Collide

by FoxBlitz

Katara had been so sure of her plan to liberate the prison rig. How was she to know how efficiently the guards would respond to an uprising? Zuko had been positive that his best course of action was to travel separate from his Uncle. What else was he supposed to do when he came across a person from his past? Sometimes, through all the doubt, two people collide. Eventual Zutara.

42. Ch 42 - The Ramifications

Chapter 42 - The Ramifications

The orangish-red hues of the evening sun washed over the Fire Nation Capital City, more commonly referred to as the Caldera by the local populace since the city had been constructed atop an inert volcano. The maroon tinted roofing shingles shone brilliantly with the setting sheen of the fading sunlight as the street continued to hum with the buzz of homeward bound workers and hungry folks looking to grab a meal.

It had been about a week since the day of Black Sun and the conclusion of the turmoil around the Imperial Palace. The announcement of the death of both Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Princess Azula had come as a great shock to the common citizenry. People could scarcely believe that the foreign invaders had been able to break through the Fire Nation defenses so easily and claim the lives of the Fire Royalty. It left them feeling shaken and uneasy.

And to increase their confusion, the additional proclamation of Fire Prince Zuko's return from banishment did little to ease the growing unrest. Few of the common folk knew the actual reasoning behind Prince Zuko's exile, most simply speculated that he must have done something terrible for the Fire Lord to order the banishment of his own Son. Stories ranged wildly depending on who you asked; from setting fire to part of the Imperial Palace all the way to killing a poor unnamed servant in cold blood.

For the highborn houses, most knew about the Agni Kai duel between Ozai and Zuko. Both the one from three years ago that resulted in the Fire Prince's banishment as well as the one that occurred during the recent invasion at the Fire Palace that resulted in Ozai's defeat. What was troubling for them, was the fact that the Fire Prince had grown strong enough in that short span of time to not only challenge his Father, but to defeat him in single combat. Those in power were still scrambling to learn as much as they could about the soon-to-be-crowned Fire Lord and how to best maintain their power and influence within the Fire Nation.

A tense unrest had fallen over the Fire Nation Capital as the people continued to go about their daily lives. The sight of Water Tribesmen warriors and Earth Kingdom fighters standing guard around the Imperial Palace alongside Fire Nation soldiers, who wore a slightly altered uniform with a white sleeve, remained unsettling for the local populace. It was a glaring reminder that the Fire Nation had potentially lost the war.

The door to a rowdy tavern burst open, those closest to the entrance pausing momentarily to observe the newcomers before swiftly returning to their own meals and conversations. Not at all bothered by the lack of attention, four travelers entered and proceeded to an unoccupied table with the oldest of them signaling a waitress to order a round of juice beverages for the group while ordering herself a house ale.

"Careful girls, the old lady's drinking again," teased Toph as the waitress set the ordered drinks down on the table before hurrying off to place the dinner order with the kitchen. That earned the little earthbender a slap to the back of her head from Zuri, who in turn blocked the expected return strike from Toph.

"Probably not a great idea to mock the person who's paying for your dinner," grumbled Zuri as she took a swing of her ale.

"I don't see any food in front of me yet," noted Toph as she waved her arm across the open table, accidently knocking against her drink. Fortunately, Zuri caught the juice glass before it could spill over and make a mess.

"It's coming. I just ordered it," replied Zuri as she glanced over at the little earthbender, who was waving her open palm in front of her own face with a dorky smile. Zuri rolled her eyes. "Your eyesight jokes are really getting old."

"Nah, you all just aren't quick on the uptake," laughed Toph as she took a drink from her juice beverage. "This bacui berry?"

"Dragon fruit," corrected Zuri. "It's better for you. It will help you grown up big and tall."

"Bacui berry tastes better," argued Toph as she stuck out her tongue in mild distaste for the dragon fruit juice in her hand.

"Dragon fruit, bacui berry, it doesn't matter. What are we doing here again?" complained Jin, her own juice beverage in hand. "We're supposed to be out observing the city. Evaluating the overall mood of the people. We can't do that sitting in some tavern. We need to be out there, talking to the people walking on the streets."

"And how exactly are you going to start that conversation?" goaded Suki before taking a swig of her own drink. Putting the juice glass back down on the table, the Kyoshi Warrior feigned sincerity, "Oh wait, hold on, let me guess." Clearing her throat, Suki adjusted her tone into an overly sweet, starry-eyed tone. "Why hello there! I'm one of Zuko's supporters and I'm here to ask you a couple of questions about how well you approve of the new Fire Lord. Oh, and by the way, if you say that you don't like the new Fire Lord, don't worry! I promise not to make note of your face and words to have you arrested later."

Jin opened her mouth to fire back a snappy retort only to be cut off by Toph's outburst of laughter. "She got you there, Pebbles!" snickered the little earthbender.

Indignantly, Jin argued, "Well that still doesn't explain why we're sitting around in this tavern." She sat deeper in her chair with her armed crossed, with a huff of annoyance.

Suki simply sat back in her chair as well with a knowing and confident smile on her face. "None of you have done much information gathering, have you?"

"I tend to favor the more... confrontational sort of reconnaissance," smirked Zuri.

"By that you mean..." asked Suki, somewhat already suspecting what the answer was.

"She means that she likes to punch people in the face. Do that enough times and you'll get information that you need," joked Toph. "It's quite effective."

"No, no it's not," sighed Suki in response to the high-five that Toph and Zuri shared from their side of the table. "See, this is why I'm here. Sokka knew that he needed to rely on someone who's actually done this kind of mission before."

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm still not seeing the reason why you randomly pointed to this tavern while we were walking through the city. It seems to me that you're just acting like you know what you're doing, Ms. Expert," grumbled Jin.

Brushing off Jin's doubts as insignificant, Suki instead lifted her right index finger as she stated, "First off, look around. Lots of merchants and city workers." She expanded a second finger. "Not only that, but plenty of soldiers seem to patron this tavern." A third finger was raised. "Third, this place is so busy and loud, that no one's really paying attention to other people."

"I see... that's, actually not a bad plan," slowly acknowledged Zuri with an approving head nod as the Fire Lieutenant began to comprehend the Kyoshi Warrior's rationale. "Tongues are loosened when people are eating and drinking with people they trust."

"Exactly," confirmed Suki. Then, she indicated to the rest of the team to remain silent.

Jin returned an exasperated expression after about a minute of silence and was about to speak up again when the conversations all around them started to grow in volume.

"He's too young. It's as simple as that. How can a sixteen-year-old whelp possibly lead the nation?"

"Princess Azula was only fourteen. And Fire Lord Ozai was already including her in the war councils."

