appa land outside the gate, getting the crowd's attention.

"Hey, it's the Avatar!" The leader of the group, who was Smeller Bee apparently, called, causing everyone to cheer.

"Hey Smeller Bee." The Airbender said as he hopped down from his bison. "Where's Pipsqueak and the Duke?" He asked.

"They're a couple towns away, we've split up so that we can take care of some places that got ransacked a few days ago." The girl explained. This caught the couple's attention.

"Did the survivors get the name of the attackers?" Katara asked in worry.

"Yeah. They said they were called the Icelanders, I think. Why?" Smeller Bee asked in reply, confirming their worries.

"Oh no, it's worse than I thought." Aang groaned in dismay, much to the freedom fighter's confusion. "Kiyoshi Island got ransacked by the same group you just named. We came here to warn Zuko about them." He explained.

"Seriously? Jeez, those guys really get around. Don't they?" Smeller Bee hummed.

"What do you mean by that?" Toph asked, sliding down Appa's tail.

"I heard that the first place these "Icelanders" hit was the North Pole." The Freedom Fighter explained. "A guy from the water tribe told me they sacked the village real bad. Like, vandalized it. And their best water benders were either killed, or severely injured." She added.

"What?!" Katara shouted in disbelief and worry. The North Pole was also hit? Just how powerful were these raiders?!

"Katara, we need to get over this wall now." Aang said seriously. "Zuko needs to hear this." He added just as seriously.

"Right. Let's go." The waterbender nodded as she grabbed onto her boyfriend.

"Well if you see the flaming hothead, tell him that the Earth King wants to speak to him about his decision about the colonies." Smeller Bee told him. "And that, if it's decided that the colonies gotta go, the freedom fighters won't hesitate to move them ourselves." She added warningly.

"Uh, right." The Avatar said awkwardly before he flew both himself and his girlfriend over the wall, the two landing in front of a Fire Nation captain and his squad.

"That's far enough. None are allowed to enter Yu Dao without permission from the Fire Lord, not even the Avatar." The captain told them firmly.

"We're here on high priority business. We're worried a group of raiders may target Yu Dao." Katara said immediately, getting to the point.

"Hmph. They'll be dealt with easily." The man scoffed.

"They already ransacked the North Pole, Kiyoshi Island and several other villages." Aang interjected, causing the captain to pause.

"... I'll be going against orders for this, but… Go on and find Lord Zuko. He's still here in Yu Dao." The man conceded. To him, if what he heard was true, then his Lord needed to be alerted.

"That won't be necessary." A familiar voice spoke up, causing everyone to turn and see Zuko walking up to them. "I heard everything. Aang, Katara, are you absolutely serious?" He questioned.

Aang and Katara turned to the teen and looked at him with grave expressions. "We wouldn't have come here so quickly if it wasn't." Katara explained.

"Plus, we still need to see King Kuei about his final decision on the split vote, or have you forgotten about that?" Aang questioned, his tone serious.

"I haven't forgotten. We can use the opportunity to tell him about these raiders, too." Zuko nodded in reply. "And you can tell me about what you know about these raiders as we go." He added as he started walking, his friends following suit.

"Why do you have all these soldiers around Yu Dao?" Katara asked.

"I wanted to make sure that the people of this colony, Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom and mixed were protected from any overzealous protestors who would want to take the law into their own hands." He explained.

"I'm guessing that was after you marched up here to deal with a would be assassination?" Aang asked with a knowing look, eyebrow raised.

"Ehe… Hasty, I know. But you have to keep in mind, family is kind of important to me. Especially nowadays." The Fire Lord explained with a nervous chuckle. "I was just acting like how any uncle or ruler would in a situation like this." He added.

"Understandable when explained, but there's bound to be others who are going to take it the wrong way before the reasons are given." Katara shrugged, feeling that she would do something similar if it was her infant family members on the line.

"So where's Azula now? Relaxing with Ursa Minor?" Aang asked.

"More like trying to distance herself from the conflict this incident stirred up as much as possible." Zuko explained. "Her patience has worn thin at this point." He continued.

"Oh." The avatar said simply.

"All the same, we should leave for Ba Sing Se as soon as possible." Katara stated. "Smeller Bee said she could only promise us two days before things got ugly." She added.

"Then follow me." Zuko told her. "I want all of us to be able to tell the Earth King why the older colonies should stay, first hand." He added, getting two assuring nods from his friends.

(Elsewhere)

In another part of the Earth Kingdom landmass, one of the newer Fire Nation colonies–a city called Shang-Ha–stood in ruins as the bands of Icelanders that had raided several places already set it to the torch.

