Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

prologue

Water, Earth, Fire, Air. For centuries the nations stagnated in their so-called harmony. Only the Avatar, master of all elements, was allowed to act as they see fit in the cycle they enforced. So fixed were the people on what is, that they never wanted to hear about what can be. The Avatar, pillar of virtue that they are, seemingly so benevolent in their duty to keep peace and help all. But it's a double-edged sword at best. While indeed The Avatar seemingly helps the world, it in turn grows dependent on the Avatar, empowering them.

Generation after generation the people worshipped their false god. When someone tried to change the status quo, for better or worse, they met a brutal end in the hands of the Avatar, forever dammed the villain by the masses.

And then my time came. A nameless person from a nameless village in the outskirts of the fire nation. Seeing the world around me as the prison it was, and I began my ascending to greatness. With wit and will, I was able to create instruments to better the world around me. With more instruments, people began to surround me.

And so, the more followers I had, the more influence I got. The more influence I got, the more people followed me. It became a self-feedings cycle. It came to the point where even the Avatar couldn't ignore me.

Obviously not all was smooth sailing, the old fools condemned me. Saying that I would bring ruin to the world. They called my inventions a perversion of creation. They called me mad!

When time came, our inevitable clash was brutal. Oh, how surprised our dear Avatar was when the very elements they claimed dominion over, turned against them. It was ironic really; the master of the elements was brought low by a person with no official training and using only his perverse creation to bend.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Unable to face me in a fair fight, the Avatar entered the so called "Avatar state" in which the past lives of the Avatar possess the body of the current one, boosting its power a hundred-fold and abandoning their humanity in the process.

Against that I unfortunately stood little chance of winning. Ho I put up a fight to be sure, but I was soundly defeated. In a final act of defiance, knowing that all my work is to be undone, I detonated my armor with a glorious blast killing us both. My hated foe, perhaps sensing it's unavoidable demise, left the Avatar state, robbing me of the chance to end the Avatar cycle once and for all.

For any lesser being that would have been the end, but I am no lesser being. Taking inspiration from the Avatar, I thought why should only the Avatar be exempted from death? Why can't I do the same? Consulting higher forces that took interest in my work I devised a fail-safe of sorts in my helmet. The helmet will act as a container to a part of my soul after my untimely passing, anchoring me forever to the mortal plane.

After the battle, the Avatar's dogs dismantled my work forever to be forgotten. And without me there was no one to stop them from doing so. And so, with my work undone the world once again returned to stagnation.

Curiously rumors about my helmet started to surface, promising forbidden knowledge and power which were only partially exaggerated. The fact that the helmet could not be destroyed by whatever means the Avatar and it's proxies devised.

And so, it was decided that my helmet will be stuck in some forgotten room in one of the air temples. For those old nomads were lacking any kind of ambition to wield the helmet and the temple itself was neigh impossible to reach for anyone not an air bender. Making it a perfect prison.

I had some hopes when the fire nation attacked the temple, but ultimately a lone helmet was disregarded in light of the genocide. A wasteful thing really, I didn't have any particular grudge against the nomads and their pacifistic ways had their uses.

A century passed and to the temple came a boy. Banished by his father to hunt the Avatar, the young prince found my helmet and donned it.

The boy is still young, but I believe that he can change the world in my image.

AN

Hi, this is my first story.

After a few years of reading stories on this site I decided to try my luck at writing.

I hope you like the prologue, so far there isn't any schedule for updates.

English isn't my first language, so I sincerely apologize for ant mistakes.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 2

Zuko yelped again at the sudden intrusion of the voice.

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

Zuko looked around the room to find the intruder, only to see that he was alone in the cabin. Confused and a little frightened he once again was in a fighting stance ready to pounce.

"No need to any of that your highness, it's all in your head. Literally."

"What do you mean? Answer me!"

Zuko was starting to get really freaked out, is it the end? Did he finally snapped and gone mad?

"Oh, nothing so drastic I assure you. Although you are on your why there with how things are going."

"You – you read my mind?"

A silver of fear was finally showing in the young Prince's voice. The possibility of someone, anyone, reading his mind like an open scroll and learning all his private thoughts and secrets was enough to break his bravado.

"We are connected as it is, and it's vital for me to effectively support my user."

"Now before you faint or do something drastic your highness, may I explain a few things? I promise you would find this exceptionally interesting."

Gradually the prince's curiosity got the better of him. He had to admit that a talking helmet was a new experience for him, one that he suspected was the first time in centuries that something like that happened. The small child in him that he tried to hide so much was excited.

"What do you have to tell?"

"I'm glad you asked!"

"So, as you can see… well hear in this case, I'm the artificial intelligence that runs this helmet. My purpose is to assist the owner of the helmet in any way and from I can."

"Are you a spirit?"

"Oh no, well not exactly. I was created by human hands to assist my creator in his tasks. He put a piece of his soul to create me, in this way he made sure I was optimized to his ideals and personality. It was also his way to reach a form of immortality."

"To answer your question, I'm as close to a spirit as much as a human is close to a slug. Both are alive, eat and have offspring, but besides that? Not much in common."

"Hah… So what are you? What do I call you?"

"As I said earlier, I am an artificial intelligence, or AI for short. As for my designation, I am recognized as S.A.I – supporting artificial intelligence."

"So Sai, will you help hunt down the Avatar? I swear on my honor as the crown prince that you will be handsomely rewarded."

"There is no need for any rewards your highness. I exist in the sole purpose to assist the helmet's owner, it's literally in my name."

"I'm… glad to hear this…" Unconditional loyalty was something he truly lacked in recent time.

'I forgot that I don't talk to a person or even a spirit, how do I even talk to it?'

"If you seek to hunt the Avatar you will find my assistance much to your liking. I have experience in dealing with the spirit possessed nuisance."

The sentence caused Zuko to remember the state the mask was in. Curiosity won and there was only one way to know for sure.

"What is your history with the Avatar anyway?"

"The Avatar opposed my creator in his quest to a better tomorrow. The two had opposite ideologies, my creator sought to change the world for the better and break from the restrictions forced on all mankind, the Avatar however sought to keep the status quo. Inevitably once my creator was too big of an issue to ignore conflict with the Avatar was a question of when, not if."

"The whole story of their conflict will take days to tell, even compressed. The important thing for you to know your highness is the final battle. In the last battle of my creator the two opponents fought as their respective legions followed. My creator had the better army and even managed to go toe to toe against the Avatar and even overwhelm him at his normal state."

"However, at a point of desperation the Avatar's spirit fueled by survival instinct went migraine above the regular power output of the Avatar state, a state in which the Avatar is possessed by its past lives gaining all their knowledge as well as raising its power output. Their battle lasted three days four hours twenty-five minutes nine second and fifty-seven milliseconds. In the end as they tear the world around them, my creator's equipment could not withhold the Avatar's attacks any longer and failed him."

"From there the battle came to a quick end in the Avatar's favor. However, before the possessed could land the final blow my creator activated the self-distract system in his armor, creating a blast that disintegrated nearly anything in the five-mile radius. The Avatar's spirit, sensing its demise immediately left its possession to save itself from true death."

"After the battle without my creator to commend and with the majority of the forces lost in the conclusion of the battle there was little left to defend my creator's legacy. And soon the helmet alone left as a reminder of my creator."

"When the order found the helmet, they immediately began to try and destroy it. From burning to throwing at sea or volcano to burying the helmet. However, swallowed by a fish which was caught by a fisherman, blown back by an active volcano or unearthed by an earthquake, the helmet always returned to find a successor. In the end the Avatar, unable to neither destroy nor get rid of the helmet decided to lock it and from there the helmet you already know the story."

This explanation brought more questions than answers. Who was the helmet's creator? How did he fight toe to toe with the Avatar? What order is Sai talking about? Why did Sai say the ways the helmet returned as if it wasn't a chain of coincidences?

"You have many questions, please ask and I shall try to answer the best I can."

"Who was your creator?"

"My creator was a human male from an unnamed village in the outskirts of what is known now at the fire isles."

"SOME UNNAMED PEASANT CREATED YOU?!"

The very idea that some no one was against everything Zuko knew and believed in. Being royal, having the divine right to rule, is something you are either born with or born without. Father was very clear about this point.

"He had a name, but he chose to leave it behind to fully become the first Overlord. And yes, by your standards he was a peasant. However, I would like you to mind your tone when speaking about my creator, he was a great man. Quite frankly much better than you."

Zuko was about to leash out at the stupid voice but held himself at the last minute. Antagonizing Unknown entity that talks directly into his head is not a smart idea, for all he knew Sai may explode his head at any given moment. Besides, he supposed he himself wouldn't be too pleased if someone insulted his dad.

"I… will take it into consideration." Suddenly something the voice said caught Zuko's attention.

"Wait, first? You mean there were more of those "overlords"? Did they own you too?"

"Each and every true overlord wielded me, and I assisted each and every one of them to greatness the best I could. You are the tenth overlord, to answer your next question."

Zuko decided that there is only so much information he could take before it's too much, so he decided to get answers that will help him in his mission.

"How can you help me catch the Avatar? You are just a voice in a helmet, no offense…". The prince quickly added the last part, not wanting to anger the helmet while it was covering all of his head.

"I can help you with many things your highness. I have inside me the knowledge of every past overlord, and unlike flesh made beings I don't forget a thing. With this knowledge and experience I can make you the most powerful bender in the world, overshadowing even your lord father. I can help you build an empire to your name with an army second to none, specifically designed and equipped to take on the Avatar. I can even detect in good accuracy the Avatar's position."

Zuko was so fascinated by the things the helmet could give him that he nearly missed the last part. He did, however, catch it, and when he did, he nearly exploded.

"YOU CAN TRACK THE AVATAR?!"

"I can track and pinpoint the unique energy that Ravva, the Avatar's spirit, omits."

"I DEMEND YOU TO BRING ME TO THE AVATAR AT ONCE!"

"Order rejected."

"WHAT! YOU SAID YOU WILL HELP ME! LIAR!"

Zuko was rigid, here before him stands maybe the only thing that can help him find the Avatar, it even has the Avatar's scent and can find him like a dog-tiger. AND IT REFUSES TO HELP!

Suddenly a very loud and high noise filled the helmet. After a minute the noise stopped, however Zuko's ears were still ringing. He was however, in no condition to continue his righteous tantrum.

"Did you calm down prince Zuko?"

"Yes… yes I'm calm now. What was this?" Zuko answered after a few moments to get rid of the ringing in his ears.

"My tutorial protocol allows me to override orders that will harm the young overlord. Your order right now considers as such."

"And why is that?" the prince grumbled.

"You were going to immediately rash with no plan, little strength and no backup plan. Usually, things like this are exactly what gives young overlords their shock and makes them more cautious and mature. Unfortunately, I have no data to synthesize the strength of then current Avatar, but the chances of survival of a direct confront are less than ten percent. Therefore, my tutorial protocol activated, I will not send you after the Avatar without a decent chance of survivability."

As much as the words hurt, they were true. The fact that they were true is what hurts the most. The young prince, not wanting to repeat the screeching, stayed silent for a few moments.

"So that's it? I will never be able to catch the Avatar and return home?" desperation and resentment latched into Zuko's words.

"Not at all, I merely said that it would be suicide to try now. I will help you grow in power and influence until you are strong enough to go toe to toe with the Avatar."

Zuko relaxed a little, seeing not all is lost. And even though he would never admit it, he was grateful that Sai stopped him from doing something stupid.

"How much time do I need to wait until you will lead me to the Avatar?"

"Depends on you your highness. It could be months, it could be a lifetime. I will do the best I can to accelerate the process."

Zuko didn't like the idea of another few months at the least in exile, but he supposed it was better than nothing."

"First of all, to calculate the best course of action I will need you to tell me about the situation of the world at large and your unique circumstances. Please don't spare the details."

And Zuko told it everything. He told it about the war, he told it about his life at the palace, he told it about the general's meeting and the Agni Kai and he told it about the journey so far. It was oddly relieving in a way, to talk to someone about all of this. Maybe it was the stress getting to him, maybe it was the fact that Sai didn't judge him in any way or form, but Zuko shared things that he did tell even his uncle. In the end Zuko was crying after releasing all his woes.

"I see, it seems the world has changed much in the overlord's absence. It is strange that the Avatar didn't show up until now with all the disharmony this war brought. However, I believe you can use it to your advantage.

"How?" It was nice to hear Sai continue to talk as usual, the lack of pity, judgement or any emotion really, it helped Zuko focus on the task ahead. It also showed the young prince that he had a listening ear to talk to, his uncle was fine and cared the world about Zuko. But that same quality is what made Zuko to not want to disappoint him, it was much easier to talk about your failures to someone that literally can't be disappointed than someone you care about.

"This war and mission will give you a good excuse to build up your strength. And a prince, banished or not, will be welcomed in many places at the colonies and frontline to boost morale. There you will build your name and sphere of influence. Because of your royal status and because of no direct order from your father, you are technically outside the chain of command. Meaning you can choose where you go and what you do. The experience and the reputation you will get will raise your standing and with enough reputation even your father won't be able to ignore you. And no one could argue against it since you are doing your duty as a prince."

That… was actually a good to hear. For Zuko the situation changed from nearly losing all hope of returning home to having a chance to achieve his most desired dream, his father's approval. He was now more motivated than he had ever been in the last six months.

"Where do we begin?"

"First, from the input I got it appears that your crew leaves much to be desired. They are good for raiding the random village to be sure, but for our purposes there is much to do."

Zuko scoffed "What can you expect from random peasants."

"And that brings us to the second issue, minions will only do so much for a leader they don't respect. And because I can guess your next statement, no. Fear can bring respect and obedience effectively only when one can back it up. It also ineffective if a more fearsome adversary shows, to the point of desertion even."

"So how do I earn their loyalty than?"

"Leading by example and carrot and stick approach. Should you lead at the front and show that you care about them, they will develop a sense of respect and loyalty to you."

"'The carrot and stick approach' is simple. For a well-done task or an exceptional behavior, a reward is given. For a failure or an unacceptable behavior, a punishment is given. The level of the reward or punishment needs to reflect the level of the deed, a too strong or too weak response will cause either resentment or laziness, nothing which is good for you."

Those two approaches were alien to the young prince, his entire life his father taught him that people respect you only if they fear you. To hear such a thing should have made Zuko outright scoff, and he did have reservations, but the helmet did have experience. And it was a talking helmet, so strangeness was a given.

"I see… and how will I do this… thing?"

"You don't believe in me." Sai stated it as a fact. Zuko tried to say something in defense, but Sai immediately continued.

"It is natural really, I am an unknown entity talking to your head and telling you to do things that go against what you were raised to believe. Your willingness to consider speaks volumes about your open mindness."

Zuko was taken back by it, open mindness is not something he, or anyone really, would describe him as.

"And quite frankly, for all my talk about knowledge and power I have done nothing to support such claims. Tell me your highness, would you like to learn the Azure flame?"

That stopped Zuko in his tracks. The Azure colored flame was an art achieved by years of intense practice. Only the elite could even consider learning such a thing. To be offered it in such a casual manner was mind boggling.

"You can teach me the Azure flame? Teach me now!"

"Very well, prepare yourself."

There was a noise similar to oiled metals moving against each other and suddenly he saw some kind of scroll created before his eyes. The scroll was strange, it appeared to be made of pure light and the letters on it were too perfect and identical to be written by human hands. Thankfully the scroll wasn't created in a moment, so although amazed Zuko wasn't spooked this time. Whether or not it was intentional on Sai's part remains to be seen.

"First I will teach you some theory about wavelengths and the seeable spectrum."

What followed next was a lecture unlike any he had before. The scrolls, which Sai referred to as screens, also showed moving drawings to explain the material. Zuko had to admit that even if the material itself was hard to believe to, even heretical at some cases, the moving drawings made the experience much easier to understand and almost enjoyable. After a few hours Sai decided that it was time for the practical approach.

"Now remember, you need to completely focus on the flame. Feel the light radiating from it and force the light itself to shorten its length as I explained earlier."

It was easier said than done, Zuko now had a small flame in his hands. As he focused on maintaining it, he searched for the feeling of the light and heat it produced. Heat was energy and the more energy the flame had the shorter its wavelength would be. He just needed to maintain the flow of energy to feed the flame in power while not letting it to grow in size.

Sai helped with monitoring the situation, commenting about where to focus his attempts and how much flow of chi Zuko should put to keep control over the flame. After some time that for Zuko felt like forever, but in fact was less than two minutes, the flame finally was blue in color.

"I did it! I actually did it!"

"Did I prove my word your highness?"

"Yes, Agni yes. You proved yourself."

Zuko was on cloud nine, he succeeded to make an Azure flame in a few hours. It's unheard of, even his sister Azula could compete with this. With Sai proving his worth, all the promises it made became more and more realistic.

"Now will you listen to my advice?"

"Yes."

Sai is the best advisor and teacher he had plain and simple. His uncle, as much as Zuko loved him, instructed him on fire bending for six months without any true progress. His other instructors were even less successful. So Zuko decided that if Sai gives him advice on something, he should at least consider it.

"Good, now that what you need to do…"

"Hey Li, what do you reckon this is all about?"

"Heck if I know, his royal Highness probably wants to throw another tantrum."

"Yeah, I really can't stand the brat. Just because he's a prince he thinks he can treat us like garbage."

"Sh, he's starting."

Price Zuko walked to the stage in his regular armor, in his hand was the dark helmet. He walked with full confidence and resolve. When he reached the center of the stage he stopped and turned to the crowd.

"Good evening, man. As you all know, today we mark our half year anniversary. For six months we have sailed the four corners of the world, searched every air temple available and what do we have to show for it? This helmet!"

So far, his words caused dissatisfaction among the crew, his uncle even started to step towards the young prince. Zuko however cared little about it. He would usually be more nervous, but Sai prepared him for the speech. Who knew crowds peaking was such an art. In any case Zuko had all their attention, it was time to start delivering the main point.

"And so far, I consider the mission successful!"

Zuko raised his voice and held his fists at chest height. Those words caused confusion among the crew, his uncle stopped advancing as well. Good, now he had them.

"This half year we had secured the air temples, ensuring that the Avatar has no hold there. Today we have found this!" Zuko showed everyone the helmet.

"This helmet was found deep in the Southern air temple. Upon experimentation it was discovered that this helmet is invulnerable to fire, in fact it is highly suspected that even the Avatar could not harm it. Meaning that we found maybe the only thing that was above the Avatar's might, and it was possible to retrieve such miracle only because of your resourcefulness and hard work!"

The crew couldn't believe what they were hearing. They expected a tantrum, some enraged yelling about how useless they were and how he would have already found the Avatar if he had a better crew. To hear the price actually praise them, and seemingly genuinely too, was something none of them expected. Combined with the thought that they helped retrieve an artifact that actually managed to withstand the might of the mythical Avatar actually brought each of them pride, something they all had lacked in recent months.

"And if we already speak about miracles." Zuko continued. He put down the helmet near him and brought his hands to his chest level, palms facing one again the other. From between his hands a fireball was created. With some effort the prince put in more energy and after a few moments the crowd, including his uncle, gasped. The fireball was now completely blue. Zuko unsummoned the fire after a minute.

"I believe this is a sign from Agni himself about the righteousness of our mission! Are you with me!?"

The legendary Azure flame in the hands of a young teenager left them with little explanation but a miracle, they all saw how he was struggling at fire bending with his uncle. The righteous tone, the emotion, the hand gestures and how he looked at all of them, turning his look to every corner of the crowd were too much for them. All of them cheered as one at the prince's words.

"Now it may be in short notice, but I think that this is a cause for celebration!" Zuko walked to the end of the stage and pulled the fabric, revealing a bunch of barrels.

"Music night came early boys, you've earned it!"

The cheer that came afterwards was even stronger than before. One by one the soldiers started to chant "Zuko! Zuko! Zuko!" as they start to prepare the musical instruments and drinks.

"You know Lee? The prince's maybe not so bad after all."

"You know what, maybe he really isn't."

While the men drank and had fun Iroh went to talk to Zuko.

"Prince Zuko, it was a wonderful speech. I have to say that for a second there I feared that I had to intervene, I am glad that it was not the case. I'm proud of you prince Zuko, truly."

"Thank you, uncle." Zuko had a grateful smile on his face. His entire self was radiating with confidence his uncle noted, much to the old man's delight. It seemed that his nephew was starting to get out of his shell. He feared this Ozai had forever his nephew not only outside but inside as well.

"Although I'm quite curious about how exactly you managed to learn the Azure flame. No offense, nephew, but you had nowhere near the level of control yet, you achieved something that many fire benders could only dream on in a day."

Zuko was glad that Sai prepared him for this situation or else he would be a squabbling mess.

"What can I say uncle? I have a good teacher."

"Nephew, please be serious."

With a sigh Zuko continued in a more serious tone. "When I meditated, I just couldn't calm down, sorry uncle. So, after some time I decided to see how much anger I could channel to the meditation flame without losing control. I played with the ways to channel the anger and you saw what happened next."

"You… managed to create a colored flame through anger?" Iroh said in a concerned and disbelieving voice, as if even the thought of this was something unthinkable, and not in a good way.

"U-uncle?" The tone of his uncle didn't escape Zuko's notice. "aren't you proud of me?"

The old general quickly composed himself. "Ah sorry nephew, my age is catching up to me again. Of course, I am proud of you. Say why don't you go and have some fun with the crew?"

"Yes uncle, I think I will do it"

Zuko walked to the party that was starting to take a full swing. His man cheered him as they saw him.

"Oh Zuko, what has been done to you…"

Iroh sadly looked at his nephew, as he partied with the men. Now that Iroh looked closely, he saw that every movement Zuko made was forced, every word or smart comment he said was rehearsed. Oh, the crew wouldn't notice it, they didn't know his nephew like he did, but for the dragon of the west it was clear that the young prince was making gigantic effort to be the best leader he can.

Now don't get him wrong, Iroh would have been overjoyed under normal circumstances. But the sheer effort Zuko was showing combined with the stress from six months of banishment and their lack of progress, not to mention the absurd display of the Azure flame, rang warning bells in the old man's head. The Zuko he knew wouldn't be trying to woo the crew, he shouldn't be able to create blue flame both because of the lack of calm state of mind and lack of instruction and feeling of the flame. What could have possibly happened recently that changed his nephew right under his nose?

It all started today, and then Iroh realized what could have happened to his nephew. The pressure of the mission and his banishment was too much for a young boy like him to bear. He couldn't let himself return empty handed, so he looked for anything that may give him some symbolic victory. Here came the helmet, which Iroh doubted it was anything special now. Zuko must saw some random helmet in a dark room and in his obsessive pursuit for results and unwillingness to consider failure made it some saving grace, a rock he could hold on in the turmoil of his own mind.

As for the flame? Iroh knew about colorful flames from his time with the sun warriors. It had taught him about the true meaning of fire bending. To hear that the scared art that depended on calm mind and positive passion can be achieved by distress and hatred was borderline heretical for him. It goes against what he believed about fire bending and if it would grow to its own fire bending art then Iroh feared about the future of true fire bending.

He would talk to his nephew, that was certain, but for now he will give the kid his room. The last thing Zuko needed now was more pressure. He had time, he would teach Zuko the true meaning of fire bending and help him grow to his own personal outside of his father's influence.

With those happy thoughts Iroh joined the party. The festivities continued through the night.

Zuko left to his room after an hour, all the socializing was too much for him even with the practice he had with Sai. Which now he's glad he took seriously. If the lesson about the Azure flame was hard then the practice for the speech was tiring. Who knew there was so much work to prepare a simple speech, and Zuko was only following Sai's instructions.

They were practicing for hours. And in a way, it was much more demanding than his fire bending lessons. He couldn't argue with the results however, the crew never have been more adoring before. It was a nice feeling, even if they were just dumb peasants.

"Your heartbeats are high, are you feeling unwell?"

"No, sorry. I'm just excited at how well it all went. The crew actually respects me now!"

"Not yet, but you are certainly in the right path. You still need to show them example and continue to address them accordingly."

"What do I need to do?"

"Show them your leadership in times of distress, that you will take care of them and have their back. They will return you in kind."

"But they are all rejected and disgraced soldiers! How can I trust them to not stab me in the back if they don't fear me enough?"

"Tell me Zuko, who chose the members of your crew?"

"My uncle."

"And will your uncle consider employing men and women that will stab you in the back? At least without much provocation?"

"…I suppose not."

"It's not the only thing that ails you, isn't it? Your uncle?"

"It's just… I don't understand, I thought he would be proud of me! Why did he look so… so…"

"Displeased? Disappointed? Disgusted? "

"Yes…" Zuko said in a weak voice.

"Tell me, how close your uncle is to the sun warriors?"

This confused the young prince.

"Sun warriors? As in the civilization that predated the fire nation? How could my uncle have any connection to them? And why does this matter?"

"Yes, the very same people. It's good that you know your history, a very important quality for an overlord. It was the fifth overlord that brought their civilization to ruin, all but one city to their name."

"As for connection to your uncle tell me, did your uncle made a trip to the supposedly uninhibited islands north to the fire nation?"

"Yes, when he killed the last dragon and was given the title dragon of the west."

"Interesting, and did he have any changes in his personality afterwards? More petitioned and collected perhaps?"

"Well... people say he did become more … matured?"

"Then there is no doubt he met the sun warriors."

"But why would that matter, do you think that they done something to him?" the young prince was fearful for his uncle.

"Nothing like you may think. The sun warrior style is based on passion and positive emotions as contrast to the rage and hatred that seems to fuel the currant fire bending. This style allows them to create multicolored flames."

"Multicolored…"

Zuko had only a few hours ago created a small blue flame, which is something he considered impossible before. To hear that there is an entire civilization that mastered not only a blue flame, but can have more than one color at once? It was bewildering and quite frankly hurt his ego a little.

"Also to be fair the sun warrior style is more suitable for show then real practice, so you shouldn't worry about hidden super soldiers on that front."

"What do you mean on that front?"

"Nothing you should worry about for now, let's deal with the urgent and then with the important."

"Okay… so what is the plan now? And what about uncle?"

"For now, we continue to sail to the closest colony to resupplying, H ǎ ibi ā n is the name if I'm not mistaken. I will continue to teach you about being an overlord, including martial teaching, strategic thinking and public speaking."

"That's sounds… great." Zuko said while internally shuddering at the horrors he is about to face in the future.

"But what about my uncle?"

"We shall continue as usual. You will go to your training but put me on. Whatever your uncle gives you will be a child's play with my assistance. Should he still have reservations about advancing your fire bending lessons then we will have no choice but to relay on my knowledge alone and deem your uncle untrustworthy."

" Untrustworthy? Now hold on a minute, my uncle has only ever wanted what's best for me!"

"Perhaps I could have phrased that better. If you're uncle withholding on your fire bending lessons, even if he has good intentions, then he risks your progress and development. There can be no grantee that he wouldn't hold you back in other things as well. As an overlord you must grow as fast as possible. I'm not asking you to throw him into the sea or anything like that, but you should always question his decision and their benefit to you."

"But uncle will see how I improved! He will give me more advanced lessons! You will see that you are wrong about uncle!"

"Very well, but a question if I may?"

"Ah .. sure."

"When did I say that your uncle wouldn't advance you?"

"What kind of question is it? Right now!"

"I said possibilities and responses. I have never said what your uncle would or wouldn't do."

Zuko stopped, Sai was… actually right. He never did insult his uncle.

"I-I'm sorry about my outburst."

"No offense taken. Wordplay can be misleading, something I will teach you how to use exceptionally. For now, rest your highness and I advise you to keep the helmet on."

"Wouldn't it be uncomfortable?"

"The helmet is built to provide as much comfort as needed, you wouldn't feel a thing. I will also try to teach you subconsciously and widen the flow of information your mind can handle."

"Is it safe?" The concern in Zuko's voice was hard and clear.

"Worry not, I will not do anything to harm you. The process will also take time for the same reason."

"Okay, good night, Sai."

"Good night Zuko, sleep tight."

The prince went to sleep, and Sai began to work on Zuko's brain as promised.

In the next morning Zuko woke up at dawn as usual for fire benders, he felt more refreshed than he had in a long time. He felt so good in fact, that he forgot he was wearing a helmet until he heard a familiar voice in his head.

"Good morning, your highness."

The young prince, still unused to voices speaking in his head, reasonably let out a yelp before remembering the event day prior.

"So it wasn't just a dream…"

Afraid not your highness. Would you like to hear about today's resume?"

"Sorry, my what?"

"It was a wordplay, both on your training as overlord and your new diet."

"Why would I need a diet? I'm not fat!"

Zuko replied scorned as he felt the sides of his stomach with his fingers.

"You are not, something that deserves a praise for young aristocrats. The diet is for your future growth. You are going consume A lot of energy in our training and the new diet I built you will help with the bodybuilding the training will result as well as resolve the nutrition problems you have right now."

"Nutrition problems? But I eat well enough."

"And yet you have lower than normal levels of calcium and vitamin C. It is expected from someone who sails the sea."

"What are you about?"

"Apologies, in short imagine a body as a kingdom and the food and water as resources a kingdom needs to build and maintain itself like stone, wood, metal and other things. Even if the kingdom gets large deliveries of all other recourses but lacks one it can't grow as it should until the lack is resolved. The same is with the human body."

That… was something that made since to Zuko, his teachers at statecraft mentioned a few times the need for access to all resources as a primary concern in building and maintaining a state. An army without steel is a poor one after all."

"And you will help me to build my body the right way?"

"Obviously, an overlord had always been a paragon of humanity in both mind and bod. You are not going to change that tradition. I will even lecture you on the food you will it, what benefits and harm it can give you. I insist on the last part."

Zuko got dressed with a conflicted sigh. On one end he gets to know about things that hardly anyone would, on the other hand he really didn't want another lecture. In the end he accepted his fate.

"Fine, I'll have the cook bring me everything he has."

"That wouldn't be necessary, you are going down to the canteen to eat there."

"WHAT! Absolutely not!" Zuko shouted indigenously, it was only the fact that Sai activated the hermetic lock to ensure that no one could hear their conversation that no one busted to the room assuming the prince was under attack.

"I'm not going to dine with those filthy peasants! It's beneath me."

"As I said before, those peasants are all the minions you have right now. It is unwise to alienate them. They need to see their leader actually pose interest in them, especially in those early stages of your carrier. I am not asking you to hold a conversation or something, just sit in a corner and eat. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I.. I suppose it's fine for now, just don't expect me to rub elbows with anyone."

"Of course. But if I may ask, why are you so against it? You did much more yesterday."

"It was… it was different, okay?"

Indeed, without the cathartic relief of learning the Azure flame and Sai's explicit instructions Zuko wouldn't be even considering doing any of what he did yesterday.

"I haven't failed you yet, please give me the benefit of the doubt."

"Fine! But don't expect me to talk to anyone!"

"Don't worry, I'm not expecting you to."

The meal itself went uneventful, if awkward, enough. The crew whispered to itself and was in a state of full alert, but it didn't bother the prince. Zuko on his side chose from the canteen whatever Sai told him and went to a corner to eat in peace. He nearly gave a heart attack to the cook when he repeated a thank you from Sai.

It wasn't long before the prince went back to his room to meditate before his lessons with uncle.

It was time, Zuko will ask his uncle for more advanced lessons and prove Sai wrong.

"Uncle!"

"Ah! Prince Zuko! I see you took a liking to your new helmet."

"Yes uncle, I thought that if I plan to fight the Avatar with it I should train with it as well."

"A sound reasoning nephew, although I would recommend you to ease your usage with the helmet."

"About that. Uncle, I think that I'm ready for more advanced lessons."

His uncle sighed before speaking.

"Nephew, as much as you advanced you still lack the basics."

"Uncle! I managed to create the blue flame! If anything, I should be jumping ahead and not being held back!"

His uncle sighed as he began speaking again.

"While your achievement is staggering, your basics stayed the same. You are still not ready to continue learning fire bending the right way. However! "

Iroh stopped Zuko before he could respond.

"Should you do the basics right today, I will advance your lessons."

"Fine! Let's start already!"

The two continued their lesson. As time passed, Zuko noticed that Sai was indeed helping as promised. When certain moves were performed, and Zuko was about to make the wrong move, or miss something in a stance, he would feel a shock in his neck and the limbs would correct themselves to the right form.

By the look of it his uncle was even more surprised than he was. After a few hours the training session was over, with Zuko seemingly making not even one mistake.

"Well uncle, how was it? Can I have more advanced lessons now?"

Zuko was sweating, even thou Sai helped him with the execution of the forms, it did nothing to the energy spent for the training. Zuko was tired and his muscles hurt, if he didn't know better, he might have thought that his uncle made today's lesson extremely tiring for Zuko to fail.

"I…"

Iroh was out of words, and out of ideas. His nephew indeed done all the forms perfectly, not a muscle out of place. It should have made his old heart proud, but even thou physically the prince was ready his mentality was a different story. Zuko is the same hot-headed child he was before, his mindset not ready for the teaching of the true nature of fire bending.

Suddenly an idea popped up in his mind, it would be messy and will cause quite a scene, but if it could postpone the situation until his nephew has the right state of mind, he could suffer it.

"Try to do the last form again, this time without the helmet."

It was a risk, but Iroh is sure that Zuko's new change was from the confidence that he got from the helmet. No there were two options, either his nephew will put down the helmet and the loss of confidence will make him do mistakes or, the far more probable thing, he will throw a tantrum which Iroh will use to show his point.

"WHAT!"

Zuko is shaking his hands, it seems that the screaming will start in five, four, three, two, one…

"Whatever…"

What?

Zuko unequipped his helmet and started to walk away.

"Nephew? Where are you going?"

"To my room" the prince said in a defeated tone, not even looking at his uncle.

"I'm too tired right now to do everything perfect again."

Iroh supposed he could use that.

"But what about the advanced lessons?"

"Whatever, you weren't going to give them to me anyway. I will just do it myself."

Zuko then walked away.

Well, that was one way to solve the problem, why then did he feel he made a grave mistake?

Zuko was devastated. When his uncle told him to ditch the helmet, he thought that it was it, he wouldn't be able to do the forms right. Even Sai agreed that his likelihood of success isn't high. And while at the time he was furious, now he's grateful that Sai was able to calm him down. A breakdown in front of the crew would have destroyed any progress he made with them.

"So, what now?"

"Now we will continue as I suggested. Your basics are firm enough to continue, the requirements of your uncle for farther lessons are irrational and hurt your progress. You said so yourself that basics aren't enough to defeat the avatar in one of our conversations."

"Rest for now your highness, tomorrow we will start your training in its earnest."

"Fine…"

"You are showing signs of depression, would you like to talk about it?"

"I'm fine."

"… It's about your uncle, isn't it?"

"I said I'm fine!"

"You should let it out, you will feel better afterwards. Maybe I could even help."

"What could you do?! You don't have any family!"

"But I have experience with people with family problems, it seems to be an unwritten requirement for an overlord. Are you perhaps disappointed that your uncle didn't live up to your expectations?"

"No… It's just that, why didn't he pass me? I did everything he asked!"

"Perhaps he just didn't want to repeat another Lu-Tan?"

"What?"

"I suggest that maybe your uncle sees you as Lu-Tan and is trying to keep you away from danger by purposely keep you at a lesser aggression level so that you face relatively lesser threats. He that could keep you safe himself that way."

"That's… That's crazy!"

"Possibly but look on the other side. The man lost all his close family, excluding a brother that with obvious enmity on both sides, can any of us really know what he thinks?"

Zuko thought about it and remembered many of the interactions he had with his uncle. He knew that Lu-Tan's death hurt uncle very much, and just as he got to the palace, he heard that his father died. Combining with the fact that his wife died in childbirth and the rivalry with his own father, yes Zuko knew about the less-than-ideal relationship between the two, he didn't know why but he also wasn't blind, painted a very depressing picture as well as a sudden realization.

"Wait, does… Does uncle see me as a replacement for Lu-Tan?"

"Yes and no, he probably can't help but see you as a son, but he also knows that you aren't Lu-Tan. Did he ever confuse your name with Lu-Tan's?" He tr

"No, no he hasn't."

"Then he doesn't see you as a replacement for his deceased son. Anyway, this matters not for your progress."

With this the conversation ended. Zuko calmed down significantly, it was hard to stay mad at his uncle after this talk. It didn't mean he wasn't annoyed but as Sai said, even if his uncle means well, it wouldn't stop Zuko from advancing. especially with Sai to teach him.

With that thought in mind the young prince went to his room.

"And where do you think you're going? You eat in the canteen now."

This is going to be a long trip…

AN

Hi! so here is the second chapter.

I tried to write young Zuko pre helmet as a spoiled brat, yet one that is in pain. must admit I have mixed feelings about the execution. I wanted to show why Zuko would accept S.A.I, Zuko is in a bad place, he was banished from his home, scared by his father both from the outside and the inside, hated by his crew and with his last hope to return home just been snuffed out. He is desperate and when he sees an opportunity to regain his honor, he is going to take it with both hands without thinking.

In the matter of S.A.I, for those who don't know Sai isn't part of the Avatar cannon but an original idea of mine. wither it is truly a helpful A.I (with helpful being relative) or a deceptive trickster is up for debate, but there can be no argument that it's a corruptive influence.

I'm sure that some of you will find it weird that Iroh didn't immediately point at the helmet as the cause for Zuko's change, but I gave plenty of more earthly reasons to why Zuko could change his behavior. Enough not to make Iroh jump on the supernatural causes.

Anyway, I hope you had a good read and please tell me what you think about the story.

have a nice whatever time of the day you have now!

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

warning: extortion and loansharking in this chapter

Chapter 3

Six days have passed since Zuko had his last training session with his uncle. True to his word Sai continued to teach Zuko, in those days he learnt more about fire bending than his entire trip. Part of him felt bad about ending his lessons with uncle but he couldn't argue with the results. His fire was twice as hot and reached three times as far and that's not including the new moves and strategies Sai implemented into him, although to be fair the strategy part goes a little slower than other categories.

It seems that his crew was warming up to him as well, the constant trips to the mass hole with the temper-less interaction with the crew made Zuko far more approachable. He even learnt a few card games on the way, one time he caught a few off-duty men playing and after nearly giving them a heart attack he (Sai) managed to get the men to show him how to play. At first, he didn't want to but with Sai's insistence he stayed and watched the men play. He would never admit it but after a while he was invested enough in the game that he got annoyed with Sai when that damnable thing wouldn't shut up about probability and other things instead of letting him watch the game.

His uncle tried to reach him over the week and talk to him about his training but Zuko, at Sai's advice, let his uncle down gently and turned around the conversation around to subjects like tea and pai-sho. It was a dirty move to use a man's addictions like that, Zuko admitted that, but he already decided that Sai is the right teacher for him. He didn't want to hurt his uncle's feelings, but he couldn't have his uncle holding him back, not when he must catch the Avatar to regain his honor.

And so those days passed as a blur until on the final day he (at Sai's advice and insistent) gathered the crew to a briefing, which leading us for this moment.

"As you know, tomorrow morning we will dock at the colony Hǎibiān. After that you will have a week to yourself."

"You have free reign to do whatever you want as long as you stay in line with the rules of the fire nation, meaning you may drink and the like but theft and other crimes will be dealt with accordingly, with lashes."

"And no, seducing the mayor's daughter is out of line as well. Looking at you Teng."

Most of the crew laughed at that.

"It was one time!"

"And we still get letters for child support. Yes, I know it isn't yours, it doesn't stop them from sending."

"Also please be at the head counting each morning or else I would consider you lost, and everyone will be forced to look for you, ruining everyone's day."

"Now I will assign each of you a number, every head counting you will say your number in order. Remember who is before you and who is after you."

After everyone got their number, with Zuko himself last, the crew left to prepare for docking. Only he and uncle left.

"I must admit nephew, I didn't expect you to participate in one of those briefings, let alone organize it. I'm proud of you, nephew, really."

"Thank you, uncle."

"Nephew if I may, what caused this sudden change?"

Zuko paused, he waited a few seconds and answered.

"I just thought that since this mission is taking far longer than I have thought, I may as well take a more active role with the crew."

"It's not just that, in the last week you seem to have changed. More composed, mature from before. People don't usually grow up like that."

"I'm not the usual person."

"That you are not nephew, that you are not" Iroh said with a smile. However, that smile quickly turned into a frown.

"Zuko, while I am proud of most of your changes I must object about your disregard of your lessons."

"Argh… Again uncle? Can't I just bribe you with tea and pai-sho?"

"Afraid not nephew, this must be addressed now. You must practice your basics, nephew, weak basics will lead to dire consequences!"

"Uncle, all the others my age are long past the basics! I can't win against the Avatar with basics, and I can't regain my honor without the Avatar!"

"Is a little better chance really worth destroying your potential as fire bender?"

"YES!" It concerned him, the distances his nephew was willing to go to get iroh's brother's approval.

It was quiet for a few seconds.

"Listen uncle, as far as I can see I'm in a way better position with my self-learning. You are by far a better teacher than anyone I had from the palace, but I advance fine on my own! You should be proud of me!"

The old man sighed. "I am proud that you show initiation, but your good intentions are crippling yourself. Your mindset is far from ideal for the forms you practice, if you continue entire branches will be close for you. Some branches depend on peace of mind, lightning chief among them."

Once again Zuko stopped. He titled his head to the side a little, as if listening to someone. Quite frankly the old man was worried just how much his nephew is far from a quiet and peaceful state of mind.

After a few seconds the young prince smiled.

"Don't worry uncle, I know what I'm doing. In fact, let's make a deal. If I can shoot lightning in two months, you will stop bothering me about fire bending. What do you say?"

The smile Zuko had wasn't a kind one, it reminded Iroh of a smile on a fox-eagle when it watches an unsuspecting flying lemur. He didn't know that his nephew could produce such a thing, it felt surreal, wrong, as if Ozai was talking to him instead of his nephew. This is bad, he thought that getting Zuko away from his father would help the boy break his father's influence, not enhance it. He needed to find a way to stir Zuko to the right path, and quickly. But how? He should meditate and think about it.

"No nephew, you shouldn't offer deals. It's unbecoming of an honorable prince. Now if you excuse me, I will go to my room. Those old bones need to rest for tomorrow."

As Iroh left the young prince was alone in the mass hole.

"Can you really teach me how to shoot lightning?"

"Sure, it's a bit different from normal fire bending but close enough for a fire bender to create. It is a very popular technique among overlords."

"So all the overlords were fire benders?"

"Hardly, there were overlords from every bending type and even non benders."

"In your journey you will find that there are many ways to mimic different types of bending. Electricity is a relatively easy one to mimic and master, and it has many applications outside of fighting."

The helmet then closed its visor and showed Zuko many kinds of blueprints. Zuko saw a few blueprints in his time at the palace, but none came even close to the amount of detail and complexity Sai showed.

"For a demonstration we will need a stick of ember and a rug from a furry animal, preferably as new as possible. The second one is easy enough, just take one from the cleaning closet. The first one is a bit trickier, with enough luck one of the stores will have something close enough to what we need."

"So we need to go out?"

'Great, now I must mangle with the commoners… Couldn't I just order the men to buy it?'

"Well, for starters you already gave your word that the crew will have a week off, so calling them now for a shopping trip is kind of counterproductive. And secondly it will be good practice for interactions with the people as an overlord, something you clearly lack if I may say so."

"Y-you heard it?"

"You were speaking loud inside your head. Don't worry, it takes time to get used to it."

"Right… so it's shopping trip tomorrow?"

"Afraid so. Don't worry thou, as an overlord seeker I can assure you that this trip will be more exciting than you'd think."

"I thought you can't predict the future."

The prince raised an eyebrow, in one of their conversations Sai admitted that he can guess the most likely event to occur by something called "game theory", but in no way can it predict the future and in no way is the future set-in stone. That caused some philosophical debate that Zuko frankly didn't want to go into.

"Call it a hunch."

With that the prince went to his room to prepare for tomorrow.

"Twenty and last. Okay man, you are free for today!"

The crew cheered as they left for the docks.

"Looks like we are going to have company."

Iroh decided to stay a moment and turned to Zuko.

"Nephew! Would you like to accompany me? I want to go and see if there is a decent pai-sho player in here."

"Sorry uncle, I have plans for today."

'Thank Agni for that, I don't think I could stand another hours long games between old men.'

"Oh? What kind of plans?"

It was easy to understand his uncle's surprise, Zuko rarely had any interest in anything not related to regaining his honor.

"I plan to go shopping for a few things…"

"Wait, ask him what is his favorite pai-sho tile."

"Uncle, what is your favorite pai-sho tile by the way?"

"Why nephew, you wound me. It's obviously the white lotus."

"Ask him why."

"Why uncle?"

"Oh Zuko, I'm so glad you show interest in pai-sho. You see, the white lotus is a special tile. It's a hard tile to master, but to the paisant player it will reveal its secrets."

"We must follow him at any cost, follow me quickly!"

Zuko was shocked at Sai's tone, never before had he sounded so distressed. Quickly composing himself, the young prince followed Sai's lead.

"You know uncle? I don't have anything that I can't delay, is it fine if I go with you?"

'Really?! I don't want to waste hours on seeing old man play pai-sho!'

"The endgame will be worth it, I promise. I will tell you everything once we finish, but we must have this password. You are very lucky, you know? Other overlords waste decades and many resources, sometimes in vain, to get what you are offered freely on silver platter."

'What are you talking about?'

"I will tell you later, can't let you break character now. I'm sorry, but you are still lacking in the discretion department."

'Fine…'

It seems that he said the right thing, because his uncle's smile reached his eyes.

"It will do my old heart good. Thank you, nephew."

The royal duo left the ship together. As they walked towards the inn, which Iroh was curtain would host a worthy opponent, a sudden thought came to the young prince.

"Wait, if the cook is also partying in town who will make us food?"

As if on cue, both their stomachs emitted growling noises.

"Ha! I guess we have another reason to go to the inn, ah nephew?"

Zuko couldn't help but grumble under his breath from the undignified display.

A few hours passed since his uncle started to play pai-sho with whoever was present at the inn and Zuko was bored out of his mind. Whatever Sai is waiting for hasn't happened yet, Zuko asked, every few minutes. At least they had something to eat there.

He could see Teng flirting with one of the wenches in the other corner of room. Hopefully this one isn't related to the mayor. He still remembers the absolute awkwardness of that conversation.

Anyway, he used the time to ask the people his uncle played with where he could find an amber steak. Apparently, there is a trinket shop near the docks that sells sometimes amber combs. Ironically enough they also sell sheep-goat skin which Sai said would be ideal for whatever he had in mind.

By now Iroh won another game and the new contestant sat in the table and the game began.

His uncle started with the same move he starts every time: Jasmine one-seven, Rose two-six, White Lily three-six, Chrysanthemum four-six, White Jade five-six, Rhododendron six-six, Dragon two-five, Knotweed five-two.

His opponent mirrored sequence opposite the zero-zero six-six line. These two sequences were then repeated for the other three quadrants of the board, ending with the "appropriate tile in the element cycle".

"That's it! Go to the bathroom, I will explain everything there."

'Finally!'

"Hey uncle, I'm going to relive myself."

"Very well nephew. This one may take some time; you can go to the shop if you wish."

"Okay, see you at the evening then!"

Zuko made a bee line to the restroom and locked the door.

'Ok, what is so important that you just had to drag me here to suffer this for hours?'

"Remember the white lotus?"

"You mean the secret international organization that upholds the Avatar's rule? Never really understood why they never did something about the war."

"The very same. They are so powerful because they work in secret and openly opposing the fire nation in global conflict is a surefire way to expose themselves. You wouldn't believe how much harder it is to influence people when they are actually aware of your existence. Besides, you don't know what they really did and do, secret organization and all of that."

'I suppose, what about them?'

"Remember your uncle's favorite tile?"

'Yes, the white… you can't be serious!'

"Afraid so."

'You think my uncle is a part of an organization that undermines the fire nation! This is treason!'

"Maybe he doesn't know, maybe he thinks it's just some club for people to play pai-sho. The white lotus uses pai-sho to recognize its members, every member knows a certain set of moves that will show their knowledge of the organization. The set will be a complex one so that is no chance that a nonmember will commit it accidentally."

'But there is a chance?'

"Not really, the set is not strategically favorable and must be repeated on the four sides of the board by both sides as a representation of harmony between the four nations. I will rephrase myself, there is no chance for a coincidence."

'My uncle is not a traitor!'

"If you say so, you know your uncle much better than I. They probably use his love for pai-sho to fish from his information."

'Monsters! I must warn uncle now!'

"And say what? That the club he joined made him commit treason? And when you are asked about how did you know, are you going to tell that you talked to a voice in your head? How well do you think this will go?"

'I must do something!'

"Do you really? Think about this, whatever information your uncle had they probably took years ago so any security risk is long gone and there is no risk for him physically. Do you really want to take away one of the few things the old man enjoys? I hardly think he will ever have the same passion for pai-sho again."

'So, we'll do nothing?'

"It seems to be the best thing, we will always watch your uncle's back and he is strong enough to take care of himself. Besides I memorized their secret code, with this we can recognize order members and gain access to their recourses. This is a huge achievement, especially so early in your career."

'I suppose you're right… So, What's now?'

"Let's go to that shop, your uncle did give us a leave."