"That's different. Princess Azula could bend lightning. She was the strongest firebender we've seen in ages. And it wasn't like Fire Lord Ozai was letting her lead the entire country. He banished his Son because the boy was a fool."

"Why was that again?"

"Prince Zuko burned his training partner severely in response for an accident that caused the burn scar on his face."

"Where'd you hear that from? I heard from a Palace stable hand it was because the Prince insulted a Fire General and lost an Agni Kai to that same General."

"You're both wrong. The Prince made a blunder that caused an entire battalion of our soldiers in the Earth Kingdom to get ambushed and killed. The Fire Lord banished him to teach him a lesson."

"Well, either way, all that proves is that the Fire Prince is a fool. Don't count on him to make smart decisions that will help us common folk."

"If he gets rid of that wartime tax on food stuffs, then he can't be all that bad."

"Keep dreaming, fatty. You could live to miss a couple of meals."

"You want to say that again?!"

The sounds of some drunken shoving being exchanged, followed by some rambunctious cheering from other inebriated patrons signaled the end of that particular discussion. In its place, on the other side of the girl's table, rose another exchanging of opinions from a different group of commoners.

"Prince Zuko defeated Fire Lord Ozai in single combat. His strength cannot be ignored."

"Bah. Don't tell me you actually believe that propaganda coming from the Palace. How could a scrawny Prince, banished for his weakness, possibly defeat Fire Lord Ozai? Just look at all those foreign invaders hanging around the Palace. It's all lies."

"You might have a point there. Just how legitimate is all this? It sounds to me like Prince Zuko stole the crown from his Sister by killing off his own family."

"That doesn't make any sense. Prince Zuko's the firstborn Son. The crown was always going to pass to him."

"You're the one behind the times. Princess Azula became the crown Princess after Prince Zuko was banished."

"You're all focusing on the wrong thing. Prince Zuko marched in with an army of foreign invaders. How is that okay? He's going to sell the nation out to the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom."

"I'm with you friend. You can't trust a waterbender or an earthbender. They're all liars."

"Wasn't there some Fire Nation marching under Prince Zuko's flag?"

"Bunch of deserters seeking to restore their right to return to the Fire Nation. I recognized some of them standing guard around the Palace. They ran from the war once before. Now they're clinging to the Fire Prince. Must have been a nightmare living out there on the run in the Fire Colonies."

"So... what happens to now?"

"Who knows? But I'll tell you one thing. If that water and earth-loving Prince tries to make us pay reparations for this war, then he'll have a revolt on his hands. I ain't giving what's mine to some needy earthbender halfway across the world."

"I'll drink to that!"

As the second conversation dissolved into a bunch of overly loud toasts, each trying to out due the other, a couple of bits and pieces from multiple other loudmouthed patrons arose. The information was a tad sporadic, but Jin, Suki, Toph, and Zuri gathered what they could.

"My family's safe. We hid out with several others at the school until the battle was over."

"Old Dan's shop took the worst of the damage on our street. Fire tank ran right through the building trying to flank the enemy. And for what? I watched an Earth Kingdom tank easily shrug off the attack like it was nothing."

"It's mostly the area around the Palace that got hit the hardest. I'm fortunate that I moved my shop stall last month to the north end. I'm glad I listened to that strange fortune teller. 'Change before you have to,' he told me."

"Any word yet on if another attack is coming from the Water Tribes or Earth Kingdom?"

"The western mountain pass leading up towards the city got hit with a landslide."

"Did you hear? Apparently a couple seed bags of those golden jasmine flowers got stolen from Jasmine Island. They caught the theft and hanged him as an example."

"Still can't find a decent ale in this place. Barmaid!"

"I marked up my stock thirty percent this week and stuff's still flying off the shelves. People buy when they're in a panic."

"School opened back up a couple of days ago. They're having problems with their supplies though. Wagon that brings food in from the port keeps getting delayed. My kid keeps complaining about the meager lunches."

"Don't know, a week at least, maybe more. You know it always takes forever to clear roads."

"Not sure how much more of this city chaos I can take. Been thinkin' of bringing my family to go live with my folks in the southwestern island chains."

"Port road's going to take forever to fix. That blasted invasion reshaped the entire slope. Ground's unstable everywhere!"

"I made eye contact with one of those Water Tribe warriors next the Palace gate the other day. Guy was waving his dagger around all menacingly and eating an apple. I couldn't tell if he was actually guarding or just trying to look the part."

"Think the festival that was planned for the end of the month is still going to happen?"

"One of those airships crashed down near the central park. That pilot must have had nerves of steel, staying there at the wheel, guiding the ship away from the homes of people as he went down with the craft."

As the various topics danced across the room, eventually one conversation in particular from a table full of young Fire Nation soldiers became more prominent.

"Do you really think the announcements about the war being over are true?"

"They better not be. How am I supposed to decorate myself with honors if I don't get to burn some earthbenders?"

"You barely survived basic training. You'd be the first to die fighting those mudslingers. You should count yourself lucky that the order came down to remain on standby."

"Don't worry buddy, I'd bet this is just another temporary pause. You really think those isolated ice dwellers or the simple-minded dirt diggers are going to be able to resist doing something stupid? They'll insult Prince Zuko soon enough and bam! We'll be right back to fighting. Whatever this stalemate is, it ain't going to last long."

"Well, it can't come soon enough. I don't want to miss out on making a name for myself in combat."

"Speak for yourself. I don't want to die so far away from home."

"Coward. It's talk like that that's the reason why our Capital City got attacked in the first place. Now we have a new Fire Lord who's pretending to be friendly with all these foreigners."

The impact of multiple mugs of beer slammed onto the table of young soldiers as a group of slightly older veterans made room for themselves and forcefully joined the conversation.

"Ha! Don't be so hasty to get yourself killed, kid! Only about a fifth of those I finished basic training with were still alive after our first mission into the Earth Kingdom."

"Yeah, listen to your betters. I, for one, hope this truce sticks. Then, I can get out of the Army and finally open that bakery I've been putting on hold. Honor? Ha! Honor don't put food on the table. And almost no one back here in the city can even relate to what we've seen and done out there."

"That's what I'm worried about. You really think this new Fire Lord is going to excuse all the things we've done fighting in the name of the Fire Nation under his Father? What if we get condemned for burning down that Earth Kingdom town at-"

"Shut up, you idiot! What happened there happened because of the orders our Lieutenant gave. It was a village supplying food to Earth Kingdom rebels. It had to go."

"But there were children living there..."

"Who would only grow up to become rebels themselves. Good soldiers follow orders. And we were good soldiers. End of story. So, drop it."

"Ignore them, rookies. And take a word of advice from your senior. Be happy if you don't get deployed to the Earth Kingdom."

