After the seasoned soldiers awoke, they continued traveling, unaware of anyone's plans. To them, the group's silence was not a sign of mentally preparing. It simply meant that they had been successfully broken. No one complained about the walk or asked to stop for breaks. Despite what the commanding officers had initially thought about Yeva's idea of letting the recruits rest, they began to like it. Clearly, the people just needed time to think over the situation and accept that there was nothing to do. That was why the commanders did not mind giving the troops another night of rest before invading.

"We'll rest here," one officer said, stopping his horse.

Obediently, the others halted and began preparing a shelter. Silently, Yeva communicated his plan to the others. Patience. It was often the difference between a good plan and one with potential. Yeva would not let this fail because he had been impulsive. They had waited all day. They could wait until dinner was eaten.

"Are you sure they'll be tired?" someone asked him, whispering.

"Yes," the prince assured him. "After eating, they'll want to rest. They'll lower their guard and that's when we can attack."

Yeva went through the group, giving them some food. They just had to eat enough to look like they were preparing for the morning. The commanders could check in on them, and appearing suspicious would not help. They also had to refrain from eating so much that it could make them sluggish. Eating a light meal, the recruits stayed mostly quiet so that they could listen to their leaders. Then they began to get excited. The commanders were snoring. Yeva raised a hand to his lips to tell the others to be quiet. They followed his lead and he entered one of the tents. A blade was in his hand as he approached a leader. Swiftly but quietly, Yeva lowered the knife and took out the first threat. Subsequently, the others did the same in different tents. They did not have many commanders to eliminate. The first three were taken out before anyone woke up. On the fourth, the man sensed that someone was there with him.

"It's a revol—"

The commander could not finish what he was saying. One of the metalbenders manipulated the material off his uniform and stabbed the enemy. Unfortunately, it was too late. The others realized what they were doing. Experienced soldiers rapidly got up, ready for a fight. Yeva saw it happening, but he had to act quickly before it took full effect. There was only one commander left. The prince charged through the crowd of soldiers, dodging attacks as he made his way to a tent in the back. When he reached it, the other commander was slowly beginning to awaken. He yelped when Yeva pressed a blade against his throat.

"What are you doing?" he asked tensely.

"You're going to help me end this before there's a bloodbath," Yeva informed him.

Confused, the other man could do little as Yeva began taking him into the camp. When the other soldiers saw their leader, they stood down.

"What's the meaning of this?!" one of them questioned.

Yeva's eyes shifted, making sure no one was preparing a shot to execute him. "We're turning around and returning to Krozhny. We can't keep expanding, and I think you all know deep down that the king and queen are only going to use this opportunity to abuse their power on a larger scale." With his free arm, he gestured to the tents. "Most of the commanders are dead."

"Traitor!"

"They're dead because they were loyal to the royals who have never been loyal to any of you. I'm giving you the chance to finally get them off their thrones. If we don't take it, they'll stay in power and keep killing. Who's to say when your families will be targeted?"

The soldiers' stances remained tense, but something changed behind their eyes.

"What if it doesn't work?"

"It will," Yeva insisted. "We can do this, but we can't do it alone. Help us. You're soldiers of Krozhny. You're supposed to protect its people. For years, they've prevented you from fulfilling that. Now, you can."

The soldiers looked between the new recruits, the prince, and the commander. They all knew the cruelty of the royals. It was not only felt by the merchants and farmers. Everyone lived in fear. There was only so far that people could be pushed. A change had to be made. Suddenly, one of the soldiers moved forward, lighting a flame in his hands. Yeva tensed, preparing to move back, but he came to a realization. The attacker was not aiming for him. Instead, the soldier was targeting the commander. Yeva let go and the man was burned, yelling out. Wounded, he looked up at the glaring soldiers.

"We're tired of you and the others threatening to tell the royals if we don't do what you want," one hissed.

"We won't accept it anymore!" another soldier added.

A chorus of agreements came from the group and they all lunged forward, apprehending the commander. When he was in chains, they went to Yeva.

"Prince Yeva, if you say that you can stop the royals, we'll fight with you. Krozhny needs to change."

The young man smiled and nodded. "Follow me. We need to meet up with the others."

Trailing close behind, the troops followed Yeva on the trek back to Krozhny, starting with the village to find the rest of the rebels. While the soldiers were returning, servants from within the castle were executing their rebellion. Toph was the first to notice. She could feel large groups walking together. Normally, they were dispersed, each person tending to some special duty.

"Guys," she said, "either the servants are all about to go for a nice walk or they're planning something big."

Her friends turned to her in concern.

"What are they doing?" Aang asked.

"They're heading towards the throne room."

The group got quiet for a moment. It was tempting to just let the giants stop the royals, but it would not be that easy.

"They're not going to win that fight," Sokka said, grabbing his boomerang.

"We have to stop them," Suki agreed.

Feeling the same, the others began heading out. Zuko went towards Azula's chambers, knowing any additional help would be necessary against the king and queen. She was on the table, practicing lightning blasts when he opened the door.