The prince flashed the toilet and went out. On his way he saw another wench slapped Teng, probably she caught him two-timing.

"That was fast."

"Aha…"

And so, the prince went back to the docks in search of amber.

Ki didn't know why mommy was sad, but he knew it had something to do with the men that came here every seven days. He knew it was seven because he counted, with both hands! Yes, he was smart like that.

Anyway, every seventh day in the morning his mommy tells him to go to his room and lock the door. Then sometime later the men come. He knew because he hears their shouts, loud, gruff and they have different voices.

It goes on for some time and he hears sometimes a crash. Then there is silence and mommy tell him that he can come out and that everything is fine. She is laying, he knew it because when she smiles at him it feels different than normal and her eyes don't shine from happiness but because she is about to cry. He didn't know how he knew it, but he just did. The store feels emptier than the day before, and sometimes he sees broken things on the floor.

Today was the seventh day, he counted! And as usual mommy told him to hide in his room. The men came and the shouting began. This time, however, the shouts were louder, and he thought he heard a new voice.

The shouts became louder and louder and there was a loud crash. He could hear his mother screaming and there were sounds of battle. He didn't know what to do, mommy told him to hide, but she was in trouble and scared, but he was scared too. He was next to the door and then with one finale scream it became quiet.

Maybe the men were gone? It was never quiet when they were here, and mommy defiantly needed him. So he opened the door and quietly walked on his tows to the where mommy worked. When he saw the shop, he froze.

The bad men were still there, but they were on the floor in many uncomfortable poses. Most of the shop was destroyed and the floor was messy from all the broken things that lay there. He finally so his mother, she was crouching next to the wall. Then finally he saw the new man.

He stood between mommy and the bad men. He was wearing dark armor and black helmet, in his hands were two flaming sword and he looked at the bad men, ready to pounce. The evening sun shone behind him, giving the stranger a crimson halo on his head. He looked like some spirit from the stories mommy tells him, or a samurai that stops bad guys and saves princesses.

'Awesome…'

Then he remembered why he came.

"Mommy!"

It was a little embarrassing, but Zuko was lost, he knew he should have asked for more information on the shop than just that she was on the docks. This in turn caused him to go to every shop at the docks. At least he had Sai to talk to when he waited for the shopkeepers to check if they had something he may use.

'Say Sai, I was wondering. Why the name "overlord"? Why not any other titles that actually exist?'

"It was at the beginning a proclamation that the person was above lording and therefore cannot be ordered around. As time went on it became a title. Its unique name also put some nobles in their tows because they didn't know their standing against the overlord."

'So what is my standing as an overlord? I don't want to be degraded from a prince.'

"Let me tell you a secret your highness, you are as important as you believe yourself. You can stand higher than the earth king, the fire lord, the water chieftains and the air console combined as well as stand together with the most common of peasants."

'What? How is this even possible? When you have a rank then you have a rank, a baron will never be higher than a king.'

"Each and every title is a sentient invention, a made-up word. So, in that regard, all titles are equal. Someone long ago decided that one title is better than the other and so the rankings system was created. As the one and only overlord in the entire world, why shouldn't you decide where you stand?"

There was some sense to Sai's words, but they were a direct contradiction to anything he was taught as a royal, a heretical word that would get you executed if the nobility heard you. Besides he saw a very glaring problem. One that he happily told Sai with a smile, thinking he finally had a win in their arguments.

'But if anyone can get any title they want, how can anyone know where they stand?'

"Oh, it's easy your highness. They are tested to see if their bite matches their bark. What do you think the fire lord and the rest of the world leaders are doing?"

That dropped the smile of Zuko's face, mostly because once again Sai had the upper hand in their arguments.

'I'll get you one day…'

"Don't be so hard on yourself, I have eons on experience in those kinds of things. And I think that we arrived at the last shop."

"Hah…"

Zuko opened the door and went in, a bell ringing as the door opened. Greeted him there was a woman relatively young, in her late twenties if he had to guess. She, however, cast him scared and unsure glances.

'Why is she scared of me? Did the helmet make me this scary?'

"I don't think that she's afraid of you per say, it seems that she is expecting someone she is afraid of. If I had to guess, I would say that we have here some kind of extortion or loansharking situation. Any way you better go ask her now, you look weird just standing here. And remember, be polite."

"Hi, can I bother you for a moment?"

It seems to do the trick as the woman shaken her head and replied with the usual smile that is expected from anyone who works at the service industry.

"Of course, how can I help you?"

"Yes, do you sell amber combs?"

"Why yes! It's two silvers per comb."

'Two silvers! It's robbery on board day!'

"I don't understand the pricing system of this area yet, but it does seem too high. What is the regular price of an amber comb?"

'Fifty coppers at most!'

"Try to get from her information about the price, tell her that the price is higher than you expected."

"Seems a little high, is there any particular reason?"

"Well, because of the war prices go higher, as well as the increase of tax on goods. Besides, you wouldn't find anything like this around. I hope that you understand."

"Monopolization at its finest, you should keep notes. Anyway, we have enough money, as long as you get that amber a few coins are a cheap price for the art of lightning."

'Fare enough.'

"Okay, here is your silver."

"Thank you, here is-"

"YO MING, PAYDAY'S HERE"

A group of five people entered the shop. It was clear from their getup that they were lowlife and thugs. One man had a knife in his hand, two had swords on their belt and the last two, one of whom was the one that yelled and probably the leader, were weaponless.

"Five hostiles:

One knife, threat level medium; two swordsmen, threat level high; one fire bender, threat level very high; one earth bender, threat level very high;

Prioritize fire bender;"

'How do you know-'

"Never mind that, what are you going to do? They are obviously extorting the lady, probably the real reason for the high prices."

'Well… On the one hand this doesn't concern me, and she did charge a lot of money. On the other hand, it wouldn't be honorable to just leave her, and uncle will surely be disappointed.'

"P-please, I h-have a costumer…" the woman stuttered.

"You think we care?!" The biggest of the thugs, the earth bender, yelled at the cowering woman before turning to Zuko. "And you! Scram!"

'You dare speak to me like that!'

"Provoke them first, they need to be the one starting the fight so you can claim self-defense. Follow my lead."

"Excuse me, we were kind of at a middle of something here?"

There was silence. The woman - Ming – gasped, the other men looked bewildered and as for the leader? Well, he looked beyond pissed.

"YOU LI'L BRAT!"

The earth bender punched Zuko, but the young prince was too agile. Zuko bent down and swapped the thug off his feet, he fell with a loud thud.

That signaled the others to attack as the fire bender shot two quick fire balls and the swordsmen attacked from the sides. Zuko quickly redirected the fire balls at the swordsmen, one fire ball hit the target' but the other swordsman evaded.

"Move left!"

The knife somehow got behind the prince ready to stab him in the back, but Zuko quickly moved left throe the gap that left open with the fallen swordsman. He then proceeded to move out of the way of a sword strike and give the knife a roundhouse kick to the knife before blocking a fire wave.

Once the knife was out of the battle, Zuko was able to keep the fire bender between the swordsman and himself. In doing so he managed to stay out of the reach of the swordsman and use the occasionally redirected fire to hit him.

Unfortunately, it seems that the earth bender had enough time to recover. And with a roar he threw a rock the size of a head toward the prince.

"Move the fire bender to use as shield!"

Zuko did so just in time as the rock crashed into the fire bender's ribs and smacking both on top of the fallen swordsman, who was just getting up. Therefore, putting both thugs out of the battle.

"Shi! Lou! You will pay for that, you freak!"

The prince was relatively unharmed, having meat shields from each side. Now he was facing two opponents instead of five, however he soon discovered that he had another problem.

"No! Not the walls!" the woman yelled.

The fire from the fire bender thug took hold on the wooden shop and started to spread out. He had to do something fast or else there wouldn't be anything left of the shop.

'What do I do?!'

"You see the sword to your right? Lift it."

'Okay, what now?'

"You once saw a whirlpool? Think of the sword as the bottom of a whirlpool that sucks all the fire and chi inside of it. go to the flames and point it at them."

Zuko did as he was told and once the tip of the sword was pointed at the flames the sword sucked them hungrily. In looked exactly at a whirlpool, but one made of fire. The sword itself was gaining new characteristics as well, the fire swallowed in the sword now warped around the metal, giving it a look as if the sword was made of fire.

All the people in the room were amazed as they had never seen anything like that before. Zuko, however, didn't dare to stop and stare in ow.

"Now stop, feel the pressure of energy in the sword, direct it to the earth bender and release your hold. Now while they occupied!"

Instantly, Zuko did as he was told. A stream of concentrated fire busted from his now once again normal looking sword. The earth bander seemed to gather enough wits to raise a stone wall to shield himself, but the blast tore through the stone and the earth bender crashed on a shelf, unconscious.

The last thug, apparently the smartest of the bench, threw his sword at Zuko. As the prince ducked, the swordsman was already gone. He picked the second sword and continued to snuff out the fire. Once he was done, he turned to the fallen men ready to strike in case one of them dared to stand.

"Mommy!"

'Hah?'

"K-Ki? I-I told you to stay in your room!"

"N-never mind, come here sweetie."

Zuko let the two have their heartfelt moment. Besides, he had other concerns at the moment.

'Sai… How do I turn the fire off?'

"Focus on the energy in the swords, use your body to devour it. Feel the energy going through your hands to your entire body.

Zuko felt his body absorbing the power of the flames. The tiredness he felt in the aftermath gone, replaced with empowerment.

"Incredible…" he whispered in a quiet voice.

Only now did he notice in a reflection on a window that the helmet was once again in the "battle mode" Sai talked about. His visor was glowing with orange light, amber to be precise.

He turned to the family.

"They won't hurt you again, your safe now."

The mother held her son a little closer, her eyes shining with tears.

"T-thank you."

"I sense a bigger story here. those men were too well coordinated for the common thugs, unless there is some mandatory material training that I am unaware of. Ask here about them."

"Say, who were those guys anyway?"

"They… they…"

Ming cast down a look too her son. It was obvious that she wanted her son to stay in the dark about what's happening around him, protect his innocence for some time. He supposes his mother was the same way… Thinking about her still hurts, at least he has uncle…

Suddenly an idea popped inside his head.

"Hey, ki right? Can I ask you a favor?"

Agni, it was strange to talk to children.

"Yes, mister samurai!"

The kid said with enthusiasm that only a child in front of their idol could master. His mother was less happy, if the look of concern and the protective hug are any indication.

"…Yes, anyway. Do you know where the inn is?"

"Yes!"

Ki shook his head up and down so fast that Zuko was afraid that the head may come off.

"My uncle is in there; his name is Iroh. Can you bring him here? Just say his name loud until he's walking to you. Then say Zuko, which is my name, and run here. Do you think you can do it?"

"Smart thinking, but what do you plan to do once your uncle arrives?"

'I… haven't thought about it.'

"Yes, mister Zuko!"

The kid ran straight for the inn.

The prince than turned toward the woman.

"So, would you like to explain what it was all about?"

Ming sighed.

"Those men come once a week to collect their 'payment'. You see my husband, may the spirits bless his soul, had to take a loan to open this shop. That's when they came to him, they offered him the money he needed and more. At the time we didn't know better, we thought that everything was good, the rent was manageable, the interest was low, and business was blooming. Spirits, what fools we were."

"In one of his business trips they convinced my husband to go to their hometown, some wretched place in the Si Wong dessert filled with scum, gambling dens and other immoral establishments. 'It will be fine' he said 'we have enough money to spare' he said 'I won't be in any shady business' he said. I should have broken his legs, that dumb pig-frog!"

"He never came back! What did return was those thugs with a thousand gold debt my husband made in gambling! That fat! Useless! Sack of trash!"

"I told him not to go! I told him! We had enough money, we had a stable future, we had a son, we were happy!"

"Now look where did it got us! For years I had to struggle to make ends meet. I had to sell every right of the store to those thugs! I barely kept them at bay from making me work for them in 'higher paying places'!"

The poor woman continued to cry as she released the traumatic experience she had over the years. Meanwhile Zuko kept his silence, listening both to her and to Sai who started talking in his head.

"That would explain the level of training the thugs had. As foot soldiers to some loan shark, they had enough basic training to enforce his or her will on the would be hero, but are expendable enough to send to faraway places."

'So what should we do?'

"Legally any argument in her favor wouldn't hold water because the debt came from a legal source according to the law and with the knowledge and participation of the husband. I wouldn't hold high hopes of finding anything by searching for the husband's disappearance, as they covered any traces of involvement."

'We can't just leave her here! One of them escaped and could come back any time after we gone.'

"Then it's better to ask her about her plans then."

"So… What will you do now?"

It seems to bring her back to reality. She was, however, still shaken and looked down into her arms.

"I -I don't know, with the shop destroyed I can't pay them anything back."

"Sorry…"

"No, no! Thank you, really! I'm grateful that someone finally stood up to them and gave them their dues. The shop also isn't much more destroyed than when they decided to 'encourage' me to pay."

"But even if I clean the place up, I'm afraid of what they will do as 'consequences'. I can't risk myself and my son like that."

"Why not just run away and go somewhere else?"

Ming chuckled humorously as she gave her answer.

"You think I didn't think about it? Let's just say that they make an example of anyone who tried. As I said, I can't take the risk."

"Isn't there someone who you can turn to?"

"Their boss is some bigshot with enough influence to silence anyone looking into the more shady deals of his business. And now he will have his eyes on you, sorry for dragging you to my mess kid."

Zuko snorted.

"As if some petty crime lord will dare to do anything to me."

Ming looked at him strangely.

"Are you ok in the head? I just told you that a crime lord with a private army is after you! You should take this much more seriously! Just who do you think you are?"

Suddenly his uncle's voice was heard.

"Zuko! Prince Zuko!"

At that very moment the door opened with Ki, uncle, and a few men of the crew.

"Oh, uncle. Excellent timing."

He then turned his attention to the crew.

"Men! Bring those things to the ship for interrogation. Be careful, he is an earth bender, and he is a fire bender."

"Yes, your highness!"

The crewmembers secured the thugs and vigorously went to the ship.

'I never seen them doing anything I say so in so much passion before.'

"Seems that your bonding with the crew is starting to pay off. Besides, they probably feel like proper soldiers of the nation again. Protecting the people and that."

'But they didn't do anything.'

"Semantics. Besides, you can be sure that they will interrogate the scum with vigor."

Zuko then put his hands on the sides of the helmet, exciting its battle mode, and pulling it off his head to rest in his left arm. His attention fully on the shocked woman.

"To answer your question, I'm Prince Zuko! First child of the fire lord Ozai! And no two-copper criminal will push me down."

His right hand held to his chest as he spoke, moving with passion at the words.

It seems that poor Ming had too much because she fainted a few moments afterwards.

"MOMMY!"

It took some time to calm Ki down and tell him that his mom was just very tired from today. They decided to take Ming to her room for now to rest, with Ki watching over her. With him, uncle, and lieutenant Jee who returned from escorting the prisoners to the ship, alone in the tarnished shop, they discussed what to do with the situation.

"I say we skip town, just to be sure."

"We can't just leave! What about Ming and the other townspeople?"

"Since when did you care about the townspeople? Or anything that isn't your honor?"

"Why you-"

"Gentlemen! Please! Let's all calm down. Would any of you like a cup of tea?"

So far, the debate was wither strike the thugs and wipe them out of the colony or leave the town altogether, not risking the crewmembers. Zuko on the former option and lieutenant Jee on the latter, with Iroh as a moderator.

The two grumbly took their respective cups of tea.

"Well, that goes very well."

'Oh, shut up. I don't see you helping in any way.'

"I could easily turn the talk around."

'So why wouldn't you!'

"It would be strange if you right away knew all the answers, now after some time passed and you had time to think at the tea break on the concerns of the good lieutenant you can formulate an idea. Now once you finish your tea bring those points…"

As Sai explained to Zuko how to win the lieutenant's approval, the three continued to drink their, frankly quite nice, tea. Once they all finished Zuko started his argument.

"Uncle, you had experience as a general. How many men it would take to hold a town like this?"

"Well… if I am right, then to be financially beneficial from the occupation, and relaying on the resources of the town… I would say twenty to thirty non benders."

"Which leaves us at approximately two to one disadvantaged, not all the men are combaters. And they know the place better than us, we could ambush us and attack us by surprise." Added lieutenant Jee.

"With you at the front uncle, what are our chances of victory?"

"Oh, we will definitely win nephew. It's what comes after that I worry about."

"What do you mean?"

"I fear that once we leave the colony, the thugs will be back in vengeance on the poor people of the colony."

"And if I contact father? They did attack the prince of the fire nation. If I phrase it right, will he send enough reinforcement to secure the colony?"

"… My brother is hard to sway in matters that he deems beneath him… But with the right words it is possible."

"How much until reinforcement will arrive?"

"Not over a week."

"What do you think lieutenant Jee, can we hold the colony for a week after we decimate their forces hear with uncle's help?"

Jee mulled over it for a few seconds.

"Yes, we can hold against whatever remnants are left."

"Good! So, we are in agreement then. Let's check if Ming is up and then take them to the ship."

"Not that I disagree nephew, but the ship is already crowded, where will they sleep?"

"They will have my room, as it's the biggest we have. I'm afraid we will have to suffer each other for the week uncle."

The last thing was said with a smile, even though Zuko mentally grimaced at the thought of having to suffer his uncle all day long with lectures about tea, pai-sho and snoring.

His uncle, however, openly laughed, inwardly proud of the maturity his nephew is showing.

"Fine, let's meet the damsel in distress and explain the situation." Jee was smiling as well, it felt good to be undeniably the good guy. And even if he criticized the prince, it was because of the safety of the crew. He honestly respected the prince for what he did, quite frankly he didn't think he himself had it in him to act as heroically as the prince did.

It took some time convincing Ming to board the ship, the woman was understandably had reservations about being in a close space full of grown men with unknown intensions. Even if one of them rescued her from the thugs. Ki took much less convincing, he practically jumped on his feet when he heard that he would live in a battleship in the prince's room no less.

Which led to Zuko reviewing reports on the interrogation of the thugs he caught.

"That's it? so we don't have the name of the boss, numbers or even the location of their camp?"

"Sorry your highness, seems like whoever they call boss is holding them by the balls. They didn't budge even when the fire lord was mentioned."

"And they know that they attacked the prince of the fire nation?"

"Yes, but they still think that their boss will send a rescue. they also said things about you, your parents and the royal family that are better not be repeated."

"What about the crew? Is everyone accountable and ready for debriefing?"

"Yes, your highness. They are waiting for you on deck."

"Very well, let's go."

As the young prince went, he had a silent conversation with Sai about what to say to his crew.

"…then, after approaching their sense of duty and their pride you should have their unconditional support for this endeavor."

'Ok, let's hope for the best…'

Zuko entered the deck and walked to the stage, the same stage a week ago he showed the crew his blue flame, the same stage he started his progress to shape the crew to his needs. He could hear the whispers of the men below but paid them no head, his only concern right now was not to butcher the speech. Once he stood at the center of the stage, he started his speech.

"Men!"

His voice was heard loud and clear across the deck, most likely one of the many manipulations of Sai. The crew immediately ceased any kind of noise and listened to the unusually powerful voice of their prince.

"I will start with an apology. I promised you a week of rest, but instead You are once again forced to act because of my actions. For that I'm sorry."

"However! As much as you are rightfully upset, I would like to present my case."

"In my time at the docks, at personal errands, I was attacked by no less than five men. I dispatched four of those thugs in brutal fashion, while regretfully one fled having seen he was outmatched."

"Those scum cared not they attacked the prince. They cared not that they nearly burned the shop, burning alive an innocent woman and a child!"

Here he could see the fire of anger burning in his crew's eyes toward the criminals. They all met Ming and Kai, and while some found the kid less endearing than the others, they all were united in protecting the child.

"But this is not all of their crimes! Far from it!"

"I discovered that they extorted the shop for years to the point that the owner nearly had to sell herself to pay a debt that they orchestrated!"

"The colony itself bent knees to those scum under fear of retribution, leaving all those people pray for low life criminals under the orders of some petty crime boss at some nowhere place in the Si Wong dessert."

"Those no-good wastes even threatened to castrate you all in front your wives and girlfriends!"

That last part was a beat lie, since Zuko never personally heard anyone make such a comment. But judging from the look of the interrogators it seems he hit the nail on the head in this one. Anyway, the crew was ready to follow Zuko to battle. Now was the time for one last push.

"Now, I don't ask you as a prince or a superior, but as a fellow member who lives on this ship and a fellow proud citizen of the fire nation. ARE we going to allow those scum to go unpunished?!

"NO!"

"Then are you with me, in hunting them down, men?"

"YES!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"YES!"

At the same time, the ship shook a little as a bolder crashed into it.

Zuko and the rest of the crew ran to the railing to see what happened, greeting them was a mob of twenty-something strong men. Each of them had a murderous expression on their face that promised pain and suffering.

"Well, looks like you wouldn't need to waste time finding them."

AN

Hey there!

So with this cliffhanger chapter 3 is concluded

Zuko faces a new threat, Iroh is turn between pride and concern and Ki is cute!

This is the start of Zuko's eye opening to the real world. Many writers right away throw Zuko in a situation where the fire nation is the bad guy, do something bad and suddenly Zuko has the realization that the fire nation are the bad guys. I wanted to show that there are many other problems that aren't directly the fault of the fire nation. And besides, at this point in his life Zuko is extremally patriotic, in no way do I see him turn traitor over something his nation did. he is more likely to decide that this was something that went against his father's orders, if he cares about it at all.

Anyway, I hope that I wrote Ming well enough. I have zero knowledge about trauma or what being a victim to extortion is like, so please tell me if I did something wrong there.

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

warning: violence and tragic backstories

Chapter 4

The leading thug, a mountain of muscle nearly seven feet tall, began addressing the crew.

"I will say it only one time! Release everyone, surrender the woman and child along the flaming freak that took down my boys, and the rest of you all will leave with just a few broken bones! Resist, and you will all be tortured to death!"

To Zuko's relief, it seems none of his crew seems to consider the goliath's offer. It was his uncle who seemed to be the first to respond in his usual manner.

"And who you may be kind sir? Would you like to discuss our differences over a cup of tea?"

"Name ain't important, what is important that this guy there!"

Fingers pointed at Zuko.

"Attacked my boys when they were doing a few errands for the boss!"

"Then! You had the gals to put them in some dusty cell like common scum!"

"You see why I, as the supervisor of this little town have problems with that?"

"Got to hand it to him, he did make them seen as innocent while never outright laying."

'It's not going to help him.'

"Obviously, just saying that it's a good thing you talked to the crew beforehand."

A quick look around told Zuko that indeed none of the crew members fell for the accusations. Well, seems it was his turn to talk.

"Nice try! We all know exactly what kind of errands those five were doing! No point in painting them as some innocent bystanders! They got what they deserved, and if you all don't want to join them, scram!"

It seems that the thugs were eager for blood, as a few started to advance. They were stopped however, when the leading thug put his right hand up with elbows pointing right.

"I can assure you, our business is all legal! You don't know who you're dealing with, our boss is a respectable man with branches across the entire continent! He ain't a man you make an enemy of, and he definitely wouldn't like his men being attacked. Fortunately, I offer you men an out. I suggest you take it."

"Oh, he's up for a surprise. Isn't he, your highness? Let's see his face when he realizes the main offence of his men."

Zuko chuckled, it was loud and clear even though he did so quietly. Sai probably enhanced his voice once again.

"I'm afraid it is you who don't know who you're up against. Ignoring the obviously legal act of setting a shop on fire, do you know the main accusation your men are facing? Do you know who I am?"

"Some snobby dead kid!"

The thugs around the leader laughed. Zuko meanwhile, smiled like a cashier cat.

"I am prince Zuko of the fire nation! So, tell me, how do you think my father, fire lord Ozai, will react when he hears that you attacked his only son?"

Now that gave the thugs a pause. He could see them hesitating, the leading thug mumbled to himself something which Sai summarized as "Boss gonna kill me, I'm so dead."

"So, I take your generous offer back at you, surrender and you all will leave with just a few broken bones! Resist, and you will all be tortured to death!"

The thugs seemed to be confused, they murmured fearfully at one another. It seems that the leader finally found his resolve as he shook his head and rallied the criminals around him.

"You're bluffing, no way some princy ass will come to this hole. Even if you are, the fire lord has little power herein the outer colonies. What the boss says goes here. Anyway, the fire lord gonna know nothing if you're all dead. KILL THEM!"

"Divide and conquer, go!"

"Uncle! Trap and divide them into small groups!" Zuko began issuing orders.

"Benders, harass! Don't let them organize!"

"Spearmen! Seek and destroy! One group at a time!"

Iroh quickly surrounds the thugs in a ring of fire. He continued to divide the still shocked criminals into groups of two to four people each, trapping them in their own flaming cage. The fire benders stayed on the bridge, taking aim, and shooting fire balls at the imprisoned thugs. The attacks themselves weren't that strong or even precise, but they did well in distracting the enemy until the foot soldiers finished the job.

It seems, however, that the thugs weren't completely idle. The leader still issued orders and some rocks and random blasts of fire were shot at the crew. For now, still a far from the men. But getting closer and closer each shot.

"Hit the head of the octo-seal and the entire body crumbles."

"Lieutenant! I will handle the big one, cut off their head. You are in charge, continue the harassment and pick groups for the spearmen to attack!"

He heard Jee's "YES SIR!" only as a background noise as he jumped off the ship and headed right to the apparent leader of this band of bandits.

Said leader saw him coming and redirected his entire attention to the meddlesome prince, shooting a rock the size of Zuko's entire body that was easily evaded by the agile royal.

"You!" The leader yelled. "It's all because of you! Do you know in just how much deep shit I am because of you?!"

"I did nothing you didn't deserve." Zuko answered just as hotly. 'You brought everything upon yourself!"

Their game of cat and mouse continued, Zuko evading the boulders and spikes and the leader blocking Zuko's fire and was simply too big and heavy for Zuko to land any significant hit. Around them the battle raged on, Zuko didn't dare to move his attention from his opponent to check the situation, but Sai assured him that the crew was doing easy work from the criminals.

While the battle favored the crew, his own spar favored his enemy. As much as Zuko hated to admit it, he was outmatched. His opponent was stronger, had better stamina and had more experience than him. This guy was way above the thugs from the shop. It was only a matter of time before his own fire will run out of fumes, and they both knew it.

"Give up kid! You're playing with the big boys now. Surrender and it will be quick and painful."

"Don't you mean painless?"

"Trust me, you deserve nothing but painful!"

'Damn it! If only I could blast his rocks to pieces like did at the shop. If only I had sword… Sai, can I do this blast thing without swords?'

"I was wondering when you were going to ask."

'Don't be a smartass now! Answer me!'

"Yes, you can. It's much more demanding and dangerous so be careful. Use the same sensation you did before but focus on your palms instead of a sword. Move the energy within you to your palms without releasing it, when you feel you can no longer hold the pressure just point and release."

Zuko did as instructed, he could immediately feel the pressure in his hands. He had to stall, he supposed a little banter would do the trick. Who knows, maybe he would gain new information.

"Say, what is your name? Never got it." Zuko asked.

"Didn't give it kid, and not gonna too. You ain't getting a thing from me."

"It's fine, I suppose we have enough of you by now to have some answers."

"What?!"

Indeed, when they looked around them the two could see, to Zuko's relief and the thug's horror, that they were the only ones fighting. His crew surrounded them with the criminals on the ground unmoving, Zuko happily noted that none of his crew was among the fallen.

"No, no nonono!"

The thug proceeded to raise a boulder his size to throw it at the prince, however it was already too late. Zuko released two blasts, one from each hand. The first blew the boulder to pieces, the second connected with his right leg. The last thug fell screaming and was quickly apprehended by the crew.

"You will harm no-one any longer, low and justice return to this colony once again!"

There was silence for a second, two. Then someone from the crew started chanting.

"Zuko! Zuko!"

Then, one by one the crew members chanted his name. The chanting became louder and louder, much louder than twenty or so men were capable of. When he looked around him, he saw to his surprise that not only his men were chanting, but the townspeople joined them.

'Where did they come from?'

"They were drawn to the commotion. Understandably, once they saw the thugs involved, they hid. When they saw your victory, they came out. Smile and wave your highness, smile and wave."

As Zuko did so the cheering grew even louder. He never felt so much pride, even the blue flame didn't come close. They adored him, they really adored him!

"As much as I hate to cut short the rewards of a job well done, truly I do, but we still need to write a letter to your father. It's critical to form the right words for our request."

'Right…'

"People of Hǎibiān! You don't need to live in fear anymore! The fire lord will hear about what happened from me, and reinforcement will come to protect the peace and security! This, I swear!"

He waited until the new round of applause ended.

"I still have a few letters to write, but I think this is a cause for celebration!"

As the crowd cheered Zuko took his uncle back to the ship to write a letter to his father.

"What do you think uncle? Will it be enough for father to send troops?" Zuko showed the latter he (with Sai's instructions) wrote to his father.

"I must say that it has the highest chance to pursue my brother." Uncle nodded. "I must commend you for your way with wards, nephew."

"Thank you, uncle. I feel tired, I think I'll go to bed now."

"Good night prince Zuko, I'm proud of you." The old man smiled, something that Zuko returned.

"Thank you, uncle, good night."

Zuko retreated to his cabin. Now that the threat had passed, Ming and Ki returned to their own home. Much to the kid's displeasure.

Even though he didn't lie to his uncle, he was indeed tired from the long day, he couldn't sleep right away. He had all the ingredients Sai needed for the lightning demonstration, and he would see what Sai had in mind (or whatever it was Sai had instead).

Once he was in his room, he closed the door and pulled out of a shelf the amber comb and the fur towel.

"Ok, now what?"

"Warp the fur around the comb and rub it across the comb up and down, fast. Stop only when I tell you to."

Still lost at how this is connected to lightning, Zuko wordlessly followed Sai's instructions.

"Enough, pull the far away and put a finger on the fur that touched the amber."

"Ouch!"

Zuko felt the static shock, it wasn't painful or anything, more like surprising.

"It was lightning! But how?"

"Lightning is a flow of energy from positive energy to negative energy. Those are just names, none of those is good or bad. Fire itself is energy, therefore it's possible for fire benders to produce lightning by dividing energy into positive and negative."

"Feel the energy transfer between the amber and the fur, then try to mimic it by rubbing your own hands. Once you see sparkles, we will stop for today. We will continue tomorrow after you recharge."

They continued like that for an hour or so. In the end Zuko managed to produce little sparkles after minutes of concertation.

"That's enough for today, your highness. Go to sleep."

"Sai… can I ask you something?" Zuko asked uncertainly.

"That's what I'm for, what do you have in mind?"

"How am I compared to the other overlords?"

Sai stayed silent for a second. "In what criteria?"

"I don't know… Power? Progress?"

"This is an unfair comparison. Each and every one of you had a different starting point and different ways to gain experience. What brought this question if I may ask?"

"… It's stupid, never mind." Zuko tried to end the conversation.

"If it's bothering then it isn't. Come now, communication is important."

"It's just… Today was good, really good. I did very well, the people loved me, I even learnt new forms of fire bending."

"I have a sister at home, I told you about her." Zuko continued. "She's mean and cruel, but she's also much better than me at everything. I can't help but think of how she would have done things today better."

"Then I remembered that I'm not the first overlord you mentored, I wondered where I was compared to them. I know they lost to the Avatar, I'm not stupid. I must be better than any of them, but I don't know if I'm up to the task."

"Zuko listen, you can't compare yourself to others. Would have your sister done better? Maybe yes maybe not, you did extremely well and that's what's important. But she isn't here, you are. You're the one who found me, you're the one who saved that family and you're the one who saved the colony. Would the Azula you know bother staying after she got her prize? Or even listen to me in the first place?"

"No… I suppose she wouldn't have."

"See? Then you're already better than her. As for the other overlords… Each of them had a different upbringing and different ways to achieve things. They were of different age groups as well."

"All of them fell in the end to the Avatar, yes, but not all Avatars are equal. You have a better start than most, don't worry about it. You also have their experience via me. All things considered, you have a very decent chance to win."

"How were they? The other overlords?"

"Each was unique in his own way."

"Nee was a second son to some merchant, always overshadowed by his elder brother. Not unlike your relationship with your sister, although his brother really didn't try to show off. This made things harder for Nee, added insult to injury. Didn't help that the brother discovered he could fire bend after his earth bending lesson."

"Ouch…"

Zuko supposes he has luck with Azula. He couldn't picture it if she overshadowed him so easily as she did without even trying. And if she was the Avatar? Yeah, he could see how he would blame her for cheating.

"Indeed, let's just say that in the end spite won on common sense with Nee."

"After him was Sadara of the northern water tribe. She was betrothed to the chief's son, at least until she walked on him sleeping with both her sister and her mother a week before their wedding. I'll spare the details and say that once she became an overlord the entire northern water tribe suffered so much, that after her fall women rights there hit rock bottom to this day."

"… That's rough…"

"Never doubt the vanity of fragile egoed men, scorned women and cats. Especially cats, those things are devils given form."

"Then, there was Pang. He was a villager and an earth bender. He had a decent success, but ultimately Avatar Shwei cut him down. To be fair, spirits were a bigger threat than the Avatar at the time."

"... That's it?"

"Not every overlord had a tragic backstory."

"Yur was an air bender of the Eastern air temple."

"How did you manage to recruit an air bender?!"

Zuko didn't understand how an air nomad, who's entire philosophy was on 'peace and harmony', at least before they planned to attack the fire nation which led to the genocide, agreed to something so violent.

"You'd be surprised how far a mother would go to for a chance to raise her daughter. In the air nomad's society, once a year the entire population gathers in one of the temples to create the next generation of air nomads. Yur gave birth nine months later and had her daughter, Ania, sent to the western air temple in the next gathering."

"Obviously, or actually not obviously if you're a nomad, she resisted. Unfortunately for her, she got no backing from her 'friends' and the Avatar who participated as well put a stop for her struggle. After that, she was very eager to accept my offer."

"Did she ever see her daughter again?"

"Yes, but let's just say it didn't and well."

"Did the avatar kill her?"

"No, she actually managed to strike him down. The entire world would have been an easy walk afterwards. But her daughter, now a pre-teen saw what Yur did to the Avatar and denounced her. When Yur heard that her daughter doesn't and never will want her she committed suicide at the spot."

Zuko was too shocked to make any comment, the tale was too much for him.

"Let's go to sleep your highness, I think you had enough story time."

Zuko wordlessly went to bed to get his much-needed rest.

The next day Zuko practiced with Sai his fire bending, on the way they discussed Zuko's next course of action. They were conflicted between heading to Kyoshi island or continuing his expense across the coastal colonies.

"In any case we need to know more about the previous Avatars, so questioning a few merchants from Kyoshi is a must. I suggest we advance there and check the status of the colonies to bluster our reputation."

"Agreed, we will kill two birds in one stone. I really hope that there isn't any criminal problem like there was here though."

"Unlikely, the force here was too well organized to be a lone occurrence. But it's good for us, I suppose."

"You're talking about my people Sai, mind what you say."

"Very well, in any case we should check on the blacksmith today to see his progress with making us a corner."

It was another thing Sai insisted. According to him the state of the armor of his crew was in dire need of an upgrade, which he agreed, and his own armor was a travesty, which with a heavy heart he also agreed. One thing led to another and in the end, he had a discussion with the blacksmith about renting a corner of his shop.

When the blacksmith, a nice middle-aged man advancing to his golden years name Lee, heard that Zuko planned to melt all the metal the thugs had in their camp (that none of the townspeople claimed as their own) to create a better armor to his crew, Lee happily let him have a free corner.

"Fine, let's go."

As Zuko went to the smithy he saw how the town around him seemed more alive, minus the people too drunk from last night's party. People talked among themselves and smiled at him, he also noticed a few merchants were sending him looks of interest and approval. No doubt they have heard one gossip or another about his fight.

"You are getting popular, that's good."

It felt good to be looked at with adoration once again as people did before his banishment, he could get used to it.

Once he reached the smithy, Lee greeted and let him inside.

"Please come in, your highness. I hope it's to your liking, I managed to scavenge everything you asked for."

"It's great, thank you."

"Ha! No, it's us who should be thankful, you've done us a great favor getting rid of those bandits. And blowing Ter's leg off like that? Exactly what the bastard deserved."

"I've only done my duty, and what any self-respected person would have done."

The blacksmith sighed.

"If only all were like you, your highness. Anyway, if you need anything, and I mean anything call me."

"Thank you, have a nice day, Lee."

"You too, your highness!"

Zuko was then left in his lonesome at the corner.

"Are you sure you know what to do?"

"Of course, I know, just follow my instructions to the letter and everything will be fine."

"I'll trust you then, because I have no idea what I'm doing. By the way, why did he say it like that?"

"Probably because you literally blew his leg off, nothing down the ancle left."

"What?!"

"Relax, Lee said so himself. The bastard deserved it, and you did warn him, didn't you?"

"I didn't mean it literally!"

"It's not like he's dead, just crippled. And if he put on a wooden leg or something he could continue his life almost as normal, with the reminder of what will happen to him if he breaks the law again."

Zuko decided to focus on work, the hard labor would make him busy enough to forget it. for now, anyway.

The two spent most of the day in the smithy, having breaks for food and drink.

It was the end of the day when Zuko finished, he was spent from the work at the smithy. He made a little progress in the armor and should finish according to Sai in four days. He wondered what the crew would think of his gift. Well not a gift, he will give it to them in full expectation that the crew will use it to serve him better.

He still was torn about the maiming he caused to the thug, was it honorable? Would his father approve? Would his mother have approved of it if she was still with him?

"You're brooding about the maiming again."

"Well sorry that maiming someone bothers me!"

"You didn't seem bothered with the thugs at the shop, why is that any different?"

"Because I maimed someone for life!"

"Are you perhaps feeling some kind of sympathy?"

The question caught Zuko by surprise.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You both are maimed for the rest of your lives; I thought that maybe you share some sympathy with him over the fact."

"Don't EVER compare me to that scum!"

"Then let me ask you something, was your father wrong with scaring you?"

Zuko stayed in silence for a few moments.

"No… Father wasn't wrong… Father is never wrong."

He could feel Sai giving him whatever the damnable thing had as an equivalent for a pitying look. Why would it give him a pitiful look!

"Then you weren't wrong either. Look, I understand that nothing I say will comfort you, so you should talk to your uncle about that. He doesn't condemn it, you know."

"How do you know?"

"He would have said something by now."

"I suppose you're right. I will ask uncle later…"

It was a few minutes later when a knock on his door was heard.

"Prince Zuko! A message signed by the royal seal!"

"Come in!"

The soldier, Lau if he remembered correctly, entered, and handed him the message. There was indeed a stamp with the symbol of the royal family.

"Thank you, you may go now."

"Your highness."

The man saluted and left.

"Let's see what your father replayed."

Zuko broke the seal and opened the scroll.

"To prince Zuko,

The fire lord commends the execution of his justice and gives you free reign to dispense royal justice upon each and any who defies the scared rules of the fire nation.

Your testimony has been received and actions have been taken accordingly. You are to seek, destroy and report any such activity. The fire lord expects to hear about your future endeavors.

The request for reinforcement has been approved as well and shall arrive four days from the arrival of this message.

Fire lord Ozai, barrier of Agni's crown, his royal Highness ruler of the fire nation."

"He accepted! He actually accepted!"

"It's the first time he actually wrote, or ordered someone to write, to you, isn't it?"

"Yes! And he basically told me I can do whatever I want! He's even proud of me!"

"It did say 'commend'. I just glad he accepted the request for reinforcement or else things would have got really awkward."

"Well, what's important is that he did. Spirits, I've got to tell uncle!"

The young prince ran to his uncle's room.

"Uncle! Uncle!"

"Yes, prince Zuko, what happened?"

Zuko handed him the letter.

Iroh read the letter once, twice, three times. He raised his eyebrows as if he was confused.

"This is… uncharacteristically generous of my brother."

"Do you think father will let me home if things will continue as they are?"

The hopeful look Zuko gave his uncle made the old man uncomfortable, for he knew that no number of victories against common criminals or saving random colonies will be enough to change his brother's mind. He didn't know how to tell his nephew thou.

"I… think that in due time something big enough will come to get your father's attention."

There! It was diplomatic enough, Iroh didn't say that his brother would never except Zuko, and Zuko had the hope that his father would except him. a win-win situation. And it seemed to be working, until it didn't. his nephew's face became uncertain for some reason.

"Uncle… Am I a bad person?"

Now whatever Iroh expected to hear, it wasn't that.

"No! of course not! Why would you say that?"

"I heard today about the leg uncle. Am I a bad person for that?"

The old, retired general sighed.

"Did you mean to blow his leg nephew?"

"NO!"

"Did you find any satisfaction when you discovered about it?"

"No."

"Would you have done it again?"

"No… not if I had other options."

"Then you have your answer, nephew. You are one of the most honorable and good-hearted people I know, never forget that. Accidents happen to anyone, but only by repeating them does they become incidents."

It seems to lighten the prince's mood and lesson the weight on his shoulder.

"Thank you, uncle."

Zuko left for bad, feeling much better.

The next day went without any incidents until evening. Zuko spent his time either practicing his fire bending or swordsmanship, training his strategic thinking or building his crew's upgrades. That is until he was interrupted in his room that evening.

"Your highness! The prisoners are all dead!"

"WHAT!"

"They have been poisoned, someone put a fast-acting agent to their food. There was nothing anyone could do at that point!"

"Summon anyone who was guarding them. I'm going to the prison, and they better have a good explanation!"

At the prison Zuko questioned the men, lividly.

"You all had ONE job! To keep the prisoners alive for interrogation. So PLEASE tell me how this happened?!"

Zuko didn't know this, but his eyes were blazing with fire and his helmet grew a mane made of flames. Sai defiantly had a sense for drama if nothing else.

The guards, however, were terrified of the enraged prince. Zuko resembled a vengeful spirit more than a man at that point in their eyes.

One of them was braver than the rest, as he tried to explain the course of events.

"W-well, y-you see your highness, I-I m-mean m-my prince, I-I m-ean-"

"Out with it."

"T-the prisoners suddenly all fell still to the floor, m-mouth foaming a-and flailing th-heir limbs like d-dead fish. We checked for heartbeats but there were none, birthing too."

"You said it was a poison."

"O-only explanation is th-that they a-all took poison at the s-same time."

"… When and what did they eat in the last meal?"

Another guard answered.

"Bean soup half an hour before the incident, my lord."

"And the cook, is he to be trusted?"

"Yes, your highness. He hated them like everyone in town, but he quite liked seeing them locked in a cell. He is quite a fan of your work with Ter."

"Right… Could the food have been tempered with?"

"No, your highness, he served it right away. Cleaning dishes is easier when the dish is still warm, or something like that."

Zuko walked to the bodies, he knelt next to the body of Ter and examined it. The once mighty specimen is reduced to a husked corpse, his face distorted in agony and foam is still seen next to his lips.

'What do you think Sai?'

"The poison obviously attacked the nerve system. I suspect that someone put it in capsules disguised as beans and mixed them in the soup. Probably switched the beans with the capsules entirely to make sure there weren't loose ends. I suggest questioning the cook about who had access to the beans."

"Bring here the cook."

"Y-yes your highness!"

After a few minutes the guards brought a trembling little man.

"You are the cook, correct?"

"Y-yes, m-my l-lord. I-I s-swe-"

Zuko raised his hand in a stopping gesture.

"I will ask, and you will answer. Short and truthfully, no titles and no excuses. Are we clear?"

"Y-yes."

"Did someone have access to the beans while you were cooking?"

"N-no."

"Was the window open?"

"Y-yes, b-but-"

"I said no excuses."

"S-sorry."

"Where did you get the beans?"

"T-the grocery."

"Did someone knew sell you the beans?"

"N-no, the same man as usual."

"Was there something left of the beans?

"N-no."

'Damn it! what are we going to do?'

"Take the bean sack as evidence. I will study it as I studied the bodies while you talked."

'Did you find something?'

"The venom is from a viper-scorpion that lives in the Si Wong desert. A drop can put a sky bison out of its misery, the thugs stood no chance."

'Makes sense, I suppose. So, our guy is in the Si Wong dessert then?'

"Most likely. Don't feel so bad, such drastic actions mean that you are on the right track. We only need to look for whoever makes the pills and interrogate them about the clients. You should say something, you are giving the cook a heart attack."

'Right.'

"Give me the bean sack as evidence and you're free to leave."

"Y-yes your highness, thank you your highness!"

It was the last day of the 'vacation'. Aside from the incident with the prisoners, all seemed to return to normal. He finally finished the project he and Sai were working on in the smithy. He gathered the crew on the deck of their ship to show them his work, each crew member had a wooden cart in front of him.

Frankly, he was excited to see their responds.

"Men, I thought about the incident we had in this colony. I came to realize that while we were victorious thanks to all of you, Agni favors the prepared."

"In the last few days, I have worked on a long overdue upgrade for your armor. So, without further delays open your crates and let's start the introduction!"

The crew vigorously opened the crates to see their new toys.

"First all of you take the helmet."

They took the helmet. It looked similar to a regular fire bender's helmet in shape, but that's where the differences ended. The visor is completely overworked. It was made of solid steel and was painted like the typical fire bender skull, but it had many, many little holes in it. There were as many holes in it as there was metal. The side of the helmet seemed to cover more of the cheeks.

"The new helmet was designed for security and comfortability while saving the visibility. The mask part of the helmet was forged by yours truly and is of higher quality than the usual masks fire bender soldiers wear. Now try it on."

The crew members did as was told.

"Now look around you and tell me how your view field is."

"It's- it's like I'm not wearing anything on my head at all!"

Other crew members seemed to agree if their excited proclamation were any sign. A major problem with the fire bender infantry helmet was the narrow field view the mask sacrificed for intimidation. Zuko supposed he was lucky his fire benders didn't wear their gear in the fight with the thugs.

"Because of the size and density of the holes, the eyes ignore them. Hence the better view. It also gives better air flow as well as a complete defense from arrows. It has cushions inside against concussion as well as for a more comfortable experience."

Zuko gave a signal, and the crew was silent again.

"The next is some modifications for your armor. I covered a few parts of the exposed fabric in thin metal scales, not many changes otherwise. It is strong enough to block an arrow or a week sword strike, but not heavy enough to lose agility."

"Now the last one, the last one is definitely something you would enjoy the most. Now I alone will wear them now and demonstrate."

As Zuko closed his fist a clow rose from the gauntlet, some thirty centimeters of forged steel.

"I created it for surprise attacks and for another weapon that will be with you all in case you lost your spear or exhausted your chi. Now can please a non-bender walk to the stage?"

A random foot soldier walked and equipped the gauntlets.

"Now turn the hand to the fire sign, good. Ok listen carefully, point your hand away from anyone and close your fist."

As the soldier did so a stream of fire was released from the back of the gauntlets. He and every other crew member yelped in surprise.

"The gauntlets have a storage of oil to feed the flames for two hours. From now on, each of you is a fire bender!"

The crew yelled in delight. It was known whether you are either a bender or not, a fact that dedicated much of a non-bender's life, as he lacked the privileges benders had. Now their prince gave them the gift of the spirit, understandingly the crew's image of him grew significantly.

"ZUKO! ZUKO! ZUKO!"

It took some time until the cheering stopped.

Thankfully, as his father promised, reinforcement arrived in time. Zuko had a briefing with the new commander, a stern but fair middle-aged man in his upper years. He had an eyepatch and faint scars that spoke of his experience. He seemed to have lost his thirst for battle but was willing to fight when pushed. For Zuko it was ideal.

"Good evening commander Cheng? Did I get it right?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Sorry for calling you away from the front like that, but we have a situation here. Were you debriefed?"

"They only said to go to this colony as fast as possible, nothing more your highness."

"Very well, I arrived here a week ago and discovered that the town was run by some criminal organization. I broke their hold and installed the law once more, but I can't stay here indefinably and once I leave, I fear that the thugs will return. The local garrison is too compromised and not up to the task, therefore I asked for reinforcement. Questions so far?"

"What kind of opposition are we to expect if the thugs return?"

"The force I delt with was thirty strong, their current numbers and resources are unknown."

"Another thing commander, this organization poisoned it's entire men who were imprisoned. To avoid any leaks if I had to guess. They used a poison disguised as beans, so be careful with the food."

"Noted your highness."

"Are you up to the task commander?"

"Yes, your highness!"

"Good, you are to send a weekly report to me. If the report doesn't end with three dots, then I will know to send you reinforcement. Are we clear?"

"Crystal!"

"Very well."

The prince then stood and shook the commander's hand.

"May Agni bless you with a boring watch commander."

"And may Agni bless you as well Amber Samurai."

"Amber Samurai?"

Zuko raised his brow as the commander smiled in return.

"Yes, you have a new title apparently. The Amber Samurai, a samurai who came to the town in search of amber and in the process saved it!"

Zuko grumbled under his breath, couldn't they come up with something better?

"Good luck, your highness. I will guard this colony with my life in your name."

And as Zuko left to his ship and embarked to sea his adventure at Hǎibiān may be over, but his journey has just begun.