"I wouldn't fill them with false hope. From what I hear, Prince Zuko is an impulsive hothead. He'll make a rash decision when someone offends him and we'll be right back to fighting soon enough."

Engrossed as she was in all the discussion going on throughout the tavern, Jin nearly jumped a foot in the air when the waitress returned and dropped a heavy tray of cooked picken down on the middle of the wooden table. The waitress looked oddly at the Earth Kingdom girl as Jin smiled sheepishly in response and made up an excuse about being easily startled.

Toph, Zuri, and Suki each shovels several healthy portions of picken and assorted side dishes onto their plates. Jin, still preoccupied with the atmosphere of the tavern gossip, moved a bit slower to fill her plate. She hadn't expected overwhelming support for Zuko, but it appeared the mood of the common citizen was more apprehensive than their team had originally thought.

"Sounds like your lofty savior's not all that popular, even here in his own nation," observed Suki. "I'd give him a week, two tops, before he has a full blown revolt on his hands."

Glaring at the Kyoshi Warrior, Jin had finally had enough of the other girl's smug attitude. "What's your problem? Ever since you've joined our team, you've been nothing but rude and confrontational. Sokka always told us that you were a wonderful person." The Earth Kingdom girl narrowed her eyes. "I don't see it."

"Let's set the record straight," returned Suki as she slammed her fork down on the table. "I didn't join your team. And I don't support Zuko. I'm making sure that my friends, that Sokka, Aang, and Katara, aren't being tricked by that so-called Fire Prince. Zuko tried to burn down my village once before. I'm not going to be so quick to help him or anyone who's supporting him."

Jin grimaced. She recalled the campfire admissions of Zuko and Katara after they had been caught in their lies following the destruction of her Grandmother's ranch. The Earth Kingdom girl knew that Zuko had done several things he now regretted in his pursuit of Aang. She hadn't really connected the dots that Suki's village had been one of the places that had been directly affected.

"But Sokka and Katara have forgiven him for all that. And they're supporting him now too," countered Jin after a moment.

"Sokka's got a big heart. He'll help out anyone who needs a hand. That's why I need to be the discerning one. To keep that lunkhead out of the trouble he always gets himself into," replied Suki. "And Katara, Katara doesn't even remember Zuko. So whatever history they might have had, that's irrelevant now."

The Kyoshi Warrior crossed her arms. "The only reason why my village didn't burn down completely is because Aang saved it by taming the Unagi and spraying heavy streams of water to douse the flames." Suki smirked. "It was actually a pretty funny sight, seeing that arrogant Fire Prince sitting there on a komodo rhino with a grumpy expression and a soggy uniform."

When Jin opened her mouth to defend Zuko once again, Suki interrupted her. "And I was held prisoner by Azula for weeks! My mind enslaved by that strange hypnotic spell of her Dai Li agents. I was aware of everything, but my body wouldn't listen to my trapped mind. I served Azula, doing her dirty work, betraying and capturing Aang so that she could torture him."

The Kyoshi Warrior frowned. "So forgive me if I don't exactly trust her Brother, Zuko. I'm going to be loyal to Aang. I owe him that much for tricking him and indirectly causing all the anguish he went through."

Staring down at the untouched food on her plate, Jin broke eye contact. She couldn't exactly blame the other Earth Kingdom girl for all that. Azula's influence was still haunting all of them. It made sense that Suki was being defensive. Hadn't Jin done similar when she first found out about being lied too? Perhaps she needed to give Suki the benefit of the doubt and some more time to realize that Zuko wasn't the same person from earlier this year.

"Suki..." started Jin just as a rookie soldier, clearly too far along in his cups, leaned onto the girl's table.

"Hey there... good-looking," slurred the inebriated young soldier. "What's a bunch of cute girls like you all doing all alone over here? Why don't cha...hiccup, come over to our table!"

The Fire Nation soldier barely appeared of drinking age, even if he was of drinking age in the first place. When Jin glanced back over at the table of young, rookie soldiers, the veterans that had been there a couple of moments ago had already moved again, this time over to the far end of the tavern to play darts. It was obvious that the rookie soldiers were looking to distract themselves from the beratement that they had received from their betters. Given how this teenager kept glancing back over at his supposed buddies and their rowdy encouragement, this drunkard had either been put up to this or had volunteered due to his fleeting liquid courage.

Jin looked over at a amused Zuri, but the older female soldier didn't seem like she was going to correct her junior just yet. Not that Zuri was wearing her uniform right now, so there was very little chance of the younger soldier even recognizing the fact he was hitting on the table belonging a superior officer.

Addressing the drunk teenager, Jin attempted to be kind. "We're flattered. But it's kind of a girl's night. We'll talk to you all some other time."

Undeterred, the young soldier glanced over the rest of the female table. "You all celebrating something tonight?"

Before Jin could calmly guide the drunkard away, Suki interrupted gruffly with, "Find another table to annoy. We're not interested in your drunken stupidity."

Seeming to take the hint, the goofy smile on the young soldier's face fell a bit as he turned and walked back to his own table, deflated at being so swiftly shot down.

"You didn't need to crush his spirit like that," commented Jin. "It probably took a bunch of courage for him to try and talk to us."

"Liquid courage," scoffed Suki. "Trust me. Don't give morons like that an opening, otherwise they'll think that they have a chance to impress you."

"She's right about that," agreed Zuri with a head nod. "Seen the same thing all too often at other taverns."

"But probably not for you, eh, Grandma?" egged on Toph as she continued to eat some picken hungrily.

"You'd better stop it with all those old lady jokes. I'm only twenty four," shot back Zuri with a frown.

"That's double my age!" laughed Toph loudly.

Another hand placed itself onto the girl's table as multiple drunken Fire Nation soldiers approached this time. All from the young rookie's table. Their leader hiccupped before he talked.

"Heard that you all rejected my buddy. It's his first night of drinking. Celebrating his completing of basic training and his soon-to-be deployment to the Earth Kingdom," managed to get out the drunken leader.

Zuri took a drink from her own cup. "Bold statement. Especially since Prince Zuko has halted all further deployments to the Earth Kingdom."

"Bah! It won't last," argued the drunken leader. "Quit putting a wet blanket on the evening. If you all won't join our table, then we'll just join yours."

As the drunken leader attempted to sit in the open seat next to Zuri, the former Southern Raider swiftly kicked the chair away, resulting in an embarrassing tumble for the overly confident soldier. "Oops..." mocked Zuri indifferently.

Suki and Toph both immediately stood up as the other members of the inebriated Fire Nation soldiers tensed. Jin put up her hands urgently in a last ditch effort to diffuse the situation. "Hold up! Everyone, let's just be calm about this!"