"The servants are about to stage a revolt," he said.

Azula almost scoffed. "Naum wouldn't do anything that foolish. He knows they're not strong enough to defeat Vadim and Tatia even with the numbers on their side."

The other firebender's brows furrowed in confusion. "Toph sensed them going towards the throne room. They've got to be planning something."

"I didn't say they weren't planning something," she commented.

Azula jumped off the table, using her fire jets to slow down her fall. A knowing look was on her face.

"He's just too clever to do anything so obvious."

Realization dawned on Zuko at the implication, and he hurried out of the room. His sister joined him, both going with the rest of Team Avatar towards the throne room. They did not realize that the plan had already begun. Vadim and Tatia were seated, being served a meal. They had been talking when the chef brought the meal. Nuam was there as well, anxiously awaiting for them to take a bite. Vadim raised a piece of chicken to his mouth. Before he could take a bite, he set it back on the plate.

"I haven't heard a word from the soldiers in a while," he commented.

"I haven't either," Tatia admitted. "I wonder what's taking them so long."

"Maybe they ran into some problems."

Tatia raised some meat to her mouth, causing Naum's heart to leap. Like before, she also set it down without eating.

"But if they did, I'd expect them to handle it promptly. Our soldiers should be better than that."

"Maybe those new recruits are to blame."

"Or that insolent boy with them."

"What do you think, Naum?" the king inquired, turning to him.

The jester tensed. "I am unsure, Your Majesty."

"It seems like you have been unsure a lot."

"Maybe he's just not feeling well," Tatia offered. She held out her plate. "You might need to eat something, Naum."

He shook his head. "I could not take food from you, my liege."

"It's fine if I allow it."

Naum felt his heart starting to race, but he kept his expression the same…at least he did until the king spoke again.

"Seems like much has changed lately. I can't recall a time when we've ever had poisoned food."

Naum's eyes widened and he moved back when fire shot out at him. "Y-Your Majesty, I would never—"

"Do you really think that no one would see what the chef was doing?" the queen inquired, gaze harsh. "We were told as soon as he tainted this."

"It must have been an accident!" Naum exclaimed. "He would never do anything to hurt you."

Tatia glared at the jester. "Don't act like you weren't part of this. He did it intentionally, but he's not smart enough to think of that on his own. We know this was your idea. If Yeva was still in the kingdom, we'd have assumed it was his."

"Your fear got the better of you," Vadim commented. "You were so scared that we'd kill you, you guaranteed your own execution."

Naum began to panic. His plan could not have failed so horribly. He was not sure what else to do.

"But we won't kill you yet," the queen stated. "For now, you'll just go to the dungeon."

She snapped her fingers and soldiers entered the throne room. They forced Naum's arms behind him. Swiftly, the soldiers started to take him to the prison. They did this just as Team Avatar reached where the other servants were. The group had heard the royals. Worry consumed them. They were all going to get killed for this if they did not fight.

"It's not too late," Aang assured them. "I'm sure you're scared right now, but you shouldn't do anything hasty."

Fearfully, the people looked at him and the others.

"What do we do now?" one of the giants inquired. "We were relying on the royals being poisoned for this revolt."

"We still have to try," someone else said. "They'll find out we were part of this and kill us anyway."

"Trust Yeva," Katara advised. "Right now, none of you have the training to do this, but there are rebels who do."

"When your prince returns," Zuko added, "he'll have people who can fight and stop the royals."

The servants glanced at Team Avatar and the doorway. It could have been naive thinking which made them believe the friends, but between fear and knowing that there was little which could be done without getting killed in the process, the subjects decided to agree. They could wait until the prince arrived. They merely hoped this would be soon. The king and queen remained agitated. Vadim and Tatia could not believe that someone had actually tried to kill them. The unmitigated gall. Regardless, years of being unopposed could lead to anyone underestimating enemies. It was why neither the king nor queen thought more about Naum's actions. He would be killed soon enough and the disgraced chef was already arrested. Why did they need to worry? Unlike Toph, they could not sense the army approaching.

The troop consisted of soldiers and villagers all led by the prince of Krozhny. They were relatively quiet as they went into the castle, but they barged into the throne room. It was immediate. There was no alternative because anything else would have given the royals a chance to fight. Levka was near the front. She manipulated the metal trays on tables to form blades to shoot at the royals. An airbender helped speed up her attack. Tatia barely was able to create a water whip in time to prevent herself and her husband from getting hit. One of the blades lodged in her cheek, leaving a line of blood that dripped down. Out of the corner of his eye, Vadim saw soldiers dumping over large cartons. They were filled with sand. Once this was done, Alexei bent the particles towards the rulers. This time, neither could do anything. The sand got in their eyes and they cried out, painfully trying to fix this. Tatia attempted to clean her eyes while Vadim blindly shot lightning. Alexei and the other sandbenders hardened the particles, creating a sphere that trapped the couple. It took the king on his fifth attempt with lightning to break free. In the process, he shot one of the new recruits.