In his throne room, fire lord Ozai stares at the latest letter his son wrote. No, it's incorrect. He stared at the letter that someone had written in the hands of his son, for his failure of a son would have never written such a fine printed report.

At first, when the falcon master brought to him a report from his disgraceful spawn, he nearly burned the man to crisp. His orders were crystal clear, any letter from Zuko should be disregarded unless by some spirit the waste of space did manage to find the Avatar.

When the soon to be dead man dared to beg for his ear, he was this close to send the man to Agni for such disrespect. It was only when the falcon master told him Zuko was attacked that he allowed the trembling man to speak.

He read in silence the letter's contents.

"To fire lord Ozai, first to his name, wearier of the flaming crown, who by Agni's right rule the fire nation, long may he live.

I have completed scouting the entire temples and strongholds the air nation possessed and report that aside from statues, there is no clue about the Avatar's whereabouts. However, this is a minor occurrence next to what happened next.

My crew and I went to the colony of Hǎibiān to resupply. Hǎibiān is a relatively new colony in the southern coastline of the earth continent. There, while I was shopping, I was unprovokedly attacked by five thugs. Of course, I showed the thugs Agni's light and beat them down in brutal fashion.

Upon interrogation, it was discovered that the group was part of some kind of a larger criminal organization employing both earth benders and fire benders. I also must confess that while lowlife, the criminals received at least basic training which is concerning. It was also discovered that the entire colony was held to the whims of said organizations, the local garrison ineffective at stopping the corruption. They showed little regret when attacking a prince of the fire nation, even proclaiming their "boss" a superior authority to yourself.

Later that day, the rest of the mob arrived at the docks to release their coworkers and extract vengeance on the just punishment. They too proclaimed yourself an inferior ruler with little to no influence in the colonies. The battle itself was relatively quick and ended with my complete victory, however there are some points of concern I find myself in a need to address.

Firstly, if the common thug forgets his place next to a prince and the fire lord, a question must be asked about the higher places in this food chain. How much is the fire lord respected in the out streaks of our great nation?

Secondly, an entire colony was usurped in spite of the local guards. It is clear that this organization has the men and resources to challenge the fire nation in the periphery and sees the subjects of the fire lord as prey despite the promise of retribution. This poses a severe security risk and even a conspiracy.

Thirdly, the colony does not have the resources to protect itself against foreign threats and will be an easy target to reclaim when I inevitably leave.

Therefore, I humbly ask your greatness a few boons:

I ask your permission to hunt and rout the heretics as long as it does not interfere with the hunt for the Avatar.

I ask for an investigation into the incident and to be updated with the results in real time.

I ask for reinforcement to be sent to Hǎibiān, preferably frontline soldiers who showed signs of disagreement with the war but have honor and morals. This will ease tensions at the front and allow the men to serve the nation and retire with honor.

From prince Zuko of the fire nation, first child of Ozai"

He debated with himself what to do. He may finally be rid of his disgrace of a son should he order him to stay indefinitely in the colony, but then again, he didn't want people to actually start liking Zuko. In the end he decided to grant the boons, if only to see where this would go. With any luck, his failure of his son will mess things up as usual.

The letter, however, did raise an important issue, it seems that his name isn't feared as it should have been. Quite frankly he cares little about the random colony, but the fact remains that it was an attack on his honor and demanded retribution and investigation. On that one, he agreed with whoever wrote with Zuko's hand.

"Summon my daughter, Azula!"

He would intensify Azula's training, she can't stay behind her brother.

In the Si Wong desert, a man was sitting in his office. He was a mountain of a man with muscles so big that they were noticeable even when covered by the traditional sand-people grab. The lighting of the room made his face obscured by shadows, however the way his hands rested one upon another indicated his foul mood. A mood which hadn't gotten better as his subordinate continued reading the report.

"You mean to tell me that not only did we lose an entire colony, but those idiots assaulted the fire prince as well?! Are you absolutely sure this cannot be traced back to us?"

"Yes, sir. Protocol severed hand was immediately applied, there was no information leak beyond the local rumor mill and the venom will be dissolved long before a knowledgeable healer can come, let alone identify."

"Good, order a scouting once the prince leaves. Should the colony be ripe for the taking send in a force, else ignore. One colony isn't worth the wrath of those burning pricks."

"In other news, a shipment of goods was lost. It fell to the hands of chieftain Hakoda during a raid, supposedly it was mistaken as a fire navy ship."

"*sigh* If that seadog wasn't so good at directing attention away from us… are there any more reports?"

"No, sir."

"Then here are my orders: The men in the colonies are to act with discretion, even at face of losing profits, there can be no more mess-ups like Hǎibiān. The men outside fire nation-controlled territories are to raise income as a compensation for our losses. Tell Xin I'll go to his little 'Earth Rumble' show to check the potential recruits, I have a hunch we'll need the men."

"Yes, sir."

"And one last thing, tell the madam I will borrow our 'Queen of the south' for tonight. I find myself extremely frustrated with the south right now and the dear 'queen' should take responsibility."

"Yes, brigand general Mi-Sha."

As the man closed the door behind him, a drawing of a familiar helmet could be seen on the door.

AN

And so Zuko's time at H ǎ ibi ā n ended.

A little history of the overlords is reviled and Zuko is starting to question his morality. a little perspective from home as well as our new antagonist.

The crew got an upgrade! They finally aren't a punching bag for everyone else in the show!

There are some easter eggs from the show, as well as potential directions the story could go. I wonder if you will catch them all.

Anyway, Mi-Sha is completely unrelated to the fire nation. He has a connection with Sai, but not the one you will think of at first try. It will be revealed in time, rest assure I have plans for this that I think you will find interesting.

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 5

"One! Two! One! Two! Three! Repeat!"

Zuko was standing on deck, supervising the training of his crew with the new equipment. It was decided that the men will have a daily training for an hour and a half to two hours to sharpen their skill and teamwork against greater threats. Hǎibiān opened the eyes of many men in the crew, and in turn they gave their all-in training.

It was a slow start; the men weren't the spear's tip as the saying go. But results were showing, their stamina increased, their teamwork improved, they aim got better and their strikes became stronger and faster. If before, the crew could raid a village and the random trading vessel, now Zuko was certain they could hunt down pirates and overwhelm a ship their size.

Something that he will defiantly put his crew through while he would have to journey with a smaller group. It will give them income from the bounties, as well as experience for the crew. Most importantly, it will give him the prestige that he desperately needed.

He and Sai reached a conclusion, Zuko must gain more prestige to have a say in anything that truly matters. If Zuko the banished prince asks for more people for his plans, he would be respectfully declined at best. But if Zuko the bringer of Agni's justice and the enforcer of the fire lord's rule asks the same think then he would hardly be refused, obviously he acts in the name of the fire lord and is defiantly planning one thing or another that must stay secret.

Zuko didn't particularly liked it, it went somewhat against his sense of honor. But he will gladly accept it if it means raising his standing in the eye of his father. He also agreed that he could do much more good for his people that way, he could order food supplies and homes for those in need without too much eyebrows raised.

"Halt! Take five and return for "overwhelming"! After this training's over for today!"

The men groaned; they did not like "overwhelming" practices. This specific kind of practice was made by Sai (as most of the others, although Zuko did contributed to some), the idea behind it was facing a single overwhelming opponent like the Avatar. However, in lack of Avatars to practice on they had to make do with the next best thing they had available, meaning his uncle.

As the five-minute brake ended Zuko and the man stood om one side of the deck and Iroh on the other.

The young prince took notice that his men were still cautious and unwilling to be the first to attack, but they aren't shaking in their boots anymore. It showed that the men started to grow courage, they wouldn't abandon him in a time as he always thought they would have.

Zuko didn't waste time and ordered his men.

"Encircle and trap! Benders, put him on defense!"

As the soldiers did as they were told, Iroh didn't stay idle. He easily blocked and returned the fire balls the benders throw at him as he moved from one side of the deck to another in a speed that no man his weight and age should have any right to possess, knocking soldiers one after another.

They did manage to keep him on the run, although Zuko suspected that his uncle went easy on them to not discourage the men. Zuko himself wasn't spared as he got his fair share of bursitis from the old man. He tried once to absorb the flames of his uncle with his swords, but unfortunately the heat was too much for them to handle and they melted in his hands. He and Sai are working on a solution, but for the time being Zuko will just have to replace the swords every few battles.

Anyway, he thought he managed to get uncle to a hold when he and two other benders shot a stream of fire against Iroh's own. The spearman behind uncle thought so too, as he rushed to stab the dragon of the west in the back (with a training spear, no harm would have ever come to uncle). Uncle however proved his title as he stepped to the side, letting the spearman get the full burn of the attack. Zuko and the others immediately stopped firing and gave the retired general a perfect chance to blast them.

To their credit, Zuko and the others managed to block Iroh's first assault. They did not manage however, to stop the old man from doing a perfect flip and blast them from the back. The two soldiers stood no chance and were blasted away, unable to battle. Zuko managed to turn in the last possible moment and block most of the attack, he did, however, had to fall back a few feet.

"I'm not out yet, uncle!"

"Well done, nephew! You couldn't do that two weeks ago!"

"Flattery won't help you!"

"Oh, but nephew, I'm not the one on his knees."

"Not for long!"

Iroh had to cease his attack to avoid another spearman, and the dance began again.

After another four minutes Zuko's group were battered and bruised on the ground, Iroh however didn't come unscathed. While there was no physical injury, he used more of his stamina then he would have liked. It seems his nephew's strategy of tiring the enemy out instead of overwhelming it taking its toll on the old man.

"Well done nephew! You all survived three entire minutes more than last time! A new record if I say so!"

"Thank… you… argh."

"Your welcome nephew, you did manage to give this old man trouble breathing."

"Training… Over… Agni, my ribs…"

Just another day on the ship.

"I must say uncle, your tea is only better and better any time you make it."

"Why nephew, you're making me blush."

Zuko was sitting with his uncle drinking together tea. He opposed the idea, but Sai convinced him that using his uncle's ties with the White Lotus, however small they are (in Zuko's opinion), as well as the connections he had in his time as general and crown prince are worth a few hours of suffering.

"Uncle, when you needed something being done fast and quietly, who would you call?"

"This is quit a question; may I ask what exactly you had in mind?"

"I need a steady supply to equip the crew. I also need a factory of sorts to research and build some ideas I had away from praying eyes and ears."

"Why hide? What are you trying to build?"

"I plan to make some inventions that will help me to hunt the Avatar, I don't want anyone to have a chance to upstage me after I find the Avatar. Only I must be the one to catch him."

His uncle was deep in thought for a minute, Zuko waited patiently for his answer.

"I still don't see why you need all of this prince Zuko. I think it would be a waste of time and resources you instead could put into your search and training. I also don't think you understand the amount of coin needed to achieve everything you talk about, which isn't your fault as you were raised as a prince with unlimited amount of wealth."

Zuko sighed, it seemed it was time to put the sentimental card.

"Look uncle, the Avatar isn't the only reason. I saw the colonies, I saw how people live their lives and I think it could be better. It's our responsibility as people of the fire nation to bring our greatness to all the corners of the globe. But I fear that while our military might has grown tremendously, the quality of live we promised to our people is falling short to my expectations. I plan to use the factory as a platform not only to create Avatar hunting equipment, but to create non war related inventions away from the clutches of the bureaucrats."

It seems that his speech moved something in the old man's heart, because his uncle looked like he was silently crying tears of pride. The retired general then rose from his chair and walked to Zuko and hugged him.

"You have no idea how proud I am to hear you say this, I'm sure your mother would have been proud of you too."

That took Zuko by surprise. He knew his uncle would open a little, maybe talk about some people he knew that could help. He didn't That. And pulling the mom card is not fair! How can he trick his uncle now!

"You don't have to, the factory will create instruments for civilian use as well. It's no less important for your career than building your military strength."

'Suppose so…'

"I… thank you uncle."

"But one thing I must ask nephew. How are you going to finance such an endeavor?"

Zuko smiled at that as he pulled something from his sleeve. Once Iroh looked at it, he was amazed to see a diamond with the diameter of one of his nails.

"Zuko… Where did you get this? You didn't steal it did you?!"

At his uncle's surprised and frightened face Zuko couldn't help but let out a chackle.

"No, no, it's nothing like that. I created it."

"You… created it?"

It seems his uncle is still in shock.

"I put a piece of coal under heat and pressure."

He then demonstrated it by taking a piece of coal from the fire nearby with his gauntlet, wrapping both his hands around it, and closing his hands, hard. He waited for a minute or two until he opened his hands and showed a diamond in his hands.

It was actually Sai's idea. Every time he thinks that damnable thing can't be crazier, Sai manages to exceed his expectations. Who would have thought that you could make diamonds from coal! Sai explained to him that the two are actually created from the same material but have a different configuration for their atoms. Then Sai explained what atoms are. It was a tuff lecture, but the results were more than worth is.

"So, will it be enough for my plans?"

Uncle Iroh was slowly shrugging of the shock.

"Yes… yes, I believe it would be enough. I will see what I can do about the factory."

"Thank you uncle, for the future!"

"For the future."

Both men raised their cups and drank the tea.

To say Hakoda was conflicted would be an understatement. He and his men were planning another raid on a closings fire nation vessel, this was normal. What wasn't normal was the letter he got from the oh so kind information broker.

His relationship with the bandit lord Mi-Sha started when he and his men were in need for any kind of information on either the position of his kidnapped wife, or new targets for raiding.

A messenger appeared one night in an inn they stayed, he wanted a meeting between his boss and Hakoda. As payment he promised information on a camp Hakoda and his men had trouble trying to go around, half of it he said right away and the other half would be given at the end of the meeting. Hakoda was intrigued and accepted the offer at the condition that his men will escort him.

When he and his men came for the meeting place, he was glad he insisted an escort. The room had a small table for two and only had three occupants, but they were enough to send him on edge.

The two men, for they were much larger and board shouldered to be women, wore matching uniform. Each of them had a dark green long-sleeved coat with matching long pants, brown thick gloves and a belt within many pockets.

They had a carapace armor in bronze color and had twin blades, one on each side of the belt. Their heads were covered by a dark green hood and whatever was seen was hidden behind a stainless-steel mask with seven holes positioned like the spots on a ladybug. You could see from each hole shining bright as the compassion and kindness of the men, meaning it was black as tar.

He knew his men, they were skilled warriors, much better trained then the common fire nation trooper. But he didn't want any of them to fight either of those men standing silently at attention. His years as hunter sharpen his senses to recognize predator and prey, and those men were clearly predators, efficient ones at that.

Sadly, they paled compared to the one in the middle, the "boss" no doubt. Hakoda wasn't a little man himself, but the giant sitting next to him was a league of his own. With shoulders twice larger than his and hands that could snap a lion -moose's neck Hakoda didn't fancy his chances at a fight.

He was dressed similar to his two companies from what Hakoda could see but lacked the hood and helmet. He had grey intelligent eyes that had hunger and cruelty in them, like storm clouds unleashing punishment on the poor fisherman until his boat can no longer hold the abuse.

His head was balding, and he had a messy grey beard. He wore a headband in the same dark green color of his coat, but it had brown prints that looked too much like dried blood for comfort. The expression he wore looked too much like an adult lion-moose trying to imitate its younger self cuteness.

"Hello Hakoda, I believe we can help each other."

His voice was quiet, yet it filled the entire room stronger than any scream. Hakoda had to fight the urge to swallow, he outnumbered the host six to one, but he didn't fill in control, at all.

This man gave off more power than any earth army general Hakoda met.

The meeting itself was surprisingly quiet, and the proposition was quite simple. Mi-Sha will supply information about fire nation forces, as well as good spots for ambush and hiding. In return, Hakoda will harass the fire nation's forces and create enough noise to move attention away from the crime lord's business.

Oh, Mi-Sha told him enough about his under the table dealing, saying honesty is the best policy in those things. It disgusted him, but frankly he expected something like that. He excepted the deal, even as his heart was screaming at him not to. The search for his wife and the crusade against the fire nation came first and second, his morals only slightly below the crusade.

It went smoothly enough, until it didn't. Disturbing rumors reached his ears about some famous woman of the night, this so called "Queen of The South" resembled his wife too much for his liking. He had a meeting with Mi-Sha, he demanded from the desert man to release his wife immediately. Words were said and threats were flown, it nearly ended in a brawl until Mi-Sha told him that he could come and see for himself.

And that is exactly what Hakoda did, he went to the Si Wong desert and found the building that his supposed wife was residing in. After his men did a thorough search, they had found this supposed "queen". To Hakoda's disappointment and relief it wasn't Kya, the woman had tan and braided her hair like his wife did, but she was clearly not from the water tribe, at least clearly for an insider.

The crime lord was surprisingly understanding, he didn't demand any compensation for the mess. But it was clear that their relationship would be much colder than before (not that it was even remotely warm to begin with), and they both knew it.

Hakoda knew that Mi-Sha was an evil man, but what he saw in the "most free city in the world" showed him how much degenerate and filthy his information broker was. He may or may not have "accidentally" attacked the wrong ship that contained illicit cargo or led local law enforcement "by chance" to some ally with a shady deal.

Back to the present, the letter from Mi-Sha asked (ordered) him to commit a raid on a single old fire nation cruiser. Hakoda immediately smelled something fishy, Mi-Sha would never point him at a single target like that. If the crime lord wanted someone gone, he had enough men and resources to do it on his own without relying on a wild card like Hakoda.

Therefore, it could mean two things, and none of them was good for him and his men.

First, Mi-Sha finally had enough of him and sent him on a suicide mission. In this case, he had to prepare his men for immediate evacuation. Secondly, Mi-Sha was planning something big and needed a distraction that Hakoda will supply by attacking a seemingly unimportant vessel with some important figure. Causing the fire nation to hunt him and his men like dogs, again. In this case, he should get his men a safe place to hide until the heat will go down. No pun intended.

He hated the situation and was disgusted with himself. He is the chieftain of an entire civilization, and here he takes orders from some thug. It twisted his gut to the point that he wondered how he will be able to look at his kids without feeling ashamed of himself, but he knew better.

He could ignore the letter, yes, but after each stunt like that he usually had some complications. A patrol getting too close to comfort to their hiding place, more enemies than expected at a mission and so on. He was on thin ice as it is, again no pun intended, and he wasn't in a position to take another hit like that at the moment.

The letter claimed that some high-ranking individuals close to the royal family were boarding the ship, and that sinking it would give a huge blow to the fire nation. How much of it was an blown out of proportion was anyone's guess, but the crime lord doesn't lie in things like that, it's bad for business.

The plan was simple enough, place explosive mines in the way of the cruiser and embark when the ship is in chaos. Using stink bombs, they would dispatch the crew and take the two persons of interest as hostages to use for ransom. On the way they could interrogate the prisoners for information.

"The charges are ready in position."

Hakoda sighed at the update, it seems the mission will start soon.

"Get the men ready in position. The darkness of the night will cover us until we reach destination. Be ready to disengage at any moment."

"Yes sir!"

He had a bad feeling about it.

BOOM!

Zuko woke up with a start.

"What happened?!"

"We are under attack if I had to guess. Explosives if I'm not mistaken."

"What?!"

"Men! To arms!"

The young prince quickly equipped his armor and gauntlets and ran to the deck. On his way he heard sounds of fire bending, good, it means that his men were still in the fight. When he reached the deck, he saw his men blasting at the water below.

He blasted overboard a raider that was running to one of his soldiers with a club raised. He then turned to said soldier.

"Report!"

"Sir! Explosives tore a hole in the front side of the ship, pirates are trying to board the ship by hooks from their vessels. We think they are water tribe, sir."

"Blast it!"

A water tribe here could only mean that they are being raided by chieftain Hakoda. Even he heard about the nightmare of the southern sea, his attack and guerilla warfare again the fire nation is a thorn in the side for many generals.

If propaganda is to be believed, he and his man drink the blood of their fallen enemies and use the bones as weapons and building materials. But propaganda also said that everyone full moon water benders lead people to their doom by controlling them like puppets via the water in the blood, So Zuko took the rumor with reservations.

'What should I do?'

"Cut the hooks to deny more invaders to board the ship, simultaneously make time for the entire crew to arrive. Put fire on any ladder the ship has to deny them entry you can't cut."

"You five!"

Zuko pointed as a random group of soldiers.

Guard the rails! Each takes a part of the ship! Cut any rope and put fire on any ladder you see! Don't let them get on the ship!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Everyone else, with me! We send those barbarians back to the sea of which they came!"

"Hora!"

There was proximately the same number of reds and blues on deck. He could see a blue figure dressed differently from the others, it had a more detailed wolf helmet as well as more fur. By the way the figure gave orders he assumed it was none other than chief Hakoda himself.

As he fought his way and barked orders, he saw how well the last two weeks of training paid off. the crew from before would have fallen long ago, maybe even before he would have reached the deck. This crew… well they weren't winning, but they were holding their ground against a more experienced foe.

That didn't mean he had an easy work, not by a long shot. He had to assist his men left and right, blasting a barbarian here, making tribesmen move away there, it took a lot from him. His most challenging task was getting rid of the smoke bombs.

Sai immediately identified the threat it posed and instructed Zuko how to dispose of the gas. Zuko had to clap his hands and, using fire bending, create a shock wave to banish the gas from his ship. He had to time it perfectly and be relatively close to the source or else the smell would linger.

Fortunately, it seems the attackers had a finite number of stink bombs. After a while Zuko didn't have to worry about the bombs and could focus entirely on the battle ahead. It went well beyond what he hoped.

He saw that most of the crew was already on board and fighting. The new equipment he gave his men really made the difference. He saw from the corner of his eyes a crew member and a water tribe warrior at a standstill with weapons locked. The barbarian even seemed to have the upper hand as his blade drew closer and closer to the crew member's neck. The soldier, however, managed to put his hands in a way that the fists were pointed at the chest at the enemy, and shot a stream of fire from his gauntlets. The barbarian quickly disengaged, running away to put out the fire on his clothes.

Like before at Hǎibiān, Zuko went straight for the leader. He saw Hakoda slash at a crew member, luckily the new scales protected the men from being gored. Zuko quickly shot a fire ball at the chief and picked up the fallen men's sword. The two leaders met and clashed with their respective swords with a shower of sparks.

As the battle raged on around them, the two were locked in their own fetal dance. Once again, Zuko was facing a more experienced opponent. Unlike Ter however, Hakoda was experienced with the sword. His ferocity and agility were almost too much for the almost fourteen years old prince to handle. This time Zuko couldn't even use his blasts because Hakoda was just too close and too fast. Even if the chieftain wouldn't intercept him, a blast from this distance will harm Zuko too if it hits the target.

"You're good, who are you?"

"You… attacked this ship… without knowing who… I am?!"

"Do I really need a reason to attack a fire navy ship?"

"He got you there, your highness."

'Less talking, more helping!'

"Try electrocuting him."

'Can't concentrate, let alone get a clear shot!'

"Then good thing that electricity can go through touch, and you two constantly touching at one point."

Zuko immediately understood Sai's idea. Yes, electrocuting his sword sounds like a great idea, he just needs enough breathing room. Luckily, his opponent decided to be 'merciful'.

"You don't have to fight, you know. Surrender yourself and we will leave the ship and its crew alone. There isn't any need for farther bloodshed."

"Like I would believe you! Besides, why should I surrender when I have the advantage?"

"You're delusional! You're good, I'll give you that. I have a son your age and if he has half of your skill I couldn't be any prouder. But be reasonable, you're outmatched here, this isn't a game!"

"Good! Because I've done playing!"

Hakoda sighed as they prepared to clash blades once again, planning to finish this fight in the next few blows. Only to cry in pain as their swords clashed.

Zuko successfully electrocuted his blade while the two talked. He could see the electricity travel down the tribesman's body as he cried in shock, but he didn't stop there. He kicked Hakoda's legs, making the older man kneel, and then round kicked him with a fire bending enhanced foot to the head, sending the chieftain back a few good meters.

To Finish the battle, Zuko sent a weaker version of the blast that fell Ter at the warrior. Hakoda would have usually evaded and reposted such attacks, but the shock from the electrocution made him more sluggish. As the blast caught Hakoda on the chest, he flew crushing to the metal wall behind him. The chieftain's helmet flew away in the process.

"Hakoda!"

It seems that the invaders stopped their advancement to protect and surround their wounded leader. It spoke greatly for Hakoda's will that even after the hits he taken, and the obvious concoction he had, he was lucid enough to order his men to retreat.

A few smoke bombs were thrown, but when Zuko blasted away the smoke there were no water tribe men to be seen.

"Should we go after them, your highness?"

"... No, it wouldn't be a good idea to hunt them at night, especially wounded as we are."

Zuko then went and picked up the chieftain's helmet.

"Besides, I believe we had our pound of flesh. Send a course for the nearest navy base, we're in a dire need for repairs."

"Yes sir!"

Suddenly Uncle busted threw the door, ready for battle, only to be confused when he saw his nephew holding a battered water tribe helmet.

"And the dragon had finally awoken."

"Uncle, we need to have a talk about your sleeping habits."

The Ketu Harbor captain was Zhao, from all possible harbors it just had to be the one Zhao was in!

Zhao is a bully who made his opinion on Zuko clear from the moment of the young prince's banishment. He may be a good soldier, but he had no honor. He ruled his men with thuggery and was indifferent for anything that doesn't help him raise ranks.

What joy it was to be greeted by the good captain.

He knew that Zhao became recently a captain because the peacock immediately flaunted his new position. Immediately after his uncle greeted him, the man said that he was a captain and not a lieutenant.

"I must say, this is quite a damage your ship has taken. Just what in the world could have done that, I wonder."

The fakeness of his words was sickening to hear for the young prince. For better or worse, at least he didn't have anything special to hide that Zhao could use against him.

"Well, if you must know. We had a little skirmish with water tribe raiders. The explosives they used to stop the ship are the cause of the damage you see."

"Say, why don't you tell me more about it over a cup of tea at my office?"

"I should really check out a place for my crew to sleep."

"It's a wonderful idea captain Zhao!"

"Uncle!"

"Nephew, you at least should accept it when your host offers you tea! You own him at least this much respect."

"Splendid! Let me show you my office!"

"We really need to work on your tea addiction uncle…"

The two princes were at Zhao's office drinking jasmine. The captain preceded to ask them questions about the raid, as well as other rumors that started to float.

"So, your highness, I heard that you have a new moniker now. 'Amber samurai', I believe it was called?"

"Not my choice… Anyway, I was in a shop buying an amber comb and then suddenly some thugs arrived. One thing led to another and I found myself dismantling a crime syndicate in the colony."

"I'm sure it was more heroic than it sounds."

Sarcasm was just dripping from the captain's tone.

"It was, outnumbered and against more experienced opponents, my nephew stood tall as he became a symbol to the people."

"I'm sure… Speaking on adventures, has there been any news about the Avatar?"

"There haven't been any signs of him. I searched every piece of land the nomads lived on without success yet."

"But you will tell if you discovered anything, right? After all the Avatar may be the only thing that can stop the fire nation from total dominion over the world. I don't need to tell you that any information about the Avatar is critical."

"Well, the Avatar hasn't been seen for over a hundred years, so kindly focus on your mission and I will on mine."

"Of course, of course… although a mission it quite an overstatement, isn't it? Punishment is a more fitting word."

"Careful Zhao, banished or not I'm still a prince."

"Of course, your highness."

"Now if you don't mind, I had a tiring night and I would like to rest."

As he started walking, the guards at the door blocked him.

"Excuse me?!"

At that same moment a soldier of Zhao went in with Hakoda's helmet.

"The crew was interrogated. The ship was attacked by the pirate Hakoda and his men. The attack was repelled after the prince defeated Hakoda in single combat."

"Let me take care of it, your highness."

'That conniving son of a slug! Do whatever you want to him!'

"I warn you; I will have to take control of your body. Do I have your permission?"

'Whatever! Just make him regret it!'

"You will regain control in five minutes at most."

Suddenly, Zuko was surrounded by arcs of lightning. His eyes were glowing in a dangerous amber light and the floor beneath his feet caught fire.

Zuko's body moved slowly towards the soldier, the arcs seemingly grew, and flaming footprints stayed in the places he walked. It stopped when it was a foot away from the soldier who now tried to melt into the wall.

"What do you mean by 'interrogated'?"

"I-I, well.."

"Speak."

"It was only questions! We didn't do anything! He ordered us!"

The soldier pointed at Zhao while shaking like a leaf.

"You little –"

"Quite."

The demonic voice seemed to silence the captain.

"And when I will ask my men the same, will their answer be as yours?"

"Yes! Yes, I swear by Agni, yes!"

"The helmet was in my private quarters, How did you get it?"

"I-I…"

"I see. Go and make sure my men get the best food and beds available. Now leave."

The soldier ran away like Koh itself was after him.

The helmet now turned to the guards, it's visage as terrifying as a vengeful spirit.

"Accompany him, at once."

The guards didn't need another motivation. Now Zhao had the full attention on the thing.

"And as for you!"

"Prince Zuko, I think that it's enough."

'Sai… I think you should stop. Sai, why can't I move?!'

"A moment your highness, I won't do anything drastic. I promise it will be worth it. After that I will relinquish control back to you."

'Fine, but we will have a long talk about this!'

"Not now uncle. Now tell me captain, what did you hope to achieve? Perhaps you thought I was hiding information about the Avatar that you could exploit?"

"I-"

"How should I deal with you I wonder, should I execute you now or make it public?"

"Zuko!"

"Y-you can't! I did no crime, and you have no right!"

"I can beg to differ; you ordered an interrogation on people approved by the fire lord himself to accompany his son like common criminals. You invaded the prince's privacy and stole his belongings at the hope for blackmail. You outreached your boundaries as a common captain!"

"And as for right?! I have every right to inflict justice upon all who I see as corrupt by the degree of my father himself! And an attack on the prince by a known enemy, and so close to your base? Why all the facts combined that's just reeks from conspiracy! I'm sure that father wouldn't mind if phrased right."

"You-you-"

Fear seemed to consume the newly appointed captain.

"But it doesn't have to be this way~"

The way the thing spoke now was predatory like, it reminded a purring of an apex predator that trying to assure its prey that everything will be fine.

"Why don't we strike a deal that will help the both of us? You see, I find myself in dire need of professional men to do as I commend. You, on the other hand, are in a dire need for achievements for promotion. What I offer is simple, I borrow a few of your man, no more than a tenth of your force in total, and in return you get the achievements they will bring as their official commander. Send us to the toughest battles, the ones normal soldier doesn't expect to succeed. If I die? None will blame you. If I win? You get glory."

"What do you say, do we have a deal?"

The thing offered a hand to shake.

Now Zhao looked interested, he was an ambitious man first and foremost. Greed overpowered fear as Zhao considered the proposal. Normally he would scoff and send the other party packing, but the prince showed power and ambition. And if there are two things Zhao can respect it's those two. Besides, the more dangerous the mission, the more chance he will be rid of this problematic blackmail.

"You've changed prince Zuko… fine, I accept your proposal."

The two shook hands.

"Excellent."

The handshake was suddenly consumed by flames. Zhao tried to pull his hand back, but he was unable to even budge the surprisingly strong hold of the thing. He realized after a second that the flame didn't burn, two seconds later the two suppurated.

"Goodnight captain!"

The thing called when it left, Iroh quickly followed.

After Zuko made sure his men had a decent place to sleep and asked their side of this so-called interrogation, he went to sleep in his own tent. It seems that soldier was properly spooked, because all the places he and his men had were above the average quality of the army.

Once he was alone however, he had one important thing to still take care on.

"Ok Sai, just what was that before?"

"You have to be more specific, I'm afraid."

"Cut it out, you know exactly what I'm talking about! What was that with Zhao?!"

"So you're talking about the possession, what about it? You gave me explicit permission to possess you. I warned beforehand about it."

"Whenever did I say that?!"

Sai than showed Zuko a record of their brief conversation.

"Fine, I suppose I can forgive that, but why did you make me Zhao's errand boy?!"

"We need a steady supply of men to go under the radar and a bank of missions to increase our experience, influence and prestige. Zhao's rank secures the first and his ambition, disregard of his men and relatively frontline position, combined with his pettiness towards you cover the second."

Zuko hated how logical Sai sounded even when seemingly making atrocious decisions.

"I don't like him, he will obviously use us."

"You don't need to, and we are using him as well. Consider it a test of patience, after we grow enough to raise our own men you can ditch him."

"And no more possession!"

"What about when you are unconscious and in a life threatening danger?"

"Only then! But nowhere else, understood!"

"Crystal."

"By the way, how long do you think it will take to fix the ship?"

"A week, but with how much the good captain loves having you here, I will say five days."

Zuko let out a snort of amusement.

It was the morning next day. Zuko woken at dawn, as expected from a fire bender. He didn't have a nice sleep, even though he retired to bed in the early evening and was dead tired.

After yesterday's events Zuko couldn't bring himself to sleep with the helmet equipped as became his norm. He always thought about how Sai took control of his body and how he could do it as easy at any given moment. Yes, he promised not to, but Zuko couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with the helmet.

Sai didn't comment when he pulled the helmet of the head, thank Agni he didn't have to deal with that. But after a few hours Zuko still couldn't sleep, he was anxious. He still had reservations about Sai, but he needed the helmet, he had to put it on. The closest thing he ever experienced was when he was little and ate something really tasty and wanted more, but this was hundreds of times stronger.

So he put it on, mercifully Sai didn't make any comment this time as well. And so Zuko went to sleep, for real this time.

Now, however, Zuko did his regular morning routine. Meaning breakfast, fire bending training, material training, strategy training.

Breakfast was interesting, on his way to eat he noticed a few soldiers whispering in hushed tones. Apparently, his encounter with the Sea Wolf, commonly known as Hakoda, spread like wildfire. And as any rumor, the stories only grew more outrageous the longer people talked. He thinks that he would have remembered fighting a seven headed sea serpent the size of an emperor class battleship.

Anyway, one good thing from all the attention was that he didn't have to wait long in line for food, people let him pass before them. As he got his meal he started searching for his crew, he found them in a middle of a gathering of soldiers.

"And then we were, seemingly cornered and outnumbered three to one. But we were able to push them back! I gutted to barbarians at once!"

Well, it seems like his men were busy enough, no need to bother them.

"Your highness! I was just about to reach the part where you fought Hakoda!"

Never mind.

Without much of a choice, Zuko sat in the table.

"Well, don't let me stop you."

"Right, so this brute was going to stab Lau here, but the prince was immediately on him. They had an awesome sword battle, and the prince was seemingly outmatched, but then out of nowhere Hakoda fell on his knees and was blasted to the wall by the prince! Knowing that the battle was lost, he immediately ordered a retreat!"

The crowd cheered as the soldier told his story.

"How did you do it your highness?"

One of the soldiers of the port asked.

'Sai?'

"Play it cool. Comment on the foe's prowess while show off yours. Excuse your initial disadvantage as a scam to lower his guard."

"Well, you see, Hakoda, barbarian as he is, is a great warrior. I had to bring him to a false sense of security and lure him away from his men. When the time was right, I enhanced my sword with lightning and Hakoda shook himself and it gave me more then enough time to finish the job."

Zuko showed his right hand when he talked, lightning decorated his upper arm to the amazement of the people nearby.

Zuko stayed there a little to amuse the present company at Sai's insistence. It was safe to say that the opinion on him grew tremendously.

"I wonder how many of them will jump on the opportunity to accompany you now."

'I know! I never received such attention from the military before!'

"It's only the beginning your highness, they all will call your name when we're done."

'Wonder how the barbarians are now.'

Things were not going well for the wolf cove warriors, Bato concluded. What should have been a relatively easy mission turned out to be a crippling disaster. Thank the sea and moon that Hakoda prepared beforehand for thing to ho south… great, now he caught Hakoda's horrendous sense of humor.

Future problems aside, the plan itself was executed perfectly: Plant bombs, catch crew by surprise, board ship. It was after that when things went to Koh.

The sailors put a much harder resistance then anticipated, the equipment they had sure helped. Even so, the situation was manageable. They clearly had the upper hand by numbers and experience, at least they had until that damnable prince showed up!

Well, in that time they didn't know he was the price, but after some digging, they discovered that the ship they attacked was actually the personal transport of the banished prince. It came as a shock that a prince, banished or not, would travel in that piece of junk. Even he new the ship was outdated by fire nation standards.

Obviously, the prince was a conniving mastermind that used the appearance of the old ship to drew enemies of the fire nation of low to medium skill, like pirates and earth kingdom frigates, to their doom. Like a swamp turtle that uses his tongue as bait to lure fish and then shut his jaw upon them when it's too late.

Anyway, once the prince arrived, he started to take control of the situation. Firstly, he made sure that any and all ways to climb to the top were blocked, it didn't matter that they outnumbered the crew five to one if only a fifth of them was on board.

Secondly, their ace in the sleeve, their smoke bombs, were completely nullified by the prince. Who in his right mind could have guessed fire bending could just blast the gas away?! At least it seemed that the prince was tiring from it, unfortunately the bombs ran out.

And the last nail in the mission's coffin was the duel between the prince and Hakoda. At first, like their mission, it went well. Hakoda had the kid on the ropes, Bato knew his chief probably held back because Sokka is of the same age as the prince. Bato couldn't fault him for that, he didn't know what he himself would have done if he had a kid.

Back to the topic, the chief finally decided to get serious after his reasonable terms were rejected. The kid would have been down in two to three moves, except the kid decided to pull off the kid's gloves… damn you Hakoda… It was his Chief who found himself down in a few moves.

The persistent son of a seal managed to call for retreat, and rightly so, as the positions the tribesman were at the moment would have been fetal without a proper leadership. Luckily, the men who couldn't get to the ship proved spirit sent as they tended the wounded and retreat with haste.

Soon enough, they arrived at an abbey where their wounded were tended. Hakoda fell asleep in half the way, and they had to carry him on a stretcher. They also warped his head in bandages to stop the bleeding. The head abbes immediately ordered her charges to prepare the warriors for medical attention.

Hakoda had to stay at least three weeks bedridden. His stubbornness from before is demanding it's price, he also had some internal injuries from the lightning sword that could have unknown affects that needed close attention.

It also means that they will be leaderless for that long. Usually Bato would take the lead as second in command. But even with him in charge, a good portion of their men was stranded, and their battle efficiency drastically decreased. Quite frankly, he also didn't think he could replace Hakoda.

Unknown to Bato, one of the nuns saw Hakoda with his severe head injury carried on the scratcher. She was also one of the nuns who interacted with the outside people when selling perfume created in the abbey. As any human being she sometimes talked with her costumers on many things, she blurted about Hakoda's situation once or twice, but asked "to keep it between them."

Obviously, it was one of the first things the customers talked about when they returned home. From there word went from mouth to ear and as often happens, it gets distorted. By the end of the week a nasty rumor said that the southern chief was slain by the rough prince.

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 6

"Your highness, captain Zhao summons you to his office."

"That was fast, I expect at least another few hours for him to think of something."

'He must really want me out.'

"Well, we shouldn't keep the good general waiting."

"Very well, lead me to him then."

"Yes sir!"

Zuko waived goodbye to the soldiers at the table and followed the messenger. They had a small talk on the way, apparently the messenger's name was Jiong and he was from the southern parts of the fire islands.

"Say, Jiong, what do you think Zhao called me for?"

"Can't tell, I don't know myself."

"And if you had to guess?"

"I… a…"

"Please, I need to be updated about what's happening. You don't have to fear anything from me."

"Well… it may be about the pirates, sir."

"Pirates? Is there a sudden increase with pirate attacks?"

"The contrary, there was a sharp drop in pirate attacks and sighting."

"Pirate attacks? Is this something frequent here?"

"Oh, no sir, the navy crushes any pirate ship that dares to go near the base. It's the small merchant vessels that suffer, the pirate ships are too small to be considered worth the time of the navy."

"And you said it stopped? How common were those attacks anyway?"

"Well, not stopped, dropped. If before we had at average one reported attack per day, now we have one every week."

"That is a sharp drop. Do you have idea about the reason?"

"No sir, I'm just a soldier. This thinking is above my pay grade, I don't know much about all the dealing behind the scenes."

"Understandable. On other note, do you know perhaps engineers and mechanics in need of work?"

"Not that I'm aware of, I have a friend that may know thou."

"If you could ask him, I'll be thankful."

"Sure. Well, here we are, good luck with whatever this is your highness."

"Thanks, have a nice day Jiong."

And so, Zuko was left alone at the front of the door. He knocked at the door three times.

"Come in."

Zuke entered at Zhao's voice. He was greeted by the captain himself, as well as six or so of his lieutenants. They had varying features, one had a noticeable scar on his left chick, while another had an eyepatch on his left eye. There was a gruff looking woman and an elderly man, both eyeing each other as if they were in disagreement about something. The others, quite frankly, didn't catch Zuko's interest.

"Ah, your highness, please sit. You must be wondering why you are here."

"I have a few guesses. But please, elaborate."

"There has been an opportunity to expand our territories, it seems that the earth kingdom navy have been weakened in the last few days. Pirate attacks became rarer and rarer in fire nation controlled territories, while the earth kingdom seems to have an unprecedented increase in theirs. The earth navy is spreading thinner than ever, and we are planning to exploit it to the fullest."

"All this is well and good, but were do I come in?"

"We need to know that there are no surprises for us once we leave, all this lack of pirate activity is making some of my lieutenants fill uneasy."

Zhao proceeded to give a stinking look at the elderly man.

"As such, a quarter of my forces will have to stay here to guard the port. That is unless we find the reason for the pirate situation and exterminate the pirate presence entirely."

"And you want me to hunt down the missing pirates."

Zhao smiled at that.

"Yes, your highness. You wanted to take part in the war effort, so here it is. Track the missing pirates down and report to the fleet. We in turn will come and exterminate the pirates and clean our water from opposition so that I could focus my entire force for the expedition."

"I see… My ship is yet to be fixed however, does that mean you will let me borrow one of yours?"

"As it is, since it's his concerns about the pirates, you will accompany lieutenant Shen in his search."

Zhao inclined his head toward the elderly lieutenant.

"I see, and when we will depart?"

"In three hours. Go, prepare your man and report to lieutenant Shen by that time.

"Very well."

Zuko left the room after nodding to the old man.

After three hours, Zuko explained the men about the situation and together with their gear they went to the docks to meet lieutenant Shen. The old lieutenant waited for them there with a few of his men.

"Lieutenant Shen."

"Prince Zuko, please come in."

Once the prince and his crew entered and familiarized themselves with the new ship, Zuko and the lieutenant had a briefing in the latter's office.

"So Shen, What can you tell me about the situation?"

"It started about two weeks ago, usually there is some minor piracy in the region. Mostly against the little to medium ship outside the range of a quick response from the base. And nothing too serious to take decisive action against them."

"Now thou? Now there is a drastic decrease of eighty percent. Even the reports we had are about attacks on small targets, barely even worthy of the effort to raid."

"And about the earth kingdom territories?"

"From sightings and from our spies we know that piracy had risen three fold. The earth navy is much less organized than ours and lack the numbers to properly deafened their waters."

"I would have thought that they would at least have the numbers, aren't the earth kingdom huge?"

"Indeed it is, your highness, and this is a part of the problem."

Zuko looked at him in confusion.

"He has a very good point. I would have explained  it to you  myself, but I will give the old lieutenant a chance to show his value. If he misses something, I will tell you about it."

"Because of the size of the earth kingdom it is very hard to govern it, why it could take over a year for a simple message to arrive from Ba Sing Se to the provinces even without the bureaucracy. This means that the idea of a unified earth army formed from the entire continent is unfeasible."

"If so, then what are we fighting here exactly?"

"The earth kingdom is a misleading name, an empire would be more fitting. The territories are governed by local leaders like king Bumi in Omashu or the Beifongs in Gaoling, this lessens the pressure on Ba Sing Se and gives the territories an actual leader. However, it also means that each governor has almost complete authority as long as he or she pay their taxes."

"So to answer your question, what we are fighting isn't the earth kingdom, but a coalition of smaller governments. As any coalition, there are fractions between the members. And many of them, meaning the once far from the front, are giving the minimum effort, if at all."

"But why would they do it? Not that I'm complaining, but isn't it counter productive?"

The old lieutenant smiled at that.

"It is, but remember what I said earlier about the fraction and authority. Many governors wouldn't permit forces not loyal to them to enter their territories, they fear other governors taking control. For them there isn't much difference between being subjugated to the fire nation and being subjugated to a neighboring governor."

"So we usually fight the militia of the local governor, which is easy crushed by the better trained, better equipped and more numerous army of the entire fire nation."

"If that's so, then why isn't the entire earth kingdom conquered already?"

"It's because the army is spreading thin across the colonies to keep control, and the more territories we have the longer it is to receive messages. All in all, it creates a power balance of sort, which is why there hasn't been a complete conquest of the earth kingdom yet."

"I see, and this is the same with marine territories as well, I presume."

"Exactly!"

The old lieutenant smiled, and then frowned.

"Unfortunately, this is a breeding ground for pirates. It's not uncommon that some bands of pirates unite to create larger groups that can even pose a threat to the more vulnerable ships of the navy."

"So this is why your worried? You think that we deal with a unified group of pirates?"

"I don't think, I know. I had my suspicions before, the pirate attacks were too well coordinated, just below the notice for retribution. We also never saw them fight among themselves, this is an impossibility for cutthroats unless they work together."

"And you think this may be a trick of them?"

"I'm afraid so, I fear that they may provoke our great captain to stage an advancement and leave the port undermanned and ripe for pillaging to a considerable force."

The sarcastic remark about Zhao couldn't be missed.

"But aren't they getting enough loot from the earth kingdom? It seems like an unnecessary risk to me."

"The earth kingdom ships and hamlets will soon enough exhaust themselves. The colonies are much richer than the common settlements of the earth kingdom, the pirates wouldn't be able to resist the temptation if the colonies are left unguarded."

"But wouldn't they fear retribution?"

Zuko was surprised that some criminals would dare to attack knowing that the navy would return full force and in vengeance.

The lieutenant let out a bark of laughter.

"They wouldn't mind because they will be long gone. And unlike on land, we lack any useful way to track those sons of lemurs. Besides, they will most likely hide in some narrow waterways to nullify our heavy cruisers and gaining a more or less equal ground."

It enraged Zuko to hear that a possible attack on his people could happen so easily and without consequences.

"How can I help lieutenant?"

His company sighed in a sad tone.

"I'm afraid you can't, your highness."

"What do you mean? My people are in danger! I will do whatever I can!"

Shen seemed to depress farther.

"Your heart is in the right place, your highness, but Zhao gave us a short deadline to find the pirates on purpose. By the time we complete the scouting rout Zhao will have enough time to prepare the forces for an operation without my constant bickering. He will undoubtedly also use our failed mission to reinforce his point."

"Why do you think we wouldn't find the pirates?"

Once again, the lieutenant chuckled humorously.

"You never hunted pirates, have you? When they see a strong foe, they run. You also can't really tell which ship is a pirate ship and which is a regular merchant ship, you must catch them in act."

"But pirates are pirates, aren't they? They have their flag and all."

"Ha! You had too much romanization. No, pirates don't show a flag before they are close enough to their prey, it's rather counterproductive if their prey sees the flag and runs away."

"I suppose…"

"Anyway, it's either that, or find an unknown base of operation. Which I assure you will be located behind dense vegetation and out of sight from the sea, you'll have to be a bird to see it."

"I think I may have a solution."

Zuko listened for a few seconds.

"Shen, what if I give you the view of a bird?"

"Your highness, when you said you would give me the view of a bird, it's not what I had in mind."

The prince asked him for two hours delay, bringing him something that would give them an advantage. he was skeptical about the royal, the prince had his heart in the right place, but he was an idealist. This isn't a good thing in this line of work. Nevertheless, he was the prince, so the old lieutenant didn't have much choice.

Quite frankly, he thought the prince would bring some kind of bird that would fly around the ship and report if it sees something, not whatever this thing was. It looked like a ball, not unlike the one that his kids played with, but it was at least five times his height. It was strapped to a basket big enough for two men to stand on and it had sheets of cloth hanging from the sides, to hide what's inside he had no doubt.

"What is it again?"

"Names can be chosen later, what's important is that this thing can get us in the air high enough to look at birds from above. Undoubtedly it will help with scouting."

Shen supposed that if this monstrosity is indeed capable of what the prince said, then it will reduce the length of the scouting, and therefore the time and fuel, exponentially. That is if it works of course.

"You're coming, lieutenant?"

The prince asked as he stepped to the basket and put a flame under the ball thing, that Shen now noticed had a hole in the bottom. Just how the prince thought this thing could make people fly was a mystery to him. With a sigh, he joined the royal.

"Very well your highness."

Once he was inside the basket, he asked something he had had on his mind for some time.

"Your highness, would your uncle join us?"

The prince looked at him.

"Well, if you mean join us here at the basket then no. I'm afraid that even the extinct sky bison couldn't make uncle fly."

The lieutenant chackled a little at that

"If you mean to the scouting… then also no. He said that he lost his favorite tile and must buy another one, so he wouldn't be joining us."

The prince frowned as he said that his frown deepened after a few seconds as if he remembered something.

"I see…"

Perhaps it was for the best, things could get awkward if the disgraced general was here.