"Too late," replied Toph as she moved out of the way of a drunken shove and retaliated with a punch of her own, her hand encased in stone.

The sound of a table breaking as Suki flipped another soldier onto the horizontal wooden surface triggered the inevitable all out brawl as any sense of tranquility in the tavern was lost. Zuri was already holding two drunkards' heads in her hands as she slammed them together with a taunting laugh.

Jin shook her head reluctantly at the chaos. As she joined the fray, belatedly the Earth Kingdom girl realized that she had been too caught up in talking that she hadn't eaten much of her dinner. Her serving of picken lay discarded on the messy tavern floor.

---

The week after the Day of Black Sun had moved quickly. Zuko had worked hard to consolidate his strength and assert his right to rule the throne. The confusion and disarray of the central Fire Nation forces had worked to his advantage for the most part. During the war, Fire Lord Ozai had made most of the important decisions himself, not trusting the token generals he had placed in glorified central command positions with any real power. With the proper wordsmithing, Zuko had managed to convince the majority of the upper ranks of the capital garrison forces to comply with his orders without too much trouble.

The bigger issue was the growing resistance in the Northern Fire Island Chain. The main force of the Fire Nation loyalists had retreated there and dug in when they realized that Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Azula had both fallen in battle and that Prince Zuko was cleaning house of corruption. Zuko knew that he would have to deal with that headache eventually, but he did not have the strength just yet. He needed to unify the rest of the Fire Nation first and ensure his current armies and navies would continue to listen to him.

In that aspect, Jeong Jeong was both a boon and a bane. Despite his desertion, the Fire Admiral still held the respect of many whom he had instructed over the years, soldiers who had since risen to the upper echelons of the military force. However, it was the younger generation that was the discord. The newcomers who had grown up only hearing about the Fire Admiral disgracing himself with desertion rather than knowing the reasons behind it. Lies taught learned early and often were difficult to overcome.

The amount of junior officers that Zuko knew he could trust were limited. Fortunately, he had Jee and Zuri, but Zuko knew he needed to gain more support amongst the lower levels of leadership if he wanted to win over the mass rank and file of his forces.

Still, the problems weren't all in the military. To build his large air fleet, Fire Lord Ozai had emptied the royal coffers and strained the logistical and manufacturing economic lines of the nation. Many of the local factories had been converted from making household items and supplies into workshops that fueled the war effort. It would take more money and time to change all of them back. In the meantime, the people would have to continue to endure with shortages of common supplies.

Further, Fire Lord Ozai hadn't been overly concerned with the growing famine in the southern Fire Nation regions. The river village that Zuko and his friends had saved several weeks ago hadn't been the only one in trouble. Food shortages were running rampant across the entire nation. Apparently the rich and prosperous Fire Nation wasn't so rich and prosperous after all. Funny what a hundred years of war could do to an economy.

Not to mention another nagging concern haunted Zuko. The workers he had sent down into the Fire Catacombs to recover all the dead soldiers and bury them returned with an odd report. Even after the cave-ins were cleared, Azula's body had still not been found. The fact that his Sister was unaccounted for plagued him to no end. There were no other ways out of that underground chamber. His Sister should have been in there amongst all the rocks and debris. Another problem, but one he would have to reluctantly table for now. He didn't have time to go chasing after ghosts, especially when he didn't even know where to start looking.

No, he had more immediate problems to contend with. Namely, the four 'friends' appearing before him in the throne room. Friends, who had inexplicably thought it would be a good idea to start a tavern brawl with Fire Nation soldiers and upset the Capital City that the Fire Prince was trying to win over. Zuko sighed in frustration.

"Why?" the firebender simply asked tiredly as he held his forehead in his palm.

"We didn't start anything! Those fools approached us first!" protested Toph as she crossed her arms in a huff. "They got what they deserved."

Zuri knelt solemnly. "Apologies, my Prince. There were some drunk and disorderedly soldiers. As an Fire Nation officer, I couldn't just allow their actions to continue and endanger the citizenry."

Zuko fought the urge to roll his eyes. Apparently, Zuri had been receiving professional officer training from Jee to be able to formulate clever statements like that. That would serve Zuri well throughout her career. Although, it was a bit weird to hear tactful evasion come from the hothead of the former Southern Raiders.

"And overwhelming force was the only way to do that?" asked Zuko. "There's at least a dozen rookie soldiers in the hospital ward, all with a similar number of broken bones to match. I know that you all powerful. Did you all ready need to pulverize them?"

"We didn't pulverize them... maybe trounce, with a little bit of maiming," noted Suki with some word play. Then, she added, "You clearly need better soldiers."

Zuko sighed. "I'll have Jeong Jeong discipline the rowdy soldiers. They'll all receive demotions for their behavior. They shouldn't have been harassing girls in the tavern when they were off duty." An aide scribbled down the Fire Prince's instructions. "We'll have this serve as a warning that any future misconduct and unprofessionalism will not be tolerated by Fire Nation soldiers."

As the assistants in the throne room took off to relay his orders, Zuko relaxed a bit as he turned apologetic towards the four girls at the base of the throne. "I am sorry that you all had to be on the receiving end of some unwelcomed advances by drunken soldiers. The fact that the current military force is like this... it frustrates me to no end."

"The only ones who should be sorry are those punks we thrashed!" grinned Toph in return.

"Thrashed? I thought you all just trounced them?" commented Zuko with a smile appearing on his own face.

"With just a little bit of maiming," replied Toph as she held up her thumb and index finger with a small space between them to emphasize her point. Then, both the little earthbender and Fire Prince shared a laugh at the joke as Zuri shook her head at their amusement.

For her part, Suki rolled her eyes when the others repeated the same word play she had attempted to hold over the Fire Prince and his forces in the first place.

Stepping forward, Jin attempted to take charge of the conversation. "We did learn a couple of things during our... reconnaissance of the tavern."

"Hold up," advised Zuko as he signaled to another attendant waiting nearby. "Could you please go tell Sokka to come here?" With a quick bow, the attendant acknowledged the order and swiftly moved to find the Water Tribe boy.

The Fire Prince turned back towards Jin. "He'll want to hear whatever it is that you've found out in the city. He's convinced that there's some big conspiracy targeting all the world leaders. I don't know about that, but it's no secret that I have a big target on my back."

"That's one of the things we noticed while out in the city," sighed Jin in return. "Unfortunately, rumors are still running rampant, and even Fire Nation citizens are uneasy about you being the next Fire Lord."

Shifting in his throne room seat, Zuko sat up straighter as Toph's head arced up questioningly. The Fire Prince commented, "I'm still trying to win over their support, but I don't know how to get them trust me."

"You could always just imprison the main instigators decrying you. Isn't that you Fire Royals do?" scoffed Suki as she rubbed her wrists from where she recalled the phantom weight of her own iron shackles.