Firebending soldiers stood in front of the others, creating a barrier around them with flames. It was so hot that it made the temporarily blinded king not even think of water being a possible attack. As Vadim prepared to deflect fire, he never saw it coming when a waterbender shot an icicle through his shoulder. He yelled in pain and anger, blowing fire out of his mouth. It burned some of the rebels, but it was not enough to make them stop. If they could not withstand a few burns, they did not deserve to have this revolution. They took cover when he added more lightning to his attacks; however, he was careful since he could not see where the queen was. Tatia had managed to get the sand out of her eyes and she glared at the group. Her gaze landed on Yeva.

"We should have killed you years ago," she hissed. "How dare you come in here and think you can attack us! You don't have the power!"

Despite her words, the queen moved back. It was not night. Even more importantly, it was not a night of the full moon. She was fighting without her strongest attack. Still, she refused to back down. The ruler created ice shards that fired at everyone. They pierced some of the attackers, getting one of them through the thigh as he yelled in pain. Yeva drew a sword and started to charge. He maneuvered around the shards, slicing through some when they were too large to dodge. The prince only stopped running when he reached the king. Vadim's eyes still burned from sand particles, but he tensed when he felt the cold metal of a blade against his throat.

"Stand down," Yeva instructed.

Tatia looked at him and the older man. Her expression went from one of concern to one of anger.

"Vadim," she scolded, "you were supposed to be my equal. How could you let this happen?"

Undeterred, the queen continued her attack. She targeted the recruits as they tried to get closer. They used their own bending to defend against the shards. Yeva struck the king, knocking him out. He could use him as a shield to get to the queen. It was risky, but it was worth a try. As Tatia focused on the main fighters, she ignored the tiny people. Their power might have been lesser in comparison, but they were still strong. Toph began to shake the ground around the queen. At first, Tatia was too angry to notice, but by the time she did, it was too late. She struggled to maintain her balance. Katara began pulling the water out of the air, creating her own icicles that went into the queen's ankle. When Zuko added fire to this attack and Azula added lightning through Tatia's shin, the cruel ruler fell forward. That was when Aang sent a large blast of wind towards her. It made her fly back into the wall. The impact knocked the breath out of her and gave Yeva enough time to lock cuffs around her wrists. She tried to start another attack, but one of the soldiers hit her over the head.

The throne room got silent. Everyone was waiting for the rulers to wake up—to somehow prove that they really were invincible, but they did not. They were mere humans after all. The rebels looked over one another, seeing some members who were more gravely injured than others. Not everyone would survive, but the majority would. Even those who could not make it to the new era of Krozhny were glad to have been part of this. Yeva approached one of the dying new recruits. He had been struck in the side of the head with lightning and was still shaking. The prince gently held his hand.

"This sacrifice won't be in vain," he promised. He stood, looking around. "None of them will be. What we did here today will help the subjects of Krozhny live in peace." A small smile came to his face. "Everyone should be proud. We just saved our kingdom."

A celebratory cheer rose up in the crowd. They left the palace to spread the news. Alexei and Levka went to their home, where they had left Masha. She was nervously pacing outside and shouted in glee when she saw them. The girl ran into their arms. Many families reunited this way. It barely felt real.

"What are you going to do now?" Katara asked, looking up at Yeva.

The prince was standing on a balcony of the palace, enjoying the view of the kingdom for once in his life.

"I'm going to lead the way I wanted my parents to."

"What are you going to do with them?" Toph inquired.

"We have prisons made for powerful benders. They'll spend the rest of their lives in a windowless cell."

"What about Naum?" Aang asked. "He was arrested a little before you arrived. One of the chefs too. They tried to poison Vadim and Tatia."

Yeva's face clouded over. Seeing this, Aang spoke again.

"I know Naum wasn't always the kindest, but it's probably because he's lived in fear for so long. Maybe he'll change now. I don't know if he deserves to rot away forever like the king and queen."

Yeva was quiet momentarily. After he made up his mind, he left the friends and went to the dungeon. He found the jester's cell. Shocked, the airbender went forward.

"I thought you were sent to invade another kingdom."

"I was, but we returned. The king and queen have been dethroned."

Naum's eyes widened. "What does that mean for me?"

Yeva went to the door, unlocking the cell. "It means that you are free. I spoke with the team. They don't blame you for your violence against them."

Slight guilt hit the jester. "Am I still expected to be your jester?"

"To be honest, I don't want a jester, but you're welcome to stay in the castle. You know the other subjects here better than I do. I know how it is outside these walls, but I've got a lot of catching up to do when it comes to managing the castle itself. I could use some help."

Realization dawned on the man and he bowed his head. "I'll never be able to express my appreciation, Your Highness."

"Just help me make Krozhny a place where everyone can live safely. That'll be enough."

He offered his hand and Naum rose back up, shaking it. "I will."

Yeva smiled, sighing softly as years of tension faded. It was going to be a lot of work, but he was willing to do it. He would do anything for the kingdom and its subjects. Now that Vadim and Tatia were out of the way, Krozhny had the chance to be a great place. He would not let that potential get wasted.