Suddenly, he felt a weird sensation and the basket suddenly started to rise up. He had to hold the rails of the basket to stop himself from falling over. By the time he composed himself, he was already higher than the guard towers at the docks. He saw the ground go farther and farther away and as he suddenly stopped, he could see the entire land for miles upon miles.

"Amazing…"

The prince then handed him a telescope with a smirk.

"So tell me, lieutenant, is it up to your expectations?"

He gladly accepted the offered device.

"I… yes, it is beyond what I ever had in mind."

Suddenly he thought about something.

"How are we going to contact the crew?"

The prince pointed at a cage with a falcon that he somehow missed.

"Messages via falcons, much better than shouting. You can also draw maps and troop positions."

"Useful, very useful…"

The lieutenant muttered.

"I think you should order the man to sail now."

"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry your highness, I was lost in thoughts."

"No problem, can't blame you."

The prince smiled.

As the hours passed, Zuko and Shen made staggering progress with the scouting. Journeys of hours across islands became minutes at most as the thing Sai offered to create just flew above said islands and gave a good view of the entire islands. Lieutenant Shen committed more than once about the various hiding spots they found that way, which were nearly invisible from ship.

Shen was responsible for the sighting and the mapping, while Zuko kept his flame lit to warm the air inside the ball. They had a small talk meanwhile, Zuko discovered that the grumpy lady that spoke with Shen was actually his daughter. When asked about the conflict between them, the old lieutenant just said that he sometimes is too overprotective.

Speaking about the balloon, or at least that's how Sai called him, it was a very useful invention, even Zuko could see it. With this thing they could particularly nullify every other force in the world, bar the extinct air benders. They could just fly above the walls of Ba Sing Se and conquer the city from the inside.

When he mentioned this to Shen, the latter suddenly became quiet. He deeply frowned and looked at pain for a moment, when asked he said that it must be the height. Zuko was going to ask him if he would like to go down, but Sai stopped him, saying there were no physical signs of air sickness or lack of oxygen.

They continued silently from that point, at least until Zuko couldn't take it anymore.

"Listen, I'm sorry for whatever I said."

The old lieutenant once again took a tired sigh.

"No, no, you have nothing to apologize for. It is only an old man getting emotional."

"But what did I do? If you don't mind me asking of course."

The last part was hastily added.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation at least. You see, I had a son, Cheng, that served in the army. He was an infantry soldier and served under lieutenant Lu Ten, your cousin. And as you can guess, he also met his end with your cousin."

Zuko made a sawyer face.

"No wonder you reacted that way to my talk about Ba Sing Se… sorry, it was inconsiderable."

Shen waved off his apology.

"Think nothing about it. You didn't know, and even if you did, you made honest observations. Nothing to be angry about."

"Would… Would you like to talk about it? Uncle says that it sometimes helps."

Shen chuckled a little.

"I came to acceptance long ago, your highness. But I suppose I could indulge your curiosity. We have some time after all."

"You see, my son had a duty to watch over for threats. Unfortunately, in a close melee battle it is very hard to notice every single threat. From what the report said, both of them were killed by arrows. The earth soldiers used earth bending to obscure the arrows being released, and the battle sounds deafened the whistle noise. They died with their back turned, didn't even registered they died if the report is to be believed."

"… Thank you for sharing, it brings some closure to know how Lu Ten died."

"You didn't know how your cousin died?!"

The surprise was clear in the old man's voice. To be frank, it caused a little insecurity in the prince.

"Well… uncle didn't talk about it, and I didn't have the heart to ask. Father didn't allow me to dwell on it, so I had no access to any files."

"I see… Anyway, I'm glad I could help you, your highness."

"You know, I think I found a name for this thing. With your permission, of course."

The lieutenant raised an eyebrow at that.

"This should be interesting, what did you have in mind?"

"Cheng's eye. This thing was built to notice in advance threat from afar, therefore saving soldiers lives. It was inspired by people like your son, so I thought it would be a fitting name. Of course, if you have any objections, I will change it to something else immediately."

The old lieutenant began to sob, between those sobs however, he thanked Zuko for the respect he had given his son. He went on about the fact that his son's name wouldn't be forgotten, and thanked Agni for his mercy, for he knew his son could rest in peace.

It was a strange mix of satisfaction, sadness and awkwardness Zuko felt when the old father poured his heart out. Before long, Shen took a hold on himself and apologized for his unprofessional behavior. Which Zuko waved off.

As they finished the patrol, Zuko lowered Cheng's eye. They met with the bewildered gaze of the people at the port, Zhao among them. It seems that the good captain indeed used the absence of opposition to prepare his forces for work.

"Why Zhao! You prepared the men already? Why what luck! We just finished mapping the entire region and all its pirate bases! It will be just the practice you need with our new toy before the expedition!"

Zuko waved his right hand in the air in a greeting manner, while surrounding his left one in lightning to show who is in control.

He then walked close er to Zhao and whispered in his ear.

"Remember our deal captain ~"

And this is how Zuko got command of Ching's ship. Apparently Zhao fully expected him to fail or be gone for enough time to leave the young prince behind. Zuko didn't know why he switched lieutenants on prince babysitting duty thou.

"Probably didn't like how close you were with Shen and is afraid of his influence over his soldiers waning. Most likely thought that the daughter will antagonize you because of her complications with her old man."

'Idiot. More soldiers for me, I suppose.'

Zuko was quick to organize a meeting with Zhao and the lieutenants, there he showed them Cheng's eye. Shen was very helpful in integrating the flying machine into the battle plans of the fleet. His experience and connections with the rest of the persona, as well as the sheer potential of the new invention, made building plans upon it very easy.

It was decided that the fleet would split into seven groups, one led by each lieutenant, and one led by Zhao. After a few debates, it was decided which one will take which base. There were apparently seven different pirate bases, each on a different island for a group to pick. How considerate of them.

It was decided that Ching's group will take the third island. It wasn't the one with the most vegetation and had a few warehouses of warehouses of unknown content. It was very Zhao like to give himself the biggest base (and himself the biggest group to compensate, compensate what exactly will be left open for debate.) and the person under his command that he liked the least, the hardest and less rewording with prestige. Although, to be fair, it was what Zuko (under Sai's control) asked for.

Zuko decided to look on the bright side and see the opportunities presented to him to improve his, and his crew's, status and strength. He went to Ching to discuss the upcoming battle plan.

"Lieutenant Ching."

Zuko said with a smile.

"Your highness, how can I help you?"

It appears that while Shen and his daughter had many differences that divided them, one thing that they had in common was their love for Cheng. So Zuko secured her undying gratitude when he named the balloon after her brother.

Zhao perhaps didn't consider familial relations could bring feuding people like that. But then again, with how little he seems to consider anything not directly related to his success, Zuko had doubts the captain even bothered to know his lieutenants enough to realize the familial ties between the two.

"What will my men and I do in the raid?"

"Well, it seems you came in good time. I was just about to give roles to everyone. Tell me, where do you think you will do the best at?"

Unlike most, Ching didn't have many qualms about using the young prince. She knew more than most about the need to prove yourself and the need for freedom, courtesy of her overprotective father. So, she was all in for utilizing the power of the royal line.

"I think we will be best as shock troopers, hitting the enemy hard and fast is my specialty."

"Very well, so here's what we are going to do."

"Boss! We're under attack!"

"What?!"

Ty wasn't having a good day.

First, he had to do a random check on the mines, as is dictated by protocol once a month. This means rising at the owl-wolf's hour to prepare the needed equipment for the checkup and to arrive at the mining island at dawn.

The inspection itself went good enough, the output of the metal was in the acceptable range, and security measures were decent enough. No one could get in or out unnoticed and any sizeable force would be easy spotted by the sentries.

The evacuation drill went good enough as well, it wasn't the best by any means, but the men were well enough within the timeframe that an invading force will take to reach the camp.

As the day went by, he got reports about a fire nation patrol, but he wasn't too concerned. All the reports stated that the ship was far enough from the camps and the positioning of the ports made it impossible to detect them by ship that way.

He had to cut some hands for stealing from the mines and execute a worker or two to motivate the rest, but it was all in a day's job.

The entire day was tiring, however, the fact that he had one of the boss's personal attack dogs with him definitely didn't help him relax. Now don't get him wrong, he liked to have a vicious killing machine breathing on his neck as well as the next guy. But the fact was that undoubtedly the boss will hear everything that happens here, so for his health no mistakes were allowed.

Hence, he was really not in the mood for any surprises, much less a surprise attack.

"How do they even know we're here?! Did one of you ignored the new raiding orders and got followed?!"

"No sir! We were extremely careful!"

"Then I must find the tunnel rat… Never mind, how do things look? How large is the force?"

"One cruiser and five frigates, boss."

"So enough to take on this outpost, but it can be defeated if we gather all our troops… Very well, send orders to the other outposts! Immediate backup! Now!"

As the minutes passed, he continued receiving updates on the situation via parrot-monkeys, the pirate imitation of the fire nation's messenger hawks. It seemed that the situation became dire and dire by the second, the troops were trained with using the environment to their advantage, they knew the island and had the home advantage. Yet the reports he received told him that his men were routed as if the enemy knew their position beforehand.

This was salvageable thou, yes, he just had to wait for reinforcement to arrive and then they would butcher the pigs. Of course, it seems that karma has finally caught up with him. He received the letters from the other outposts, but they were worse than his worst fears. While he had his own invasion, all the other outposts had their own. At the same time!

This was bad, really bad. He had to do something, escape, save himself, if he only had some reliable meat shield to hide behind… That's it!

"Enforcer! I have orders for you!"

The thing turned its expressionless gaze upon him. Ty swallowed, thinking that perhaps he overestimated his authority on the murderer. But since he was still in one piece, then he was probably fine, for now at least.

"The enemy will overrun us very soon. Your orders are to accompany me and get me out of this blasted island to safety!"

The marauder gave one slow nod and pointed at the door.

"Yes, let's get out of here."

As the two got out, the enforcer pulled from his belt something. He then proceeded to put some string that was attached on fire with a spark and throw it to the office.

"What did-"

KABOOM

The entire house they were in moments ago was now blasted to pieces by whatever the enforcer threw.

"What was that for?! Now we'll have them investigate the noise!"

The enforcer just looked chillingly down on the pirate and pointed in some direction with his left hand, his right hand rested dangerously on the hilt of one of his twin blades. The message was clear.

"R-right, l-let's g-go…"

They continued with the escape.

After a few minutes, the enforcer stopped the pirate.

"What is it?"

The enforcer just silently observed the surrounding. Slowly he pulled a throwing knife, and with lightning like speed threw it into a bush. There was a loud screech when the object hit its mark.

"ATTACK!"

Suddenly, the clearing was infested with fire nation soldiers. They had something like a dozen men, all armed and ready to attack. Not that it really helped them. In one swift move, the enforcer shoved Ty to the ground a dozen feet away into a bush and moved for the kill.

Ty was in the bush, so he didn't see the fight, but he heard it very well. He wasn't a stranger to violence, heck it was part of his job description, so he recognized the sound of breaking bones or shanking a blade deep into someone, very well. The screams also helped painting the picture.

"AHAAA!"

"My arm!"

"Stop him!"

"B-back off!"

After that there was quiet. Ty yelped as he was suddenly pulled from his hiding place. He usually would have executed the man for such disrespect on the point, but the scene of butchery before him was a convincing argument to hold his tongue. Spirit, he didn't know it was physically possible to bend a back like that, broken or not.

"Y-yes, e-excellent job. L-let's go."

The enforcer began to go through the carnage as if it was another workday for him. Which considering his profession, probably was. Ty shuddered to imagine what this thing may consider as "exciting". The enforcer, however, didn't go to the exit, but towards the mines.

"W-wait! Escape is that way!"

The enforcer stopped for a moment, slowly turned his faceless head to look at Ty, creeping him out in the process, and pointed to the direction of the mines. Then began walking there, not looking behind.

"W-wait for me!"

Perhaps there was some secret exit there? With no other option, Ty followed the enforcer.

Zuko and his man were at the thick of the battle. With the information on the position of the pirates provided by the watcher on Cheng's eye it was very easy to form counter measures. His men and him cut through the opposition like a hot knife through butter. Surprise attacks and overwhelming firepower made sure they crushed the enemy before even sustaining any injuries to themselves.

It was a little annoying to get every few minutes a falcon and being ordered around, but he supposed it was better than being led to an ambush. His little encounter with Hakoda was more than enough experience for him.

Nevertheless, things were going well, very well, so far, they nearly had the entire island under control in less than an hour. Of course, good things can last for Zuko, and the next hawk he got had a concerning development that he shared with his men.

"Listen up, it seems like we finally located the leader of this little outpost!"

His men cheered at the news.

"Quite! Apparently, he butchered all of squad seagulls by himself!"

That shut the men down.

"He is heading to a place suspected to be a mine and is accompanied by another crook, this one seems like a low threat however. If we hurry, we can get to them just in time. Now remember men, this guy slaughtered an entire quad of trained soldiers. Treat him with extreme caution, follow battle plan OVERWHELMING and you will be fine."

"Now, Are You With Me?"

"YEAH!"

They sprinted towards the mine entrance with the help of the map of the island that was drawn from the Eyes of Cheng. They got there just in time to intercept their target.

As the two criminals were a few dozen feet from the entrance, Zuko was about to shoot them with fire. Sai had other ideas, however.

"Blast at the ground near the entrance."

By reflex, Zuko did as Sai suggested. He was not disappointed with the results.

The armored man, undoubtedly the higher ranked on of the two, sprinted to the entrance the moment Zuko noticed them. The blast caught him by surprise as he was sent flying back to his partner. Zuko noticed that the leader would have continued to advance if it was a regular shot of fire, nevertheless, he rose up much too quickly for someone who was just blasted twenty feet to a hard earth.

His partner had more trouble getting up however, and by that time his men completed surrounding the duo. The unarmored man drawn his sword and whip, while the armored one draw his twin swords.

Zuko took this chance to end things peacefully.

"You are surrounded! Surrender now and face justice or die!"

The pirates, however, seem to have different ideas.

"Kill them! Now!"

Zuko was surprised that it was the lesser threat giving the orders, did they confuse between the two?

The armored figure looked around it, left, then right, then he looked back at his partner/boss/whatever their relationship was. In one swift move he slashed the head of his partner clean off, he then proceeded to throw the entire body of his former college to one of his own men. Even before the forever frozen in shock face of the pirate touched the ground, the masked figure was on his way. He used the stunned soldiers as ramp to jump on a tree trunk, then in a fit of acrobatics that defied his heavy armored build, he used the tree trunk as a ramp as well to jump above the ring of men.

With Sai's quick reflexed Zuko shot a quick blast to the man, not unlike the one that tore the thug's leg all those weeks ago. The man had met the blast head on, and in a satisfying smack sound he flew away. Unfortunately, he flew right into the cave.

'He's not dead, is he?'

"The plate armor absorbed most of the hit. You should be more warry about the cave, he is still very much active and dangerous, and now we have to face him in an unknown dark place."

'Right, so I'll be careful."

"Come on men! Battle formation six!"

The men quickly went to their respective place and the party ascended to darkness.

Mi-Dved had an awful day, stretch that, he had an awful life. He was one of the mine workers (slaves) in wherever this place was. The earliest thing he could remember was his mother showing him his new baby sister. They lived, or more like mother lived, in one of the entertainment places in the desert city of Si Wong.

Mother's job was to entertain the guests. He helped with the cleaning and other small things together with the other kids of the other woman who worked there. It was well and good, until mother got sick. When she got sick, the madam that owned the house brought some men to help his mother. After a few days, however, mother passed, and the madam threw his sister and him out.

The streets were a hard place to live. Always hot in the day, always cold at night, it was a cruel place that sucked the life of everyone not ready. He knew that he had to get himself and his sister out, pickpocketing and scavenging could only help them so much with the constant hunger.

So he tried to raise money to buy his sister and him a way out of this place to one of the evergreen villages he heard of in the stories mother used to tell him. He went to a few fighting rings to get coin, and even succeeded at impressing the people in charge because of his size.

You see, he was a big boy, mother always told him that he got it from his dad. At age six he was as big as kids twice his age, and even with the lack of proper source of food, he continued with his growth.

Long story short, things went downhill when he was close enough to get the money he needed. The people didn't like the idea of him leaving, and they used whatever means necessary to keep him fighting, including his sister. Some things happened, and the two of them were on a boat on the way to freedom. A freak storm hit them and the two of them were thrown of the boat. He woke alone in chains and surrounded by pirates, and you can guess the rest of the story.

He was here for a few weeks at least, it was hard to tell when slaving underground all day. He always thought of a way to escape, but he had to play is smart. He was here long enough to know how cruel the slavers were, they tortured and executed people for far less transgressions than trying to escape. He had only one chance, and he had to keep his life to reach his sister. He knew she was alive, he refused to believe otherwise.

Which led to this day. Apparently, some hotshot arrived today to check the place, so all the workers (slaves) were put on extra hard work today. As the day went on, he suddenly heard some worried whispers from the pirates that whipped them to work. Apparently, there was some attack happening on the base, interesting, maybe he could use it.

After an hour or so, he heard loud noises from the entrance of the mine. When he could turn to have a look, he saw an enforcer of all things thrown into the mine like a drunk out of a bar. Enforcer! Those guys were legends! They are invincible bloody killers that enforce his will. He had the displeasure to watch one at work, and lets just say he very much lived up to the legend.

Mi-Dved didn't hesitate and stroke with his pickax hard on the nearest pirate.

"And once again, our champion is the blind bandit!"

The crowd at Earth Rumble cheered as the little girl was declared the winner.

Toph loved it, not from some vain need for attention (although she wouldn't lie, it also helped) but the fact that people see her as she truly was. Not some meek blind girl, but a badass fighter and the strongest earth bender alive that can crush anyone in her way!

"And now, we will offer one thousand gold ingots to anyone who can win a brawl against the champion! Which one of you is brave enough to try to claim your prize?"

Geez, Xin didn't let go of the drama, didn't he? Then again, it was his job.

The man that sat in the first row stood and went to the stage.

"A-and its s-seems we have our volunteer, ladies and gentlemen!"

The crowd once again cheered, hungry for blood.

Strange, by his voice, Xin was scared from the man. His heartbeats all but confirmed it. why thou? Yes, he was a big man, the biggest man she ever "seen" actually, and yes, he had those two really cool dressed guys with him, but she didn't see what's so scary about him. It doesn't matter how big you are, but how big your bending is.

Well, let's hope he lasts longer than the last shmock.

AN

And the story continues!

I decided to introduce the hot air balloon early on, and not by the machinic, I will have different plans for him in the future.

Zuko is worming his way into the navy, and so far he had good PR with the soldiers. He also facing greater threats as time moves on

A little trivia, I based the enforcers and Mi-Sha on Vulf and his brigands. For information google "Darkest Dungeon Wolves at the door".

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 7

Zuko and his men went in, two fire benders lit the way and the rest surrounded them in a guarding position, ready to attack any threat that may come up. Apparently, it indeed was some kind of mine, as the Cheng watchers theorized. Funny how quick the army was to accept the name and organize an entire division around it, the story around the name undoubtedly helped.

Anyway, it seems like there is a battle going on, strange, he didn't know that the soldiers were already here. As he signaled his troops to advance, he had his answer. The mine was filled with workers and pirates fighting each other, it seems like the battle outside took enough taskmasters away from the post for the workers to outnumber their kind masters ten to one. This kind of outnumbering, combined with the fact that while weaker and less trained than the pirates, each had a pickax in their hands, transformed the mine into a powder keg. And the fall of the masked man was the fuse that lit it up.

He noticed that there was some tall teen that seemingly led the revolt, interesting, maybe he could use him for information.

Back to the present, it seems like their mysterious masked men was running somewhere now that wouldn't be good. He refused to let the man go without facing justice, this man killed good fire nation soldiers and if not leading, then still very much responsible for the piracy in the reign. This guy had much to answer for.

"Wait."

'What is it, Sai? I'm busy right now.'

"I think you should help the riot."

'But he's getting away!'

"And he has nowhere to run, the mine is a dead end. Helping the workers is a closing window to raise your reputation."

'Fine…'

"Soldiers! Assault the pirates! Formation Two to One!"

The soldiers spread to pairs and searched for single pirates to attack, the riot gave many chances like that thanks to the disarray. Now that his men had their new equipment, each soldier could act as a fire bender and as a foot soldier. So there was no problem for random pairing to restrict the strategies a pair could use.

Zuko himself attacked and blasted pirates left and right. He shot a fire ball at a pirate that was about to stab a worker, stopping the pirate and burning him in the process. The worker quickly turned around and finished the job, he nodded at Zuko in gratitude.

A pirate came at him from the side. Zuko met him with his own two swords and kicked him in the legs, causing the pirate to lose balance. He then hit the pirate on the head with the broad side of his swords and knocked the pirate out.

Pirate number three tried to attack him from behind, but even before Zuko could put him to his place, he was putted down by the tall teenager with a pickax.

"Thanks"

Zuko said as he blasted another pirate to the wall, knocking him out in the process.

"You're welcome, Mi-dved by the way."

"Zuko. Are you responsible for this little party?"

Mi-dved threw his pickax at another pirate, getting a direct hit on the outlaw in the process.

"What can I say, I just threw the first punch. It's the other that followed. Besides, no one would have the inspiration if the enforcer wasn't thrown like that. Man, what a show! Your doing, I presume?"

"If you mean the masked and armored man, then yes. Is he important?"

"Mi-dved took a sword from one of the fallen pirates."

"Is he important?! Ha! You have no idea what you just did! Know what? How about we have a drink together after that and I will tell you everything?"

"That's… sounds good."

'That was very unexpected, does he even know who I am?'

"Probably not, he probably hates the pirates so much that he doesn't have a problem collaborating with the fire nation. Don't look at a gifted horse in the mouth."

'Why would he have a problem with me being a fire bender?'

"Well, he is an earth bender, so you are theoretically on opposing sides. Although from his appearance I would say that he is from the Si Wong desert, so most likely he didn't have any strong opinion on either side. If he even knows or cares about the war that is."

'So your saying he's a bandit?'

The idea of conversing with criminals and bandits didn't sit well with Zuko, it went against his honor, and he wasn't so desperate to hunt the Avatar at this point.

"Not necessarily, although the hard life of the desert makes honest people as scares as rain. You should give him the benefit of doubt."

'Fine, let's get some pirates.'

Zuko and his new companion continued to make short work of the remaining pirates, the now titled enforcer was nowhere to be seen.

Back in the Earth rumble tournament, Xin was nerve wracked. When he got the message that the boss himself would visit his Earth Rumble, he was both excited and terrified.

Excited because, well, THE BOSS was coming to his show! If the man was impressed enough, maybe little old Xin would get a raise! Maybe even a promotion to be a manager of one of the tourneys in the infamous "Catastrophe Coliseum" in the desert. He could see it, the fame! The fortune! the excitement!

On the other hand, THE BOSS WAS COMING! If he finds at least one thing he doesn't like, Xin could kiss his career goodbye and thank the spirit if that would be all. He knows the boss did worse for less, he heard the horror stories on some announcer that made one joke or another about the boss and how he suffered for thar mistake. Word has it he's still tied up to a rock with vulture-wasps eating him alive.

So it was completely understandable why he was turn about the boss being here. He made sure preparations were made for The Brigand's arrival: polished rows, perfumes for a nice smell, earth green carpet at the entrances. Even with all of that, when the man himself got to the ring he was barely paying any attention to the accessories.

He sat with two of his enforcers in the first row right in front of the fighting ring and not in the VIP sits Xin arranged. Now usually the front rows were empty because of the high chance of collateral damage from the fighting earth benders, but he didn't dare to comment on it. Mi-Sha knew better than most how violent earth bending fights can get and Xin wasn't the suicidal fool that will presume to tell the boss what he can and can't do.

Xin noticed that the boss was extremely interested in the fighters themselves. Once or twice a bolder flew to the direction of the crime lord, but whatever poor boulder was sent to that direction was crashed halfway as if it was under the pressure of an entire cruiser. He wondered why the crime lord didn't just stop the boulders with earth bending, but he supposed a show of force was to be expected from a man of his status.

Mi-Sha was extremely interested in the little miss Baifong, worried Xin more than a little. Toph was a crowd favorite, if the boss takes her to whatever scheme he has the Earth rumble would suffer in many ways. The dormant moral part of him also cried for the fate of the little girl, no matter what the crime lord had in mind for the heiress and master earth bender little girl, it can't be good for her.

Whatever, his life wasn't worth the risk of getting in Mi-Sha's way.

That didn't stop him from having a heart attack when The Brigand himself answered the challenge in all his glory, so he could be forgiven for a little stuttering.

"A-and its s-seems we have our volunteer, ladies and gentlemen!"

Xin jumped to the ring between the two competitors.

"Are you sure you want to go through this?"

He looked at the both of them, but he pointed his voice to the little girl. It was a stupid thing to do in retrospect because she was blind, but he knew from experience that she has a way to notice things like that. He hoped that she would get the clue and forfeit, but the spirits weren't so kind as she only looked amused at some kind of a private joke. With no one answering, with a heavy heart he jumped back to his sit.

"So what's your fighting name? Tall and silent?"

The man just stood silently, observing the little girl.

"Come on, you don't give me much to work with. Cat-eel got your tongue?"

"You're Lao's girl, aren't you?"

It seems that brigand lord Mi-Sha finally decided to speak. It undoubtedly had the desired effect on the little girl.

"Wha! I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

The little heiress seemed to be scared of the fact someone knows her and will snitch on her to her old man. Xin wasn't fan of the prospect as well, he will lose his best fighter as well as his career if daddy finds out he allowed his precious little blind angel into a violent fighting ring. But ultimately Mi-Sha was lord, and his words were the law.

"I'm sure. Say, why don't we make it a little interesting? If you win, not only I wouldn't tell daddy, but I will help you to evade his eye."

It seemed to do the trick, as the blind girl had an interested look on her face.

"And if you win? However unlikely that is?"

Stupid girl! Xin wanted to yell. Don't antagonize the most powerful man in this side of the continent!

The ruler of the underground smiled a crocked smile at that.

"Then you will have to do a small favor for me in exchange for looking the other way. What do you say?"

"You're on!"

"Good."

The man of the desert proceeded to jump a hundred feet to the air and surround himself in a small storm of sand. He continued to float there to his pleasure with the sand bending art that is so iconic to the nomad tribes of the desert.

The blind girl was very displeased with the situation, if her constant muttering of "where are you" were any indication. This was continued like that for some time until the blind bandit had enough of it.

"What's wrong, Big guy? Scared to fight a little girl?!"

Xin knew then and there that the battle would be over, he just hoped that The Brigand would show mercy for the little girl. As he suspected, the true bandit lord threw a shot of sand with high velocity toward the false bandit. The velocity was so high, that there was a gale of wind as a product. The lightweight girl stood no chance as she was sent flying from the ring with a surprised yelp. He was just relieved that it didn't evolve to some kind of execution, he didn't envy the little girl, however.

He jumped down to the ring to give the money to the winner, lord Mi-Sha took the bag and whispered to his ear.

"You can have your money back and return your dues by the usual monthly fee, I have no use in taking money that's already mine."

"Thank you, sir."

"One more thing, have someone show me the girl's quarters in this establishment."

"Yes, sir. Right away."

He didn't envy her at all.

It was strange fighting with someone not under his command, even stranger that he was an earth bender off all things. Not that he showed his earth bending yet, Zuko supposed it was smart of him with the political climate and all of that.

His partner was a heavy hitter obviously, Zuko was still surprised by the fact that this guy was around his age. They managed to finish most of the pirates when they heard a big explosion somewhere in the mine.

"What was that!"

"The enforcer most likely, he must have protected something important if he had to use explosive jelly like that in the mine."

"You know that guy?"

"Know of them. Trust me, I seen one of them only once before, and that was two too many."

"Where do you think he will go now? We need to stop him immediately!"

"You know? It must be the first time ever that someone actually wants to find one of those freaks. But don't worry, this is the only way out. If he wants to leave, he will have to come through here and we will be waiting for him… I can't believe I said that…"

And so, Zuko ordered his men to guard the entrance in phalanx formation as they wait for their man of the hour. The workers were outside the mine in a relatively safe place, bar Mi-Dved and a few others who insisted on fighting.

"He's coming, prepare yourself."

Zuko prepare his stance and electricuted his swords for good measure. If this man is half the swordsman Hakoda is, then he's going to need any advantage he has. And by Agni, good thing he did.

He barely managed to stop a strike that would have cut his head clean off with his swords. A moment later, and he would have been known as the headless prince.

This didn't come without retribution, as the enforcer was shocked by the electricity. He was stunned for just enough time to receive a pickaxe to the face by Mi-Dved. The enforcer was sent to the ground a few feet away for his troubles.

Zuko didn't relent, however, as he was immediately on the masked enforcer. The killer came to his feet in a remarkable speed, but had time to only block the strike, which stunned him again, which gave Mi-Dved the chance to drive his pickaxe again. Runcie and repeat.

At one point, however, it seemed like the enforcer had enough of playing the ragdoll. Relaying on his armor to take the burnt of the attack, he pulled some kind of egg-shaped thing. Mi-Dved immediately recognized the thing, as he warned Zuko.

"Smoke bomb!"

Zuko slapped his hands as he did when dispelling Hakoda's stink bombs. He suddenly felt a shock in his knees and bent down, which saved his life. As he fell, a slash that would have decapitated him bunched off the dark helmet. The force of the blow, however, was enough to knock Zuko to the ground.

Mi-Dved tried to hit the enforcer with the pickaxe, but the armored man was on the move. He evaded the hit and ran for the exit. The soldiers shot fire at him, but he evaded the fire balls that his plate didn't block.

He then proceeded to pull something out of his belt and threw it at the soldiers. The thing was intercepted by a fire ball and exploded; the soldiers were thrown away in disarray. The enforcer, meanwhile, ducked under the explosion and used the opportunity to throw another smoke bomb to cover his escape. When Zuko finally regained his senses and dispelled the smoke, the enforcer was gone.

"Damn it! After him!"

They chased after the enforcer, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Give it up, your highness. He is long gone by now. Besides, I don't think it's a good idea to split the men to look after him."

'Damn, you're probably right… fine, what do you think we should do?'

"You should go back to the cave and find clues. I saw something dropped out of the enforcer's belt while you and the earth bender fought him, pick up your reward and deny Zhao of any prize."

"Come man, maybe we can find something in the cave."

"And that's all we could find, Grand Lotus."

Iroh sighed, he contacted the white lotus a few weeks ago at Hǎibiān. He hoped to use the archives of the white lotus to identify whatever ails his nephew and address it, however nothing of great help came.

The members searched a wide array of texts about the health of the mind, they even searched on other causes like spirits, but the results were inconclusive at best. It was clear that Zuko's mind was in turmoil, it was clear that he was desperate for his father's approval, and it was obviously clear that his nephew hit puberty if his "hidden" glances at sergeant Ling, lieutenant Ching's personal aid, were any indication.

He wouldn't fault his nephew on the last one thou, he was glad that Zuko at least has something that resembles a normal teenager behavior. But to be frank, he and Ozai were much worse in that regard at that age.

But he is regressing. None of the scrolls or the books gave a clear answer and many times they contradicted one another, he even tested the theory of spiritual influence. In a few of their tea sessions he made tea from blue lily leaves. Tea is a wonderful thing that has many uses, one of them is to detect dark spirits. The blue lily has the ability to purify poison and if used correctly, even spiritual poison.

A part of him was disgusted by the fact that he used tea in such an underhanded way, but he assured himself that his nephew's health comes first. In any way, besides the usual dislike to tea his nephew is always trying to hide for his sake, bless his nephew's soul, there were no abnormal signs of dark spiritual energy. So either a great spirit was at work, or whatever caused his nephew's change wasn't of the spirit world. He desperately hoped for the second.

In one thing he was sure, however. The helmet has a big part In Zuko's sudden change, either a cause or affect is remains to be seen. He tried to get his nephew to put it down but with little success, he suspected that his nephew even sleeps with the helmet on. He had to take care of the problem, but he didn't know how. If he arranged an "accident" that would make the helmet gone, he feared that his nephew would lose his mind.

Iroh sighed again for what felt like the hundredth time today. Well, he supposes he could get on to the other thing he came to talk about.

"And what of the factory?"

This time it was the other lotus member who sighed.

"It seems that there aren't many investors who are interested in dealing with a banished prince, both you and Zuko. The diamonds certainly helped, but the demands of the prince had been just too much for almost all of them."

Yes, the demands… His nephew insisted on a list of things he wanted from the factory and it's personal. A constant flow of innovation combined with a draconic dress code, not to mention the vow of complete silence and discretion, were uncomfortable for the investors to say the least.

He knew this may happen, and a part of him was a little glad that the factory wouldn't be built considering its primary purpose. But he wasn't a fool, he saw the changes his nephew had in the ladt few weeks. Zuko would get his factory one way or another. This way he could at least have some control on the number of skeletons his nephew would have to put into his closet, as well as increase the percentage of innovations to help the people over the Avatar hunting ones.

"Wait, so there are some who are interested?"

"Well… one. Loban seems to be interested in the proposal, although personally I advise against it."

"Why? Does he have rumors of corruption around him?"

The old man asked in concern.

"No more than the regular businessman, no. But there have been rumors, which were validated, about his lack of concern for his employees. I don't think that he is the right man to be the head of a factory like the one the prince hopes to build."

"Part of the agreement is that Zuko himself will have the final say about what products the factory will export. If he agrees to the terms, then he will have little room to complain."

"I suppose… *sigh*fine, we'll contact him. Not that it will change anything at this point."

"Why is that? Did something happen?"

"You don't know?"

The lower lotus member raised an eyebrow.

"His highness already sent a message to Loban a two week ago, they have been exchanging letter ever since."

"What?!"

"... Did you find?"

Zuko asked his men as they completed searching the mines with the help of the workers.

"Those mines produce mainly Iron, copper and other non-valuable metals, sir. There is a smell of Sulphur in the place the enforcer bombed. Unfortunately, the path was blocked as a result of the explosion, further digging risk downing the cave on our heads. We suspect that the place was some kind of an explosives workshop."

"I see, thank you. Anything else of note to report?"

"The workers are showing signs of abuse and malnutrition, this have to be addressed sooner or later."

"Very well, make sure they all het a warm meal and a comfortable place to stay. Ask them to talk about themselves, but don't outright ask them about all this pirate deal. That way we should have enough information to paint a picture and not worry about the risk of them revolting because they think they are interrogated."

"Understood your highness."

"Very well, you may return to your duties Jee, thank you."

"As you wish, my lord."

As lieutenant Jee left, Zuko had a moment of peace for himself, which he used to ask the console of his must trusted ally.

'What do you make of it, Sai?'

"The mine is obviously used to mine resources for equipment for the various operations of the pirate syndicate in this region. As the trusty lieutenant said, I highly suspect that this mine had a secret workshop inside of it that created the bombs the executioner used. Probably other high quality, by current standards at least, weapons as well."

"If I had to guess, I would say that the various bases had different purposes. The biggest base we found is most likely the one where they store most of their loot and equipment, and therefore the most guarded. The other islands are used as strategic outposts and backup bases in case of a raid on another output."

'I can't believe that such organized pirate organization was allowed to prosper so much right under our noses!'

"They worked smart as well, raiding only enough to make retribution not worth it to hunt a single pirate ship, but together the income was immense. The sheer logistics and influence to subjugate and order all the pirates in the region is impressive."

'You think that we took care of it thou?'

"With the eyes of Cheng, as they will be known from now, the navy will have easy time spotting any gathering of pirates here. Such organized syndicate will cease to exist after the destruction of all their bases simultaneously, whatever pirates will escape will choose other places to hunt."

'I suppose I could live with that for now. So, what do we do now?'

"I suggest talking with the earth bender. He seems to know about the enforcer, most likely he knows about more stuff that may prove beneficial to us. Besides, we could use his earth bending to open the blocked path."

'I still don't feel comfortable relaying on an earth bender like that. I know we fought together, but he's still an enemy to the fire nation.'

"An interesting outlook. What exactly makes him an enemy to the fire nation?"

'He's an earth bender!'

"And so are many in the old colonies, does that make them enemies of the nation as well? Even if they pray for Agni and as patriotic as any citizen from the fire isles?"

'But he isn't from the colonies! He wasn't even raised as a fire nation citizen! He's an unknown bandit from the Si Wong desert!'

"But he did risk his life for you when he could have just stayed back with the other workers, that at least gives him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, you are to rule the entire world. That includes people who are your enemies now, you need to start learning how to work with them. As someone with no loyalties to any party, he would make an ideal test form your leadership."

'I still don't like it.'

"You don't need to like it, just to do it. Try ricuting him, hear what he has to say."

'Fine…'

"And pick a bottle of rum along the way, he did say that he would tell you whatever he knows after a drink."

'But I can't drink! I'm underage, and it's dishonorable!'

"In my point of view, if you're old enough to go around the world and die trying to hunt the strongest being in the world, then you're old enough to get drunk. But I do respect your work ethic. Anyway, you don't have to drink, he does."

'Fine… Let's get this stupid bottle.'

It took a few minutes to find the right bottle, Sai insisted that a first impression with beverage is no less important than first impression face to face. He started to fear that Sai may have the same obsession his uncle has with tea, just with alcohol. That can't be good.

"I object! Don't compare me to your uncle, I'm not alcoholic! I can stop whenever I want!"

Zuko decided to not touch the subject.

Anyway, it didn't take long to find Mi-Dved, his big physique made him easily distinguished. He was surprised to find him sitting alone and looking at nothing.

"Perfect."

"Hey, mind if I seat here?"

"Hmm?"

The earth bender looked up in surprise.

"Yeah, sure. Knock your self out."

Mi-Dved pointed at a spot next to him. Zuko took it as an invitation and sat.

"So what got you so glumly? We won, didn't we?"

"It's not that. I'm just thinking about… stuff."

Zuko thought it was as good time as any to him the bottle, which he gladly excepted and immediately took a sip.

"Thanks, good stuff. Were is it from?"

"From the pirates. They were terrified hosts so far, so I guessed they owed us at least this much for the trouble."

That released a bark of laughter out the earth bender.

"I suppose they do. Want some?"

"Sorry, I have a debrief soon."

"Fair enough, more for me."

"Now is as good time as any, your highness."

'Fine.'

"Listen, Mi-Dved, I need you to tell me what you know about the pirates and the enforcer."

Mi-Dved sighed deeply as he took a bog sip from his bottle.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything, I want to know what I'm up against."

"Tall order, but I owe you at least this much. How much do you already know?"

"Think of me as completely oblivious."

"Very well… Tell me, do you know of the city Amora in the Si Wong desert?"

Zuko shook his head in denial.

"It's the biggest city in the desert, called the jewel of the sands because of that and the attractions it has. It prides itself with being the 'freest' city in the world and it has only one rule: you can do anything you please, as long as you are good enough for it."

Zuko had a suspicion that it isn't as grand as the words paint it.

"What do you mean by everything? And how are you 'good enough '?"

"By anything I mean anything, go for a stroll? No problems. Rub someone? No authorities to stop you. Want a woman? Have fun. As long as you have enough power, be it physical, economical or any other, to claim your prize, you're free to do as you please. Of course, the same can as easily be applied against you."

Zuko shuddered to imagine such lawless place.

"Sounds like a hell hole."

"It's home."

The earth bender replied with a shrug before continuing his explanation.

"The city is seemingly without leadership, but don't let it fool you. Everyone knows that the main, and only, power in the city is lord Mi-Sha. He's the one who basically built the city to what it is in his image, his personal army is the one who's enforcing his will on the lend."

Something clicked in Zuko's head.

"Enforcing… like the enforcer? You mean to tell me that this guy, who nearly wiped the floor with us, was a mere foot soldier to some bandit in the desert?!"

It seemed to touch a nerve, since the earth bender looked at Zuko with a pissed look.

"It is clear that you are ignorant, so you will be forgiven this once. You have no idea what you're talking about, no idea how it's like to live in constant fear under the shadow of this monster. You didn't have friends who said the wrong word, and a day later you see their body thrown in the streets a feast to the ever-hungry crew-rats."

Mi-Dved took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

"And Mi-Sha is no mere bandit. He is the most powerful earth bender in the world, strong enough sand bender to defy the sandstorms. He is an eight feet tall monster of a man that every outlaw in the continent answers to. He goes by many titles: The Brigand, The Boss, even the king of the underworld. He is not someone you can mess with."

Zuko remembered the Thugs from a few weeks ago, how they were terrified of their "boss" and the sheer length that went to silence them. Together with the organized piracy here, as well as the presence of an enforcer, painter a rather grim and disturbing picture.

"Ask about the cave."

"What about the mines? What were they doing with them and how did you get there?"

"Hah… the mines were the primary source for weapons and other raiding equipment, they probably had some kind of an explosives lab. Most likely the reason why the enforcer came here to blow it up, more than that I can't really tell."

"As for how I got here… it's quite a story. To cut it short, my sister and I tried to escape Amora and succeeded. We were on a boat until a storm came and thrown us offboard. When I woke up the pirates already had me in chains."

"I don't see your sister…"

"I… She's not dead! I know it!"

"That's good, offer your aid."

"I can help you search for her, if you want."

Mi-Dved looked at him with a suspicious look, the teen already had experience with false offers of aid.

"And why would you help me? How exactly?"

Zuko smiled.

"I need someone with enough knowledge about Mi-Sha to help me fight him. Besides, an earth bender, especially a warrior like you, would be a huge advantage to have."

"So you want me to work for you."

"Until I defeat Mi-Sha or we find your sister, either or. And make no mistakes, you can decide to leave at any given moment with no strings attached. As long as you don't abandon me in some life-threatening situation."

"Ignoring the suicidal part of fighting Mi-Sha, those are most generous terms. But how can I be sure you won't backstab me? And you still didn't answer about the how."

"You won't. You will have to take a leap of faith, as for how? I already have a ship and the backing of the greatest nation, and I'm in search for someone decades lost, your sister shouldn't be to much of a problem."

Mi-Dved looked skeptically at Zuko.

"And who are you, to claim such things and declare war on Mi-Sha?"

"Sorry, forgot to introduce myself. I'm Zuko, eldest child of fire lord Ozai and the prince of the fire nation. Father sent me to hunt someone who could be a nuisance to the fire nation, along the way deal with any problems that may arise. Nice to meet you."

Zuko thought it would be better if he didn't mention the banishment part. Anyway, he gave his hand for a handshake. Mi-Dved shook his hand with a stupefied expression.

"Don't give me an answer right away, you can think of it until the end of the day. But I'm leaving then, so you can't have any longer than that. By the way, do you think you could do something about the blocked path in the cave?"

"Am… Sure, I can give it a try."

Together the two teens went back to the cave. One had a silent conversation with his helmet, and one was deep in thoughts.

"I agree."

"Sorry?"

"Your deal, I agree to it."

"Oh…"

Zuko was in a private room writing letters to different people about today's happenings. He already wrote a report to his father about all he learnt about this Mi-Sha and his business, now he was in progress of writing a letter to Loban about the newly discovered mine.

Loban is a businessman Zuko was in contact with for the last few weeks, Sai found him when the two searched for a proper person to manage their factory. According to Sai's analyses, the man is a savvy businessman and a great factory director. More importantly, he's greedy enough to be lured by the promise of riches, but smart enough to know when enough is enough. With the right pressure he will keep his silence, and he will stay loyal (as much at merchants can be) as long as his gains are staying high.

Zuko hated dealing with dishonest merchants who were only loyal to the coin, but even he had to admit that honest merchants are as rare as innocent soldiers. So they exchanged letters and Loban seemed impressed with Zuko's (Sai's) deep understanding of economics. The diamonds in the letters to Loban helped as well.

The letter to Loban was different from the one sent to father. When to his father, he wrote more about the eye of Cheng and the enforcer, to Loban he wrote about the island itself, its resources and why he should build here a factory.

Or at least he was about to, until Mi-Dved barged into his room.

"I'll be frank, I didn't expect an answer so fast. Are you sure you don't want more time to think about it?"

"Yes. Like it or not, you are my best chance to find my sister. Just remember that once I find her the deal is over, no backstabs, no double meanings, nothing. Am I clear?"

While the tone of the desert raised teen rubbed Zuko the wrong way, he took the little victory.

"Crystal. Now what can you tell about your sister? How does she look, places we can maybe find her, things like that."

"Well, she has a black hair like me, but hers is much longer and reaches all the way to her back. She's around this height and has sun kissed skin like any child of the dessert. She has hazel eyes, and she likes playing with herbs. She's like, very good at healing, had a lot of practice."

Zuko wrote all those things down, he will discuss with Sai what to do with it later on. Maybe he will ask uncle as well.

"By the way, what's her name?"

The earth bender facepalmed Before answering.

"Jasmine, her name is Jasmine."

Some time later, a soldier came to him with a message from Zhao to meet at the medical tent. Zuko was curious about the reason for the meeting place, he was shocked when he heard the reason. Apparently Zhao was heavily wounded by some masked figure thet then vanished from sight.

To Zuko it sounded too much like another enforcer for his liking. He thanked Agni that he had to deal with only one of those monsters. From what he heard, Zhao had much less success than him. Three dozen of men were killed in action and as many were wounded, the enforcer himself didn't seem to be much worse to wear.

And so, he let the soldier lead him to the tent. On the way he asked about the health of the soldier and his comrades, to which the soldier replied was good, if a little bursitis. The soldier also thanked the prince for the eye of Cheng, it seems that the foot soldiers knew exactly the big part it had in guiding and saving their lives.

Once he got there, he saw Zhao in his bed. The captain was bandaged in his entire belly, next to him was a medic that checked on his bandages every now and then. His lieutenants were in a semi-circle facing him, he was glad to note that none of them looked too worse to wear.

"Hello."

"Ah, your highness. Good to see your safe and sound."

Lieutenant Shen greeted him with a smile.

"I want to thank you again for the eyes, your highness, they sure made are job a tad safer."

"Seeing all-most of you unharmed is all the thanks I need lieutenant."

"Yes, yes, now if we could resume our debrief."

Zhao interrupted the conversation. His injuries didn't do wonders for his patience and tact.

"Of course, sorry captain."

The old lieutenant replied.

"Sir, I must protest, you can't lead an assault like that!"

The eye patched lieutenant proclaimed.

"You will do as you are told lieutenant, unless you want to be called sergeant again!"

Zuko took a place a free place between Shen and the scared Lieutenant and asked them what's going on.

"The captain still wants to lead the assault, even though he's bedridden for the foreseeable future."

The scared lieutenant explained, as Shen continued his explanation.

"Yes, it seems that once the pirate threat was dealt with and I withdrew my argument, the captain was eager to push forward. He wants to 'hit the iron while it's hot' as the earth navy is still in a disarray."

"He can't be serious, he'll bleed himself to death half the way to the ship."

"That's what we told him, but he won't listen."

"And what of the manpower we lost during the raid?"

"Actually, that argument on his side. It seems that Zhao's encounter with this enforcer figure you mentioned in your report was the only major loss of men we suffered, so we have more than enough men to stage the assault. You'll have to tell me more about your encounter later, seems like quite a story."

"I admit that I myself am quite curious about it."

The old lieutenant added.

Back in the debate, things weren't going anywhere. Zhao refused to back down and his lieutenants refused to let him fight in this shape.

"Say what you want about Zhao, the men got drive. Either way, the assault must commence."

'Why? It's clear that Zhao isn't in any form to fight. Yes, I don't like the guy, but I don't want him dead!'

"This assault will give us a quick access to a spiritual beacon, which we will use to upgrade ourselves. It also may give some answers about the Avatar, as well as the sister of our earth bender friend."

'What place?'

"Remember the story I told you about the sixth overlord and the fungus?"

'Ew… There? You can't be serious! It's gross!'

"I'm afraid we all must suffer to achieve greatness. Besides, didn't you already were in some filthy places in your search?"

'Not in a literal swamp!'

"Trust me, I'm not delighted to return there myself. But it's our best chance to enhance our spiritual side, it will be more than worth it. Now, say those things."

"Say, Zhao, how far will the fleet go?"

"I beg your pardon?"

The prince's question seemed to stall the argument.

"This attack, what are her objectives? How much territory are we going to gain? Is it a conquest or a raid?"

"Well…"

It seemed like the good captain haven't thought that far ahead. If Zuko had to guess, he would say that Zhao was going to advance as much as he was able without any consideration to the state of his troops, the value of the territories or the cost of maintaining hold on said territories.

Ha… Amazing how much his tactical thinking improved after a few weeks of lessons with Sai. Before, he wouldn't even think about such things and probably would have acted just like Zhao, just rabidly charging to the fight without caring about the consequences. He didn't like the realization.

"Because as I see it, the best course of action would be a complete annexation of the sea strip of Goaling. With our new visibility, guarding the strip will require much less ships on active patrol. And with the right moves, we can make the Beifongs pay fee for letting trade flow through sea. You know how those merchant types are, if they fear they will lose more money, they will pay for their annexation for us."

Zuko looked around and saw that the lieutenants liked the idea. Zhao still was debating it however, he wanted something grander that will bring him closer to the Admiral rank he so desired.