"I apologize again for what Azula put you through Suki," expressed Zuko with a subdued tone. "I promise you that I am not another bully. I will find a way to get through to my people that doesn't involve locking up dissenters."

The Kyoshi Warrior didn't answer, instead giving a look that seemed to indicate skepticism.

A side door to the throne room opened as Sokka came striding into the chamber with his usual confident swagger. "Hey! I heard that you all had an exciting adventure in town." He gave some air punches and shadow boxing jabs as he walked forward. "Taught some idiots a lesson for being too full of themselves."

Both Jin and Suki smiled at the Water Tribe boy's appearance and lighthearted attitude as Sokka neared the throne room chair where Zuko sat. However, before either of them could comment, Toph cut over them with, "Pfft, it was barely a warm-up."

Looking to keep everyone on topic before they ventured down a bunch of side conversations, Zuko prompted Jin to begin with, "You were about to talk about what you all learned in the tavern."

"Right," confirmed Jin with a nod. "Well, unsurprisingly, there's still lots of misgivings from the people about the end of the war, mistrust about all the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom soldiers in the Palace, and plenty of soldiers still itching to fight from a misguided sense of gaining honor in combat."

Zuko sighed as Jin rattled off her list. Things were just as he feared they would likely be. Change would not be simple or quick in the Fire Nation. The last one hundred years had consisted of war, glory-seeking, and subterfuge. The firebender could only hope it wouldn't take another hundred years to fix all the mistakes of his family.

"There were some other things that caught our ear too," added the Earth Kingdom girl as she scrunched up her face in recollection. "Complaints about the main road to the port still being rebuilt, the western road becoming impassable due to a landslide, and schools having difficulty providing lunches to students, just to name a few. Seems like supplies into the city are having trouble getting here."

"It's not just that," noted Sokka as he listened to Jin. "Dad and I were down in the port area the other day, checking on the submarines. For as busy as the docks were, we had thought it was odd that there were so few wagons and carts being loaded up to head into the Capital in the first place. The dock workers we talked to said that they had instructions from the port manager to off-load most of the incoming merchant vessel cargo into storage warehouses instead of onto carts. They wouldn't let us Water Tribe anywhere near the warehouses. Said we weren't allowed."

Zuko internalized all this for a minute before replying, "Jeong Jeong's already told me about the multiple shouting matches he's gotten into with the port manager at the docks. Every single time, it's 'you didn't fill out this form correctly' or 'these goods haven't been inspected yet' or 'these items have already been purchased and can't be reallocated elsewhere,' or 'we don't have the proper packing materials to ready things for transport yet.' Each and every time. It's a different rationalization."

"So..." cut in another voice from a side entrance to the throne room. "What are you going to do about it?" asked Katara as she made her way forward, supporting a recovering Aang, who was still using crutches to walk. "Are you seriously allowing a single person to dictate which supplies make it into the Capital and how quickly those supplies arrive?" stated Katara reproachfully.

The appearance of the Water Tribe girl caused Jin to shift uncomfortably at the sudden enmity that filled the chamber. Sokka's body language revealed the Water Tribe boy wasn't overly thrilled at his Sister walking in either. Toph and Zuri became cautious, while Suki focused a bit more attentively as she moved slightly closer to the waterbender and airbender pair.

For his part, Zuko impressively maintained his regal calmness despite the unexpected intrusion. "We can't have an uncooperative port manager blocking the movement of much needed supplies into the Capital City, but at the same time, and as infuriating as it is, he's not breaking any laws. In fact, he's enforcing the laws as they are written. And he clearly understands them better than we do."

"So, while you end up in a prolonged stalemate over paperwork, people in the city have to start going hungry," rationalized Katara sourly. "You heard Jin. The schools are having trouble feeding lunches to kids."

"There's a right way to do this," asserted Zuko. "I can't just demand things be done my way every time. That's what my Father or Sister would do." Zuko addressed another attendant who was waiting nearby. "Set up a meeting with the port manager. I will discuss the issue with him myself."

As the attendant nodded and sped off to accomplish the task, Katara crossed her arms. "Hard to believe that the same firebender who hounded Aang for so long would cower to some pencil-pusher."

A silence filled the room as Aang felt the narrowed glare that Jin leveled in his direction. The airbender squirmed as he adjusted his balance on his crutches.

Not for the first time, Jin endured the frustration over the fact that Katara had spoken to Aang first about the Avatar's early encounters with the Fire Prince. And apparently, Aang had not held back in his critique of Zuko's pursuit of him during those initial months. With the waterbender conducting three daily healing sessions for Aang's extensive injuries for the last week, the airbender had plenty of time to really describe in detail just how many times Zuko had clashed with Aang and Sokka on the way to the North Pole.

Even when Sokka had tried to later retell some of those encounters and focus more on Zuko's transformation into a better person, that didn't seem to matter to the waterbender. Seeing as how it was Zuko's Sister who had put Aang into the severely damaged state the young boy was in, Katara was having a difficult time disassociating the brutal injuries Azula inflicted from the stories she had been listening too about Zuko's impetuous pursuit of the Avatar. Especially since the waterbender was healing the physical damage firsthand.

It didn't help matters either that Zuko had approached Aang during one of those healing sessions as well to offer his apologies for the suffering the airbender had endured from his Sister. The apology wasn't the issue. It was the fact that Aang started shaking uncontrollably in fear when Zuko had entered the room. The young boy's easily seen uncomfortableness cemented Katara's animosity towards the Fire Prince.

After Zuko had excused himself from the medical ward, Aang actually had attempted to laugh off his unease, only for Katara to tell him that it was okay to be scared and to not hide his anxiety. The waterbender reiterated that the airbender had experienced significant physical and mental abuse from Azula. If being near Zuko was exasperating those bad memories, then she would ensure the Fire Prince kept his distance.

Surprisingly enough, Aang did at least attempt to mumble something about Zuko not being the one who frightened him. Although, Katara seemed to take that as Aang trying to put on a brave face. The young airbender was doing better today, being in close proximity to Zuko without visibly trembling, but that might have had something to do with the fact that Katara was holding his hand supportively and standing at his side reassuringly.

Regardless, Jin had decided to herself that she simply did not like Aang and his juvenile attempts to stick so close to Katara. The Earth Kingdom girl was also vexed by Katara's motherly nature that almost seemed to encourage the airbender's actions. Jin was fairly certain that Aang didn't actually need those wooden crutches he was using to get around anymore. The earthbender knew that Katara's waterbending healing should have been powerful enough to restore the Avatar's legs by now, especially with how much devoted care Aang had been receiving daily.