However, this time, the group looked visibly weakened. Many of them were injured, exhausted or even dead, and the three left standing (Eivor, Ohdaviing and Thorfinn) were currently staring down the ones that were giving them so much trouble.

That being King Bumi and Master Jong Jong of the White Lotus..

The earthbending centurion's experience really made him a force to be reckoned with, since he managed to kill at least ten of the non Berserker raiders already.

Jong Jong, meanwhile, was no slouch either due to his mastery of firebending, taking out an equal number of the non Berserkers as well.

Now stood before them three of their strongest Berserkers, and they were not happy.

"Rest, my sister." Ohdaviing said as he closed the eyes of a raider that had her chest burned through by the firebending master's flames. "May the Valkyries spirit you away across the Sea of Souls to the Hall of Warriors. Valhalla awaits you." He added solemnly before standing up, his face hardened as he slung his ax over his shoulder.

"You fight well. Let's see how your prowess holds against us." Eivor growled, gripping her axes tightly.

"You will not harm anymore innocents, your reign of terror ends here, fiend!" Jong Jong declared, entering a fighting stance.

"Let's see who's better." Bumi added, crushing a bit of rock candy in his mouth as he made his stance.

Eivor growled as she twirled her axes, the weapons being engulfed in flames as she charged forward, yelling at the two as she lunged.

Jong Jong met her with fire daggers, the two beginning a deadly exchange of fire. The firebending master was hard pressed to keep up with the Icelander Berserker, her fury pushing him to his limits.

Bumi, meanwhile, rose a stone wall to block a charging Ohdaviing, only for the larger man to cleave through it with sheer brute force, then followed it up by slashing at him with a water blade conjured at the edge of his ax using water from a nearby stream.

"Whoa! Tricky lot, ain't ya?!" The century old man yelped as he narrowly evaded the attack. "I can be tricky too! Watch this!" He added, lifting pillars of earth right under the Icelander man's feet, throwing him off balance, which left him open to a rock to the abdomen.

"Gah!" Odahviing grunted as he staggered back from the blow before righting himself. "Impressive, but not good enough!" He yelled as he bended some more water and made them into ice lances, swords, even hammers and sent them flying at Bumi.

Bumi, to his credit, actually handled this in a fairly crafty manner. He quickly made himself sink underneath the battle and made the ice weapons fly towards Jong Jong and Eivor instead, interrupting their clash and causing them to jump back in order not to get hit.

This allowed the king to pop out of the ground and attempt to attack Eivor next, but his move was blocked by the woman digging her ax into the rocks he sent at her, and using her other ax to hook onto Bumi's shoulder, and slam her skull into his, sending them both skidding back, foreheads bleeding.

Thorfinn tried his luck with a hammer strike to Jong Jong's back, but the man avoided it and his attack nearly hit Eivor had she not dodged it as well. She said nothing about it, however, since she knew he wasn't aiming for her. They still had enemies to defeat.

Both parties struggled to their feet after several more minutes of fighting, both exhausted by this point.

Thorfinn then decided it was time that things ended. "Alright. Time to go." He intoned as he suddenly conjured a tornado around himself to lift him into the air by swinging his hammer around.

This shocked the two masters, as they hadn't expected for these raiders to have Airbenders in their ranks.

'I thought Aang was the last Airbender left!' The two White Lotus members thought in unison with wide eyes.

"Now, BEGONE!" Thorfinn roared as fucking lightning rained from the sky upon them. Raising his hammer to the gathering storm, it struck the weapon like a lightning rod and the Berserker then used this to direct the lightning at the two men–Bumi only just managed to block it with a rock dome.

Slowly descending back to earth, Thorfinn looked at the now unconscious men and turned to his companions.

"Let's leave. We have wounded to attend to, dead to prepare for funeral rites, and a raid to prepare for." He told them, picking up the dead Icelander Valkyrie raider Odahviing had given some final dignity.

"Right." Eivor and Odahviing nodded as they tended to their wounded and deceased.

Their next raid could very well be their last in this state.

Dragon Emperor0: You see readers, just like the vikings of old, if the Icelanders find a force that's a match for them–they'll likely lose. It's no coincidence that it took three Berserkers to take down Bumi and Jong Jong. Men who: took back a city by himself and is capable of Sozin's comet level firebending without said comet respectively.

ThermalsniperN7: It's no wonder these two gave the Icelanders so much trouble; they're titans in their own right, especially Bumi since he's been around for over a century. That gives him a huge advantage in experience and creativity.

Dragon Emperor0: But then there's Thorfinn and his Airbending, and Lightning redirecting hammer. Something tells me that Aang may have some real trouble against him. And Eivor, since she's clearly on a similar level in terms of firebending and hand to hand combat. Anyway guys, we'll see you next time when The Promise goes big.