"Besides, with the eyes, you can control the entire battlefield from the sky. Completely safe and with no risk to your injuries. Think about it, the selfless captain commanding his fleet despite his injuries. It would look quite good in your resume. I, of course, can write a few good words to my father as well. The way to commander should be quite fast from there."

And that sealed the deal, Zuko saw the hungry look on Zhao. He wouldn't let this chance go, and it seems that the lieutenants were pacified enough with their captain's health to forsake their reservations.

"All in favor?"

Zhao asked.

All the lieutenants raised their hands.

"Then we attack at dawn."

Zhao smiled viciously.

AN

And that's the end of chapter 7

First of all, I'm happy to inform you that we reached the milestone of 1K views as well as 10 followers!

This wouldn't be possible without your help, so thank you all!

Now for those who are disappointed that Toph lost: Mi-Sha had the entire tournament to study Toph, he isn't stupid. he maybe didn't figure exactly how she fights, but she's an earth bender, you don't need to be a genius to figure out that you need to be away from the ground. What's more, his fight was kinda sus. I gave a few clues here and in previous chapters, wonder who will figure it out.

Hope the conclusion of the enforcer battle was to your liking, I tried to write a fight between an experienced and deadly killer and a powerful but newbie teen with as little plot armor as possable. If Sai didn't save Zuko in that moment (The Shock that forced Zuko to kneel) then Zuko would have been done for.

The blue lily purifying is something I made up, but it sounded good and complemented the plot so I wrote it.

The name Amora is from the biblical tale about the twin cities of sin Sdom and Amora, it felt fitting for the story.

Loban is an actual character from the avatar comics, I have plans for both him and his nephew.

And Mi-Dved joined the party! with a little more to his backstory. you are all welcome to guess if where and how they will meet his sister.

And now we go to war!

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 8

"Why do I have to wear it, again?"

"You are now part of my crew, people need to know that so they wouldn't bother you with questions like 'Who are you?' and 'Why are you here?'."

"But it's hot in there!"

"You're from the Si Wong desert! Don't complain about the heat!"

Zuko and Mi-Dved were arguing like a mother and a little daughter in a cloth shop because once Zuko returned to his men with the news about the new plan and their new crewmate, he was quick to prepare them for the assault. That includes equipping Mi-Dved with the standard new gear of his crew.

Quite frankly, they were in lick that Mi-Dved was the size of a full-grown man. Zuko didn't have the time and place to create a personally made set for his earth bending acquaintance. He imagined how big Mi-Dved will be when he will be a grown man.

"Why do I even have to be there? I don't know anything about fighting."

"Firstly, because you are part of my crew now, that means you have responsibilities. One of them is to look presentable and ready for action. Besides, you will be a great help when you direct the boulders of the earth navy away from us."

"I still don't think I can do it, the boulders will be too fast and to heavy."

"You don't need to fight against the boulder, just move it right or left without pushing him against his direction. Trust me, you got it."

'He got it, right Sai?'

"Absolutely, his earth bending level should be just enough to intercept a flying boulder."

"If you say so…"

"Anyway, you should be more concerned about what comes after, this is connected to your sister after all."

Now that got the earth bender's full attention.

"When we have control over this sea strip, you and I will go to the north to an area called the Foggy swamp. This is one of the last places described as 'spirit wild', meaning places with high spiritual connection that existed even before the Avatar. One of the effects the swamp has on people is the ability to see visions of loved ones that are believed to be dead or lost."

"Like my sister?"

"Exactly like your sister."

Mi-Dved now looked uncomfortable. Even if his face is hidden by the visor, he rubbed his hand behind his head.

"I… Thank you for doing this for me, I-I don't really know how to repay you."

"Think nothing of it, I was about to go there anyway in the future. You just helped me decide my course of action. This helps me just as much as this helps you, so don't think that you owe me something beyond what we already agreed."

"I see, thank you."

"But I just- never mind."

"He's probably expected you to go against your word or milk his service as much as you can, most likely he doesn't have a good experience with this kind of situation. His opinion no you grew as a result, it's good."

"Go familiarize yourself with the crew, this could make the difference between life and death in the battlefield."

"Yes sir!"

Mi-Dved gave a mock salute and went outside.

Zuko sighed as he was left in his lonesome.

'What do we actually need from the swamp? I doubt you will have me go there just for a charity trip to Mi-Dved.'

"First name base already, your highness? To answer your question, the spiritual energies of the swamp will be a good fuel for me to store for future endeavors. It will allow us to enhance your body with spirit essence and open to door for new kinds of powers and bending styles to unlock, one of you will find very interesting."

'Are you sure it's safe? And what would I find interesting?'

"I'll be fine, thanks for the concern."

'Sai!'

"Don't worry, it will be as safe as Chernobyl. And about what I had in mind, what do you know about phenixes?"

Hmm… Chernobyl probably was some kind of a fortress or a stronghold.

'You mean the legendary birds of Agni?'

"It's much more complicated than that, but yes. A few of the most known qualities of the phenix is that it reborn once it dies and its tears can heal any injury. Another, maybe less known one, is that the phenix can heal itself by his fire, wounds, internal damage and even scars."

'You can't mean!'

"Exactly, with enough spirit essence and practice, you will be able to heal yourself like a phenix. But I warn you, powers such as this come at a terrible price. The process of transforming energy to matter, and building said matter to the biological needs of the body requires a tremendous amount of energy, knowledge and resolve. One wrong step, and there could be dire consequences, in most of you die. So until you have all the required criteria, I will be responsible for this, no questions."

'And I will finally be rid of my scar?'

"In time, yes. The technique must start with small uses, less the body will burn itself. Humans weren't meant to handle such transformation of energy, this is why I must enhance you with spiritual energy at a low phase."

Zuko wanted it now! He wanted to get rid of his mark of shame as early as possible, but Sai had a point. It wouldn't do him any good if he was to die the moment he healed his face, he knew it. Besides, Sai never proved him wrong. Possession aside, Sai was the most valuable help Zuko had, point. So he decided to have a leap of faith and trust Sai with this arrangement, but one thing he had to know.

'When will my scar heal then?'

"Approximately a year after the first implementation."

An entire year was way too much time for Zuko to wait! …But after a few moments to calm himself down, he reasoned that he already had suffered through over a year, he can suffer another one.

'Very well, what more preparations do we need?'

"With your ship repaired, earlier than expected may I add, we have advantage of speed but our durability leaves much to be desired. I will suggest replacing the steel panels of the ship with dura-steel ones when the factory will be fully operational, that is if you don't replace the ship altogether."

'We'll talk more about that when the factory is ready. Speaking of factories, when did Loban say he will build one again?'

"He should arrive to the island in a few days, three to five by his letter, three by my calculations. He seemed very eager to start the process plant. Together with the royal decree from your father, the bureaucratic tape is almost null. Total monarchy has its advantages, I must say. The construction of the factory will take about a month with the right motivation, be it force or fortune."

'I don't know enough about factories, but can we allow ourselves a month?'

"It's the best we can do, a month is an almost impossible time frame for the construction of the factory we need. Once finished, however, it will work around the clock to meet the desired quota. We will have to look for other places as well for construction, risky as it is, the south pole may be the ideal place for factories hidden from the eye."

'The Avatar, yes?'

Zuko remembers all too well that according to Sai, The Avatar hides somewhere in the south pole.

"Yes, the signal continues to be unchanged, as if the Avatar didn't move the entire time you had me on. This is an anomaly that must be answered as soon as you advanced enough in your path as an overlord."

The fact that even Sai is concerned did bring some unease to Zuko, but ultimately, he buried it down. This is a problem for future Zuko, scarless Zuko.

A horn sounded, it was time to prepare for embarking.

Toph felt the person way before the door was opened, she wanted to bury herself underground, yell at him to go away, anything. She couldn't believe that she lost, and so pathetically like that! She was supposed to be the blind bandit, the strongest earth bender alive! Then, out of nowhere, came this guy and played with her like a fiddle, humiliating her in front of the entire audience. No one is going to respect her ever again after this! But that wasn't the worst part, oh no, the worst part is that she couldn't do anything about it. No matter how she tried, she couldn't feel him anywhere. It was like she was totally blind again, and that scared her more than anything.

She heard his deep voice ordering someone to open the door and she steeled herself to face the music, whatever favor she owned him will be a small price to pay for not telling dad.

"What do you want!"

She may be sad and more than a little nervous, but like hell will she show it to him.

"Your end of the bargain, you know your house well, yes?"

"Yes, so?"

She tapped her foot on the floor impatiently, waiting for this entire circus to end.

"A tunnel. Connecting the northern side of the wall, the place with the tall cherry tree, with the small wine cellar two rooms right to the grain storage. Tonight. Big enough for a full-grown man to walk straight."

"WHAT! You're forcing me to help you steal from my family?!"

Toph was shocked, she couldn't believe it.

"No one will get hurt, if you follow my commands. One tunnel, one night and you can see our bet null. Unless, of course, you prefer telling daddy dearest everything."

Toph hated it, she never would have thought that someone would ever dare blackmail her and succeeded at that. She hated his crocked smile and the arrogant expression he had, but she didn't want him to tell dad. He also told the truth, she would have known if he lied to her. So she was conflicted, how will she get out of it… wait a minute!

"Forget it! I'll tell dad everything and you will be behind bars for good!"

The man had the audacity to laugh at her.

"Cute. Go ahead, tell daddy, I will lead you to him myself, see how he'll react. How are you going to explain that you were out of the mansion? I kidnapped you? Then why I'm returning you? And snitching on me? Who will your dad believe more? The daughter that escaped and most likely wants to put the blame on someone else? Or maybe the adult who returned her? Face it kid, there is no way for you to win if you go to that path."

She hated that he made sense, it sounded exactly like what her father would do. The fact that she didn't detect any lies only made her angrier and more desperate.

"Very well, if I don't get an answer from you, then we'll go straight up to Lao, maybe he will even give something in return for finding his daughter."

As he was about to stand up and leave Toph stopped him.

"NO! fine! I'll do your stupid tunnel!"

"Good, midnight sharp. Next to the tree."

She wanted to bury herself in the deepest hole and die there.

War at sea was not as exciting as the stories told. Mi-Dved expected something like many ships from different sides shooting at each other, instead he was hiding together with his new boss's crew under a smoke screen of the larger ship. It was boring, to say the least, but at least they were promised some action soon.

When he first saw the fire nation ships, he was intimidated, he will admit that much. Back in Amora there were more than a few patrons from the territories controlled by the fire lord, they always spoke about how great and mighty the fire nation was. Well, if it is so great, then what are you doing here, he wanted to tell them. But looking at the many large ships at the dock, heavy cursers the boss called them, and the fact that it was a tiny portion of the fire nation's military might, maybe those arrogant pricks had something.

He was sure in one thing, with a ship like this, his sister and he would have never been separated by the storm. Which opened another can of worms. He was sure that his sister was alive, he could feel it in his big brother sense. And the deal he made with the prince… he had some reservations about it, but he was sure he made the best call. He made deals with much less savory men in the past for less, after all.

The prince actually considered his deal and made an effort to locate his sister, they privately discussed the best course of action and decided against public posters. The men that were after the siblings weren't gone only because he and his sister escaped Amora, and they will gladly hunt and put them in chains back if allowed.

In the end, it was decided that they would go to the swamp. He was quite skeptical about trusting the unnatural, but the boss seemed sure enough. The old man will search rumors about his sister when he was playing his Pai-Sho with the rest of the old men.

It was a strange thing to say for him, but he actually trusted the prince. He was enough times near one conman or another, you can't have it any other way if you live in Amora, so he has a good sense of detecting deception. The prince, while indeed using him, didn't give such vibes, and to be fair, he was using the prince as well.

To be frank, the prince, Zuko, gave one of the best first impressions imaginable. Laying low an enforcer, a symbol of the invincibility of the Brigand, was like watching a scene from one of the stories mother told him and his sister when she was still alive.

The fact that the prince allowed him to fight side by side and not hugging all the glory for himself endeared the prince even more, there was some cathartic release beating up the symbol of his tormentors. The drink also helped, he wouldn't lie.

So all in all, Zuko was a pretty swell guy, that's why he didn't mind working for him so much. He of course asked a few crew members some questions about the prince, apparently he was a brat some time ago, but changed a leaf for the better a month ago. It did give him some reservations, but ultimately, he would be a hypocrite to judge the prince by his past.

A whistle sounded, meaning it was time to attack. Good, it was starting to get boring anyway.

He followed the other soldiers to the dock to prepare for the assault. He saw for the first time the opposing force and quite frankly, he wasn't impressed. The biggest ship was the size of the prince's own ship, which he admitted was small and built for speed. Many of them were even made of wood, which he thought was kind of stupid when fighting against fire benders.

Anyway, the only redeeming quality of the enemy was their larger number. For every fire nation ship, were three earth kingdom ones. The prince said it was meant to be five to one in the enemy's favor, but the greater visibility granted by his flying balls gave them the ability to surround small groups of earth kingdom ships and sink them quickly before anyone on the other side could notice.

The plan, as far as he was concerned at least, was to intercept any boulders thrown at the ship. With the superior mobility of their ship, they will spearhead into the enemy the enemy, directing fire away from the main attacking force in the process, and cause as much discord as they can.

This initial disorder will give the heavy catapults a, more or less, immobile target and will use the superior number of the enemy against them as the ships will be hard pressed to move away in their contained environment.

He asked the prince why the enemy didn't encircle them instead, but the prince explained that an earth kingdom ship is much less durable than its fire nation equivalent. They sank to many of the enemy's ships for the enemy to make an encircle that the heavy cruisers couldn't break. If they try the maneuver now the better armored metal ships will just advance forward, making the less durable earth ships surround each ship individually and be quickly sank by the neighboring fire nation ship without causing much damage.

Instead, the enemy's best bet was to use their numbers to focus one ship at a time and sink them by the sheer quantity of the projectiles.

And so, they moved forward at full speed. Immediately boulders started to fly to the ship. Mi-Dved used his earth bending as the prince suggested, and instead of fighting against the moving boulder, he pushed it to the side. He saw that the rock wasn't going to hit the ship and he let go.

By luck, the boulder he moved hit another earth kingdom ship. He supposed he did a good enough job and continued to the next boulder. From the side of his eyes, he saw the prince shooting a ball of fire to quick for him to see that exploded and destroyed the boulder it touched.

He wasn't jealous, he wasn't jealous at all.

The battle continued to rage on around them. To be frank, he didn't really pay attention to the details. He was too occupied with intercepting as many boulders as he can. One or two managed to hit the ship, but thankfully the metal plate protected the ship from sinking.

He could see that the process was taking tall on the prince as well, his movements were more sluggish, had less force in them. His blasts were merely breaking the boulders to smaller rocks that bounced more or less harmlessly of the metal plate.

From experience, he knew that fire benders fight ferociously, but tire quickly as a result. The fact that the prince continued fighting till now, and throwing things that he was sure were more than the regular fire ball, spoke highly of his power and resolve. No wonder he could stand up to an enforcer.

After a while, they were out of the swarm of ships on the other side of the earth kingdom fleet. For now, they had a moment to rest at least, for however long that is. For the first time he had a chance to have a good look on the battlefield, he must admit that he felt a little satisfaction.

The enemy was in clear disarray, ships were directed in every direction and many earth kingdom ships were sunk. Now they had a more or less even number of ships on each side. With the size and quality of the fire nation ones, it was easy to see who had total advantage now.

The prince seemed to have the same thoughts, if the satisfied grin was anything to go by.

"We did enough, the navy can handle things from here. Good job."

He could only grin back in response.

The navy decided to dock at the navy base of the now annihilated earth kingdom navy, it was both practical decision as well as a symbolic one to show the complete fire nation victory. The personal at the port put up a little fight, but inevitably, they surrendered. Zhao decided to have a party for the success of the complete annexation of the Gaoling sea strip, and he was one of the private guests of honor.

Because of Zhao's medical condition, he was pressed to let someone else do the victory speech. However, glory hog as he is, he wouldn't allow anyone else to take the credit, nor miss the looks of admiration of the soldiers.

So in the end, it was decided that he will have his victory speech on stage from his sick bed with a healer next to him. It was kind of awkward at first, but he had to admit, it did give some patriotic image that the common soldiers seemed to like. He also had to admit that Zhao had a way with words.

"You know, he's pretty effective against opponents without plot armor."

'Plot armor?'

"A short of Personally Likable Observed Tale. Some people, or beings, have the interest of a higher power. Said higher power often pulls strings to make sure their personal of interest gets away and win in situations he had no way to win."

'Like a guardian spirit?'

"More like a play writer."

The thought didn't make Zuko relaxed in any way.

'Does the Avatar have a plot armor?'

"Tons of."

'Damn…'

"Tell me about it."

'Do I have a plot armor?'

"Yes, but not enough to stand up to the Avatar."

'Damn…'

Putting aside thoughts about higher power deciding everything he will do, Zuko decided to focus on the things he could control here and now. He walked to his table and began to read the unopened letters that were on it.

The first one was from Loban, it congratulated him on his victory against the pirates, and now against the earth kingdom. After a few paragraphs of flattery that he skipped, the businessman finally got to the heart of the matter.

Loban visited the island Zuko conquered and had a look at the mines. The businessman agreed that the place will be ideal for a large factory like the one Zuko wanted, he also said that the construction would start right away. He promised a complete factory by the end of the month, Zuko will give him another score of diamonds if he could start production in three weeks, that should speed things up.

He also wrote Loban about the possibility of patenting the creation of a new substance called plastic. Sai explained to him the process of creating such a thing and the utility of it, he was sure a savvy businessman like Loban will see the opportunity as well. The substance will be crucial to many inventions that they planned to bring.

He sent Loban a few blueprints of things he wanted the factory to immediately start producing, as well as repeating the importance of silence about their dealings and a vague threat if his conditions will be broken.

After going through the letter three times, he and Sai decided that it was good enough to send and sealed it with Zuko's seal. Now Zuko had his full attention to the other letter on his desk, the one from his father.

He immediately broke the seal and began to read.

It seems that his father congratulated him on his integral part in the subjugation of the pirates. He also commended Zuko on the idea of the eye of Cheng and the immense value of propaganda it gave.

The letter promised that the invention would be studied by the best minds of the nation and would have its rightful place in the army, as the potential of another dimension of war was revolutionary. Especially with an attack on Ba Sing Se.

His father promised to look into captain Zhao's achievements. If the captain is indeed as good as Zuko said, then his father said that he will consider promoting him to the rank of commander before the regular time for good service.

It ended with a reminder that while his deeds were well and good, his main mission is to hunt the Avatar and bring him back in chains, and no other thing could end his banishment.

He was overall happy with the response of his father, even if it was clearly written by another's hands.

He began writing another letter this father. This one will talk about his part in the conquest of the Gaoling sea-strip, as well as ask again about Zhao's promotion. He and Sai decided to ask for a better ship, as well as the ability to take command on the soldiers if his mission demanded the manpower.

After finishing this letter as well, he went to get the falcons to send his messages. After finishing, he went to the party at Sai's insistence, it was decided already that his men will have a day off tomorrow, so there was no risk at staying late. He also had to make sure that Mi-Dved wouldn't cause an incident with the fire nation soldiers.

It wasn't until well past midnight that he returned satisfied to bed.

It was time, Toph was inside her tunnel, walking to the tree they agreed upon. She could feel the men outside, Mi-Sha and the same two bodyguards, waiting for her outside. She thought about attacking them with surprise but decided against that in the end. She didn't know what they could do, but she was quickly defeated against Mi-Sha alone, she didn't want to risk it. If there was one good thing that came from today, it was the severe humbling experience she got.

She opened the tunnel a few feet in front of the trio.

"Good, right on time."

The main a hole said in all its glory. He then pointed at the hole and his two companions went in. Each had a barrel full of some substance that didn't feel like wine to her feet.

Now only the two of them were left, all alone.

Toph was glad that her opponent wasn't the talking type, because se didn't want to acknowledge him, let alone speak with him. From her feet, she could feel the two thugs, for that's what they were, replacing two barrels of fine wine that probably were stored there for decades with the two barrels they brought.

She was confused when only one of them started returning but couldn't question the main criminal about it. The last thing she wanted was for him to know how her senses worked.

When the thug arrived, Mi-Sha spoke for the first time after his men went inside the tunnel.

"All is planted?"

The thug gave some strange sign with his hand, two fingers, then five, then one.

Mi-Sha nodded and addressed her directly.

"Come girl."

Now that caught her by surprise.

"What?! I'm not going anywhere with you! Our deal was the tunnel, and that's it! You said so yourself!"

"The deal with the fight, yes, now I make a new deal. Go with me now, become one of my bandits, and you're your parents won't be blown to pieces."

"WHAT! No! You're bluffing!"

She desperately said as she felt no lie coming from the giant.

Her blackmailer just gave a nod toward the tunnel.

"The barrels my men got in, they are full of explosive jelly. Enough of it to blast the inner mansion sky high. The barrels are on a countdown of five minutes until explosion, that is if my men wouldn't stop it in time. You have…"

Mi-Sha looked at his minion, which showed three fingers.

"Three minutes until the barrels blow up, be mindful that it will take at least a minute for my man here to go back to the cellar. But don't worry, it's just your parent's lives."

"I-I…"

Her earth bending told her that the man was serious, he will indeed blow the place up if she wouldn't do as he says. She tried to find some loophole in his plan, maybe she can stop him this way.

"B-but what about your guy inside?"

"What about him?"

Mi-Dved raised an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't he also be blown up?"

"And?"

Right, heartless bandits. Maybe another direction.

"My dad will have your head!"

He had the gall to bark a laugh at that.

"He should join the line. Better than him tried and failed girl. His money wouldn't help him with me."

Damn! Something! There has to be something!

The thug next to the tunnel raised two fingers.

"Two minutes."

Her bane of existence said.

Damn it! She will just do it herself, consequences be dammed.

She started to move, but suddenly fell hard to the ground. Some outside force was pushing her down, not letting her move a muscle. Her only indication that something happened was Mi-Sha who pointed his hand to the ground.

"You made a mistake, girl. Luckily, I'm in a merciful mood today. Kneel, apologize, and swear loyalty to me, and I will forget your disrespect. Now time's ticking, minute and a half."

"FINE! FINE! I'M SORRY, I SWEAR!"

The pressure on her disappeared immediately. She 'saw' Mi-Dved giving a nod to his companion, and the thug sprinted to the tunnel. She felt his hands on her, suddenly aware how big they were.

Suddenly, with a whush, she lost all her connection to the ground. All she could sense was the man holding her, and here the sound and feeling of wind on her skin. Wherever and how-ever he was taking her, she knew it would be a long time before she can be home.

She wanted to cry but held herself. It would be her act of defiance, she refused to let anyone, especially this monster, see her cry.

It was dawn when he received the letter. Fire lord Ozai was sitting on his throne when the messenger arrived with Zuko's letter. His temper was much more even this time, for he ordered the man to bring letters of importance from the banished boy.

Once the messenger left, he began to read it. It seems like his pilgrim son once again showed he had a friction of the royal blood inside him. He read about the battle report, as well as similar reports from other officers from the battle. All of them confirmed Zuko's roles in both assaults and commended him for his actions.

It seems that the banished started to toughen up the boy. He wondered what the exact cause was but quickly lost interest, it wouldn't do him good to place himself at the position of his disgraced spawn. Whatever happened, the new changes were both for the better, and for the worse.

On one hand, his son finally started to act like a prince was supposed to and stopped being an embarrassment for the family. Rumors about his exploits were starting to grow and his reputation grew as well. The story of the Eye of Cheng in particular touched many subjects.

On the other hand, there were many downsides. It was only a matter of time until people will start wanting the prince to return back to the fire nation. For now, none even dared to whisper such things in the dark, but he saw it in their eyes. They thought him wrong for the banishment, and he will have to make an example off soon enough to show why his word was law.

Another thing he noticed, which perhaps was more concerning, was the disrespect. He made it clear to his son that he would learn respect, and that suffering will be his teacher. Until now, as the falcon master noted, Zuko gradually became more and more respectful in his letters. Asking less, flattering more and always reported on time. In the last month, however, Zuko has been bolder in his writing, less flattery and ever more growing demand.

In his second letter, he asked to build a base of operations on the island he conquered. The only reason Ozai allowed it was because Zuko promised to pay from his own pockets, as if it wasn't the meagre allowance he was getting from the crown. Ozai entertained the idea because he knew Zuko didn't have nearly enough resources for his so-called base and expected that the broken pieces of his dream would bring him some entertainment.

The suggestion of Zhao's promotion was also a cause for concern. It was written as only good words about the captain, but the message was clear. He decided to keep an eye on Zhao, perhaps he was the one pulling Zuko's strings. It also did make some sense for Zhao to use a prince like that to advance in his career. After a little digging, however, he dismissed the theory. The enmity between the two was too great for Zhao to use Zuko as a ladder.

The third letter was the real concern. It showed that his son was indeed growing in power, managing to hold his ship together and break the earth navy swarm like that. It, however, showed once again that his ambitions grew in a dangerous pace.

Zuko once again reminded about Zhao and his achievements, actually told that he thinks that Zhao was a 'commander material'. It was only the fact that his son didn't tell him in any way to give Zhao a promotion that he even considered the offer. Looking at Zhoa's file, the man certainly had potential, as well as the kind of mindset Ozai could work with. He would allow the promotion, but he will have to make sure that the two will not interact anymore.

The last part of the letter, however, caused Ozai to nearly lose his senses. Zuko had fallen so much into disrespect that he demanded a better ship! As well as command over his army!

It may have been phrased in flowery words and logical explanations, but he saw through all those letters. The risk he took when banishing his failed son came to pass, Zuko was beginning to lose his fear from him. and with the potential Zuko started showing, it was not something Ozai could allow.

He debated whether to send Azula as well to balance and sabotage the achievements of her brother, but the same risk he took with Zuko is just as relevant with Azula. She may follow her brother's footsteps and lose her fear of him as well, leaving him with no weapons to command. Worse, the situation may escalate into a usurpation attempt. He would know more than most about how a son could overthrow his father.

He will have to meditate on it.

Kioshi island is famous for many things, it's elephant-koi fish, the Unagi, it's neutrality. But most importantly, it was famous because it was the home of the great Avatar Kioshi And her followers, the Kioshi warriors.

The Kioshi warriors were a group of an all female fighting force that was responsible for guarding the legacy of Avatar Kioshi and the island. Every year, the warriors would receive new recruits that completed their training. One of such recruits was Suki.

Suki from a young age knew what she wanted to be in life, and it was a Kioshi warrior. She adores the deceased Avatar Kioshi and dedicates her life to following the spiritual leader and the creator of their island. Together with other like-minded girls from her village, they began training for their dream.

A few months ago, they completed their training and finally joined the Kioshi warriors as fresh recruits. A month ago, Suki was delighted when she heard that she was on patrol duty across the beach strip near her village, her first real mission. Of course, she was following her senior, but the point still stood!

She also knew that it could be dangerous, in the last years pirate attacks have become more frequent. There was always a chance for an ambush or a raid, there were even some incidents where Kioshi warriors went missing during mission. Her senior told her that while piracy was always a threat, it was only in the last decade when it gradually became the plague it was. As if all the pirates decided to reorganize as a united force.

Anyway, when she went on her patrol, she and her group found a body that was washed on the shore. It was a girl of maybe between twelve to fourteen years, it was hard to tell. Her black hair hid her face, and her clothes were closer to rugs now. When her senior checked the pulse, to everyone's relief the girl was still alive.

They decided to bring the girl to the village. While they may not like outsiders and preferred their solidarity, they weren't going to let a young girl to die.

When the girl woke up, she was understandingly distressed and suspicious. After calming her down, they got her name and heard her story, apparently the boat she was on sank in the storm and she was separated from her brother. The mayor allowed her to stay in the village, but only as long as she followed their tradition and made herself useful in some way.

Luckily, the girl had a way with herbs and healing, so the local healer quickly took her under her wing. Because of that, Suki had talked to the girl many times when she had some injury that needed treating. They even became friends of sort.

On a few occasions, Jasmine asked if the warriors found any clue about the whereabouts of her brother, but each time the answer was negative. One such occasion was now.

"Sorry Jasmine, we still haven't found anything."

The tanned girl before her sighed.

"It's fine, I'm sure something will come up."

Suki now had an uneasy look on her face, she was about to start the awkward part of the conversation.

"Listen… I know it may be hard for you, but it had been a full month. Are you even sure your brother is… well…"

"His alive."

Jasmine said in a final tone.

"He always survived and came back to me, nothing will change now."

Suki was saved from the conversation by the ring of the bell on the door to the herbalist shop.

"Hi Jasmine! Can you help me with this?"

The boy had a cut in his hand that he said was a result of work accident, you could think that he won a fist fight with the Unagi with how he spoke. She also didn't miss how he flexes his hand when Jasmine started tending his wound.

Suki noticed a dramatic increase in work accidents and minor injuries of the young man and boys of the village in the past few weeks, and she highly suspected it had something with the new medical apprentice.

She wasn't jealous, not at all. So what if the new girl got all the attention, or had an exotic appearance, or was a little more mature then the rest of the girls her age. No, no reason to be jealous at all, Suki was a proud Kioshi warrior and was in no way threatened as a woman. And if anyone says otherwise, they are filthy liars.

The doorbell rang once again.

"Hi Jasmine! I need your help!"

Damn it…

In the south pole, a water tribe young man was returning home after a long day of mediocre success with fishing. He returned to his igloo with the spoils.

"Gran-gran, Katara! I'm home!"

He didn't hear any voices.

"Katara? Can you clean the fish and wash my clothes afterwards? Thanks!"

He only heard the distant sound of some otter-penguin.

"Katara? It's not funny!"

He put the fishes down and ran to Katara's part of the igloo. There, he found her crunching into a ball on her bad. She was silently sobbing with rad eyes. The otter-penguin he thought he heard was in fact the sobs of his sister.

"Katara, what's wrong?!"

He ran to her and hugged her. She continued to sob for some time, but he waited un an uncharacteristic display of patient. While he may be a bit of a 'jerk' as his sister liked to call him, he still cared for his little sister as every big brother should. He would go for great lengths if needed, and his sister definitely needed him now.

Finally, Katara calmed enough to speak.

"T-they said dad d-died…"

"Shhh… who told you that?"

"I-I heard some of the women w-whispering each other t-tat dad was k-killed in battle. T-that he fought the f-fire prince and l-lost…"

"Shh… don't believe everything you hear, they probably heard some fire nation propaganda. No way dad will lose to some snotty brat."

"You should listen to your brother this time dear, finally he speaks some wisdom for once."

The voice of gran-gran came out of nowhere, scaring Sokka in the process.

"Thanks gran-gran… hay!"

Katara giggled a little at the response.

"Thanks gran-gran, I needed that. Sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"Hi! What with me? I helped too!"

Sokka cried in righteous indignation.

"You too Sokka."

His crocodilian teared sister said while rolling her, still red, eyes.

"It's fine dear, there is nothing wrong with a daughter being concerned about her father. Those are hard time for all of us."

"Yeah, you're probably on your lady time as well, right?"

He added helpfully, although judging by the enraged and flustered look on his sister's face, she didn't think so.

"You-you jerk! Can't you stop being a sexist pig for five minutes?!"

"What did I do now?!"

Gran-gran only shook her head at the scene.

Zuko used the day off to upgrade his armor. Zhao was kind enough to let him use the workshop of the base they conquered from the earth kingdom. As agreed, Zhao let Zuko use a tenth of his force, so Zuko used this opportunity to make every available engineer and mechanic work for the day to create him a better armor.

It wasn't an easy task, but with Sai's absolute knowledge about the art of blacksmithing he was able to create a new armor. This one had resemblance to his old uniform, but merely in shape. he wore a full plate on his chest, his belly protected by chain armor that head behind thick leather. His arms and legs had graves and sabatons connected to the reinforced metal of the inner part of his limbs be linked pieces of metal, so his entire limbs were protected and none of his maneuverability was harmed.

The best part of the armor was that it many hidden surprises. At Sai's advice, Zuko ordered as many sets as possible of small explosive jelly bombs to be created in the image of the one the enforcer used. He had also upgraded his gauntlets to be able to shoor darts, as well as ordering many darts for lethal and unlethal needs. He hidden antidotes for various poisons there as well.

When the work was done, it was evening. He may get little sleep for tomorrow's preparations, but looking at the mirror, the results were more then worth it. he felt powerful enough to take the Avatar head on.

"Not yet, but you're certainly getting there, your highness."

Zuko left for bed with a smile. The future looked good, and with luck, the swamp will make it even better.

AN

And this is the end of the chapter.

Zuko is starting to have a maybe new (and first) friend with Mi-Dved, I hope I wrote their interactions as real as possible while maintaining some humor. The story will continue bring them closer to each other, as well as reviling more of the earth bender's past. you are free to guess and write in your reviews what his story maybe, I left a few clues here and there.

Zuko got an upgrade! as well as a chance to achieve one of his greatest dreams, getting rid of his scar! I intentionally made the scar fade over time and not immediately like some magic water that most likely consist the piss of some fish spirits. The scar is for me a physical sign of Ozai's influence on Zuko. As our protagonist will advance in his journey, his father's influence on him will weaken (wither by self grows or Sai's counter influence) and his scar is a good reflection for this. So please don't hate me for strangling Zuko's iconic feature.

The Chernobyl joke is about the nuclear powerplant that was blown in Ukraine in 1986 at the time of the soviet union, no disrespect was meant to anyone that suffered from the tragedy and I apologize for anyone who took offence. For those who are interested, you can read about in in the internet, just google Chernobyl. It however raises an interesting point of how exactly Sai knows about it.

Poor Toph, she's going to have a rough time ahead, if only there was someone to help her...

It also showed that no matter how individually powerful you are, you can always be exploited by a more cunning player with the right cards.

For the military experts among you, I personally apologize of the most likely dozens of mistakes and bad tactics I made while writing the battles ant strategies, both against the pirates and the earth kingdom.

We have another look at Ozai, what he thinks and why he does the things he do. I  personally  think that while he may be pleased with the newfound power of Zuko, he is much more  concerned  in Zuko's fear of him.  because  for someone like Ozai, fear equals loyalty and he would rather have a loyal son then a strong son. A weak and loyal son is a disgrace, but a strong and disloyal one is a threat. I hope the reasons I gave for Azula to not yet take the field are enough, rest  assure  I have plans for her.

And we had a look at another cannon and original characters on Kioshi, wonder how Zuko's interaction with the island will go this time...  Also I do wonder what  happened  a decade ago to cause such pirate problem...

Poor Suki, even a warrior can still be a girl, as she said in cannon.

And we had a look at things in the south pole with the start of the  consequences  of the rumor, as well as Sokka being Sokka.

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 9

"Bye!"

"Have good luck, your highness!"

"Return safe!"

Zuko was having final goodbyes with the man of the base and the crew of his ship before embarking for the swamp. He was glad to notice a few familiar faces from the base such as Shen, Ching and a few of the other lieutenants. There were also soldiers of lesser rank such as Ching's personal aid, the pretty sergeant Ling (much to his pleasure).

"Careful, your highness. This fire can burn you~"

'Shut up.'

Zuko said in his mind to the damnable thing while waving back to the people.

Yesterday, he, his uncle and lieutenant Jee discussed the best course of action. They all agreed that the swamp was an important place to check because of the rumors of its spirituality. Uncle, the only one who actually was there as part of his journey after Lu-Tan's death, explained a bit about the swamp itself.

Apparently, the more people there are at the party, the easier it is to get lost. He was annoyingly mysterious about the spiritual side of the swamp besides the fact that people will see someone they lost. Everything else, uncle said, he must learn from firsthand experience. It was one of the rare moments were both he and lieutenant Jee were in agreement about the annoying habits of his uncle.

Fortunately, where uncle failed, Sai was more than helpful. Under the disguise of reading a few texts the pirates had in their base, Zuko told all the information Sai had given him (with the limitations of what a book found at a pirate base can consist of). Zuko told about the flora and fauna of the swamp, as well as rumors about possible water benders within it.

This was actually a surprise for Zuko as well, apparently the swamp liked to assimilate water benders as some kind of immunity system against invaders. During the age of the overlords, there were a few times when the swamp had to get another grope within her because the constant harassment it suffered from said overlords.

When asked why it was a target for overlords, Sai answered that besides a place full of spiritual resources, swamp, or better say the giant tree in the middle of it, had roots all over the world. This was a severe risk for the overlords, as anyone who had enough knowledge about the tree could use it to spy on and intercept anything the overlords would have done. It was also an integral part of the downfall of more than one overlord.

When enough was enough, the sixth overlord, an herbalist from Ba Sing Se named Cao, created a new type of weapon against it. a fungus that attacked the spiritual aspect of the swamp as well as the physical one. To make story short, the fungus mutated the entire region into a chrysalis of what it was. the fauna was infected as well, transforming into monstrous fungi covered abominations. The water benders of the swamp were not spared from mutation as well, transforming into mindless salivating host for the fungi.

It achieved the desired result, and the roots of the world tree shrunk and rotted into nothingness. The Avatar had to burn down the entire swamp to purge the fungi and let the swamp slowly heal itself, even so, it would take eons for it to return to its former glory, so Zuko didn't need to worry about the world roots any time soon.

While uncle seemed to be disturbed by the fact that the swamp was so detailly described in "some book found at a pirate base", Jee was thankful for the information. They decided that a week would be enough for the mission, they would buy some local ostrich horses (or terror birds, as Sai called them) because komodo-rhinos are too noticeable as fire nation and will bring unwanted attention.

There was some debate about the party that will be sent, but it was decided that Zuko will be accompanied by uncle Iroh and Mi-Dved. Each was individually powerful, and together they were more than a match to any would be bandit group. The three of them also won't bring as much attention to them with cloaks to hide the armor and uniform.

Zuko ordered the crew to hunt pirates for bounties while he was away, this would give them something to do for the week. It will also be a good practice for the man and will raise their prestige (and his by proxy) in the eyes of the people.

And this is how he found himself on an ostrich-horse with uncle and Mi-Dved waving goodbyes.

As they continued, the base grew smaller and smaller until it was out of sight.

"How far by mount is the swamp?"

"A day by ostrich-horse at full speed, two if we consider the poor thing under uncle."

Zuko answered as he looked at the ostrich-horse that mounted his uncle, said poor thing was already struggling with uncle's weight. They will have to make a few stops a day and change each other's mounts to make sure none of the animals will die along the way.

His uncle took the joke/jab in stride and laughed heartedly, putting his hands on his large belly.

"Ha! Yes, I supposed I gained a few stones in my old age."

"How old are you anyway?"

The earth bender was curious.

"Why, I just reached the tender age of sixty just a few months ago."

"Damn, I wish I would have your stamina when I'm that ancient."

Uncle laughed at that.

"You should see king Bumi, now this old coot has spirit."

"King Bumi?"

Zuko decided to answer that one.

"The earth bending king of Omashu, he's over a hundred years old. He is also considered one of, if not the most, powerful earth bender alive."

"How 'powerful' are we talking about?"

Undoubtedly, Mi-Dved think that Mi-Sha, the lord of the desert, has this title.

This time Iroh is the one that answered.

"Why, on time he threw an entire mountain from the western side of Omashu on the eastern side to block the morning sun so he could get another few hours of sleep."

"Damn…"

Zuko had to agree with the intelligent response of his fellow wide-eyed companion. No matter, better push the conversation in a more productive direction.

"Uncle, now that it's only us who go to the swamp, can you share your own experience, please?"

Uncle looked debated for a few moments, in the end, however, he sighed and relented.

"Very well, it would have been ideal for you to face the trails of the swamp blind, for then you would have a much greater enlightenment. But as things are, you are too prepared for that. And to think it's all because of some dusty book of some pirate…"

The last part was quietly said in a sad, disappointed and mournful tone. The old man probably was extremely heartbroken over the "stolen realization" of his nephew. Never mind, such things wouldn't help him catch the Avatar, they wouldn't bring him his honor back and unlike Sai, they most certainly wouldn't rid him of his scar and shame.

His uncle continued to talk.

"When I was in the swamp, I was lost. Both literally and figuratively. It was some time after the siege on Ba Sing Se, after Lu-Tan's… I was at a loss of what to do with myself in life, a friend advised me to go for a trip in the swamp to clear my mind."

His uncle paused for a few seconds.

"Once I got there, I quickly lost my way. The swamp showed me visions of my son, he guided me in both my mental recovery and on my way to return to the outside world. I'm sorry, nephew, but the trails are different for each individual. What you will face will be different from what Mi-Dvev here will face, you will also most likely be separated for a while. The swamp is a magical place, nephew. I'm sure you will learn much from it, the both of you."

"He said nothing about any local water benders."

'Then there probably aren't any.'

"Illogical, there was enough time for the swamp to regain enough of itself to integrate a few water benders into itself. It even should be at the phase where some of its water benders can bend the flora. Besides, look at his eyes, he clearly is trying to hide something. Ask him about it, call his bluff."

"Uncle, what about the water benders that are rumored to be in the swamp? Did you encounter any?"

Uncle looked concerned now.

"That… is something you will have to find on your own nephew. I can't tell you that."

"Filthy liar pants on fire~ You see, your highness, you can't trust him in things like this. Notice how he separates himself from you and our earth bender friend."

"Of course you can, just say yes or no."

Mi-Dved Sayed rather forcefully, it seems like his uncle's, for lack of better term "old uncle aura" didn't rub on the desert dweller too well. Zuko suspected that there was one or two old men who faked this feeling to lure him and his sister into some unsavory situation. It didn't help that this half answer stood in the way of full preparedness to go to a place that can point him to his sister.

"I agree with Mi-Dved here, we need to know if there are water benders that can drown in the swamp for all we know. And why does it sound like you aren't going with us?"

His uncle sighed again, he thought he heard the tiniest bit of frustration seeping into his uncle's voice.

"I never saw any water tribesmen in the swamp nephew, and I wouldn't be joining you in the swamp. This is your journey that the both of you must take alone, I already had my share with the swamp and I'm unsure if a second trip will bring any good."

"For the better, I suppose. Having him around will complicate the transformation process of the spiritual energy. Notice thar your uncle said 'tribesmen', the people of the swamp are technically not considered part of any tribe. So there is either a civilization that is not considered a tribe or a tribe that consists only of women, the last one is unlikely because the need for males to keep population. Then again, perhaps your uncle saw just the women of the tribe. Leave it be for now, we got the answer we were looking for. There is no point in antagonizing your uncle farther at this point."

"Fine… there should be a village a few hours from here. We rest and exchange mounts, Mi-Dved takes mine. Uncle, you take Mi-Dved's and I take yours." the three of them continued with an uneasy silence for the rest of the way.

Lao Beifong was one of the richest men in the entire continent, he was the head of the prestige noble Beifong family and he was extremely distraught.

When the nanny of his daughter reported that the girl wasn't in her bed, he thought that little Toph was trying again to run from home. It was a nightmare the first time she ran away, thankfully she returned home quickly enough and none too worse for wear. So obviously it was enough to drive any father mad, but no, it was much worse than that.

The guards found in one of the wine basements a ransom note and a tunnel leading to the outside of the manner. An honest to spirits tunnel right under his nose!

He immediately sent the guards to investigate and waited for their results. Meanwhile, he had to comfort his wife, who took the news much harder than him. she was right now a crying mass and almost completely shut herself off from the outside world.

Once he heard a knock on the door, he gently kissed his wife on the forehead and went outside. He knew that whatever news he would hear would not help the psych of his wife, so he ordered the guards to wait outside until he comes out.

"Yes, what do you have to report?"

Lao asked the head of his guards. He may hate the man for letting his daughter get kidnapped, and obviously will fire him for that, but for now he needed any help he could get.

"The tracks of little miss Beifong end in the cherry tree, the hounds weren't able to get her smell. It's as if she disappeared out of the blue."

Lao was beginning to lose his patients.

"If you don't give me- "

"But we found more, my lord!"

The man before him was visibly shaken as he continued with the report.

"We discovered tracks of three different people, one of them has to be a giant or something by the tracks of his feet. It will be easy to find that culprit and bring him to justice!"

Lao sense a "but" coming.

"But unfortunately, his tracks seem to disappear just like the little miss. All of their tracks suddenly appeared and disappeared near the tree, excluding the tracks of the men in the tunnel. There is a chunk of land missing near the tree, so we suspect they used earth bending to use sais boulder as some kind of raft to fly away. It would also explain the lack of tracks."

The guard tried to hide it, but for Lao, who was experienced at finding the tiniest thing that would help him get a better deal, it was plain to see the respect for the earth bending the criminals possessed. Yes, he would have to replace the man soon.

"So you say that you have no clue about the whereabouts of my daughter besides a hunch on a tall man?!"

"I-I mean the men is at the very least a seven feet tall, maybe even eight! How many people like that can be?"

"And what of the substance in the suspicious barrels?"

"Am… It was discovered to be an explosive jelly, sir, seemed to be bought by from the Beifong company as well. There has been some strong smell that obscures the natural smell of the jelly, as well as the smell of anything else. Apparently, it was bleached, by Beifong products as well it seems. this is a dead end as well."

"So those cravens not only kidnap my daughter, but use my products to do it as well?!"

"W-well."

"Find my daughter! Use any means necessary! I don't care who you hire, or how much money it will cost, if my daughter isn't found by week's end being fired will be the last thing on your mind!"

His attention was pulled away from the quivering man before him as he thought of all the stress his poor blind and fragile little Toph must be in.

Toph was under a lot of stress right now. After her kidnapping, she was an unknown amount of time completely blind. Meaning, she felt only her capture through her earth bending and nothing else. The strong wind continued to whistle loudly, weirdly enough, the wind pushed her towards the direction they went and not against it as she felt in when she usually moved.

When they finally stopped and Toph could finally feel the ground again, she noticed that they were nowhere near Gaoling. The basterd told her to rest for a few hours before her "initiation", whatever it was.

Obviously, she couldn't sleep because of the adrenalin and was awake the entire time. After some time, in which she definitely didn't cry, she sensed her surroundings with her bending. She discovered that she was in an underground camp of sorts.

The city above was also not what she was expecting. It was denser than Gaoling, much denser. It reminded her of the lower ring of Ba Sing Se, but to be fair, it was much smaller than the super metropolis. If she had to guess, she would say it was proximately the size of Gaoling. She also noticed that the ground was made of a very fragile soil, send if she had to guess. At least she knew it was somewhere in the desert.

The time passed as she studied her new surroundings, and quite frankly it made her uncomfortable. Her bending allowed her to sense even the tiniest ants in the garden, and it revealed much about the city above her, too much. The send somewhat obscured her vision, and she was for the batter. She could see only a few dozen feet out of the entrances of the underground caves she was in, but through that, she could see more crimes in the hours she was there than her entire life in Gaoling, she would not go into details.

After some time, the main bastard came in and said it was time to go. She didn't bother to fake the meek blind girl's act, he was in the Earth Ramble after all. She followed him reluctantly as he led her through the maze of the underground.

Once they arrived at a ring of sorts, he stopped and addressed her.

"Listen up, girl. The initiation is simple. You will have to face three challenges, after which, you will be given fitting uniforms as well as be assigned to a mission fitting your talents."

"And why would I do that? You can't blackmail me anymore, dad most likely already found the barrels and took care of them. In fact, why should I listen to you at all?!"

She wasn't quick enough to prepare something to face the crushing pressure she felt at the moment. She was immediately flattened against the hard and dirty ground.

"Listen up, you insolent brat. I can easily end you here and now, but I have uses for you. I can just as easily order a poisoned cup for both your parents, in fact, I already did order. The only thing that stops it is your cooperation little girl, so think again before you lash. Understood?!"

She didn't sense any lies from him.

"Y-yes…"

The pressure left her immediately.

"Now go to the ring and wait for the trail. Don't tempt me girl."

She wordlessly went to the ring.

She sensed two gates open.

One had some kind of an animal. even if she didn't "see" the claws and teeth with her bending, she would immediately recognize it as a predator by the roars it made. It had the head and body of a large feline with a tail that was a snake.

The second gate was more concerning. It had a kid, maybe six years old, tied in metal chains to a metal chair. She could just feel how frightened he was, she even sensed wetness in his pants. Just what the big degenerate is thinking?!

She didn't have to wait for long.

"The first step of your trail is simple. On your right, you have a wide cobra-leopard that hasn't eaten for over a week. On your left, you have some kid who tried to pickpocket one of my men. You have to choose a side. Now."

The cobra-leopard immediately pounced on the kid and Toph shot a rock toward the animal, catching it mid-flight. The creature was quick to recover, however, and the snake head in the tail opened its mouth. Toph immediately sensed some liquid gathering at the mouth and raised a wall just in time to block a poisoned shot to her head.

The creature leaped once again towards the kid, but Toph earth bended the ground under the chair to move it, and the kid with it, away from the predator. All while the cobra-leopard continued chasing after it in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

Toph made the chair do a sharp turn and the cobra-leopard slowed a little to keep track of its prey. She used this opportunity to cage the animal in a cage.

The creature roared and wailed and spat poison in every direction. She closed off every hole so the poisoned spit wouldn't get out. After some minutes that felt like forever, it was suddenly quiet and Toph didn't feel any heartbeats from the creature.