Sokka had talked to Aang about the younger boy's condition, but Aang was adamant that he still had trouble walking and that all his physical injuries had not yet healed. The Water Tribe boy gave his buddy the benefit of the doubt, but Jin wasn't entirely convinced.

Glancing over at her teacher, Jin knew that Toph agreed with her. Although, Toph seemed to have her own grievances with the airbender that caused Aang to avoid her as well.

From what Jin had gathered, Zuko constantly kept himself preoccupied with revitalizing the Fire Nation. He had at least listened to Jin, Sokka, and Toph when they had told him about his past relationship with Katara, but given Katara's truculent reception whenever Zuko seemed to be in the same room as Aang, more arguments occurred than anything else. The Fire Prince did feel quite a bit of shame and regret of his pursuit of Aang in the name of Ozai and the false promise of returning home, so he would always relent to that point of order.

Seeing the tension in the Fire Prince's shoulders, Jin could tell that the firebender was about to lose his cool with Katara's constant jabs. The Earth Kingdom girl could relate. There was a Kyoshi Warrior to her left that seemed to routinely relish in throwing out verbal barbs and critiques in her direction as well.

"Perhaps you'll give some credit to the firebender who so doggedly pursued the Avatar," returned Zuko. "Clearly, I'm not going to just let this go. But I'm not going to just step over a government worker doing their job. If there are rules and laws that need to be changed, then I'll address them with the proper councils."

Katara answered back with a disdainful laugh. "Of course, that's assuming this government worker is really just 'doing their job' without an ulterior motive. I find it hard to imagine this person's such a stickler for the rules that they would willingly slow the flow of food and supplies to the Capital just because they're 'doing their job.' Not unless they were actively trying to sabotage any chance at peace between the nations."

"That, could be true..." acknowledged Sokka thoughtfully. "Not everyone is happy that Zuko's in charge now." The Fire Prince shifted in his throne once again, an action that was not lost on Toph, who continued to observe the firebender oddly. Sokka added, "Maybe this is another attempt by that group I told you all about. The Red Lotus people."

"We haven't found a trace of this Red Lotus group," replied Zuko. "I've had Jeong Jeong and Chey looking into it, but neither of them have uncovered anything yet."

"And you're sure you can trust your former deserter of a Fire Admiral to tell you everything?" asked Suki from Katara's and Aang's side.

Sokka shrugged as he answered for Zuko. "Jeong Jeong's been honest with us so far." Then, the Water Tribe boy paused in thought. "Although... I've never seen Jeong Jeong get so flustered before. He asked me so many questions about what I recalled from these Red Lotus fighters. I think he'd tell us more when he finds something out."

Suki remained unconvinced, but didn't argue the topic further since Sokka had spoken up on the Fire Admiral's behalf. Instead, she turned towards Aang and asked, "What do you think, Aang?"

"Me?" asked Aang a little surprised at being abruptly drawn into the conversation. The airbender only sort of understood what was going on. With the war over, he hadn't exactly stayed up-to-date with what was going on during the reconstruction. Instead choosing to catch up for lost time with Katara and Sokka since the two of them were paying more attention to him now.

"Of course," smiled Suki. "You must have some thoughts on the plight of the Fire Nation citizens, or on this Jeong Jeong's trustworthiness, or about this Red Lotus gang of thugs."

"Umm..." returned Aang as he stalled for a minute. "I don't think Jeong Jeong likes me very much, but he's never lied to me before. If Sokka thinks we can trust him, then I do too."

Suki and Katara seemed skeptical, but accepted Aang's testament to Jeong Jeong's character. Continuing, Aang added, "As for the port manager, I could help talk to him too. Even if he doesn't like Zuko as the Fire Prince, he might listen to me as the Avatar."

Zuko wanted to point out to Aang that most people of the Fire Nation weren't exactly welcoming towards this generation's Avatar. Fire Lord Ozai's anti-Avatar propaganda had frightened most of the citizenry against the young Avatar. However, before the firebender could manage to get a word in, Katara addressed the young airbender.

"Do you think you're up to it?" the Water Tribe girl asked sympathetically. "You're still recovering from your time in prison."

Aang grinned confidently. "If it's just talking, I can handle that. The Avatar's supposed to be a mediator for the people. My ancestors solved lots of disagreements in the past."

'Yeah, but that wasn't you,' thought Jin to herself as she stared at the hubristic Avatar. Instead, she asked, "How many disputes have you managed to settle during your journey?"

The airbender paused to think for a moment. "Well there was that whole Anti-Avatar Day debacle that I cleared up," replied Aang.

Sokka leaned closer to Jin and Toph as he corrected with a hushed whisper, "The Rough Rhinos showed up and started messing the place up. The townsfolk changed Aang's punishment to community service."

"There were also those two feuding clans at the Great Divide! I settled their long time conflict!" continued Aang excitedly as he recalled the event.

"Actually, Aang just made up a fake story about their ancestor's childhood fight and the clans bought it," revealed Sokka to Jin and Toph.

"And I got the Earth King to listen to me and come to the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. I convinced him to join the fight against the Fire Nation," finished Aang.

Sokka shrugged. "Okay, well that one's true. But then Long Feng and Dai Li got involved and so did Azula, and you all know how that turned out."

Katara sent her Brother an annoyed glare for his countering statements to Aang's comments. "I'm sure that Aang will be a great help. And he'll only continue to improve."

"Fine," accepted Zuko after a moment. Maybe it would be a good idea to include Aang in more of his meetings with his people. It would show to both the Fire Nation and the rest of the world that the soon-to-be new Fire Lord was committed to actually working with the Avatar and wasn't just saying empty words. "I'll make sure there's a spot for you at the table."

That seemed to pacify both Katara and Suki's stern assertions as Aang nodded in agreement. "I won't let any of you down. I'll figure out how to get through to that port manager," stated Aang.

'At least he's trying, that counts for something, right?' inwardly assessed Zuko as he returned a head nod of his own back at the airbender. The Fire Prince had been worried how Aang was going to react to Ozai's defeat and Zuko's rise to the throne, especially after the boy had such an adverse, uncontrollable, and fearful reaction to seeing Zuko again for the first time while Katara had been healing the airbender.

But from what Sokka and the others had told him, Aang was trying to extend the olive branch. Zuko could see that too. That was part of the reason why he accepted the airbender's offer of help so readily. Maybe they could figure out how to restore the Fire Nation and the relations with the other countries together.

Sokka's commentary on Aang's less than stellar attempts at mediation did give Zuko pause, but the Fire Prince would be there too. So at least he could ensure the discussion didn't get too far out of hand.

With that, Katara helped Aang depart the chamber as the airbender continued to use his wooden crutches. Suki fell into step behind them. The Kyoshi Warrior resumed her constant vigilance over the Avatar as she routinely claimed the palace guards couldn't be trusted with Aang's security.