She disposed of the makeshift prison and sensed the big thug walking towards the ring.

"Dead by its own venom, the venomous Steam attacked the soft tissues of the lungs. Cruel and painful death indeed. Very well, you passed the first test."

Toph was in a little shock, she had never killed anything bigger than an ant before. Yes, she may like fighting, yes, it was a dangerous predator that was going to eat some little kid, but killing it was a bit too much for her. The man's next word completely shocked her, however.

"Now for the last part, execute him."

He said while pointing at the boy, which wailed even more now.

"What! I'm not going to kill him!"

The thug barked a laugh.

"You are forgetting your situation, little girl. One word from me, and your family is in past tense. This kid is a thief that stole from my men, meaning he stole from me. And this is something I wouldn't tolerate. This kid is done for, one way or another. You have until I leave the room to punish him or it's your parents head that will role."

The thug began walking to the exit. What was worse, is that she again felt no lie from him.

"I-I…"

When Mi-Sha was in the second half of the way, a loud sound of rocks hitting followed by a scream was heard.

"Move out, you dogs!"

Tyro heard the one prison guard shout. For the last day he and the other prisoners from the mining village were slowly transferred by ship from the prison rig they had been on for the last four years.

It came from nowhere, suddenly the warden told them one morning that they were to be transferred to another place for physical labor. He was conflicted, on one side, the new place was an island. Which means they will have earth to bend and revolt.

On the other hand, it was a faraway island with most likely higher security measures. He also had no idea where that island was precisely, it could be on the other side of the world for all he knew.

The warden helped him in the decision when he threatened the people of the village should the prisoners show any defiance. It would be just like here, nothing would change.

They moved out in groups and entered shuttles that will bring them to their new prison. It was extremely dense there, and the men had barely any room to breathe. But after a day or two, the shuttle opened, and they embarked on the new island. He told himself that the island can't be that far if it took only a two-day trip to reach it.

They were immediately greeted by the local personnel, who directed them to where they would sleep. After two days on ship being shipped off like cattle, all of them fell to sleep right away.

When they woke up, they were immediately sent to the mines. In contrast to the regular coal mines they were used to, however, those mines had all kinds of resources. He could see why the fire nation had interest in them.

He was also surprised that he and the men went through a quick course of safety before entering. While walking to the mines, he noticed many people, some from the colonies and some from the fire islands, working like a colony of ants to build some construction. He didn't give them much attention, however, and thought about the best course of action for his people.

The entrance to the village was much easier than Zuko anticipated. He expected the guards to be wary of strangers, and they were, but even with his and uncle's fire nation looks the guards let them in after seeing his scar.

It seems that people immediately connected burn scars to fire nation victims. They weren't so wrong in his case, but it still annoyed him somewhat. Not every burn is from fire bending.

Nevertheless, he didn't look at a gifted ostrich-horse in its mouth and went into the local inn for a little rest and supply. The woman at the counter greeted them, although her eyes held a little suspicion.

"Hello gentlemen, how can I help you?"

Zuko let uncle do the talking, he was better at small talk anyway.

"Thank you kind lady, my nephews and I are letting our mounts rest for a few hours. I'm afraid mine was put under much pressure."

He gently slapped his belly as he said the last part.

"We would like a sack of grain for our mounts and three meals for ourselves please."

"Sure, three coppers for the grain sack and two coppers a meal."

The lady smiled a little, it seems that uncle managed to lessen her worries.

His uncle pulled ten coppers out of his sleeve and gave them to the lady with a smile.

"There you go, nine coppers for the products and one for the service."

"I… Thank you, your meals will be ready soon."

The woman went to the kitchen.

Zuko wondered why she was suspicious of them in the start, did she have the same problem as Ming?

" I don't think so, she didn't look like she was expecting someone. In my opinion she was just wary of weapon wearing strangers in cloaks, and a helmet."

Fair enough, Zuko supposed. He too wouldn't be calm in this situation.

"Damn, back's killing me."

Mi-Dved, apparently, didn't like riding. He also seemed a little wary of their mounts.

"Was it the first time you rode an ostrich-horse?"

Zuko asked the earth bender.

"Yes, and hopefully the last."

"Riding isn't for everyone, it does take some time to enjoy."

His uncle said sagely while petting his beard.

"Riding got nothing to do with it, I just don't like the damn birds."

"Something from the past then?"

"You could say it, mister Iroh, Amora is using them as garbage disposal. They eat anything, spoiled food, rodents, corpses, you name it. The coliseum also has a pack of them sometimes swarm some poor group, needless to say, things get bloody. Them beak and claws can tear a hole inside you just as easy as they do with a sack of grains."

The three were silent afterwards. Now that Zuko heard it, he understood why Sai called them "Terror Birds". When he looked outside to see their mounts hungrily tore and devour the sack of grain, he couldn't help but imagine a body instead of the sack.

He shivered at the thought, the continued journey will be extremely awkward on the mounts.

"Here you go ~"

Thankfully, the lady arrived with their meals just in time. They ate their meal silently before continuing their journey.

It took two days to reach the swamp, the beginning of the swamp was obvious by the large trees. A part of him questioned why it wasn't cut down for timber, but the mystic rumors of the swamp probably helped.

" Listen carefully, your highness. I made sure to hide my presence from the swamp, but it would only work if you took me off your head. Which you will have to do either way for me to collect spiritual energy in the quantity we need."

Zuko didn't cherish the thought of being away from Sai, it made him feel vulnerable and incomplete, but he understood the importance of the mission.

'What do I need to do?'

" You must unequip me before you enter the trees, and don't go with me too deep. Put me down on the first root with the diameter of your arm that you see. And don't worry about losing me, I will be extremely hard to pull. I will call you when I will be fully charged."

'OK, sounds simple enough. But can't the swamp just read my mind and know about you, like with those visions?'

"The swamp will start from the strongest memories, which, quite frankly, I don't come even close. The human mind is full of unused space, yours is no different. I merely coded any memories of me to be transferred to such places when the swamp is reaching the buffer. When enough empty space was scanned by the swamp, my memories will go there. So as far as the swamp id concerned, I was never here."

'You make it sound like a game of cups and thieves. Out of curiosity, what would happen if the swamp did catch you?'

" It won't, but in that case I'll advise you to run as fast as you can, use your fire bending to jet to the tree tops and find the nearest border. Stay in the treetops, the swamp has less influence there."

'Okay.'

" I would advise you to stop thinking of me so much as well, but the swamp will do a good enough job to distract your attention."

They were now a few feet away from the trees. Zuko pulled away his helmet, he immediately felt the need to put it back on. After they dismounted, uncle spoke to the duo for the last time before they departed.

"Good luck, for the both of you. I hope you two find the answers you are looking for. I will wait for you here."

"Thank you, uncle. We'll be back soon enough."

Zuko hugged his uncle, and the two teens left the old man with the three terror birds.

It didn't take much time for Zuko to find a fitting root, just a dozen feet before him stood proudly a web of roots. He placed his helmet on one of them, ignoring the questioning look of his partner, and went two steps back. He saw that the helmet was stable and had some kind of cylinder connected to the root, the scene reminded him of a mosquito.

"What now?"

His earth bending friend asked.

"We continue until the swamp will do its thing. We should stay close to each other, however."

"Agreed."

The duo continued in their walk. Both of them felt an uneasy feeling in the back of their neck, like they were being watched by someone or something unseen. They walked closer together, Mi-Dved used his twin axes to cut down the dense vegetation while Zuko lit the way with his fire bending.

The axe was a new addition to his earth bender's arsenal, Mi-Dved took liking of the weapon after Zuko (at Sai's advice) forced him to take a cold weapon in addition to his earth bending.

The twin one-handed war axes quickly took place as Mi-Dved's favorite weapons. They complemented well with his own bending and "just felt right" as the earth bender phrased. They allowed him to use his impressive strength while their size and built allowed Mi-Dved to attack quickly and in sequence.

Stereotypically stubborn earth bender as he is, Mi-Dved would never acknowledge that Zuko was right and he was wrong, but they both knew that the earth bender was grateful for the axes.

Hours passed as they continued their track to nowhere and they were growing more and more stressed as time went on. At every noise they jumped into battle stances, in every shadow they thought they saw eyes.

The final straw was when some bird, Screeching dodo, honked in a loud enough voice to scare a komodo-rhino into a stampede. It barely got away when an axe was suddenly imbued in the place it was a moment ago.

"I freaking hate birds."

Mi-Dved proclaimed as he earth bended the axe back to his right hand by the stones in it. One in the start of the base and two in between the metal blades, one on each side.

"I think that it's a good spot for a camp. We rest and continue tomorrow."

Zuko finally said.

"Agreed."

Mi-Dved replied with grinding teeth.

And so, they started to make camp for the night.

"Men! Prepare for embarking! Horned formation!"

Lieutenant Jee barked at his men. They were pirate hunting in the now fire nation controlled waters, just as his highness commanded. There was no lack of bounties in the former pirate infested waters.

Before the prince left, he had one last debriefing with the crew. He told them what he expected them to do to keep their skills sharp. Before, if he would have done that, the crew, including himself, would just scuff and find some place to rest until the prince returns.

Now, however, besides the respect prince Zuko had gotten from the men, all of them saw the results of their training and the need to keep it up. A part of it also played some righteousness the crew started to grow, fighting off pirates and rescuing people realized a few fantasies of the men.

And this is how they found themselves in this situation. The pirates thought they smelled weakness in the newly conquered area, thinking that the lack of navy ships meant an easy raiding area. They were harshly proven wrong when they were caught in an ambush.

To be fair for the unfair cutthroats, they didn't know about the Eye of Cheng, which meant that they thought they had the advantage of speed to outmaneuver the fire navy. The eyes, however, closed that gap as they allowed the slower ships to have a farther vision and therefore, encircle the pirates and cut their way out.

By now, the pirates learned from their mistake and backed off. They also had a "survival of the fittest "where only the fastest pirate ships were left. Therefore, they were ideal targets for the Wani, the prince's ship.

One such target was right in front of them, they managed to cut into its way by hiding under a cliff. One flaming boulder from the catapult made the other ship nearly immobilized. The pirates, in a last ditch, tried to board the Wani because they knew they couldn't take another shot.

And so, what followed was the complete butchery of the pirate crew, as the better trained and better equipped soldiers cut through the outlaws like a hot knife through butter.

When all was said and done, with no casualties on their side, the crew began to search for the, now crewless, pirate ship. The prince told them that they may take whatever they wished as spoils, besides captured slaves, obviously, those were to be accompanied to the nearest safe port and be given enough coins for a new start in their life, courtesy off their former captor's former loot.

The prince also ordered to bring whatever paperwork possible from the captain's office. He, rightfully in Jee's mind, suspected that there could be valuable information there like bases of operations or names of important people.

When the ship was cleared, they decided to take a leap of faith and sell it in the, more or less, natural ports near Gaoling. They had no use for such a ship, and it would be a waste to sink it.

Once there, they had a bit of commotion when one of the merchants recognized the pirate ship. After nearly starting a fight with the local earth kingdom garrison and explaining the situation, the merchant happily bought the ship at full price. They offered him a discount after hearing his history with said pirate ship, he lost a family member to the ship's pirate crew.

When they left the port, with a considerable amount of gold, lieutenant Jee finally had time to go on the paperwork of the pirates. He sighed, it will take a lot of work to get something out of this mess, perhaps he should get a few of the men to help.

He wondered what the prince was doing at the moment.

Zuko was cooking some kind of a fish they found, it was armored and had a hoof shaped head and a tear shaped body as long as his legs. They fished it after an extremely large leach attached itself to one of Mi-Dved's elbows. The earth bender quickly tore it off and strangled it above the water. It took only a few seconds for the fish to jump and swallow half the leach, and they decided to have it for dinner.

Cleaning off the armor was relatively easy, war axes are extremely good at breaking armor. They smoked it to make sure no unknown swamp disease will kill them if they it the fish and set next to the fire Zuko created. They shared stories with each other about their past misadventures while they waited for the food to be ready. They probably should have held back a little with the embarrassing information, but it was just too good of a stress relief.

"A-and then, after I went back with an ostrich-horse, I filled for it a glass of water. Jasmine noticed me and asked just what exactly I had in my hand, you know what I told her?"

"What?"

Zuko was eagerly waiting for the answer.

"Water, you want some?"

They both laughed like madmen for a few minutes, they were just this much stressed.

"Hey, I think the fish is ready."

Mi-Dved said after they had their laugh.

They each took a piece of meat and started eating quietly. After a few minutes, Mi-Dved spoke.

"You know, your highness… I owe you an apology."

The earth bender said in middle of munching.

"What for?"

Zuko was confused, he didn't notice anything wrong with his partner.

Mi-Dved was quite for a moment until he spoke again.

"When you made your offer, I distrusted you. I took it mainly because it was the best choice by far, considering alternatives. All this time I just waited for the other shoe to drop and for you to stab me in the back like all the others eventually do. Instead, you took me as one of your own. You immediately followed your promise, you didn't haggle or abuse it like anyone else. Prick it, you actually went into this damnable swamp for me. And don't say otherwise, I know you could have other options."

Zuko stayed quiet and let the other teen talk.

"What I'm trying to say is… thank you, for everything."

"No problem, I-"

Suddenly the ground shook as the vegetation itself seemed to be alive.

Zuko and Mi-Dved quickly got up and held their respective weapon at ready, they were back-to-back as they faced the weird vines that tried to insnare them. Mi-Dved cut down any vine that came close with his axes while Zuko did the same with his swords.

"The prick is this?!"

Mi-Dved yelled as Zuko answered.

"No idea! You think we have some spirit activity, at last?"

Zuko tried fire bending at the vines, but the green things were too wet and humid to catch fire. Lightning was a no go as well, he remembered Sai telling him about materials that lightning is weak against grass. Besides, he didn't want to electrocute himself and Mi-Dved by mistake. He also didn't know what he may face, so he kept his blasts as last resort to preserve energy.

After a few minutes, the vines seemed to be annoyed at their lack of progress to achieve… whatever it was they were trying to do, Zuko wasn't sure what exactly, but knew it didn't mean well for him. The ever-fiercer attack of the vines ceased and there was silence for a few seconds.

Suddenly, the entire ground shook as a mass of green vegetation rose. The monster was at least thirty feet tall! Its entire body wad made of green vines and moss. In fact, the only thing not green was the pale bark on what Zuko thought was the head, the thing was a mocking chrysalis of a face with black holes for eyes and no mouth whatsoever.

"Holy prick."

The two teens stood wide eyed and mouth gaped at the sight of the thing. Zuko didn't know if it was his partner or himself that said it, but he wholeheartedly agreed. The spirit, for what it could be besides a spirit, raised one of its arms and the duo immediately broke from the shock and went to action in the face of danger.

The two broke and went to attack the thing in opposite directions, having spared to be one with the swamp by mere seconds. Zuko immediately flew up using fire bending on his legs as small jets and threw blast of explosions at the thing, it was no time to hold back.

From his side view, he saw Mi-Dved shooting rocks at the thing, but it was of little help. The earth bender instead opted to use his axes and one good earth bending guided strike managed to find itself deep in the white face of the monster, for all the good it did.

After a few minutes of this game of tag, Zuko managed to lend a good strong explosion right on the white husk of a face, destroying it completely.

The duo had little time to celebrate their trifling victory, as the thing decided to stop masquerading any semblance of humanity. Gone were the semi humanoid limbs and body, now the true form of the thing shown. An ever-shifting mass of vegetation swarmed angrily upon them.

They didn't have any time to react as the sheer mass of the vines swallowed them and separated them from each other.

In his panic, Zuko blasted explosion after explosion to set himself free. After some time that felt like forever, but couldn't be more than a few seconds, Zuko set himself free. The last of the tentacles was destroyed and Zuko looked around him, he could recognize a thing from the view. Wherever he was, it wasn't near the camp any longer. Mi-Dved was nowhere in sight as well.

"Blast it… Sai, what to do now?"

After a second of silence, he remembered that the helmet wasn't on him, but far off in the end of the swamp.

Damn… what is he going to do?

"Think Zuko, think."

He remembered Sai telling him that moss grows on the northern side of the trees, but it only worked in sunlit places. The swamp was anything but sunlit, so he had to find another method of direction.

Suddenly, he heard a noise nearby and suddenly he felt torn into two. It was as if two foreign presences inside his head told him to do the opposite of each other.

One told him to get away from the noise immediately, that it didn't belong here, and he should turn around as fast as possible and ignore it.

The other presence, that felt extremely identical to Sai, told him that he must investigate the anomaly immediately. That he must know what it is and that whatever he may find may be of use.

He obviously leaned more to the feeling that reminded him of Sai, even though he just had a terrible fight with a spirit and should be wary of anything.

The next noise was a growl and a splash of water followed by a yelp, some predator was going to kill something small. This made Zuko's choice as he rushed towards the noise.

When he got there, he saw that indeed some kind of a catfish and an alligator, catgator as Sai told him, was mercilessly mauling another animal that he had never seen or heard of before as it barely managed to get away from the jaws of the predator.

It was a cub with the head of a dog, body and limbs of a dog and a tail of a… dog. It was a pure dog puppy, strange. Its fur was tar black and its eyes were yellow and had blood rad pupils.

The first presence screamed at him to turn away, to let nature run its course. The second presence yelled to save the pup at any cost. The next pained yelp of the puppy as it was thrown against a tree was the final nail in Zuko's decision.

He quickly shot fire blasts at the big predator. When that didn't stop it, like it should have stopped any wild animal that looked for an easy meal, Zuko shot lightning at it and ending it's advance once and for all.

He picked the cub and suddenly both presences ceased to exist, though he thought he felt smugness from the second presence.

"Hi little guy, what are you doing here all alone?"

The puppy just wailed.

Zuko suddenly had an idea, he searched through the pockets of his belt and found some small pieces of meat from the fish earlier. He gave them to the puppy, which barked happily and shook his tail.

After a few moments of petting the cute thing, Zuko suddenly heard a voice.

"Little duckling! Where are you, my little duckling?"

No, it couldn't be. Even though he hadn't heard this voice in years, he would never forget it. But no, it just couldn't be it, it couldn't be…

AN

Cliffhanger !

anyway, more content about the swamp and past overlords was mentioned, when I pictured the corruption the swamp went I thought of Dark Souls/Bloodborne level of monstrosities.

Mi-Dved is showing a bit of his past, as well as experiencing the wider world and hearing of different people like our favorite crazy old man Bumi, who I have plans for later in the story. As well as expressing his dislike for birds. To be frank, when I first saw those ostrich-horses, I immediately thought about the prehistoric terror birds. I don't care if the cartoon showed then eating grain, no bird with beaks like that isn't a predator.

And while Zuko and Mi-Dved grow closer, he and Iroh are growing farther apart, and someone else is adding fuel to the fire.

We see a bit of the chaos thar Toph's kidnapping caused, and it will only grow as time passes. We also see how Mi-Sha is trying to mold our favorite blind earth bender to his image, I promise that you will see more of her story in the next chapter.

The factory is coming to existence, and Lagon doesn't care about holding back. It's mind bugling how much people can do if you pay them enough money. I only wonder what will happen to the mining village now that their main force is far-far away.

We also see how the crew grew as a fighting force and as loyal soldiers, this hunt will have significant consequences that will be reviled in the future.

Another familiar face is shown, the swamp "monster", I hope I did it justice.

And Zuko found a pet! more about it and its importance will be cleared in the next chapter, and who were the to things Zuko felt, I wonder...

And now for the most important question, who is it that Zuko heard? I will be glad to hear your answers.

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 10

"Mom?!"

He would never forget her voice, the same voice that calmed him down after he failed or told him a story before bedtime. But what in Koa is his mother doing here in all places? Is it where she disappeared all this time?

"Where are you my little duckling?"

"Mom! I'm here!"

"Oh, there you are, sweety~"

They ran towards each other and Zuko prepared to hug his mother. When they touched, however, all he could feel is nothingness as his mother literally walked past him.

"What?"

Then suddenly it came down to him, Sai told him that the swamp shows visions of people that are believed to be lost or gone. Whatever was before him, no matter how identical it was, wasn't his mother. The face, the skin color, the hair, even the eyes and lips, all of it was the same as he remembered… the same as he remembered, but also not.

She looked a bit older, not that someone would have noticed it if they weren't her son, she looked like she should be now, and not as he remembered her from childhood. Isn't the swamp supposed to show specters of visions past? It concerned Zuko more than he expected, illusions of the past are hurtful but easy to distinguish, but this? Is it another vile trick of a treacherous swamp or a vision about his mom?

"There you are, my little duckling~"

"*giggle*"

"What?!"

Before he could finish comprehending what was happening, the giggle of a little baby distracted him. As he turned to face his mother, the baby in question suddenly appeared next to his mother. The baby had some resemblance to his mother, which left no question about the relationship between the two.

"Noriko!"

A new voice called, this one was that of a man.

To Zuko's astonishment, his mother's appearance changed. Her face grew plainer and uglier, her figure changed as well. The strange thing was that her original appearance still floated over her face, like a semitransparent mask.

"Dear, how are you?"

"DEAR? Who is this guy mom!"

The man that walked in had the same condition as his mom, both had the same kind of masked semitransparent faces floating above their heads.

"Good, I just finished work, so we have the rest of the day for ourselves. How is little Kiyi?"

"*giggle* As you can see, she's a very active baby. it's already a starting to be a burden to look after her. It's good thing she doesn't have any brothers or sisters."

"Mom… What are you talking about…"

The entire thing was surreal for him, he couldn't take it much longer. Why did the swamp show him this? Why does mom have this strange condition with the face? Did she even remember him?

The baby giggled again.

"Yes~ who's my only child? You are~ yes, you are~"

This was the last straw for Zuko, he couldn't except it. The thought that mom ran away to be with someone else and either forgot or didn't care about him (he couldn't decide which was worse) was to much for him. Illusion or not, real or not, he wouldn't except it!

"Three years! You were gone for three years! One night you say goodbye and leave, never to return, and now you have a new family and act as if we, as if I never existed?!"

Zuko ranted to the specter, tears started to form in his eyes as he continued.

"Do you know how hard it was? The entire family was in shambles, Lu-tan dead, grandpa dead, half or the family gone! And what did you do? You left! And now you replaced me with this fat-ball!"

Zuko angerly pointed at the thing in his mother's hands.

The people before him seemed to take no notice of his presence, as if he was the ghost. Zuko couldn't take it, he ran away crying and wailing all the way.

Mi-Dved had a very unpleasant time in the swamp so far. Between the usual nature and the monster, it was quickly growing to be one of his worst days in life. The bright side was that at least the rumors about spirits in the swamp were confirmed, so other rumors are probably true as well.

After his desperate swinging of his axes caught a root, he was able to tear himself away from the swarm of vines. He found himself lost and alone, not unlike how he felt when the pirates first caught him. Is this his fate? To stay alone forever? To open himself and befriend someone only for them to betray him of for a tragedy to strike, leaving him hurt and alone once again?

He suddenly heard a splash of water. Immediately, he was on guard with weapons drawn. He scanned the environment for threats and noticed some disturbance in the corner of his eyes. He may look like a brute, but he had experience in a dirty fight, from both sides. You don't survive in the streets of Amora without having a sense of danger that lurked in the shadowy slums.

"Come out, cowered!"

He heard a giggle, a very familiar giggle, before a figure jumped high from the shadows. Id did a complete three hundred and sixty degree spin and faced him a dozen feet away from him.

"Now that's no way to talk to your little sister, is it~"

The girl before him was indeed very familiar to his own sister, at least in voice and body. It had a green kimono and a strange half-circled hat, as well as painted face and twin fans on each hand. One hid her face up to her eyes in the same manner he saw the women of the night do when they were hunting for targets.

"Goodbye~"

The thing quickly ran away with giggles following it. he silently thanked Zuko for preparing him for that, if hadn't known beforehand he may have gone to some shock and maybe even believe that this thing was his sister. Whatever that thing was, it was his only chance to find some information about the whereabouts of Jasmine, he couldn't let it get away.

"Come here!"

"Catch me if you can~"

The thing sure had his sister's annoying attitude when she was feeling like it…

Zuko ran for what felt like hours sobbing, he didn't keep watch on the time. Really, how pathetic he was, he can't even stand up to an illusion. His father was right, he really is a failure. He found a tree that looked clean enough and sat there to rest and cry.

Suddenly, he heard a bark. When he looked to see what it was, he saw the same puppy he saved earlier looking back at him. He forgot all about the creature in his hast to flee, now he felt even worse.

Luckily, the animal didn't seem to mind as it got closer and rested its head against Zuko's leg. He rubbed its head affectionly, which seemed to calm him down.

"You're very cute, you know that?"

The puppy barked happily, its tail shook from side to side.

Zuko stayed like that for some time, the animal slowly cured him of the vile feelings he had earlier. He decided to take it with him, at least until he could find it a good home. He owned it at least that much.

"Now what to call you…"

"Zuko tried to find a fitting name but no matter what he thought of, it just didn't seem right. The animal had an otherworldly feeling about it, not the holy or spiritual kind, but that kind of a stranger. But he couldn't call it that, it would be extremely rude.

As he was thinking, the puppy suddenly growled at something in the distance. He decided to trust the animal's instinct and rose to prepare himself for battle.

The puppy continued barking, sometimes at the same spot, sometimes at a different one, Zuko stayed in alert. Then, he noticed the vegetation moving around him, not unlike what happened with the plant monster, he immediately knew what is going to happen.

He caught the puppy with his arms and remembering what Sai said about the top of the trees, he used his bending to fly there. From there, he rained explosions and fire upon the newly constructed swamp monster.

One good thing that came up was that he now had a big target to direct all his rage, sadness and aggression on without the need to hold back. He saw the thing as a part of the conspiracy of the swamp, and held it responsible for his newly acquired trauma as well.

"You shall suffer as I have!"

By Toph's calculation, it was a day after the "initiation". Luckily, she "merely" broke the kid's arms and bluffed something about a fitting punishment for the crime. To everyone's relief, Mi-Sha seemed to buy it and let the kid go.

Now, she was in her new uniform that supposedly made her look like the rest of the bandits that are under Mi-Sha. She didn't miss the irony of the situation concerning her stage title.

Anyway, she was moved with other bandits by some man she didn't know. Apparently, she was now a cadet, whatever that means, and is now under the surveillance of her operator. They moved to the south and went around a few villages along the way.

They continued to do so, until the operator stopped at one of the villages, she remembered passing near it when she ran away from home.

The operator turned to her and spoke in a quiet voice.

"Listen kid, remember what the boss told you? To listen to my commands as if they were his?"

"Yes…"

"Sir, you're suppose to say 'yes sir'. Just remember that the boss will know everything that happened here, something to think about."

"Yes… sir…."

She said while grinding her teeth.

"Much better. Now listen, this area is late in protection money. They think that just because those snobs at Gaoling sent a few pretty boys to the villages around here, they are suddenly above payment. Crazy, right?"

At her silence the operator continued.

"Anyway, after I'm going to offer a very generous offer to the boys at the gate, they will say either yay or nay. If they say yay then all is good, if they say nay? Oh, then it's your turn to return something for the boss's generosity and trash the village, make an example out of it. Kapish?"

"Yes… sir…"

"Good girl."

The thug then went to the gate, after some commotion he sent a signal of nay and Toph sighed. She hated everything as she started earth bending.

Mi-Dved started to get tired from the run, it appears that the thing he was chasing had much more stamina than his sister. Which to be fair, he should have expected. Spirits don't need to breathe after all.

"Come here and tell me where is my sister!"

"Come here and make me~"

Damn thing continued to be annoying all the way. He would have gone mad from all the taunting, but then again, he was chasing a spirit in a haunted swamp to make her tell him where his sister is. He suspected that that line was already crossed.

After some time of running, tripping and getting branches smacked on his face, he was reasonably tired. But it seems that his target had some sadistic side to it, because it kept itself just out of his reach to taunt him.

He had to stop to get some air, it seemed like the thing copying his sister found it as grand opportunity to run circles around him, literally.

"Come on! That can't be it!"

"Tired already? Is that all you have for your poor sister?"

"You now I'm just a few feet away, right? Are you really such a fat loser?"

It seemed that running around him did nothing to stop her taunts.

Suddenly, an explanation was heard to his left.

"What…"

That could only be Zuko, no other creature could make that sound.

"What's wrong? I'm here, you snooze you lose, sucker!"

The thing started running in the other direction while laughing.

He was about to chase it but stopped himself for the last moment. What was he even thinking? The thing obviously wanted him to follow it away from Zuko, who was obviously in trouble. Without sparing a glance in the other direction, he ran towards the explosions.

When he got to the battlefield, he saw the same swamp monster attacking Zuko. This time, however, the fire bender jumped from tree to tree to avoid its tentacles and sent blast after blast at the thing. After a look closer, he saw thar Zuko had some animal in his bag but decided that now wasn't a time for questions.

It seemed like the swamp monster had its entire attention on the prince, so he had time to think about his course of action. The face was a no-go, they experienced firsthand that attacking it didn't do much damage. So maybe it had some other weak spot, but where?

Maybe there is some spot in the middle of the infested vines, like a heart of sort. Something had to command all those vines. It had many holes, he admitted it himself, but he didn't have many choices. It was do or die, he had to cut his way into the beast ant kill it from inside.

And so, with new resolve, he jumped on the swamp monster from behind. He used his earth bending to create a rump and jumped right into the middle of the monster's back. This time there was more ground and less vegetation, so he could use his earth bending much easier.

He nailed a piece in the beast, which gave no indication of noticing. Apparently, a rain of fire and explosions had higher priority than being nailed in the back, although, to be fair, Zuko did make a very good distraction. Mi-Dved believed he lost his hearing a few times with how the explosions shook the thing.

Anyway, it gave him the perfect opportunity to cut into the swamp monster. There were a few scary times when he thought he was going to fall, but thankfully he held on with his earth bending.

After what felt like an hour (although he knew it couldn't be more than a few minutes), he finally felt like he was hitting something harder than vines. With new resolve, he let a mighty blow enhanced by earth bending the rocks on the axes and broke through the harder plants. The rays of sunlight tore apart the vale of darkness that was the swamp monster's core and revealed… the face of a man?!

Said man looked back frightfully and used his plants to expel the invader.

"A man! There is a man inside controlling it!"

He yelled to the prince.

Lieutenant Jee was glad the prince had a good relationship with the lieutenants of the port, as he was quick to secure a meeting with lieutenant Shen. The cause of the meeting was about the progress of the decryption of the pirate messages, or rather lack of progress.

Most of the messages were of lesser concern like reports of attacks committed, loot on the ship, and so on. But the important things like meeting places and hiding spots were still unknown.

There was also this problem with the skin strips. When he and the men raided the captain's cabin, they found a few strips of animal skin with letters on them. He ordered to take them in any case because he thought that it was some kind of encrypted code, but for the love of Agni, he couldn't figure it out!

It also wasn't just in the first ship they hunted. They managed to catch another two pirate ships, and all of them had those weird strips of letters in their cabins. So at least he knew that they were important.

They tried putting the strips together, they tried to turn the strips around like a circle, but nothing worked. Any decryption they knew also didn't solve the problem. So eager for results, and a little desperate for progress, he hoped the old lieutenant could shed some light on the mystery.

"Thank you for seeing me in such a short notice, lieutenant Shen."

"Think nothing of it, lieutenant Jee. The prince made many aspects of my work easier, so we both should thank him instead. How is he by the way?"

"The prince is investigating a lead on the mainland, he will be back in a few days. I'm here because the prince ordered us to hunt down the pirate remnants and gather as much intelligence as possible. We had a drawback, however."

"Oh? It's good to hear that the young prince takes seriously the safety of his territory, it's a good sign for the future. So how can I help you?"

Jee showed his fellow lieutenant the strips he found.

"The ships we raised had those things in the captain's cabin. We're sure that they have encrypted messages, but we can't figure out anything. We tried any decryption we knew, even putting together the strips, but nothing worked. I hoped that with your experience we may find some clue."

Shen looked at the strips with interest for a few minutes.

"Hm… May I take one for a minute, lieutenant?"

The old man asked.

"Sure, feel free to look for however long you need."

Shen took one strip and felt it with his fingers. He then looked on both sides of the thing for a few moments, stating his curiosity. Finally, he addressed the younger lieutenant.

"If I'm right, I may have found a solution to our problems. Look at this letter here and that one there, you see that both are unfinished?"

Jee looked at it and noticed it.

"Yes, we thought that it may be some code, but nothing stood out, they also belong to different letters from what we gathered."

The older man nodded at Jee's words.

"Yes, it's hardly something that can be reviled by wordplay, and that's where you went wrong. There is no clever wordplay at work. Now see this, those two signs seem unrelated, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"But now if I warp them around my hand like this… Suddenly they complete each other to the letter 'g', right?"

"By Agni!"

"Yes, messages like this one are written on a skin strip that is warped around a pole in a particular way, therefore making it unencryptable when the message is finished. That is, unless the other side has the same pole. Even a change of a hair width in the diameter of the pole can make the message unreadable."

"Amazing… So all we have to do is try to warp them on different pole like objects we confiscated from the captain's cabin?"

"Certainly looks like it, lieutenant. I wish you luck in your endeavor, may Agni shine on you and yours."

"And may he shine on you and yours as well, sir. Thank you, for everything."

"Think nothing of it, it's the least I can do for the prince after all. Please send him my regards."

"Will do, bye!"

Jee left the office in lifted spirits, he now knew exactly what to do. He's just glad that the prince ordered them to take anything from the captain's cabin, no matter how trivial it looked. They may have been in a bit of a pickle trying to find the pole otherwise.

He just hoped that the prince was doing as well as he is right now.

Zuko wasn't doing great now, at all. While he had to admit that the swamp monster was an excellent punching bag, it was maybe too good at absorbing his hits.

All the emotions from his encounter with his "mother" fueled his Sozin style bending, making it ten times stronger. The problem was, he was losing energy almost as fast, soon he wouldn't have enough chi to fire bend.

The monster also didn't seem to take any notice of all the vine tentacles he blasted off as it immediately replaced them with new ones. He was starting to suspect that it could regrow them much faster than he could destroy, with much less problem as well.

He jumped from tree to tree as he evaded the vines, the puppy in his bag squirmed as result. He was afraid a few times that it may fall off, but he had more pressing concerns at the moment.

After some time, he happily noticed that Mi-Dved was back, quite frankly, he was afraid that the earth bender was lost forever. He noticed that his friend was trying to cut a way to the monster from behind, so he took initiative, and focus on keeping the monster's attention on him while Mi-Dved did his work.

After a few minutes he heard his friend scream.

"A man! There is a man inside controlling it!"

What! It was a man all along? But how?!

Then he remembered that Sai told him that some water benders of the swamp may be able to control the vegetation by water bending the water inside. Now he felt stupid for not considering it before.

Nevermind, at least now he knew what they did wrong the entire time. They thought the plants were sentient and therefore could feel pain, instead, it was some fat water bender that merely laughed and replaced the vines he destroyed while he himself was out of danger. So all he had to do now was…

"Attack the belly!"

A new bombardment was directed at the belly. Now that the tentacles were mostly ignored, the focus of the attack was the water bender inside. Results were showing, as the water bender was forced to defend himself.

The plants were rarely attacking, almost always on defense. The monster's form was starting to deform as well, it seems that the constant attacks on his person made the water bander lose focus on his monstrosity.

At long last, they were able to get rid of enough vines so they could see a small part the man inside the, now it looked more like a cocoon then a monster. Zuko knew that they would win, and the man knew it too, his attacks became more desperate, his control on the, now much smaller, plans mass was more aggressive.

Zuko was afraid that the enemy may stall for reinforcement to arrive, which he and Mi-Dved didn't need as all. The both of them were tired enough as it is, he didn't believe they would have many, if at all, chi after the fight.

Surprisingly, salvation came from his bag, as the puppy jumped out of it. It ran across the vines and with great agility, it jumped right through a hole that was created and mauled the water bender.

Whatever was left of the monster was dissolved with a scream, as the water bender tried to get the animal off him.

A quick hit from the flat side of Mi-Dved's earth bending directed axe was enough to knock the fat man to the ground. His friend then continued by throwing his two axes at the water bender's hands, immobilizing them by pressing them to the ground by earth bending the rocks in the axes.

Now that the man was trapped and not a threat anymore, Zuko could get a good look at their assailant. He looked like a stereotypical homeless person that you expected to find living in a swamp.

"Ok, you have ten seconds to explain yourself!"

Zuko said as he knelt and stabbed his sword near the left ear of the man.

"I-I…"

"Talk!"

Zuko set his sword on fire for extra effect.

"I just protected the swamp! You hurt it, cutting it with your swords and axes! I was only going to scare you! I swear!"

"And look how that went."

Mi-Dved said while kicking the man in the side.

Zuko held his other hand at a stop sign.

"Look, as you can see, my partner here didn't appreciate your monster thing. Neither am I to tell you the truth. Quite frankly, I can say that the swamp left us both extremely pissed, and you are a very tempting target to let our frustration out. You see where I'm going?"

The water bender stayed quiet.

"But if you answer some questions of ours, we may look past our differences. Do you understand me?"

"What do you want?"

The man asked with a little defiance in his tone, which Zuko ignored. He pulled his sword and returned it to its place before asking.

"The visions the swamp showed us, what do they mean?"

"The swamp shows us visions of people we believe are lost, to remind us that they aren't really lost as long as we remember them. For time is an illusion and so is death."

"What does a semi transparent face mask on another face mean?"

"I don't know."

This frustrated Zuko, he needed to know what his vision about his mother meant. No way this man, who were raised in the swamp (and had its blessing if he could control plants) didn't know what his vision meant.

"I'll ask again… What does it mean?"

He asked more forcefully now.

"I really don't know! Every vision is unique."

Zuko lost his patience.

"ANSWER ME!"

"Please! I don't know! I don't know!"

"Zuko."

He felt a hand on his right shoulder, when he looked up, he saw Mi-Dved looking at him in understanding. He found himself with a flaming sword near the water bender's ear again, he noticed that he was crying as well.

"It's enough, he really doesn't know."

Zuko took a few breaths to calm down.

"You're right, sorry. Anyway, I have last question before we walk away. Unless Mi-Dved, you have something?"

The earth bender shook his head in denial.

"Alright, anyway, I felt something in my head, a foreign presence that wanted me to do something. Do you know something about that?"

"Oh? Well, sometimes, the swamp sends a warning to people before they do something terrible, and I can guess the reason why…"

The water bender looked down distastefully at the little animal at Zuko's feet. The animal returned a growl in response.

"Why does the swamp want it dead?"

The swamp man was silent for a moment.

"You, me, the animals and the trees in the swamp, we're not different. We all came from the same seed, we have the same roots. Even if most people don't act like it."

The "like you" was left unsaid in the air.

"But this thing?"

He looked at the puppy again.

"This thing doesn't belong here, it's not part of our roots. It's an outsider, an invasive species that will ruin us all if allowed to fester. That's why the swamp wants to get rid of it, that's why you must get rid of it."

Zuko looked at the cute animal next to him, he remembered how it tried to cheer him up. Then he looked at the man that attacked him, his decision was an easy one.

"Knock him out."

"What?!"

Mi-Dved kicked the man in the head, knocking him out.

"You could have asked him about the way out, you know."

Mi-Dved looked at Zuko.

"You actually trust him to tell us that?"

"No, I suppose I don't . So what now?"

Zuko thought about Sai, suddenly he felt something in his head. It was a nagging feeling that pointed him in one direction, like a compass. Looks like Sai finished his business as well.

"We pick a random direction and stick to it, the swamp must and somewhere. From there we can ask for directions or buy a map. You did see something about your sister, right?"

The earth bender nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, saw my sister with makeup and green kimono. She had a pair of metal fans and dis some acrobatics that I know she can't do in real life. Got any clue?"

Zuko thought about it as he started walking in the direction Sai was pointing, it did sound familiar.

"Your description matches a Kioshi warrior to the point, they are an all female fighting force that upholds the legacy of Avatar Kioshi. They are native to Kioshi island, so at least we have a starting point. I will tell the crew about our next destination."

Mi-Dved looked extremely happy.

"Wait, Kioshi warriors, Kioshi island? Someone had an ego."

Zuko shrugged his hands, he didn't have any answer to this.

"Can we take the monster mask as a trophy?"

"Of course, you will carry it thou, you're the stronger one here."

"By the way, what to do about this guy?"

Mi-Dved pointed at the unconscious water bender.

Zuko thought about it. The man attacked them and made an attempt on their lives. No matter what the man said, a good hit from one of the vines it lethal. But he only tried to protect his home, Zuko could relate to that.

It didn't excuse his actions, however, he could easily just come and ask them and attack only if being attacked. This entire incident could have been easily avoided. Then there was the whole root thing that just rubbed him wrong, it also showed how cruel and merciless the man could be with things that are out of his philosophy.

Zuko decided the course of action.

"Leave him, we'll be long gone by the time he wakes up."

"And if some animal finds him?"

"The swamp will decide his fate, we have 'the same roots ' after all."

Zuko began to walk.

Mi-Dved shrugged his shoulders and followed, he had no problems with leaving the man to his fate.

And so, in this cheery note, they began their track back to civilization.

"Black Koi fish."

Lieutenant Jee repeated what the soldier before him said.

"Yes, sir. The messages tell that the organized piracy in the region is controlled by the 'Black Koi Fish' group. It mainly mentions routes of both earth kingdom's patrols and Kioshi warrior's patrols. We could definitely use it to our advantage."

"Very well, I will inform the prince. What can you tell me about the group itself? What are their areas of expertise?"

"From what we gathered, they are mainly extorting the local fishermen for a share in the elephant-koi market. Therefore, they have complete monopoly on the elephant-koi market, probably also the source of the name."

"Besides the usual piracy, they also engage in what must be the most complicated and expensive makeup in the world."

"What do you mean by that? How expensive are we talking about?"

"Every operation with 'makeup' needs at least one hundred thugs to participate. Even the cheapest 'makeup' is sold for no less than two hundred gold pieces, and it's only a 'raw' product."

"Dear Agni! With that sum you could think that they sell… the Kioshi warriors… themselves…"

"That's the conclusion we reached as well."

"The prince must know as soon as possible! When will be the next operation?"

Iroh waited for a day and a half for the boys to return. Thankfully, he had enough food for himself and for the tree mounts to last this long. He still remembered young Mi-Dved's words about the birds and quite frankly, he didn't want to test the theory. While he would sooner fry the birds than be a human sized appetizer, he was glad that the two came when they did.

He had mixed feelings about the trip. On one hand, it was good for Zuko to have a building spiritual experience to mature. On the other hand, he was afraid that his nephew wasn't ready for such a thing. It was clear that he would get visions of his mother, but Iroh didn't know how the boy would respond. He could have had visions of his father's love, but the swamp grants visions of the lost, not the non-existent, so he didn't have to fear anything on that front.

Either way, he was glad to see the boys return. They both looked like they had a tuff trip, but they had smiles as well. He also noticed some kind of animal resting in Zuko's bag, he was eager to hear the story of that one.

"Nephew! I'm glad you came back! I hope your trip was fruitful. And who is our new friend here?"

It was hard to tell with the helmet, but Iroh was sure that Zuko was smiling underneath.

"Hi uncle, glad to be back. The trip was… something. But what's important is that we now know our next course of action."

"Really? Then what is it?"

"Mi-Dved saw his sister dressed as a Kioshi warrior, so we thought it would be our next stop. I may also find some information about the Avatar there, it was the home of the last earth Avatar for over a century."

"Hm… a sound decision. But how do you plan to get there? It's a natural island after all."

"We… still haven't decided. We wanted to talk with you and lieutenant Jee first."

"It's understandable, we'll talk back at the ship. But for now, please, tell me about your trip."

And they did. As they mounted their beasts, the two told Iroh about their adventures. They told him about their frustrating start, to which Iroh related. They told him about the swamp monster's attack and how they got separated. Iroh immediately recognized Huu the swamp bender and while not appreciating scaring his nephew like that, he could understand the swamp bender's motives. He just hoped that Zuko would be more considerate to the nature around him as a result.

Then Mi-Dved talked about his vision and Zuko talked about how he met the small puppy, a hellhound he called it. He agreed that they should head toward Kioshi, and the experience may help point Zuko to the right direction. Hearing all the good Avatar Kioshi did may cause doubts inside him about the rightfulness of his mission.

He also was extremely curious about the hellhound, he had never seen something like that in all his travels (which means a lot). While a little concerned about the species name, he could hardly fault the creature. But he did wonder how it would look as an adult, saber-toothed-moose-lion look cute as well as a cub.

When they talked about the part where they reunited and finally defeated the monster, he was proud of the progress his nephew showed in his fire bending (even if he had little part in it, much to his carnage), as well as the teamwork he and Mi-Dved had. But the next thing they said ruined everything and left him in much distress.

"You left an old man to his fate in a swamp filled with dangerous creatures?! We have to go back now!"

"He should be already wake up by now, or dead."

His nephew shrugged.

"Either way, it's useless to go back now. Besides, you can return to the swamp if you want, but there is no way I'm going back there. Let the savage test his 'we are the same' theory."

His nephew continued to walk as if nothing happened.

He couldn't believe it, never was he so ashamed of his nephew. How could he himself, as a mentoring figure, allow his nephew to become such a person who leave his fellow men for dead. No, this will stop. Now!

He moved his mount and stopped before the duo, cutting off their advance.

"No nephew! We will return to the swamp, find the man you left for dead, and you will apologize for your actions. You have lost yourself completely, nephew. You are starting to act like-"

"My father?"

Zuko answered back.

"I wouldn't go out of my way to help someone who attacked me! And in case you didn't notice, dad it the fire lord! While you are a fat lazy tea addict!"

There was a silence.

"You are out of line, nephew. You will go back with me at once. I'm done letting you throw your morals away!"

"Make me!"

The tension was high as the two eyed each other, it pained his old heart to see that things came down to this. Just as it looked like they were going to blow, relief came from an unexpected source.

"Is that smoke?"

Mi-Dved said while pointing at a point where they were heading, where the village they dined in was. Wordlessly, he and his nephew quicken their respective mount's pace toward the village.

"What happened here?!"

His nephew asked in an enraged tone, it seems the boy hadn't lost all sense of decency just yet. Maybe there is hope yet, as opposed to the rest of the village.

What was once a small but flourishing village is now a wreckage of stone and wood, with fire here and there. The stone gates from which they came and went last time were now merely piles of stones, the guards nowhere to be seen. As they went inside the village, they saw that no building was left standing. There were no people in sight, or at least Iroh didn't see any.

They were near the inn where they ate last time as suddenly the hellhound cub (they really needed to find a name, if they were going to keep it anyway) jumped off Zuko's bag and sniffed at the entrance of the building. It ran to some pile of stone and wood and barked at it.

His nephew jumped off his mount and ran towards the same place.

"Come on! There is someone trapped in there!"

Mi-Dved and himself followed the young prince.

"Help me move this beam."

Zuko ordered the earth bender.

Together they moved the beam to discover the hand of the same waitress that fed them. Iroh pulled her out of the wreckage as the two teens held of all the obstacles in the way. After checking her pulse and confirming she was just unconscious, Zuko made electricity in his hand (Iroh still didn't understand how it was possible, it's not how lightning bending worked) and shook the waitress. She woke immediately with a jolt.

"What!? Where!?"

After explaining her about the state they found her in, as well as asking about the events that led to the state of the village, she told them all she knew after the initial shock.

Apparently not long after the trio left, a small group of bandits came, saying that they came to make an example of the village. This village as well as other villages were under the protection of guards from the Beifong family to secure the routes of trade, effective troops that held back the thugs and ruffians. At least they did.

The small group that came, not even close to be a threat to the professional guards, proclaimed that the entire region must pay protection now. That the complete destruction of the village will show others what happened to those who resist.

The guards of course were ready to lay waste on the criminals, but then out of nowhere there was an earthquake and the entire village just crumbled. She lost consciousness when the inn fell on her and didn't know what happened next.

His nephew agreed to help look for survivors and with the help of the hellhound cub they managed to find and rescue most of the villagers. The puppy proved to be a great stress relief for the children, as they played and petted it.

Once finished, Zuko addressed the people.

"Listen up! For all who are interested, I have a new place for you to live in. far from bandits and outlaws. The catch is, that it's an island colony of the fire nation."

The villagers were concerned, to put it lightly. They were thought to fear the fire nation since birth after all, in fact some were starting to think of conspiracy.

"You are a fire nation spy!"

"Do you plan to enslave us?!"

"Get away from my kids!"

"You brought the thugs here, didn't you?!"

"SILENCE!"

Zuko shouted as arcs of lightning shot a dozen feet around him and the helmet produces a main of fire that rose twenty feet high, rest assure there was silence after that.

"I may be a fire bender, but I'm the one who got you all out of the rubble! I deserve at least the benefit of doubt!"

His nephew continued.

"I have no connection to the tragedy that was here! I came here because I had to deal with something in the swamp!"

He pointed at Mi-Dved, who got the clue and showed the human sized mask they took as a trophy from Huu. It seemed to awe the people, as they were superstitious about the swamp that was near them, and outright believed that it was some skull of a swamp monster.