As everyone else slowly filtered out of the throne room, Zuko looked up from his contemplations to realize that Toph was still standing at the base of the stairs leading up to the throne. Just as he was about to ask her if there was something she wanted to talk about, Toph abruptly snapped, "Spill it."

"Huh?" replied Zuko sagely. "What are you talking-"

"I didn't speak up with everyone else around out because I figured you had a good reason for not saying anything, but don't think you can hide your unease from me," interrupted Toph as she started to walk up the steps. "I wasn't entirely sure when Jin first brought up the people not trusting you and your reaction to that, but then you acted all out-of-sorts when Sokka mentioned the same thing. So, spill it."

"That earth sense of yours is going to be a liability someday," mumbled Zuko in defeat, knowing that he would never be able to suppress his emotions as well as Azula would have to avoid the human lie detector that was Toph.

"Ha! My earth sense is what's going to keep you from trying to handle every problem in the world on your own," smirked Toph confidently. "Start talking, and I'll decide if I'm going to tell everyone else what you're trying to keep to yourself. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."

The bewildered look that Zuko directed in the little earthbender's way lasted only a couple of moments before the firebender relented and murmured something barely audible.

Toph reached the seated Fire Prince at the top of the steps. "Speak up, Sparky."

The firebender grimaced as he strained with having to tell Toph the truth. "Assassinations. There's been two attempts on my life already this first week," revealed Zuko reluctantly as he increased the volume of his words.

The tone of Toph's voice became cold. "Who?" When Zuko didn't answer, Toph pressed, "Zuko, if someone's trying to kill you, then why are you keeping that to yourself?!"

"The would-be assassins, one was a common citizen, the other a low-level soldier. Neither had ties to each other nor were they working for anyone. They were just regular people who wanted revenge for loved ones they lost during the invasion of the Fire Capital," explained Zuko unenthusiastically.

"Does this have something to do with the Red Lotus group that Sokka keeps bringing up?" argued Toph. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Only my royal guards, Jeong Jeong, and Jee know," admitted Zuko. "We've locked the would-be assassins in the dungeons for now. Chey's interrogated them, but there doesn't seem to be any connection to any Red Lotus organization. But I didn't want to worry you all. This is my burden to carry. The responsibility and fallout of the invasion rests with me."

Toph looked at Zuko like he had grown a second head. "And you all call me stubborn," the little earthbender grumbled. "Tell me that you've at least increased your night guard."

"We don't have the men to spare," answered Zuko.

Rolling her eyes, Toph shook her head. "Well, in that case, it's a good thing the rooms around here are quite spacious."

"What? Why's that?" asked Zuko in confusion.

"Because, Sparky, you just got yourself a new roommate until you get a handle on all these attempts on your life," grinned Toph. "I'll set-up my earth tent near the balcony. I like the view of the morning sun."

Flabbergasted, Zuko stumbled with putting together a coherent sentence, barely managing to link together, "Roommate... balcony... you can't just put an earth tent in my room!"

"Too late, Sparky! Already heading there now to set one up," shot back Toph as she started walking back down the throne room stairs.

Knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop Toph once the little earthbender had made up her mind and understanding that Toph was doing this because she wasn't going to tell everyone else about the assassination attempts, Zuko slowly calmed himself down as he thought things through. As Toph reach the base of the steps, Zuko stated, "Thanks, Toph."

Waving her hand over her head dismissively, the little earthbender merely replied with, "Yeah, yeah, don't get all mushy. I just don't want you biting the dust before you pay me back with that metal airship you owe me."

Now it was Zuko's turn to roll his eyes with a slight smile at Toph's deflection. Still, it wasn't until the little earthbender was almost at the main door to the throne room that the firebender realized, "Wait a minute, you can't see the morning sun!"

Laughing, Toph called over her shoulder, "True, but I still like the warmth of the sunrise!"

---

"We should strike now! While the boy-prince is still weak!"

"I agree. The Nation is in chaos. Neither the people nor the armies know who to support. If we move swiftly, show our strength, they will rally to us."

"Or we could very well drive them to Prince Zuko's side. If we start attacking our own, then the people may very well look to the new Fire Lord for protection."

"Not if we march in Fire Lord Ozai's name! We would be liberators! Driving away the scourge that sits on a false throne. Him and his foreign soldiers."

"Those same foreign soldiers have not levied harsh conditions upon the citizenry. This restraint has given the people in the Fire Capital pause. The expected tyranny of a Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom victory has not come to fruition. People are starting to question Fire Lord Ozai's former propaganda."

"All the more reason why we shouldn't delay our retaliatory strike any longer! Every day we waste sitting around here debating, we give Prince Zuko to consolidate his power."

"Gentlemen," interrupted Asaru from the head seat of the council of Northern Fire Island governors. "We have all spoken our piece. Shall we put it to a vote?"

Murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the hall as the handful of northern island governors prepared to cast their lots. Asaru stood over the gathering. "Very good then. Those in favor of..."

The lead governor didn't get to finish his sentence as an interruption of panicked shouts arose from outside the fort as something rather large crashed down on the exterior cobblestones. The walls shook and dust fell from the ceiling as the entire building shuddered.

The front chamber door burst open as a local guardsman came rushing inside, dread pouring from his every expression. "Dragon! There's a dragon!"

"Nonsense..." denied Asaru in disbelief. "The last of the dragonkind were slain by General Iroh years ago."

As if in challenge to the Northern Fire Island governor's words, fire spilled into the fort's front entrance, roasting the hapless guard who had raised the initial alarm. From the open door, the black scales of an enormous dragon shone in the sunlight.

But it wasn't the monstrous wyvern the Northern Fire Island governors were staring at. No, it was the person who strode inside the fort through the dragon's breath with complete authority.

Immediately, all the governors inside fell to their knees in respect, their heads held low as they locked their vision to the ground, avoiding eye contact. There had been no word. The Fire Nation had believed her dead. Fire Prince Zuko had reported it so when he had announced the passing of his family.

"You all appear to be discussing something of great importance," stated Azula as she gradually approached the meeting table of Northern Fire Island governors. Each powerful step of her black boots echoed on the cobblestone and the deafening tapping sound resounded throughout the halls. "Don't stop on my account."

Raising his head slightly, Asaru spoke for the delegation. "The Northern Fire Islands greet the Princess of the Fire Nation. We had feared the worst when we heard about the fall of the Capital. We were in the midst of gathering our forces to reclaim the Fire Nation for you and oust your usurper Brother."

Azula snorted with indifference. She knew that the Northern Fire Island governors had meant to take the throne for themselves. All of them were scheming backstabbers of her Father's old regime. "And how exactly were you all planning this grand triumph over my Brother?"

"We were voting on it right now, your Highness," replied Asaru. "Though, we can all agree that the motion was about to pass for an immediate strike."

"Delay that," countered Azula sternly.

"P-Princess?" stuttered Asaru in surprise, clearly not expecting the Fire Princess to advocate patience. "We can have our forces ready within the hour. We can set sail this very evening."

"I said, we hold," glared Azula, her eyes narrowed.

The meaningless restraint baffled the Northern Fire Island governors as they each stared at one another in confusion. Each would have thought that Princess Azula would have been inching for a fight to overthrow her Brother and reclaim the throne.

Asaru attempted yet again. "Princess. Fire Lord Ozai would not postpone the attack. We risk giving Prince Zuko the opportunity to strengthen his position. We should strike now! While he is weak!"

As Asaru continued to speak in favor of an immediate attack, the northern governor failed to notice the Dai Li agent from the main entrance door desperately shaking her head back and forth in a futile effort to get the man to stop talking. Asaru kept advocating to fight now, right up until the point his head exploded and his body collapsed down onto its knees listlessly.

As the blood and brain matter splattered on the rest of the Northern Fire Island governors, each of them froze in a stunned stupor at what had just occurred. One minute their lead governor was speaking on their behalf, and the next, the man simply ceased to be.

From the other side of the main chamber entrance, standing opposite of the female Dai Li agent, was a mountain of a man with a third eye tattoo engraved on his forehead. A tattoo that was still smoldering with a thin wisp of gray smoke from the fiery explosion the strange firebender had just launched.

The entire room remained silent, save for the singular beating footsteps of Azula as the Fire Princess calmly walked over to the head of the table. With a disdainful push, Azula shoved the lifeless body of Asaru away from his seat.

Sitting down, Azula crossed her legs with supremacy as she motioned for the remaining Northern Fire Island governors to each take a seat. Not even acknowledging the death of Asaru, Azula merely continued on with her plan.

"I want my Brother to regain his strength. I want him to flourish. I want him at his most powerful," announced Azula with an icy tone. She leaned forward in her chair. "And just when he thinks that he's won, that his glorious design of changing the Fire Nation is within his grasp, that he's the victor..." Azula split the meeting table in two with a harsh display of firebending. "He won't be."

---

As Azula conversed further with the swiftly obedient Northern Fire Island governors, Noki turned her head slightly when two foot soldiers dragged Asaru's headless remains from the chamber. The gruesome sight and Azula's blatant disregard for the man's life tore away at the Dai Li agent as she kept silent. The taciturn firebender with the third eye towered next to Noki as she shifted uncomfortably under his judgmental stare.

Not for the first time since the Fire Catacombs was Noki forced to hold her tongue. Fear gripped at her heart. Fear enough that if she voiced any of her doubts, then she too would end up experiencing a very similar fate.

Whatever... thing had emerged from the Fire Catacombs, it wasn't the Fire Princess. Not anymore.

She had been a step too late, a step too slow. When the cave-in occurred, Noki had not been able to reach Azula in time. The Dai Li agent had barely managed to hold back the rocks from crushing herself.

It had taken forever to dig herself out from within that rubble. Every shift of the rocks and debris threated to trigger another collapse. But Noki had done it. She had eventually managed to reach the Fire Princess and get the both of them out of that blasted tunnel.

When they had finally managed to emerge from underground, Noki did the only sensible thing that she could. She buried the mangled and broken body of the former Fire Princess in a grave that the Dai Li agent carefully earthbent.

The singular thought that had been on Noki's mind as she walked away was how was she ever going to manage to return to the Earth Kingdom, to her home in Ba Sing Se? So distracted by her contemplation, the Dai Li agent was ill prepared when the grave behind her exploded in a blinding light.

Coming to a stop from her uncontrollable roll, Noki was slow to rise to her feet as she shakily looked up to see a... Noki had no idea what manner of creature this was. It was a large reptile-like beast, larger than any animal that the Dai Li agent had ever seen before.

Dark jagged scales and leathery pitch-black wings. A long and slender body. A row of spinal body plates that pointed forward. Four narrow cylindrical horns that sloped downward and gave the creature's maw of razor sharp teeth an even more fierce appearance.

The only color to the onyx-tinted beast were the two crimson eyes that almost seemed to emanate a dark piercing aura. From where the creature hovered over the Fire Princess' gravesite, the light of the midday sun simply faded away. Absorbed into the endlessly dark persona of the gigantic lizard's black scales.

But it was the gravesite that held the attention of the animal. Those crimson eyes were locked within the still-blazing azure flames of the creature's breath. The dirt and soil burning from the heat.

Noki's own line of sight followed the flying creature's vision as the Dai Li agent found herself unable to comprehend what she saw next. A hand, unburnt and skin as healthy as a newborn's. Azula was rising from the grave that Noki had just buried the Fire Princess in not even five minutes ago.

There were no broken limbs. No mangled arms. No twisted legs. Azula's first steps were sure and confident. Just the same as Noki had remembered from when the Fire Princess had taken control of Ba Sing Se from Long Feng and the Earth King.

The colossal reptile flapped it's wings as it landed, wind and air rushing outward from the impact as the ground itself shuddered. Azula approached the beast, unafraid. "Was it you who called to me?" whispered the Fire Princess to the dragon, and yet, Noki could hear the words even from the considerable distance from which she stood.

The black dragon snorted heatedly as Azula smirked in response. "I share your impatience, Nyriss," the Fire Princess stated as she named the creature who had resurrected her. Turning her head, Azula looked in Noki's direction. "Come along now! There is much work to be done."

As if almost compelled to move by the Fire Princess' powerful voice, Noki nearly took a step forward, when instead a mammoth of a grizzly man walked right pass the Dai Li agent. Noki jumped in shock at the sight of the man with a third eye tattoo on his forehead.

'Where did he come from?!' shouted Noki in her own mind. This was a wide open plain. There was absolutely no way this enormous hulk of a man should have been quiet enough to sneak up on the Dai Li agent despite how surprised she already was at the sight of the large, ebony scaled beast.

"Noki! You too. Quit dragging your heels!" ordered Azula as both she and the third eye man each climbed aboard the awaiting dragon. "Your service to me is not yet over."

Every fiber in the Dai Li agent's body screamed at her to run. To sprint and flee. But some survivalist part of her brain reasoned that if she attempted to do so, then she would undoubtedly turn into a blackened scorch mark on these unnamed plains. The stare of the massive crimson eyed lizard told her as much.

Climbing aboard the beast, Niko despaired in the fact that she would likely never see her beloved Ba Sing Se ever again.