"I have personally cleared the south-eastern seas of piracy, you will have no problems like that there. I'm building a factory there, and I will need a village to support its workers. You will be treated fairly and live peacefully behind the safety of the fire nation's strong navy. I wouldn't force you to do anything but consider alternatives."

He moved his right hand in a semi-circle motion, addressing the entire ruined village.

"Either or, I'm giving you this letter I wrote and sealed. With it you can go south to the now fire nation controlled port and they will allow you a free pass to a ship that will bring you to the island, your choice."

With that Zuko signaled Mi-Dved and himself to move out.

Just why did his nephew had to be so complicated, one moment he left a man that didn't deserved it for dead, the other he saves an entire village and gives them a new safe place to live. He didn't know how to act with such a switching personality.

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 11

Zuko returned to the base with his uncle and Mi-Dved on their seventh day, just as they planned. He got a hero's welcome as the men and women of the army surrounded him, it seemed like they thought he returned from another bandit hunt. To be fair, the swamp monster's mask did grant them some attention, the thing was the size of a full-grown man.

Mi-Dved also didn't miss the opportunity to go in detail about their fight with the monster, Zuko had to admit that the earth bender had talent for dramatic storytelling. But maybe it was just the experience of having heard the announcers in the fighting tournaments he had in Amora.

Anyway, it soon became an entire party when they got to the mass hole. Sai suggested putting the mask on full display at the center of the wall for everyone to see and Zuko agreed. Now alcohol flew as Mi-Dved's tales became more and more outlandish, and the people bought it. His last successful missions and battles opened the minds of the soldiers to outlandish tales.

He presented them with the hellhound, claiming it to be exotic creature from the spirit world thar he found in the swamp, which was partly true. He still processed the information that Sai gave him about the hellhound.

Apparently, hellhounds are neither from this world nor the spirit world, but from a completely different dimension. As the overlords played more and more with higher powers, they thinned the rift between neighboring realms of existence. The spirit world, that is unstable as is, quickly became a hotspot of otherworldly interest. Even the human world wasn't spared, as a verity of abominations began calling this world home.

When Zuko asked Sai why in Agni's name the overlords thought it was a good idea, Sai told him that most of their (and by proxy, his) knowledge came from foreign dimensions, and that the knowledge and resources helped the people very much.

Hellhounds were dog-like creatures of varying sizes, shapes and skills. Chief among them was the famous (according to Sai, Zuko never heard of it) three headed dog Cerberus, a monstrous creature the size of a mountain that relentlessly guarded the entire to the underworld. From what Sai shared with him, the underworld is a spirit word dedicated for the judgement of the souls of mortals, from the best of the best to the worst of the worst. Sai outright refused to share anything else besides the fact thar it was ruled with an iron fist by a being of immense power, Sai didn't even tell its name from fear of getting its attention.

Zuko decided to drop the subject, he was relieved when Sai said that his soul wouldn't go there when he dies. As for the hellhound cub he found, it without a doubt will be a fitting royal companion. This breed is very intelligent and extremely loyal, with a sharp nose second only to a Shirshu and the ability to grow to impressive size, there was no place of doubt about the significance of such creature.

He decided to retire a bit early, he told the soldiers that he still had reports to do, as well as to put the puppy (he still needed to find a name for it) to sleep. The others nodded in understanding and bid him farewell.

When Zuko entered his room at the port, he wrote two letters. One for Labon, informing him about the possible manpower he may get as well as asking the status of the factory. He gave clear instructions about the villagers, they are there to live their lives and support the workers with the usual day-to-day products, not to slave for the factory. He wrote that the propaganda results for the both of them would far suppress the cost of the villagers, that will be returned as well in duo time.

The second letter was informing commander Zhao about the villagers that may come and about letting them go to the island without harassment. He appealed to the man's ambitions by writing how good it would look on his records. Zuko (Sai) even suggested a new way for Zhao to get the reorganization he so rightfully deserves. Zuko suggested that the navy could once every few days take a convey of civilian ships from one side of the territory to the other side of the sea strip, that way the navy would patrol the ships, as well as get money from the fee of the convey.

He thought about writing a letter to his father, but decided against it for now, he was still too confused about the vision he had and didn't want to upset his father about it.

As he finished his letters, a knock on the door was heard.

"Your highness, may I come in?"

Zuko heard lieutenant Jee's voice from across the door, it seemed that his crew had arrived now as well.

"Yes, come in."

"Thank you, sir. Sorry for the interruption, but we have found some interesting transmissions from our raids."

"Think nothing of it, what did you get?"

Lieutenant Jee pulled a few strips of skin out of his pocket and showed them to Zuko.

"Those are encrypted messages, if you wrap them around a special pole, you will be able to read them. To summarize, the de facto pirate leaders of the reign are the 'Black Koi' pirates. They are a relatively small force but have monopoly on the elephant-koi business."

The lieutenant then explained about that particular group and their operations. It seems that they as well were getting orders from a source in the mainland (this Mi-Sha person, if Zuko had to guess). The lieutenant also told Zuko about the "most valuable product" of the group.

"This… is certainly interesting… Tell me Lieutenant Jee, what do you think is the best course of action?"

The man took a few seconds to reply.

"That's… a hard question, your highness. Maybe we should console your uncle about it?"

Zuko made a sour look.

"Uncle and I aren't on speaking terms right now, something about a disagreement about the state I left a man who assaulted me during the mission at the swamp. But don't mind that, I asked about your opinion, not my uncle's."

"Well… I don't think that a frontal assault is the right answer. Kyoshi island is a natural ground, its waters are as well. A frontal attack like that, besides the fact that we will have to fight the Kyoshi warriors before we could reach the pirates, will have political consequences. Quite frankly, as much as I think we as a fighting force improved, I don't want to test us against the Kyoshi warriors."

"I see, a fine assessment, and I see your points. So what would you have us do?"

"Hmm… the pirates must be dealt with, as long as they have a place to rest and regroup, they will continue to be a nuisance. The Kyoshi warriors must hate them as much as we do, if we just give them the details about the rotes and hiding places, they will take care of it."

"You're not wrong, but they didn't take care of it until now, why would they do it after we give them the details?"

"As I understand it, the Black Koi are able to have hold by avoiding the warriors. Even the kidnapping operations are a joint venture between all the pirates in the region. What more concerning me is how they were able to avoid detection up until now, and how detailed their information on the Kyoshi patrols and defenses."

"You suspect corruption?"

"I don't know, I'm just saying it's highly possible according to evidence. While I don't think it's the Kyoshi warriors themselves, I think that someone close is the source of the leak."

"Hmm…"

Zuko privately had a conversation with Sai.

'What do you think we should do?'

" Public display will tip the pirates off, the information must be given secretly, and to the eyes of the head of the Kyoshi warriors alone. I know little of this Kyoshi, so I can't judge the warriors. What I suggest is…"

"If we go to with the ship, the pirates may suspect something and hide even farther. Fortunately for us, it seems that Mi-Dved's sister may be on this island as well. We'll use this opportunity to send a small force to the island, when the Kyoshi warriors intercept us, we'll claim to look after Jasmine. If we show them the strips in the process, then all the better."

"A good idea, but who will we send?"

"Mi-Dved and I will go alone… actually, we'll take the hellhound as well, his sense of smell would prove useful."

Jee looked conflicted.

"You're highness… Are you sure it's the best decision? Not to question your judgement, but maybe it would be better if more people came with you? Maybe prince Iroh?"

Zuko subconsciously clenched his fists. He did notice, however, that the lieutenant didn't question his participation in the operation.

"As I said earlier, uncle and I aren't on speaking terms right now. Besides, it would look to suspicious for an old man to be with us with the cover I had in mind. I also have a more fitting mission for uncle in mind."

Lieutenant Jee was silently waiting for an explanation.

"I plan to introduce myself as a junior bounty hunter on a mission from above. I met Mi-Dved on my way and rescued him from a thought spot, he in return joined me on my endeavor and we saved each other's life. From there, we used the hound's sense of smell to find Mi-Dved's lost sister."

"I also had a mission to investigate the piracy in the region, therefore explaining the secret messages. As long as neither of us mentions that I'm the prince of the fire nation, then no one has any reason to suspect otherwise. All in all, this isn't even a lie from a certain point of view."

"You're right, your highness, please accept my apologies for doubting you."

Zuko waived him off.

"Think nothing of it, it's better that you have a good head on your shoulders."

He noticed the shocked look his lieutenant had for a friction of a second. Did he really change that much in the last month?

"You have no idea, your highness. And for the better to, if I say so myself."

'Thank you, Sai… It means a lot. And it wouldn't be possible without you.'

And he meant it. Without Sai to guide him, he was sure that he would have continued to be a desperate and angry mess for the rest of his life or until he found the Avatar.

"Think nothing of it, that it why I'm here. You better return to your conversation however."

'Right.'

"While I'm away, you have another mission. A village was destroyed on my way back. I promised them a place to live and work on the island we pacified; you remember the one. Your job is to make sure that they, if they decide to come, have as smooth sailing as possible. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

The lieutenant saluted.

"There is another aspect for your mission. When you get to the island, you are to check if everything is up to standard. You know how some merchants like to cut off a few corners."

Zuko than pulled a little notebook from his shelf and gave it to the older man.

"Everything I want from the construction is written here, follow it and make sure that the points are met. Uncle will help you there."

"Very well, your highness. Anything else?"

Zuko thought for a moment.

"Food."

"On your way, can you buy some ingredients on this list? We will need some animal food for our new member."

Zuko pointed to the now sleeping hellhound cub on the pillow of his bed.

He had to admit that it was very cute.

"As you wish, your highness. If this is all, I'll be on my way."

"Have a nice trip!"

After the lieutenant left, Zuko continued his conversation with Sai.

'Are you sure we should send uncle away like that?'

"We don't have much of a choice. Excluding the fact that unlike you, who's only distinguished sign a scar that can be easily explained by various different reasons on your line of work, your uncle is a famous war general that would be easily recognized. You saw how he stood outright against you, the both of you would have been."

" You can't have him questioning and blocking your every action, he needs to be away for you to grow. Just like with your fire bending, when you stopped listening to your uncle, and followed my lead, you had a tremendous growth. The same applies here."

Zuko couldn't argue with that, he indeed learnt so much after he left his uncle's teachings.

" Besides, we have another important matter to attend to. What's going to be the hellhound's name?"

Zuko paused, he really didn't know what to say.

'What did you have in mind?'

" It's your dog, I can only help decide. Give me a few names you had in mind, and we will decide."

'What about fire? Or flame? You know, because we are fire nation, and you said that hellhounds can spit fire.'

" Not bad, I understand the reasoning. But I can also assume that many other pets named like that for the same reasons. We want our hellhound to be unique, after all."

'Point… What about fighter or survivor? Those ones match him well. By the way, to what translates the name of this three headed apex hound?'

" Spots, Cerberus translates to spots. Yes, the single most feared and powerful hound in all of existence is named spots, apparently, he had spots when he was a cub."

'...'

Zuko didn't really have anything to say.

"To the first part, I think those are good ideas. Pick whichever you like."

'Hmm… I thing I will choose Xing, a short of Xìngcún zhě, survivor. It means luck and fortune as well, so it can't be so bad.'

" Seems a good name as any, I approve."

"There you go, Xing. Good boy."

Zuko affectional rubbed the newly named Xing's belly. The puppy moved his tail and right leg in his sleep.

Zuko and Mi-Dved were preparing a boat to reach Kyoshi Island. Right now, they were on Zuko's ship, just far enough to not be noticed by either the Kyoshi warriors or by the pirates near the island.

"You seem nervous."

Zuko commented.

"Can you blame me? The last (and only) time I sailed in sea with a small boat, I ended losing my sister, nearly drown and enslaved."

Zuko supposed he could blame the big guy, he himself had problems with fire after the duel, and he was a fire bender!

He put an arm on the bigger teen's shoulder.

"There are no storms in the horizon, you will be with me all the way. It's not like there is some sea monster waiting for us here. Besides, look at Xing, he has as much reason to fear deep water as you do, but you don't see him being a quitter."

Zuko pointed at the puppy, who was running from one side of the boat to the other while shaking its tail.

" And you had to just jinxed it, your highness, congratulations."

Mi-Dved snorted with humor.

"Can't really call myself a man if a little puppy is braver than me, can I?"

"I suppose you can't. Anyway, ladies first~"

Zuko gave an exaggerated bow towards the ship.

"Prick."

Mi-Dved said as he stepped to the ship.

Zuko stepped as well and signaled a sign to the bridge, they were dropped to the sea afterwards. They began sailing with Xing on the helm, shifting its nose as if he smelled something.

" It seems our little hellhound found our target, his nose will point us to the right direction."

He told Mi-Dved the happy news.

"That's great!"

The earth bender seemed to paddle with renewed vigor at the news. As they closed on the island, they noticed the complete lack of any other vassal. It was strange, Zuko thought that by now they should have encountered at least one fishing boat.

As he was about to ask Sai, Xing suddenly began to growl at the water. Sai spoke to him at the same moment.

"Go to the back and use fire bending through the legs to jet the boat to the beach as fast as you can!"

'But wouldn't it draw unwanted –'

" Now! "

Zuko immediately did as Sai said and told Mi-Dved to hold Xing at the front. The earth bender looked confused but did so quickly as he heard the urgency in Zuko's voice.

And good thing that he did, because a few seconds after he started jetting the place where the boat had been completely swallowed by the jaws of a giant-

"Unagi!"

Suki yelled as she pointed at the rising form of the massive eel. The creature had a mouth big enough to swallow a small ship and a body long enough to tower well above the mountains of the island. No matter how many times she saw it, this was always a magnificent sight to behold.

The rest of the group looked as well, at least until Suki got a painful flick from behind on her head. Courtesy of her superior and her metal fan.

"OW!"

"Be louder, will you? I don't think the other side of the island heard you yet."

"Sorry ma'am…"

Suki rubbed her head, a pole or a fan didn't feel so different if they both were made of metal.

"Listen up, girls. We are going to have some uninvited guests, make haste to the beach and form up ambush formation six."

"YES Ma'am !"

They went quickly to the target place. Suki noticed on her way that indeed, the Unagi was chasing a boat that was moving by… fire? This is going to be interesting...

"Move left."

Zuko did as Sai told him and barely escaped a stream of water being shot from the monster's mouth.

"This thing can shoot water now?!"

His earth bending friend shouted in panic. The poor thing must be traumatized for life, every time Mi-Dved is on a boat something seems to happen. It would be a pain to get him on one back, Zuko thought to himself.

At least as much as he allowed himself to lose focus from the gargantuan thing that was chasing them, how big is this thing?!

" Around four hundred to six hundred feet if my calculations are correct ."

'I wasn't asking! How does a thing so big exist?!'

" Probably eating the elephant-koi. It was on our debrief on the island, don't you remember?"

'It's one thing to read! I never thought it would be this big!'

" And yet, you still had to tempt fate, didn't you?"

'I'm sorry, ok?!'

" You should apologize to poor Mi-Dved, it would be a miracle if he could ever look at a boat without flinching. Move right."

Zuko again escaped the shot by the hair.

"I do sense some remnants of Rava on the thing. If I had to guess, Kyoshi most likely raised the thing to be some sort of a guardian for the island in case of invasion. Not the best choice, if I may say, creatures like this are usually cowardly by nature and would run from anything their size or more."

'I don't think there is anything that size! Maybe an emperor class battleship...'

" True, and it was most likely her calculation. But until it reached this size it was a burden, it's all I'm saying. You're almost in the shallow water."

Zuko put the last of his strengths in one blast of fire to gain distance from the monstrosity eager to eat them. He could see the creature grow smaller and smaller, its loud enraged roars were painful to hear. It tried shooting water at them, but the distance was too great.

As Zuko sighed in relief as they escaped the imminent danger, Sai, however, reminded him of another thing.

" We'll crash at the beach at this speed, tell your friend to use his axes as anchors."

"Mi-Dved! Tie the ropes to your axes and throw them as anchors!"

The earth bender snapped out of his shock and followed orders as Zuko tied the other end of the ropes to the end of the boat. He could feel how the vessel began to lose speed until it completely stopped, when Zuko looked down he saw that they were twenty feet or so in the sand.

To his side, Zuko saw that Mi-Dved was holding for dear life at the sides of the boat. Miraculously, Xing was still at the head of the boat with tongue out and a very happy expression on his face.

"Alright, let's get out."

As Zuko told the order, the puppy immediately jumped out to the sand. The boat broke right then and there, making Zuko and Mi-Dved fall right on their butts.

After a few groaning, the boys stood up on shaky feet.

"Argh… let's hope no one saw this…"

His heavy weighted friend said.

" Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that."

At the same moment, Xing growled at the trees.

" Five hostiles, all hiding in the trees in a semicircle to prepare for an ambush. Winning chance at your state is 4.83%, I suggest a diplomatic approach. It's time to use your princely charms, your royal highness."

'Prick.'

He patted Xing on the head to calm the hellhound down. The puppy immediately stopped growing and started playing in the sand, letting out a bark here and there as it chased its tail.

"I'm Zuko! This is my friend, Mi-Dved! We came here to seek an audience with the Kyoshi warriors, we mean no harm!"

He waited for their response. After a minute of silence, he tried a different approach.

"Look, I know you're here! There are five of you!"

Zuko then continued to list each Kyoshi warrior's hiding place, as well as the pose she was in.

After he finished, five women jumped out of the trees into the sand. Each of them wore a green kimono with a light leather armor on it. The woman at the front was clearly the one in charge, if the semicircle tiara on her head wasn't enough of a sign, that her commanding presence was.

She put both her hands to her sides and began to speak.

"Very well, you have our attention. You may want to get your friend there to lower his axes, not really gives you the 'mean no harm' look."

She pointed with her fan towards Mi-Dved, who held his axes on both hands. The weapons were coated with wet send, undoubtedly, he earth bended them back to his hands from the bottom of the shallow waters. He was in a battle pose and ready to fight.

"What are you doing?! Put those things down!"

Once the earth bender did as he was told, Zuko faced the head warrior again.

"I'm very sorry for him. He is just on edge, you see, he had some very bad experience with boats. This little misadventure here didn't help."

"Aha."

The head warrior stayed unimpressed.

"Anyway, we are looking for someone. We think she may be here."

"Oh?"

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"And what makes you say that?"

Zuko pointed towards Xing in return, the puppy in question was now on his back in a begging pose near an auburn haired Kyoshi warrior that was struggling to keep herself from playing with the cub.

"Xing here, while little, has a very big nose. He smelled remnants of Jasmine, Mi-Dved's sister, and pointed us here."

Zuko decided to not talk about the swamp vision. He didn't know how spiritual the Kyoshi warriors were, and quite frankly he wanted to forget about that cursed place as fast as possible.

"There are signs of reorganization on the warriors, they obviously know of Jasmine. We are on the right track."

Zuko didn't notice anything, but he trusted Sai. The thing was able to gather information much better than any mortal could.

"And what does she look like?"

The head warrior continued faking ignorance. So we're playing this game, huh…

"Mi-Dved, would you like the honor?"

The earth bender began to describe in detail how his sister looks like. When Mi-Dved got to the part where he said that his sister was "moderately developed for her age" even he noticed the grumbling and downcast glances if the younger Kyoshi warriors. He could swear that he saw a red taint behind their makeup.

They were probably a bit shy about his friend's indecent words, he'll have to talk about it with Mi-Dved later.

He then heard the auburn-haired girl mumble "moderately, yeah right…" under her breath. He decided to ignore it, as well as excepting that he will never understand women.

"I see, we'll look around for someone that matches your description. If you could go with us to a safer place, we would gladly appreciate it."

Zuko looked behind the woman at the three warriors preparing a sack each, their purpose was clear.

" Play with them for now, they are only paranoid. Not for a bad reason as well."

"Ha… very well, I only ask for us to be treated with dignity. Also, I'm afraid that I came here for another less happy reason. my bag there are some things for your eyes alone, I will explain everything once we are in a secured area."

"I see…"

The woman snapped her fingers, and another girl loaded his bag in her.

"Xing is also afraid from closed places, can you please not put him in a sack?"

The woman looked at the auburn-haired girl who was now hugging Xing with both her hands with a raised eyebrow.

"I promise to hold him tight

"I promise to hold him tight!"

The puppy barked happily in response, its tail shaking from side to side.

The leader begrudgingly sighed.

"Fine, but if it escapes you're on laundry duty for a month."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Woof!"

"As for you- "

The Kyoshi leader now faced the two males.

"Weapons on the ground! Helmet as well!"

"Good luck."

The two Immediately dropped their respective armament. Zuko made a show of hesitation for two seconds but put the dark helm down.

The gasps weren't late to come, and didn't disappoint as well. The leading warrior, for her credit, merely raised her eyebrows for a second before returning to her business mask.

He was quickly being put on a sack and his vision became black.

In the province of the Beifong territories, a group of, now homeless, people walked toward the fire nation occupied port. Those were a part of the people of the village that was destroyed by bandits a few days ago, one of them was the same woman that owned the inn.

She remembered the debate that the village people had. Should they try to rebuild the village or go elsewhere? Where could they go, to other villages? Or maybe take a risk and go south and accept the offer of the fire nation spies?

They had a very loud and spirited debate that nearly escalated to violence, but in the end they decided that each would go on his way. Families torn apart, tears flown like rain, but in the end the people were separated by the places they chose to go.

She, together with her husband, chose to go south. As inn owners, they had more knowledge about the state of the land then most, travelers were loose with their tongues before bed. The less said about the drunk, the better.

They noticed the degradation of the security in the region, after the attack on their village they were sure that the small villages were no longer safe. If they stayed in one of the neighbor villages they would be subjecting themselves and their children to the mercy of outlaws.

Another important factor was that with their inn gone, they had no way to earn money. They would have hard time finding a work of decent wage as refugees. The spies at least promised them to work in the same occupation they had before.

It was a hard decision, even as non benders the earth was an important part of them, but ultimately the future of their children decided for them. Whatever one can say about the fire nation, they had power and stability, enough to take on alone the rest the world. And if their children could integrate themselves… then why should they care about the color of the flag over their heads?

Finally, they arrived at the gate of the port. They had a welcoming party, five men in fire nation armor rode to them upon huge beasts. The lizard rhino hybrids must have been the infamous Komodo-rhinos that the fire nation military used as heavy cavalry. With the size and the horns… she had to admit that those creatures were more combat ready than the common ostrich-horse, especially if the rumors of their poisonous bite were true.

"Halt!"

The villagers immediately stopped at the commanding voice of the leading soldier.

"State your business!"

Her husband showed the soldiers the message from the spy and slowly walked towards the leader. She could see his legs shaking as he neared the horned salivating beast that looked at him in the eyes. Her husband, bless his soul, nearly fainted when the thing snorted.

Al last, he raised the piece of piper to the leading soldier, who took it and began to read.

"Private! Go back to base and seek the old dragon, tell him that the people he's expecting may have arrived."

"Yes sir!"

One of the last riders in the v formation broke off and went to the port.

"You will be staying in the shade until your identities will be verified, the man in charge will be here in ten to twenty minutes."

With little choice, they waited.

After some time, Suki and the girls went back to the village with their prisoners. They were a strange duo, to say the least, but far from the unpleasant raiders she had the misfortune to encounter (and the fortune to kick their butt). And the little puppy was just the cutest thing! ~

And the little puppy was just the cutest thing! ~

It really took all of her willpower to not cuddle the puppy then and there.

Back to track, the two prisoners were uncharacteristically quiet. She heard their story, and while suspicious (as any Kyoshi warrior should be in front of strangers), their story did align with what Jasmine told them.

Come to think of it, this Mi-Dved guy should have really clued them in. The guy was bigger, by both height and mass, then almost anyone she knew, and he looked to be only a few years older than her.

Jasmine wasn't kidding about his strength as well. While he may have acted a bit slow, to be fair she didn't think she would have been much better if she had such a close call with the Unagi, he was immensely strong.

Poor Jie drawn the short strew and had to be the one taking care of the weapon of the prisoners. She could barely level those things off the ground and more often than not, she just dragged them across the ground with clenched teeth. A part guilty of her found the entire thing a bit funny.

In the end, her superior decided that they should have shifts when it looked like Jie was about to pass out. Luckily for her, they couldn't let go of this cute, adorable little puppy, so she was saved from taking turns with the axes. To think he uses them as one handed…

Before long, they came to the village. Superior ordered them to tie the prisoners to the chairs it the storage, guard outside the door and be ready to be called back when needed.

And like any group of well-trained teenage girls, they immediately began complaining and gossiping.

"By Kyoshi, my hands are killing me!"

"I know, right! What do they feed them in the mainland?"

"I swear, I think I grew two fingers shorter…"

"Now, now, girls, it's unbecoming of a Kyoshi warrior to complain like that. It wasn't that hard."

Suki couldn't help but comment with a mischievous smile as she sat cross-legged with Xing between her legs.

"Oh shut up, you. You got the easy job, cuddling the fluffy pet of that freak."

Jie answered her back.

"Hey, it wasn't very nice Jie. It's not his fault that he has… complications…"

One of the other girls answered back.

"Yeah, don't be mean."

"I'm telling you girls, his evil is plain as the scar on his face!"

Suki was confused by the talk.

"Girls, what are you talking about? And Jie, what do you mean by scar? I didn't see anything."

The other girls looked at her strangely.

"Suki… there is a huge burn scar on the left side of his head… you can't miss it, believe me, I tried."

"What, really?! But I didn't see anything!"

"Wait, you were on his right side, so you didn't see it. Talk about lucky."

"Is it this bad?"

Suki wondered.

"Yes."

All the other girls said as one.

"I wonder how that happened, what do you think, girls?"

"Fire bender?"

"Obviously, maybe domestic abuse?"

"No, no, no, he acted like someone who saw combat, and a powerful fire bend if how he escaped from the Unagi is any indication. I say it's a battle scar!"

"He said his name is Zuko, do you think he's the prince? I heard he had a scar on his face."

"No way, as if a prince, banished or not, would come here. It's a natural island."

"Exactly! Maybe he's planning to conquer it for his father!"

"Girls, girls, let's calm down. I don't think he's anything that special. I say we let sister superior to take care of it."

Suki tried to calm the girls down.

"I'm sure she would tell us everything once she's finished."

"Boo, your no fan suki!"

"Yeah, gossip is half of the fun!"

"Bark!"

The young women looked down on the little animal. Xing was now with his belly up begging for attention.

"What is it, anyway? Never saw something like that."

"Who cares! It's adorable!"

With that, the girls began to give the cub the attention it deserves. The more they petted, the cuter its actions were.

Suddenly, it stood up and looked at a point on the trees.

The warriors immediately went to battle position, they trusted the animal instincts enough to treat it as a warning system.

From the trees appeared an elderly man, and the Kyoshi warriors dropped their guard.

"Oygi! How are you?"

"As good as always, Suki. Are the prisoners secured inside?"

"Yes, sir. Here, let me get you in."

Suki opened the door for the elderly man.

"Thank you."

Oygi said as he entered and closed the door behind him.

Zuko heard the door opened and he could hear a new pair of steps.

"Mister mayor, welcome."

Zuko heard the woman say.

"Ah, Lyn! So those are the spies you caught?"

He could actually sense the woman, Lyn, put her hand on her face in frustration.

"No names, we talked about this… Anyway, yes, those are the outsiders we apprehended today. Peacefully, may I add."

"Bah! Obviously, a disguise. Kyoshi island stayed put of this war so far, and it wouldn't be dragged into in now! So tell us who sent you before we throw you both back to the Unagi!"

"Oygi, that's enough! They surrendered willingly! They are looking for this one's sister. They claim that her name is Jasmine."

"Really? Is she a part of the spy network as well?"

Zuko decided that enough was enough.

"Excuse me, can Mi-Dved just tell his part of the story? It will make things easier."

"Fine, let's hear what he has to say. If he lies, then we throw them to the Unagi."

Lyn pulled the bags off their heads gently.

"Please ignore him, you can continue."

And Mi-Dved told them his and Jasmine's story. About Amora and how they escaped, about the storm that separated them, about how he was found and enslaved by pirates. He continued to tell them about how he met Zuko and their adventures together.

At Zuko's insistence from before the mission, Mi-Dved painted Zuko as a specialist soldier instead of a prince. They didn't need the political mess that his presence may cause, Zuko was also sure that if they knew who he was, then they would throw him to the Unagi without a second thought.

After Mi-Dved finished his story about the swamp and the vision, as well as adding Xing's excellent smell, the two islanders looked at each other for a minute until they both sighed.

"Girls! Bring Jasmine here please!"

Zuko heard "Yes ma'am!" from outside the door.

After a few minutes the door opened to reveal a very pretty young woman proximally his age. Mi-Dved didn't lie when he said that his sister attractive, but he may have glossed over some… things in her description.

Luckily, Zuko was spared from the embarrassment of being caught looking when the siblings cried each other's name and Jasmine ran toward her sibling.

Zuko couldn't help but smile at the scene.

In a relatively big room, a man was writing on a strip of skin that was warped around a pole. When he finished, he opened the cage next to him and gave the tied strip to the monkey-parrot inside. The animal then flew wordlessly to its target to give the warning that two strangers had been sighted and apprehended by the warriors. Farther updates will be given.

AN

And this is the end of chapter 11

Zuko's reputation grows once more and it wouldn't have any consequences! No sir, none at all!

A little more lore about the overlords and their misadventures, As well as the origin of hellhounds in the Avatar world. And as Zuko grow as an overlord the rifts of reality may or may not grow thinner again...

Zuko now has another reason to go to Kyoshi island besides finding Jasmine and he will find himself in no lack of excitement. Iroh once again is pushed aside, how long until the bound is broken? Can the two still mend?

I Hope you like, or at list approve, the name I chose for the puppy. I had to think and search very hard for it, but in the end I'm glad at the result. Xing is a short for survivor in mandarin, as well as luck (according to google translate), which I think is a good connection to Zuko's "lucky to be born".

For all who interested, yes, indeed Cerberus is translated to spots in Greek mythology.

Mi-Dved is forever scared by boat travel... I'm going to have fun with it...

By the way, can someone tell me the cannon size of the Unagi? I tried searching, but didn't really find something.

And I hope you liked the interaction with the Kyoshi warriors. one thing that I didn't understand is why aren't there Kyoshi warriors older than Suki? Is it that they retire after getting married or something? it still doesn't make sense. now I understand that it was needed cannon wise, but I will give in the story some (if dark) explanation about it. Feel free to write in the reviews what you think.

Xing is the loveable and lucky son of a literal she-dog that gets all the ladies without even trying.

I hope you liked the reunion of the Amora siblings, we of course will have them farther interacting in the next character. All in all, I plan for the kyoshi arc to be full of drama.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

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I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 14

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"Argh…"

Zuko woke after a long slumber.

"What time is it?"

Another series of knocking was heard.

"I'm up! I'm up!"

"Nephew, are you alright? It's quite late in the morning."

"Yes uncle, sorry about that. I had a long day yesterday, that's all."

"Oh, it's alright, nephew. I know firsthand how boring and challenging meetings like that are. By the way, I seem to have misplaced my lotus tile again. Would you mind if we paid a visit to the new village? It was a long time since we last went together for a trip. Who knows, we may even find someone to play pai sho with~"

"Again uncle!"

"Remember, this is more likely than not a meeting with his informant from the white lotus. I for one, am very interested to see where this will go."

"Argh fine… let me get dressed first."

"Thank you, nephew."

After a few minutes, Zuko was dressed and opened the door. His uncle was waiting for him.

"Ah nephew, it's good to see you again. Must you take this dastardly helmet everywhere you go, and the armor as well?"

"It's iconic."

"It scares everyone away. Zuko, I will be frank, I worry about you."

"Everything is fine, uncle, let's go search for your stupid tile."

"Just so you know, he's hiding a lotus tile in his left sleeve. He obviously is creating an alibi to meet with the white lotus."

The two of them continue walking. Zuko noticed that people were indeed giving him looks and whispering among themselves, a glance in their direction made them go silent, however.

Xing followed them as well, barking through the process. More than a few people were more interested in the puppy, especially when it was extremely curious about everything. Xing was very popular among the children for some reason as well since they wouldn't stop bothering the animal, which quite liked the attention.

"I must say that I'm both surprised and pleased that you decided to keep it, I thought that you would be more focused on your mission and would just give it to someone else."

"What can I say, Xing grew on me. Besides, Xing is one of a kind."

"That is true, I never seen anything like him. By the way, how was your trip to Kyoshi? I heard many stories, Mi-Dved is a very expressive storyteller, but non from your mouth."

"Well…"

Zuko began to tell his own (much more grounded to reality) version. He told about the Unagi, their arrest and the conspiracy. He decided to keep everything with Suki to himself, both because he himself didn't want to talk about it as well as he didn't want to hear his uncle pestering him.

As they walked, he noticed a few people trying to listen to their conversation.

'How are there so many spies already?!'

"No spies yet, at least none that I noticed. They are simply curious about the prince."

Before long, they arrived at the inn of the place. There, they were greeted with a familiar face.

"Hello, what would you like to order?"

Zuko looked up from his sit, he saw the same woman from the inn they visited on their way to and from the swamp. It seems like she did take his offer after all.

"Hey… You're that woman from the inn, aren't you? Sorry I'm bad with names."

"It's fine, I didn't give it. I'm Chin, your highness. I thank you for everything that you have done for us."

"Oh… well, thanks. To be frank, I didn't expect you to actually listen. I figured most of you would try your luck elsewhere in the peripheral Gaoling."

The woman, Chin, sighed.

"That what most of them did. The few of us who listen to you were a small part, smaller the ones who were brave or desperate enough to take your deal."

"And which is she I wonder."

"How are you liking it so far? And please be honest between laying and disrespecting I consider the former the bigger offence."

"Oh, ar… well."

Chin sighed again before continuing.

"To be frank, we have much more than before. The inn is bigger, our meals are larger, and safety has become a non-existent issue. The workload is bigger, and the community feeling is all but destroyed, but this is a small price to pay. I expected much worse, once again I thank you for everything my lord."

"Very well. Anyway, I woke up late today, so I'll have breakfast on the menu. What will you have, uncle?"

"Hmm… I think I will have the fish dish with the mushroom salad. As well as Jasmine tea."

"Very well, coming right up, my lords."

The woman left to prepare the meals.

"I must confess, nephew, it was a very honorable thing you did, giving those refugees a home. I really am proud of you."

"Well, I couldn't just let them die. Besides, the more people who enjoy the light of the fire nation the better."

"Yes… anyway, tell me nephew, what are your plans now?"

Uncle asked in a curious tone.

"Oh?"

To be frank, Zuko didn't know. He hadn't thought so far.

'Sai? What are our plans?'

"Rest for now and read the texts Suki gave us. This is not the ideal place for farther discussion."

"For now I will just relax and read the books about Kyoshi Suki gave me, I'll tell you more once we are back in the ship."

"Seems fair enough. I suppose the bag that you carried with you contains the very same texts?"

Iroh pointed at the bag that Zuko carried with him the entire time.

"Yes."

They had some small talk together until their meals arrived. They quietly ate their meals and uncle "tried his luck finding his missing tile" with the other old men at the corner of the in.

Zuko decided to read the books Suki gifted him. He had Sai monitor everything his uncle did and alert Zuko in any case he would be needed.

As it was, Sai alerted Zuko when he was at the end of the first book he got, it detailed the years were Kyoshi wasn't yet known as the one true Avatar.

It seems like the right moves for a lotus greeting were exchanged. It was his uncle and…

'Wait, is in one of the people from the meeting?'

"Yes, Lao Sho if I'm no mistaken. One of the chief engineers of Loban and one that was exposed to protect SADARA. I believe it's time to interferer."

'That laying sniveling snake!'

Zuko went to the pair.

"Hello uncle! I see you found your lotus tile."

"Ah, prince Zuko! Finished your book already? I hope you had an enjoyable read."

"It was enlightening, yes. So, who is your friend?"

Zuko looked at the engineer who had sweat drops across his entire face.

"Why this fine fellow is Lao sho, you may have met him in the factory. He is one of the head engineers there after all."

"Y-your h-highness…"

"Oh yes, I remember now! Loban told me about you, he is quite pleased with your work."

"W-why thank you…"

"You also have three kids, right? Two girls, Misaka and Masuku and a boy named Mushi if I'm not mistaken. The first one is going to get married next summer, no?"

"I… yes…"

The traitorous engineer had trouble swallowing his own spit now.

"Why it's a wonderful thing! I'm very happy for you."

His uncle added.

"T-thank you…"

"It's not all, it seems like little Mushi is following his old man's footsteps. He's already building things with his toys, like his dad. How old was he again, four? Five?"

"F-four your highness…"

Loa Sho was stuttering at the piece of information that he knew was certainly not given by Loban.

"I see, have a nice game then! Don't let me stop you, just don't say something I wouldn't."

Zuko looked at Lao Sho as he said that. The message was clear.

"I-I think I feel a little under the weather… I t-think that it would be for the best if I retire…"

The scum said as he wished to return to whatever hole he lived in.

"Oh… Are you sure? Even for one game? I promise you that neither of us bites, you shouldn't be afraid of us."

"I-I really should be going."

Uncle was about to talk when Zuko put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's enough uncle, if the man says he should leave than let him leave. Besides, your health isn't what it used to be, wasn't it today when you said you needed a cup of tea to feel warm? I don't think we should risk it."

Iroh looked conflicted, but he didn't see a way out without looking suspicious. So in the end, he backed down.

"I suppose you're correct."

Uncle said sadly.

The engineer didn't need any more excuse to bolt out of there.

Uncle sighed as he turned to Zuko.

"I think you scared him nephew, I told you that your getup will scare people away. A shame, I really hoped to have a match with him."

"I'm sure you will find others uncle. Look at the bright side, at least you found the missing tile. I will go explore the island a little, it should give you enough peace for another game or two."

Mi-Dved and Jasmine sat on the beach and looked at the other people there. It was the same place where Mi-Dved was washed off and where the pirates found him.

It was ironic really, a place that not two months ago was a hive of scum and villainy is now a resting place for the people filled with laughter of kids.

"Sister, can we talk about it?"

"Hm? About what, dear brother?"

The older siblings looked at his younger sister.

"Don't play coy with me, all this business with Zuko."

"What are you talking about, brother of mine?"

"Be serious. You know exactly what you're doing, your left mouth corner is rising a little like any time you scheme. Usually I don't care, but I actually like the guy. Besides, he's a prince, you're playing with fire in more than one way."

Jasmine wiped her mouth with her left hand.

"Listen, is it really that wrong? I understand that you have your older brother's duties, or whatever, but I can date whoever I want. You even said right now that you like him, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is that I'm pretty sure you're after his crown more than his love, don't even deny it. Besides, he's a prince with a chance to rule the world, you and I are literally at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to social status."

"I know, the prince marry the peasant girl like in the stories. it's so romantic~"

Jasmine put both her hands on her heart.

"You completely ignored the first part."

Mi-Dved grumbled under his breath.

"Besides, you're worry too much brother. As long as I get his attention and the both of us are on his good graces, the both of us are set for life. Just look at all the gifts he gave me."

Jasmine flexed the expensive swimwear and other accessories the prince gave her from the factory.

"I remember more than a few men having done the same, you didn't act so positive then. Some of them were much more handsome than Zuko."

Jasmine shuddered a little as she remembered some of her past sutures.

"Please, that was different, and you know that. They all only saw me as a piece of meat or another feather to their hat, both of us know that they would have gotten rid of you as soon as posable and of me once they lost interest. That even ignoring the age gap most had."

"And what makes you think Zuko's different?"

Mi-Dved raised an eyebrow that Jasmine returned.

"You liked him."

"Point."

The earth bender concluded.

"Besides, he wanted you before he even knew I existed, brother, I think your place is safe in that regard. He also was annoyingly resilient to my advances, am I losing my charm?"

"Considering the constant peaking of the boys, no."

Mi Dved nodded at a group of teenagers some distance away from them. Many of them were indeed trying to catch glances at the pair, or more accurately at Jasmine.

At the earth bender's nod, they all suddenly found the sand below them very interesting.

"But what I don't understand is why no one had the stones to actually come here, usually there is at least one idiot that would ignore me."

Mi-Dved wondered.

"Hmm… Maybe it's because they saw us with the prince. They probably think that I am some kind of noble lady or that the prince has interest in me, therefore I'm off limits."

"Well, anyway, I'm happy with the results."

"Screw you too, brother. But I suppose it's good that I start from a position of power, unlike back there."

"Which brings us back to our original talk. We already have much more than we thought we'll have after our escape, I don't want to risk it by you making enemies in high places or worse, making Zuko possessive of you."

"Well, for the last part I wouldn't worry, even spoiled rotten he, unlike the others, has a strict sense of morals in that regard. Besides, he's a good person."

Jasmine nodded to the direction of Zuko with her head. He was now sitting cross-legged with Xing facing the sea, they could even hear him if they tried hard enough. It seems like he was trying to teach it to… fire bend?

"Okay Xing, look at this."

Zuko drew breath and released an immense torrent of fire, big enough for an ostrich-horse to stand inside it whole and remain unseen. Once Zuko finished after half a minute, they both followed the beam until they lost sight of it.

"Now it's you turn."

Xing mimicked his helmet less master, the helmet was at the right side of its master and drew a big breath. It then released a small cloud of smoke from its mouth as the breath out became a small cough.

"Good boy!"

Zuko hugged the animal and rubbed his head with its own.

Back to the siblings, they both found this scene adorable in a way.

"As for the first part, brother, fine. I admit that it could be dangerous, I will keep my teasing to a minimum."

"That's all I'm asking."

Zuko was at the factory, working with the materials there to make upgrades for his armor.

His man already got their upgrade the day before from the factory. Now they had lighter but stronger armor as well as a machination that shoots darts from their right hand and a hook from their left one.

The two new toys were two separate bracelets that Sai designed. Both work with springs and bolts to shoot their relative ammunition. The darted were finger sized and could be filled with poison, either deadly, hallucinating or paralyzing.

The hooks were more of a safety feature for travel, to stop a fall from a cliff or to climb one quickly. They also were, however, very good at spearing targets and bringing them back.

For now, it was only he and Sai. He asked the siblings to take Xing for a walk, something the both of them were happy with. His uncle still hadn't returned from his games, probably still thinking that this lotus member will arrive.

'Are you sure that guy wouldn't squeal?'

"Positive. He knows that he's on our radar, he wouldn't try to take the risk. He may be willing to risk his own life, but not that of his family. We showed him that there is no way he could save them in time, not even with the help of the order."

"But this brings us to another, very awkward, point. Why did your uncle of all people meet with him?"

'What do you mean?'

"The engineer is the one that gives, or at least he would have, information. It was clear from his expression that he was going to report about the happenings of the meeting, so why did he want to sell it to your uncle of all people?"

'What are you getting at?'

"Nothing, your highness, just food for thought. Anyway, focus your flame on the iridium wires here…"

In the end, they stayed there until it was dark. The upgrades Zuko implemented to his swords made it easier to channel chi into them, as well as make the swords much sharper and sturdier.

Sai also infused small pockets of enchanted silver so the swords could harm spirits as well. Sai admitted that it would only sting spirits of higher standing, but it was better than nothing.

Now they were once again inside Zuko's room. As the day before, Xing brought another unlucky animal. This one was some kind of a hybrid between a monkey and a mantis. The thing had a monkey's head, body, limbs and tail. It had, however, another pair of limbs on his shoulders as well as mantis wings on its back, the mouth opened in a very insectoid way as well.

It was obviously a predator, one that was also slightly bigger than Xing himself. It looked like Xing had a fight for that one, a fight the hellhound emerged victorious from.

When he met the trio after he got to the ship, he was about to interrogate the siblings about what in Agni's name happened. But they were so dirty and tired that he let it slide and ordered them to bathe, Xing was after all only a dirty with some minor scratches that mostly healed.

Just what happened to them?

Whatever, it doesn't matter. After repeating the same ceremony as yesterday, Zuko once again debated with Sai about their next course of action.

'So the debate is wither to after that owl spirit or go south treasure hunting.'

"In short, yes. Old Wan and I have an arrangement of sorts. Every generation, the new overlord gives the data of the advancements of his procedure as a part of the library and in return gets access to all the library's content as well as the protection of guest right."

'Sounds… fare?'

"In a way. By now I took nearly everything the old bird could give, the only knowledge I may gain is from the last three thousand years when I was inactive. By the state of technology, the only real information I could get is news. So the library is more of a newspaper to me than a library."

"Even so, Wan Shi Tong gourds the overlord legend. Because of that, the overlord's achievements will never be truly gone. All in all, it is a fair exchange, I suppose."

"Besides, my library ticket is long overdue."

'And you know were to find him?'

"Yes, I can pinpoint Wan Shi Tong's location the same way I can pinpoint the Avatar. He is currently somewhere in the Si Wong desert."

'And why do we need to go to the south pole, again? You were very clear that we aren't ready yet.'

"And we're not. But deep in the icy planes of the south pole there is a storage of rare and unique materials left by the past overlords. It is crucial to secure it for our future plans. There is a risk, but with our current might and my ability to sense the Avatar, I believe that this is a risk worth taking."

"So what will it be, your highness?"

Zuko thought about it for a few minutes. A month ago, he would have jumped on the opportunity to go south and get close to the Avatar. Now, however, he was more levelheaded. As much as he wanted to try his luck with the Avatar down south, the fact that he had an unpaid debt to a spirit such as Wan Shi Tong.

'We'll go to the desert . I will not have unpaid duos.'

"Very well."

Xing managed to produce a few sparks amidst the smoke he coughed.

"He is advancing well, he should start spitting fire in a few days."

'So he really was a late bloomer.'

"True, the ignites and the olive oil helped as well."

Sai suggested a diet for Xing that besides a lot of different kinds of meat, consisted of natural extremely flammable things and hot fire related things. So far, the results were great; the malnutrition Xing had while he was on his own is steadily disappearing.

"It's a good thing that it hunts stronger foes. It shows that your companion has courage to face those stronger than him even when its life isn't under threat. It's loyalty to you is absolute, he wouldn't abandon you."

'But what if Xing gets hurt?'

"Hunting is in its blood, he will be fine."

'Wonder how its day went.'

A few hours earlier.

"Sure thing, you can count on us!"

Mi-Dved proclaimed to the prince as the former asked his sister and him to take Xing for a walk.

"Make sure to return before dark, and don't lose him."

"Of course my prince, as you command."

Jasmine answered.

The two siblings watched the prince's back as he went back to the factory.

"So… What's now?"

"Well, brother of mine, now we better get going. We don't want to lose little Xing after all."

"Your right, come boy."

The earth bender called for the hellhound to follow.

"Xing?"

The siblings looked right and left, but there was no sign for the animal.

"Spirits! How did he disappear so fast! We latterly said just two sentences!"

"I don't know! you're the one who was supposed to hold him, brother!"

"Me?! Why me?! You have two working hands!"

"Well, You're obviously the stronger and fitter one of us! I thought it was obvious!"

"Damn it, Zuko's going to skin us alive when he finds out!"

"Ok, ok, lets calm down for a moment. Everything is fine, we just need to find Xing before Zuko finishes whatever he's doing. We have a few hours at least."

Jasmine tried to calm her brother and herself down.

"And how are we suppose to do it? none of us is a hunter or even a tracker, sister."

"Well, how about you contribute something, you big oaf!"

"Well, maybe we'll go the jungle than?!"

This surprised Jasmine.

"The jungle? Why the jungle?"

"If he was somewhere in the village or somewhere else, people would have gathered to pat it or whatever. Besides, it's curious, it only makes sense that it went to explore the jungle."

"Ow… and I liked that dress."

The enchantress may say that, but she didn't hesitate to go to the dirty jungle.

Hunger… Excitement… Those are the things it felt.

After leader left for leader things, it went after the call of nature to relive itself. It released its waste in the nearest vegetation and went farther. It felt its belly was demanding nutrition and it obeyed.

A sun turn ago, it went after a fine sky walking prey. The thing put up a fight, but once the teeth bit into one sky limb the struggle ended quickly. It still felt the pride and the feeling of accomplishment it felt when leader received its hunt. Leader cared about it and nurtured it and protected it, as pack member it must do the best it can to support the pack and become strong enough for leader to relay on him.

To do that, he had to work and test itself against stronger enemies. The most common opponent was the same walking bald apes that looked like leader, but it figured that leader wouldn't like it to attack others like him, especially when they considered leader as their leader as well. Attacking peck members wouldn't bring leader respect.

So it went deeper into the green in search of a worthy opponent.

"Did you find something, sis?"

"No, you?"

"Damn, let's go to the next part."

They now searched the jungle near the place they lost Xing at, so far, the results were unsuccessful.

Mi-Dved and Jasmine took a right turn and suddenly they smelled something familiar.

"Ew… that disgusting."

"Well, lucky for us this piece of shit means we're on the right track, I recognize the shape and it's Xing's ."

"So what are you waiting for? Follow this shit!"

The siblings moved deeper into the jungle.

It smelled another target like the one from before. This time, the sky walking prey was smaller than the one before. A bite to the neck and the struggle was over. This wouldn't do, it can't show leader this small and weak thing.

With a growl of annoyance, the hunter stalked in search of a worthier target. Not before devouring the food before it, however. It was hungry after all.

In his search for prey, it didn't bother to clean its blood dripping maw. Neither did it care about whatever was left of the prey devoured. As it went farther deep, a trail of blood from its mouth marked its path.

The siblings followed a direction in hopes that it would lead them to Xing, it didn't. They decided to follow another direction so that may find a clue to save their skin.

"Zuko is so going to kill us!"

"Calm down, brother, maybe –"

It was then, when they heard the horrible shriek of a dyeing animal.

The siblings looked at each other.

"You don't think it was…"

"It didn't sound like Xing, sis. But I think we should check in either case. Who knows we may find a clue along the way."

"Can't hurt, I suppose. It's not like my dress isn't already ruined."

The two ran towards the source of the sound.

It continued in its track to hunt a worthy target. On its way it met a few other things, none of them proved to be a worthy adversary. They were all too small and weak. Some were fast, sure, but no one provided the test if strength it needed.

To not be confused, it did enjoy the hunt so far. The thrill of the hunt did good to his inner fire, it could feel that. With the proper food leader gave it, it could feel how each successful hunt fed his inner fire.

It threw away its last catch, some kind of a small scaly creature with four limbs and a relatively large tail. It was fast and hard to catch, but not something that would impress leader.

As it threw it away, another creature of similar build, if a bit bigger, ran from a bush. It took the corpse with it and ran away.

The incident gave it an idea. If a small dead catch brings bigger catch, then maybe big catch brings worthy target. Xing was so happy with the revelation that it decided to spare the thing that ran away and leave it alone.

Now to find bigger prey….

The siblings reached the place from where the screams came from. They found the thing that gave them, or at least whatever was left of it.

"Spirits, that's disgusting."

Jasmine said as she covered her mouth with both hands.

"Well, at least it wasn't Xing."

"At least?! It could have been Xing! We have a killer animal on the loose with Xing nowhere in sight, Zuko will feed us to the Komodo-rhinos if Xing will and up like that!"

"Aren't those herbivores?"

"I don't care what they are supposed to be, half of them looks at me like a piece of meat and the rest look at me like they what nothing more than to stomp on me!"

"So exactly like our male and female population than."

"This isn't time for jokes!"

"Whatever."

Mi-Dved couldn't help but roll his eyes and smile, even at their situation. He continued talking, however, as he noticed something.

"Look, there is a track of blood. Maybe if we follow it, we will find Xing."

"Or maybe the killer animal, you dolt!"

"Well, do you have a better idea?"

Jasmine growled, not unlike Xing when it was angry, and followed the trail of blood. Mi-Dved was right after her.

It followed the trail of another sky walking prey. It now had the idea to hurt one of the prey's sky limbs and make it the desired target for bigger marks.

The prey had its back to it as it crouched and prepared for attack. Then, as fast as it could, it pouched on the prey, teeth sink deep in the sky limb until it felt something snap.

It let go of the prey. The prey tried to fly, but with one sky limb not working it only did an awkward stumbling on the ground. It now stalked the wounded prey in hopes that a larger target will notice the easy meal as well.

After some time of stalking in the shadows, the voice of a prey whose fire was just snuffed out reached its ears.

It ran and busted through the bushes, it was met with a delightful sight.

The prey was now being devoured by a bigger target, and what a beautiful target it was!

The target was bigger than it, had a pair of limbs more than it, sharp ones too, and was obviously a predator. It was the biggest creature it had seen on the island that wasn't part on leader's pack.

Yes, it would be a worthy prize to show to leader indeed…

With a shriek and a growl, the two predators ran towards each other.

"Spirits forbade, just what kind of sadistic creature could do all of this?"

Mi-Dved could not help but nod at his sister's words. He wasn't a stranger to gruesome sights, it was part of life in the arena. Famished animals would cause quite a mess with their prey, but it would always be to eat them.

Whatever caused this literal trail of bodies didn't hunt just because it was hungry, many of the corpses were untouched (except of the killing wounds of course). This killer did it mostly for sport, and that worried the earth bender.

"At least the creature can't be much bigger then Xing."

"Hm? What makes you say it?

His sister turned to him in curiosity.

"Well, if it was bigger, we would have seen bigger bodies. It's up for excitement, it wouldn't miss an opportunity like that."

"Let's pray that you're right…"

They followed the literal trail of bodies with haste.

It was glorious!

The two opponents spar, claws and teeth against fists and sharp-limbs. Its enemy was stronger, it knew it, but it was the faster one in fight. This fact compensated for its lack of ways to attack, it only had one mouth and two attack limbs while its target had a mouth and four.

As their mutual mauling continued, it noticed that even though it was the better fighter, the opponent was just too strong. It wouldn't win this fight by strength alone. Its target also could fly with another pair of strange sky limbs that were on the target's back.

It then got an idea, it couldn't spit fire like leader, not yet at least, but it could blind the enemy for precious time. Then it could attack and maim the flying thing so fighting would be easier.

After the target threw it away, it pouched again. In their close combat it released a smoke breath right into the face of its opponent.

The blast caught the target head on. Smoke blinded is and entered the eyes and lungs, making it hard for the target to breathe and see.

In a fright, the target tried to fly away blindly, but it caught one of the sky limbs and tore it off. This caused the target to wail in pain and fall back to the ground.

It didn't relent, it mauled the target in a brutal fashion. Now it had the higher standing. The target threw attacks at greater strength, but they were blindly thrown and unfocused. The target gust couldn't fight as well as it did before.

And once it reached the neck of the target with its teeth it was over. It bit hard and spilled liquid. The target tried to throw it off and with a desperate strength of a dying creature it succeeded, but in doing so it only killed itself. The teeth tore away the throat and the drops became a spring.

When it stood up again, the target was already not breathing. It stood triumphantly on the prize he would show to leader and barked load for all to hear.

The two continued to follow the bloody path, each step made them more and more desperate.

So far, they had noticed no less than fifteen corpses. Just what kind of sadistic creature could do such a thing?

"I can't believe that a thing like this could exist in the island, it's a wonder that there are any wild animal at all!"

Jasmine said.

"And how did it escape the pirates notice, brother? I hardly think that they would let something to hunt their precious message birds with such impunity."

"Maybe it came after the pirates were gone? There were enough ships that docked here, maybe one of them brought the thing."

"I just hope Xing is alright. It's so cute and adorable, how could Xing possibly defend itself against such a vicious creature?"

"You really don't know Xing, sis, the little fur ball can put up a fight. Remember what I told you about the swamp?"

"I know, but a mother worries. Besides, this thing here is clearly a serial killer."

"One, you're the it's mother, you're not a mother at all. Two, I trust Xing enough to handle itself until we arrive."

"Hey! Zuko is its owner, isn't he? So that means Zuko is its dad, which naturally means that I, the main girl Zuko interacts with, is the mother!"

"What kind of logic… You both are friends at best. He literally ignored all your advances and said he values you as a friend, if that doesn't friend zone than nothing is."

"Oh boo hoo! As if you know something about romance. You better listen to your experienced little sister in this one."

"You conning guys isn't romance, no matter how many times you do it. Besides, I have more experience in steady relationships."

"You and Zia date two months, at best. Besides, didn't she literally stab you in the back, oh grand guru of love?"

"And it still was longer and much healthier than any of your relationships."

"Why you-"

The siblings suddenly heard sounds of a fight in the distance.

"Spirits, it sounds like Xing."

Mi-Dved proclaimed as the two of them sprinted, uncaring about the state of cleanness of their clothes.

After a few minutes, they finally were close. They even could hear Xing's barking.

"Mama is coming, Xing!"

"Not a mother!"

The two of them busted into the clearing, expected the worst. Instead, they were surprised to find Xing standing atop some kind of monkey insect hybrid.

Jasmine immediately ran to Xing to hug it.

"Baby! You're alright! Are you okay? Did this nasty thing hurt my little baby boy? Oh, how brave you are, defeating… whatever it was."

The hellhound wiggled its tail as the female hugged him, translating her behavior as a pride of his hunt.

While the sister fretted over the hellhound, the brother came to a different conclusion.

Mi-Dved noticed the markings on the now dead animal, they were uncomfortably similar to marks on the other corpses they found. Together with the conclusions of his discussion with Jasmine about the outsider roots of the killer, he came to a very frightening (and very real) realization.

The sadistic killer was no other than –

"This thing?"

"I'm a, what?"

His sister's voice drew him back to reality.

"I asked, brother of mine, if you know what is this thing."

"Oh, according to what I know from the little time I was here, this thing is a praying mantis ape. They are considered the apex predators of those small remote islands."

"So it was what killed all those animals."

"Well, actually –"

"Good boy~ you defeated the vile murderer. Look at you, already standing up for yourself like that!"

Mi-Dved decided to keep quiet.

The trio went out of the woods, Jasmine's dress was all muddy and ruined and Mi-Dved was little better. Xing itself was covered in blood, most of which was not his own, and dragged with its mouth the dead praying mantis ape by the right leg.

They didn't even notice when it became dark, their only thought in mind was how to explain all of this to-

"Prince Zuko!"

Jasmine shouted in a surprised tone at the armored figure that gotten close.

"Jasmine, Mi-Dved, right on time. I thought that you would be back in your rooms by now, but nevertheless thank you for kipping Xing company… What in Agni's name happened to you? And is it blood on Xing?!"

"I- w-well…"

"Y-you see-"

"Bark!"

The hellhound dropped its catch near Zuko's feet and wiggled his tail happily.

"Oh, what do we have here?"

The prince crouched on one knee and studied the dead animal.

"Let's see, an adult praying mantis ape… six years old… looks healthy enough, well for a corpse… Did you catch it yourself?"

"Bark!"

"Good boy~"

Zuko patted the hellhound's head with affection.

"Listen, Zuko…"

The earth bender tried to start an explanation that hopefully would save them from most of the prince's rage.

"Save it. Xing looks fine and happy, so it's enough for me. We will talk about this tomorrow, for now bath, eat and sleep. I insist on that order."

"Yes, sir."

Both siblings said.

"Are you sure you want to go with me?"

Zuko was in his cabin on his ship. He is having right now a discussion with the siblings about their next trip. In went without saying that the two of them weren't thrilled to go back to the desert from which they escaped. Nevertheless, they stood firm in their opinion to stay with Zuko through thick and thin.

"I really don't like it, but a deal is a deal. Besides, it's better for us to be there to guide you through the dessert and spare you all kinds of misunderstanding with the locals."

Mi-Dved answered.

"This spirit of knowledge sounds interesting as well. It can be a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Jasmine added.

"Thank you… both of you."

And so, the ship sailed back to the conquered Gauling base.

AN

And this is the end of chapter 14

By the way, the story is now more than 100K words!

The earth kingdom refugees found home in Zuko's employ, how would this change things, I wonder.

Another scam of the white lotus is foiled by the ever vigilant prince and his aid, a great victory for the ascending overlord. Sai, of course, continues to tear apart the uncle and nephew slowly but surly. Poisoning Zuko's thoughts with the worst kind of manipulation, the truth.

Mi-Dved and Jasmine had their heart to heart talk, and Jasmine revealed at least part of her plans for the future.

Once again, the crew got an upgrade. Zuko as well.

Now Zuko has a reason to go both to the dessert and the south pole, and with the bounty on his head the journey will be more dangerous then ever!

He also may or may not meet a few other cannon characters that I'm sure you all are waiting for.

Now the last half of the chapter had Xing as a narrator, for those that had hard time following. it was a challenge to write an animal's point of view, the "it" and the lack of self awareness where a nightmare to write much more than to read. I deliberately didn't have Xing call itself by its name because despite its intelligence, it still lacks the self awareness to use a name.

I also wanted to show the other side of the cute puppy. it is a killing machine, there is reason why the swamp tried to kill it so much. I tried to paint an analogy between Xing and Zuko, both started with a disadvantage, both are trying their best to please their relative authority figure and both are reflecting each other. However, Zuko grew in the oppressive environment of his father while Xing has a supportive one. This reflects in their progress as well, while Zuko was stuck under the weight of his father Xing flourishes. There are of course many differences, one is a man and the other a beast, one knows right and wrong and the other do not.

And so we are setting sail to the mainland!

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 15

"Shoot!"

"Pull!"

"Dart!"

Zuko was with his men training with the new equipment. For the few days they were on sea, Sai insisted that the crew must master the dart shooters and the graphing hook before their journey to the south pole.

Because of that, every day he and the crew wasted an hour training against dummies. Mi-Dved himself wasn't spared as he stood in line with the man, the only two who weren't included were Jasmine and his uncle.

The former was not included for obvious reasons, Jasmine wasn't a warrior and nor did she want to be one. She was having fun right now watching all the others suffer if the smile on her face was anything to go buy. It wasn't the sadistic smile Azula had, but a mischievous one that didn't really want anyone to get hurt. She was holding Xing in her hands, who didn't seem to mind the attention at all.

His uncle on the other hand claimed that his back didn't agree with the new toys of the young, "Old eel hounds can't learn new tricks." Were his words. To Zuko it sounded that his uncle was just lazy.

Their main strategies were to use overwhelming numbers against a single fast or heavy armored target. Teamwork was integral for the successful subjugation of mighty targets that no one man can hope to hold against, mainly the Avatar.

That is not to be said that there weren't one on one spars, Zuko (and Sai) made it a point that no one of the men under his command will ever find himself at loss again a single opponent.

For that, Zuko used Mi-Dved as practice for the troopers to simulate a battle against an earth bender. Mi-Dved used sand and the crew members used balls of ink as darts and low temperature fire bending, so everything was as safe as can be.

In the end, Mi-Dved was painted all over his body. Actually, there was more paint than skin. The crew also had sand stack in very annoying and hard to reach places. Zuko decided that everyone deserves an extra dessert after that training, Mi-Dved had double.

In the end, they reach the navy base after another two days. Zuko noticed that the base was upgraded, it had four high towers, each had an Eye of Cheng tied to it. If he had to guess, they had some kind of machination that pulled back the Eyes for quick deployment.

Once they arrived there, they were greeted with the happily familiar face of lieutenant Shen. The old man organized his crew comfortable places to stay and rest. Meanwhile, he invited Zuko to his study.

"Your highness, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise, Shen. How is life treating you so far?"

The old lieutenant waved his head dismissively.

"Oh you know, the usual. Commanding this mission, ordering that operation, breathing down my daughter's neck about getting a boyfriend. Nothing out of the ordinary. Although the added paperwork is a bother."

"Sorry to hear. By the way, how are you in command of a navy base while being a lieutenant, if you don't mind asking?"

Shen chuckled at that a little.

"Well, the port needed a captain and none are available at the moment. It appears that our little adventure caught the higher ups by surprise. So as the one who led the assault, Zhao had the freedom to choose a temporary captain until a proper replacement will arrive."

"Although between you and me, your highness, I suspect Zhao only jump on the excuse to get rid of me. If Zhao has his way, there may pass some time until a proper replacement arrives, especially if my work is done well."

"That does sounds like Zhao, yes."

"But forgot about the boring tales of an old man, I heard you had quite a trip after we last met. Swamp monsters, Kyoshi warriors, some even say that you battled the Unagi toe to toe. They are asking if you are preparing for a second round of the last one, by the way."

"Are they crazy?! Have they seen the size of that thing?!"

This caused the lieutenant to raise an eyebrow.

"So you did meet the Unagi."

"Meet is a generous word, it was more like jetting my boat for dear life until we reach the shore. There where too many close calls, I think Mi-Dved is traumatized for life."

"Yes, he does seem to have some bad luck with boats… Nevertheless, there aren't many men who could claim to survive the Unagi's wreath, even fewer are those that can claim to not lose companions at such exchange."

And so, the two continued to talk about Zuko's adventures.

Zuko decided to spill the beans about the swamp water benders. He held no love nor commitment for the tribe of the one who attacked him, and the soldiers needed to know about the possibility of a water tribe raid.

Shen promised to take precautions, as well as having patrols around the swamp once they gain enough foothold in the area. They both decided that leading an assault on the swamp isn't an option, the environment will make their advantages null and their soldiers an easy pray. That was without the possibility of the men bringing back with them a plague.

That, however, led Shen to explain about the state of the war theatre so far.

"Our forces are on the move for the deeper parts of the earth kingdom as we speak, our control over the navy base and the sea strip gave us the logistic foundation we needed for a foothold in the area."

"The supply is cut off from Gaoling, its conquest is a question of time in this point. Although it seems that the Beifong patriarch is concerned with other matters and left the war business as a second concern."

That surprised Zuko.

"Really? I thought that he was supposed to be a cunning businessman, has he gone senile?"

"The key word is businessman, not general, but I agree with you. There are rumors that his daughter was kidnapped a few weeks ago and that he offered half of his wealth to anyone who will return his daughter to him with the head of the one responsible."

"That's rough…"

"Indeed. What are your plans now, if you don't mind me asking? Nothing classified, of course."

"Well, I planned a trip to the Si Wong desert. There are some things that I need to do there, spirit stuff."

"I see… Although I can't help you with spirits, I can give you some advice. I wouldn't dare to tell you what to do, but I humbly suggest avoiding the desert. There are vicious bandit tribes there that perfected their art of raiding, you have the attention of one as well."

Zuko remembered all his conversations with Mi-Dved and Jasmine about the desert and Amora, there was one name that came to mind.

"Mi-Sha, if I'm not mistaken."

That seemed to surprise the lieutenant a little.

"Why, yes. I didn't think you would know the name, I myself only knew it because of my long service at the front."

"He was mentioned once or twice by Mi-Dved and Jasmine."

"It makes sense, yes."

Shen patted his beard.

"But I must advise caution, your highness. You already made an enemy out of him, enough for him to try to have you killed or worse. Heading to his home turf is hardly the wisest decision, even for one as powerful as you."

"I appreciate your concern, but I am well aware of him and his minions. I already scared one away, and I promise you that my men and I are much stronger than we were. Besides, it will be in and out, shouldn't take more than two days."

The old man sighed.

"I hope you're right. But please be careful, this man is considered the greatest outlaw since the pirate queen Tagaka."

"She was a rather successful pirate from Kyoshi's time, wasn't she? She made a 'fifth nation' formed from outlaws if I'm correct. Sounds like a charming woman, Sadara Would approve."

It was strange, Zuko would have usually blown off the guy for daring to say he was weak, but the had a scuffle with only one enforcer last month showed. He saw how dangerous they can be, he himself may have died if he didn't have backup.

Needless to say, it made him much more cautious with his approach to the bandit lord.

"I have my crew as guards, if push comes to shove, we'll fall back. Xing, that's my pet by the way, will smell danger well before it can reach us."

"That's all I'm asking. By the way, I didn't see your new earth base companions, are they well?"

"Mi-Dved and Jasmine? Yeah, they fine. Mi-Dved needed an extra bath from the ink and Jasmine is preparing something in her room after meeting your daughter and Ling. Something about not being outdone by some cow, I didn't really understand."

Sis, is everything ok with you?"

The earth bender watched his sister as she practiced her dancing moves. She also had a plate of treats and buns on the table next to her.

"Sorry brother, need to concentrate."

She said as she moved at a fast pace.

"Why are you training so long anyway?"

"Need to lose weight."

"You could start by eating less sweets, you know."

"Need to grow bigger."

"You're not making any sense, sister."

"Women are mysterious. In all my years, and for all my experience, I have yet to scratch the surface. Such are the woes of men everywhere."

The rest of the evening went on as the two of them happily talked about various things. Zuko had to admit that it was nice.

In the next morning, Zuko and his squad were preparing to embark. They were soon joined by his uncle and the siblings.

"Hello uncle, glad you could make it."

And he meant it too, he may be a bit miffed with his eldest living family member, but he still liked his uncle.

Besides, having the dragon of the west raises his strength by some.

"My prince, it seems I have a problem. The Komodo-rhinos are disagreeing with me."

The beast next to her was reluctant to let the girl touch her, let alone ride her.

"Maybe it's sensing your personality, sis?"

"Shut it, bird brain."

"That may be your perfume, my lady. It's their mating time at this time of the year, while the males fight for dominance, the females are basking themselves in jasmine flowers. The stronger the scent, the more food the female has and therefore more fitting to have a child."

The local beast master of the base explained.

"Your perfume must have made the females see you as a competition, hence the cold shoulder."

By the end of the explanation, Mi-Dved was laughing himself to tears.

Zuko, however, saw the problem.

"So you're telling me she can't ride Komodo-rhinos, not females and nor males?"

"Basically yes, your highness. May I offer an ostrich-horse instead?"

Zuko didn't even need to think.

"Do it. Jasmine, you will be in the middle with my uncle. Mi-Dved, you're on the front with me."

"Yes, my prince."

"Yes, sir."

A few minutes later they started their track to the library.

"What do you have, girl?"

The bounty hunter known as June patted the head of her mount and companion, the Shirshu Nyla. The two of them were on the hunt for a juicy bounty, it seems like the fire prince Zuko made enemies with the wrong man.

They used Nyla's special talent as a Shirshu to track their target. As the rest of her kind, Nyla could track something by smell all the way to the other side of the world. A trick that made them one of the best names in the profession.

After they lost blowy man, a fellow bounty hunter and a rival, Nyla led them to the beach. June knew then and there that the prince was off continuant and decided to wait for him to come back at sea with daddy's boat toys there was no risk of someone claiming her price.

And so, they waited for the target to come to them. After a few days of camping, Nyla jerked her head and sniffed. It seems like their target was getting closer. Unsurprisingly, the prince went to the newly conquered navy base.

A damn shame really. From experience, fire nation army camps were more secure than their earth kingdom counterparts. Still easy enough to get in and out for someone with her skills and experience, but not something she would make a regular occurrence if she could avoid it.

What's more, that wasn't a simple camp, but a full-blown port. She didn't want to try her luck with so many soldiers, she also didn't want to put Nyla in front of so many Komodo-rhinos.

So they decided to stay put and wait for the spoiled prince to come out of his little comfortable base, she just hoped he wasn't going to set sail again. It would be rather annoying to tail him across the entire beaches of the continent.

Luck seemed to be on her side this time, as Nyla once again sniffed the air and confirmed that the prince was on the move. Why he was kind enough to venture deep inside the continent and away from the safety of the fire army. He was basically gift wrapping himself for her, what a person she will be if she refuses such a generous offer.

As they got close enough, she could see the prince and his party. There were ten Komodo-rhinos and one ostrich-horse in total, two Komodo-rhinos at the front, two at the back, two on each side and two in the middle protecting the girl on the ostrich-horse.

The Komodo-rhinos in the front and at the center had one person each, she spied an old man and a lieutenant at the middle and a rather big boy that looked like an earth bender and another armored man at the front. According to Nyla, the black armored man with the rather stylish helmet was their target.

"Well, well, well, it seems like we're right on target boy. Let's wait for them to prepare camp and once we get the prize, I'll treat you with every treat there is, what do you say, boy?"

The blind beast growled in agreement.

"Good boy ~"

The two of them just needed to attack while most of the guards were distracted and before the group reached the desert. Hot sun and sand did not agree with a fluffy thing like her girl.

The Shirshu sniffed her nose once again and growled a different growl to the east.

"What, again with that blow boy? Argh, he doesn't know when to quiet, does he? At least this is going to be interesting…"

Zuko and his men (and Jasmine) were preparing camp, and each and every one of them was preparing for an attack. Xing growled at the same direction ever since they left the port, if that wasn't a sign that they were followed, then nothing was.

They started a campfire and fed the beasts their ration, Zuko was also checking the final details of the umbrellas they prepared for the desert. This was an idea of Sai to protect the beasts, and themselves, from the harsh sun. It wasn't fashionable by any means, but it would greatly help them on the journey.

Xing was still growing at some spot in the hills, most likely where their stalker was hiding in ambush. The hellhound was seething smoke as if to prepare a fire blast, which it still wasn't able to but was very close according to Sai.

"So what's the plan, your highness?"

Lieutenant Jee asked as he, uncle, Zuko himself and for some reason Jasmine, were looking at Xing across the table.

"Hmm… They are most likely planning an attack at night, but who are they? And why targeting especially us? This was going since we left the port. What are your thoughts uncle?"

His uncle hummed and patted his beard.

"There is always the chance that they are a special task force from the earth kingdom that somehow gained information about you, but I find it unlikely."

"And why is that, uncle?"

"Well, for one, no one knew about your plans to go to the desert and could act fast enough for such an ambush. There is no reason to target our party specifically, not when other more threatening raiding parties left the port before and after us."

"Besides , I believe we are dealing with one person, or at least one mount."

That caused confusion to the present human at the table.

"What do you mean, uncle?"

It was surprisingly Jasmine who answered.

"Oh! Is it because Xing growled at the same spot all the time? If he felt more than one enemy, he would growl at all of their directions."

"That's… was on the spot, yes. How did you know that?"

It seems that uncle was caught by surprise as were the rest of them from the unexpected answer of someone none of them considered a tactical thinking person.

"Thank you, I have seen my fare share of strays fighting in the streets."

"So back to our topic, how do you suggest we deal with our stalker?"

Zuko asked the table.

"I would suggest just mauling them with our Komodo-rhinos, we can even use Xing's sense of smell to track them. But there is no geranti that our mounts can catch up to their mount, neither can we be sure that they wouldn't lead us to an ambush."

Lieutenant Jee added his thoughts.

"Well then, how about we invite them to a cup of tea then, nephew? Ask them about their business with us, what do you say?"

His uncle innocently asked.

"Uncle, please be serious."

"Oh, but I am. With the two of us there is hardly a person, even mounted, that can stand up to us. We can meet them on our terms and find them easily with our little four-legged friend here, showing that a surprise attack is most likely to fail and discouraged our guest from such an action."

Zuko stared at the old man again. He was once again reminded that this tea loving lazy fat old man was one of the most successful military minds in the history of the fire nation.

"Your thoughts?"

Zuko asked the rest of the table, to which both Jee and Jasmine shrugged.

"I suppose it beats waiting for an ambush every night. Fine, let's meet them. Jee, prepare a cavalry of three Komodo-rhinos at the blind spot behind the tents and wait for a sound of fire bending for when things will go south."

Zuko concluded as the lieutenant gave a salute.

"Just so you know, I still think it's stupid, uncle."

Zuko told his honest thoughts to the oldest man in their group. All the while he was holding Xing with his both hands. The hound sniffed the air in disdain and pointed them to their would-be pursuer.

"Oh don't worry, nephew, everything will be fine."

"And you just had to jinx it…"

When they got far enough from the camp Xing began to growl, it was clear that the adversary was near. In the same time Sai notified him about the exact position of the enemy behind the dune, Zuko could see with his helmet the outlines of a huge beast through the dune.

" Careful, your highness. We're dealing with a Shirshu, a big subterranean predator that can stun a grown man with a touch of its whip like tong. Its clows are strong enough to tear through low grade steel and its most impressive trait is a mole like nose that can smell a rat from the other side of the continent."

Zuko put Xing down.

"Stay."

He told the small hellhound. The animal continued to growl, but thankfully stayed in place.

"Hello! Would you like a cup of tea?"

His uncle called.

Zuko, meanwhile, prepared for an attack. He held an explosion at bay and his gauntlets were ready to release clows at any second.

He was of course proven correct for his vigilance when the Shirshu tried to tag him with its tongue. Zuko managed to block the paralyzing tongue with his metal graves.

He released a blast that caught the Shirshu head on. The beast staggered a feat or so back, clearly in pain. Its owner, a dark haired pale skinned woman, yelled in indignation a few things that would make even a sailor blush.

Zuko decided to address the root of the problem.

"Who are you, lady? Why are you following us?"

"I own you nothing, you little squirt!"

She followed by a whip strike that his uncle easily avoided, a complete contrast to his stocky build.

The beast then jumped at Zuko with its claws ready to tear him to shreds, it missed by inches as Zuko jetted himself to the side. Zuko released a quick but relatively weak explosion to the back of the beast, which forced the rider to fall to the ground.

She, however, fell on her feet with a feline's grace, not unlike Tai Ly would have, and quickly began her assault on the prince.

She was a combination of both Tai Ly and Mai, Zuko concluded, only more experienced and without any holdbacks about killing. The would-be assassin had rained Zuko with her darts, throwing knives and all kind of medium range weapons that where kept Agni knows here. He also heavily suspected that a large portion of them were covered in Shirshu spit, something that Sai confirmed.

She, likewise, was very agile and danced around his attacks. She however kept a little distance, it seemed that the various spikes on his armor weren't for her liking.

At his uncle's side, from what Zuko dared to look, it was a stalemate as well. Every time the beast would advance, uncle would have either roll away or send a blast to discourage the beast. Every time the animal would try to help its master, he would stand in its way.

It was impressive really, but Zuko had a gut feeling that his uncle was holding back.

"I will ask again, why were you following us? What do you want?"

Zuko said as he sent a fire ball towards the woman and evaded a whip to the unarmored parts of his neck.

"You know I can't say that, it's unprofessional. Besides, invite me to a dinner first."

The woman replied as she jumped above the fire ball and threw three, more than likely poisoned, darts at him.

"Sorry, not into old hags."

Zuko blocked the darts with his armored arm and sent another fire ball at his attacker.

"Hey! Take that back you brat!"

The comment seemed to enrage the woman as she snapped her whip and dissolved the fire ball. She then sent her whip another time at Zuko, which he caught with his gauntlet.

"Got you!"

The two of them proclaimed as they pulled their respective and of the rope. What followed was a contest of strength between the two opponents, neither giving ground to the other.

"Give it up… kid… I beat up… guys twice your size…. When I was your age…"

The woman said with greeted teeth as she struggled to overpower the surprisingly strong kid.

"Then you sure… let yourself down… lady…"

Zuko was struggling as well against the deceptively strong woman. A part of him that held his ego took a little blow seeing himself not stronger than the woman.

" You are seven times physically stronger then you were when I first spoke to you, don't ever feel yourself weak."

'Then how… is she… so strong?!'

" We can ask her once we bit her. Although I do wonder, why aren't you electrocuting her?"

'Oh…'

In the desire to prove himself stronger he completely forgot the most obvious solution, something he fixed as he sent a high voltage of electricity through the whip to the woman.

"AHH!"

The beast rider screamed as she lost grip on her whip and fell to the floor. Lucky for her, the whip wasn't a great conductor and most of the electricity didn't even reach her.

She stood shakily on her feet, a little jolt was seen here and there. She also held the arm that used to hold the whip, her arm clearly in pain.

"Now that… was cheating…"

"There are now rules to cheat on, now why are you here?"

The woman was about to say another snarky remark, but the sound of stomping was heard. It seems that the cavalry had finally arrived.

"Sorry, brat. It seems like we'll have to continue our date another time. There are only so many men I'm ready to entertain."

She whistled and the Shirshu smacked its tail on the sand, wiping a blinding wave of sand towards uncle, and jumped high above the old man. It reached its master as she held her, now only working, hand to catch some gripping point on the saddle.

Then, in a move that must have taken at least some good months to practice, she did some acrobatics with the beast's help and was in a second on top of the mount.

She went away just in time as the komodo-rhino cavalry arrived with lieutenant Jee and Mi-Dved at the front.

"Rain her! Hook and crook!"

Zuko ordered as he pointed at the quickly disappearing duo.

The men did as he commanded and began executing the order. Half of them shot their newly acquired hook gauntlets to keep the target in place, while the other half should projectiles.

One hook was able to catch the agile beast, which in turn gave the other four enough opening to have their pound of flash. The projectiles mostly either missed the beast or fell off its thick fur.

Some darts, however, managed to pierce through. A spear with some stone around the meeting point of the head and the wooded base found its way into the right lower limb of the beast, courtesy of Mi-Dved's earth bending.

It was short lived, however, as the mighty claws of the Shirshu tore through the cables of the graphing hooks like a hot knife through butter, releasing it. Fueled by survival instinct, the animal sprinted as fast as it could go, well beyond the reach of the party.

"Go after it, sir?"

Lieutenant Jee asked atop his ride, it was his hook that caught the Shirshu.

"I suggest again it nephew, we don't know were she may take us. Besides, the two of them are clearly in no situation to bother us farther."

Zuko looked at the disappearing point of their attacker, as well as the inhuman blood stains across the land.

"Very well, let's go to camp. We had enough excitement for one day."

Zuko was at the "planning" table of the camp, discussing the last happening with the man (and Jasmine).

"I think I maybe know who that was."

Proclaimed Lung, one of the two fire benders that were with Zuko when he claimed the helmet.

"Really?"

"Yes, I think she was June the bounty hunter. Pale black-haired beauty with a whip riding on a Shirshu, there can't be many like that."

"Let's hope so…"

Zuko grumbled under his breath. He, however, continued with the conversation.

"But how do you know about her? Don't take it personally, but you don't exactly look as the type to be interested in bounty hunters."

"He is when it's a hot chick!"

The soldier next to Lung said, much to the amusement of most present (and Lung's dismay). After the chuckles ended, however, Zuko turned to Lung.

"Can you tell us more about her? Let's be serious now guys."

Zuko said the last part as he noticed the others starting to get mischievous looks.

The poor fire bender, seemingly much more relaxed after knowing Zuko was on his side, told what he knew about June.

"Well, she has this beast we saw, a thing that's called a Shirshu. It's completely blind but can apparently see through its nose. It has the strongest sense of smell, point. It can smell a rat on the other side of the continent, that's how strong it is."

"So you're saying this thing can track us wherever we go?"

Mi-Dved asked. His face said nothing, but Zuko saw in his eyes that the thought weighed heavily on him. The earth bander was just glad that their pursuers didn't have a thing like that when the siblings made their escape.

"Well… technically yes. It can also paralyze you with a whip from his tongue."

"Great, now you will tell us it can also slash through metal!"

Another soldier said while waving his hands up.

"..."

Lung's silence only dampened the mood.

"Come on!"

The same soldier yelled.

At least uncle held his cool.

"Gentlemen, please, you all are forgetting the most important thing! The thing is deeply wounded, I hardly think it will follow us any time soon."

"But what if there are others like that?! What do we do then?!"

Zuko finally had enough.

"We do what we did now. We beat this thing today, and we can do it again. I'm more concerned about something else. Lung, you said she was a bounty hunter, right?"

"Ahm… yes."

"So she came here for a bounty, on whom? Mi-Dved, Jasmine, do you know someone that may be her employer?"

"There are many people, yes."

The earth bender said.

Uncle, however, had other ideas.

"I hardly think she was here because either of you. June attacked Zuko and I. If she was after you two, she would have come right at you and wouldn't have wasted her time with us. No, her target was either I or Zuko, or even both."

That confused the soldiers, and Zuko as well.

"What do you mean, sir? Who is dumb enough to send an assassin after you and the prince?"

"Maybe it was the earth kingdom? Some general grew restless?"

"Or the earth king is finally getting his hands dirty?"

His uncle disagreed with the theories, however.

"The generals of the earth kingdom had enough time to target the two of us for over more than a year, they would also most likely have their soldiers after us to claim the glory. The same with the earth king."

"No, I think that the one who put the bounty is someone we crossed recently, but what did we recently do to receive such attention I wonder."

Uncle said it in a tone that said he knew exactly what this was all about but expected the rest to figure it out.

'You have something, Sai?'

"Yes, but I agree with your uncle this time. You are smart enough to figure it yourself."

'Prick.'

Zuko thought about what he did in the last mouth, but all he got was his skirmish at Hǎibiān, the conquest of the Gaoling strip and the two raids he had on the pirates. But except the conquest, those deeds would mean nothing to anyone besides… oh.

"You're saying Mi-Sha is behind this."

Zuko said to, not asked, his uncle.

"My conclusion as well."

"Yes, the evidence points that way. Now tell me Zuko, what will we do now? We are going deep into enemy territory and the ruling force actively wants us dead, is the risk really worth it, nephew? I will follow you either way you go."

Zuko looked at the men, they were uncertain and some of them began liking the idea to go home.

"Look how he undermines your authority. His intentions may be pure, but he stands in your way to your destiny. You must raise morale now or this entire expedition is doomed!"

"No, we are going, the reward is worth the risk. Look how easily we beat the bounty hunter! Lung, how high does she rank in the bounty hunting leaderboard?"

"Well, one of the best. Both in success rate and lethality."

"See, there is nothing we can't do when we are together! With this helmet, we can reach the great library of Wan Shi Tong and liberate knowledge that will push the fire nation decades ahead. Things like this will become common."

Zuko showed them the holographic projection of the way to the library. It was a risk, he knew, but even with some of the abilities of Sai unveiled, the risk of someone figuring the truth out is still low. Especially with the right words.

"This helmet holds many secrets, secrets that I am only beginning to scratch. With the help of the spirit of knowledge, I can use it to better the life of all the people of our great nation. No more famine, no more death at childbirth, no more incurable diseases! Are we really going to fall back empty handed because a thug from a send pit has problems with us?!"

"NO!"

"So are you with me, men?"

"YEAH!"

"So prepare for tomorrow, we have much work before us."

'Did I do the right thing, showing them your abilities like that?'

Zuko asked Sai as he was at his sleeping bag, Xing found a place to sleep on his chest.

"You did what you thought was right at the time. Don't regret it, regret is a sin. One that even the overlords can't bear. Besides, the truth would have to come out eventually, you did it while shedding on us as much favorable light as possible."

Zuko looked to his right and saw that the siblings were still a little shaken, even in their sleep. They were holding each other for comfort in a platonic way only blood-related close family members could.

"You need to talk to them."

'I know, but how can I do it without stepping on their trauma?'

"Talk to their heart. But for now, have a rest. You will have a long day tomorrow."

Toph, can you come here for a moment please?

"Sure Kia, how can I help you?"

The woman and the girl were in the "lobby" of his office as they usually were in whatever spare time they had together.

To be frank, Toph really liked Kia. Kia was different from her mother, while both had their motherly instincts, her mother was always distant and to "ladylike" to show affection. Oh, she gave her a lot of gifts and everything, but it was mostly a pity.

Kia was more affectionate; she had no trouble hugging and messing Toph's hair nor did she have a big problem with how toph behaved. True, Kia pitied her as well, but for different reasons. Kia's pity came from the kidnaping, something the two of them had in common and bounded with.

It wasn't fair to her mother, Toph knew. Her mother did love her, very much so, but Toph couldn't remember when was the last time her mother hugged her without saying "poor girl".

When she was near the water tribeswoman, Kia held in her hands the collar she wore around her neck.

"Do you know what I'm holding in my hand, dear?"

"A collar? The one you always wear. Are you sure you're allowed to take it off?"

"What?! No! it's a betrothal neckless, one that the man gives the woman he wants to marry."

"So a collar of a different kind then."

"Well… it's one way to look at that- never mind."

The older woman sighed.

"I showed you this for a reason, Toph as you know, I have a daughter not much older than you. I miss her and try as I may, I see her in you. I know that you already have a mother that loves you, and I feel bad for doing this for the two of you, but I consider you as a part of my family."

"I- well- ahm… I hope you aren't planning to marry me off."

Toph knew that Kia was looking at her like a daughter, she wasn't blind (well, she was, but you know what she meant!), she also couldn't fault Kia for that. She couldn't imagine how in was like to be trapped here for six years! No wonder the woman needed companionship.

The sudden proclamation did catch her off guard.

The older women let a few chackles.

"Oh no, I wouldn't dare to, no. but let's be serious now."

She suddenly became serious.

"As harsh as it may be, I probably will never get out of this place."

"What! No-"

Kia held her hand up to stop Toph.

"No, listen. You, on the other hand, may still have a chance if you play your cards right. I hate to ask it of you, but I want you to take the neckless. When you are free from this hell hole, please go to the south pole to the settlement of 'Wolfe Cove'. Please give my daughter this neckless and tell her that she still has a mother that loves her, and that her mother is proud of her and her brother. Can you tell them this? Please?"

"I… Sure! Once I'm out of this stink hole I will find them! Then I'm gonna bring here an army to get you out! Mark my words!"

Kia chuckled once again. It was nice, she did it to not hurt other's feelings, not from some norm of politeness.

"As much as I would love to get out, I rather have you as far away as possible. And please, be truthful with your parents, I'm sure they will love you as you are."

"I-"

Toph suddenly went silent as she felt familiar steps. Kia, who was used to Toph's senses, followed suit.

The door opened and showed him in all his glory.

"Come with me, girl, I have a mission for you."

She suddenly had a very bad gut feeling as she hid the neckless between her clothes, without him noticing, and followed his lead.

AN

And this is the end of chapter 15

We see the crew with his upgrades and meet an old face who gave Zuko the state of things around.

Seems that Jasmine got her own medicine, maybe now she will be more understanding with the Kioshi Warriors.

Tagaka is a real character from the times of Avatar Kioshi.

We also have an explanation for Jasmine's mutual dislike with the fire nation mounts. to be fair I did it because I found if funny if each sibling had some dislike for each of the two most common beast of burden.

After a check in WIKI, I discovered that Nyla (June's Shirshu) is a male, so I changed his gender in this chapter accordingly and will change it in previous ones later.

Zuko once again led a war meeting, and Jasmine showed that she's not just a pretty face or a schemer.

I hope you liked the battle between Zuko and June and that I made both characters justice. And what do you know, the crew now can actually win against a named character now!

Zuko however will have much explaining to do, now that he showed his hand with the helmet. what consequences could there be I wonder.

The last paragraph with Toph is obviously not building to something ;)

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 16

Toph stood with the men in the debrief room inside the sand caves. Stone cold and emotionless, the enforcers stood at attention as he spoke.

"I got a message right now, that said that the fire prince just entered the desert from the occupied parts of Gaoling. This disrespect had gone enough. Find him, make an example of him and bring him to me. Leave no witnesses. Now mount the eel hounds and go!"

The men silently went to their respective mounts, long but thin creatures that felt more like reptilians with ling legs than any name of their crossbreed. Toph was about to follow, but he called her.

"Girl! To me."

Reluctantly, she followed.

"Yes?"

She spoke.

"Listen girl, I was kind enough to ignore the little hiccups of your misadventures, but this time there is no burying someone under rubble to save them. Am I understood?"

She wanted to yell at him that he wasn't kind at all, after the first time he ordered the men that accompanied her to punish a random person any time she did something like that. But she held her tongue, not wanting to have her head smacked to the ground again.

"Yes… sir."

"And in case you got any funny ideas, I can still send an assassin after your father at any given moment. There will be no prince in shining armor to save you, you're going to break his bones. Am I clear?"

"Yes… sir…"

"Good, now back to your handler."

Toph silently walked away. She needed to think about something that will have her family safe and far from his cloches.

"Mi-Dved, Jasmine, a minute."

He could see the siblings still shudder uneasily from the side of his eye.

"Ahm, yes, sir, how can we help?"

Zuko pulled them to a corner of the camp they made for the day. They were now inside the desert, crossed the border this morning. As such, Zuko ordered plenty of umbrellas to be spread through the camp for shade, one of which they were under.

"I just wanted to ask how you are holding up, I noticed that you two started acting strange ever since the talk about Mi-Sha."

"I- *sigh* Listen, Mi-Sha is like, the boss, around here. Everyone and everything are owned by him, either directly or not. When he wants someone dead, then they're dead, never has been any other way. Think of him as the fire lord of the desert, that should be a fitting analogy."

Zuko suppose he would have been terrified as well if his father sent people to kill him, not that it would ever happen.

"You two are safe with me, I will never let something happen to you two under my watch. After I gain my birthright as the crown prince, I will make sure that you two will have all the freedom and security you want."

"I- well, thank you, Zuko…"

"What my brother is trying to say is that we are more concerned about the here about now, my prince. Mi-Sha knows we're here in his domain, he most likely already sent a kill squad of enforcers after us."

"I see… No matter, we'll be quick about it and get out as fast as possible. And if they do find us, then we'll crash them as we did before."

Zuko put a hand on each sibling's shoulder and looked at each of them in the eye.

"I promised to protect the both of you, I'm not going to back down."

He held his hands there for two seconds before being released. He then turned away and walked to the table thar most of the men gathered at. They started to prepare a rather new boardgame that Zuko (Sai) introduced, a combination of luck, strategic thinking, and resource management.

"Now come, we are just about to begin a few rounds of Katan."

He heard from behind Mi-Dved sniggering and then a slap, most likely Jasmin on the back side of her brother's head. They, however, followed him, so for now the mission was accomplished.

"You are free to leave now, chieftain. But please, be on light duty for the next week."

"Thank you for everything you have done for me and mine, head abbot."

After agonizing weeks of being bedridden after his near-death experience, Hakoda was finally free to join the rest of his pack. It was a great feeling, one that he would try to treasure as much as he can.

When he was outside of the abbey, he was greeted by his second in command.

"Chieftain! It's good to see you well again. Bet you were already half mad there."

"You have no idea, Bato old friend. I'm just glad that I can hold a cup without it falling out of my hands again. Tell me, how are things with the pack?"

Bato slowed his walk a little at that.

"Things… could have gotten better. We haven't lost anyone, not yet, but there were too many close calls for comfort."

"I see, and how are the affairs with the earth kingdom? Have they given us the supply we agreed on?"

At this Bato stopped walking.

"Spirits damn it, no they didn't. They have we're working with a third of what the general had promised. They also told us that they were being generous with us with all of Gaoling being cut off and that if we don't like it we can go home."

This shocked Hakoda. Gaoling was a heavily defended area which was critical for the supply lines of the earth kingdom, to hear that the fire nation advanced so far while he was bedridden…

"How could this happen? I was out for only a few weeks."

Bato let out a humorless bark of laugh.

"You're going to have a fit, Hakoda. Apparently, in the time you were healing, the prince managed to exterminate Mi-Sha's boys in the south western sea, blitz and conquer the entire Gaoling sea strip and root out Mi-Sha from Kyoshi island as a bonus."

"Damn, the kid doesn't mess around."

"Makes you wonder what will be when he is the fire lord."

"Don't even think of it, I had enough headaches in the last month."

"And I'm afraid that you will have much more now that you're back from the dead."

"Back from the dead? Have I really gone that long?"

"Long enough for rumors to hatch. Your lack of presence on the field, as well as in the meeting with the earth kingdom representatives didn't help."

Hakoda sighed.

"Can this be any worse?"

"Please don't tempt the spirits, Hakoda, we can't allow this right now."

"Fine, fine, you said that the prince showed that ugly cactus what's for, right? Can't believe the bandit lord would take it without retribution."

"He probably already sent men to take care of the prince, that's what I would have done."

Hakoda smiled, an idea forming in his head.

"Yes… You're right, he would have. And Zuko wouldn't let this go unanswered, right?"

"What's on your mind? You have this look on your face whenever you have a crazy idea cooked up."

"I was just thinking, the prince and the crime lord are at odds, right? So, what if we give them a push? The two of them will hopefully kill each other but having them extremely weakened is good as well."

"And how would we manage to do it?"

Hakoda warped his arms around his second in command's shoulder.

"Oh Bato, I have a plan."

Zuko's group had to stop at a small helmet on the way to the library to rest and resupply. The place was clearly not for the law-abiding citizen, it was filled with groups of sand tribe people that eyed Zuko's own group with a little too much interest in comfort.

They found a place for the Komodo-rhinos to rest as they split into two groups, one will get the supply they needed, and one will guard their staff. Unfortunately, he had to break the siblings between the two groups, their experience with the ways of the desert were critical.

It was decided that Mi-Dved will be among the guarding group, his big size will be helpful for the job. He has some experience as a supply guard from one of his many part-time jobs at Amora, so that will be helpful.

Uncle would be in the guarding group as well, he was a great fighter, but not so great at transporting stuff. Zuko didn't want his uncle to walk with heavy weight under the harsh desert sun.

Jasmine, on the other hand, will join Zuko and his group to gather supplies. She was more business savvy than her brother, she had greater chance to bargain with her looks and wits.

The siblings didn't like the idea of separating, but they were practical if nothing else. They trusted Zuko's group to protect the other sibling as well.

Which led to the present as Jasmine bargained with the man at the counter about the price of meat.

They were in a supply store that was a bar as well and once again, Zuko wondered if it was the right decision to stop here. He could feel the eyes of the occupants on him and his group, mostly on Jasmine.

He was then extremely aware of the amount of skin her dress showed, he was certain that the other men at the bar were even more aware of it then him.

Lucky, his own men weren't complete inept, and made a semi circle around him and Jasmine. The relatively large frame of his soldiers, vast nutrition (he didn't think half of the people at the bar saw something green in their life that wasn't a stolen gem) and healthy lifestyle had their uses as the other patrons were fine with the "see but don't touch approach".

"And I say, girl, that two silvers are a cheap price for the meat. You wouldn't find anything cheaper in those parts of the desert."

"And what exactly do you feed your animals for such a price, an actual gold corn?"

"It is what it is, girl. Say… aren't you familiar from somewhere? Yes… now that I look at you, I do remember something… something about two siblings on the run from the arena vazir and a few angry suitors if I'm not mistaken. Of course, I'm a forgetful type."

The man pulled his hand and moved his fingers in a money begging motion.

"You want us to break your fingers? Because that can be easily arranged."

Zuko said, in the first time since they got here.

"Ahm now, now, I don't know what she or her brother told you, sir, but I can honestly tell you that you're being used. She has a long list of young honest boys that she manipulated for her own selfish vices, didn't she used you as well to by such a fine dress? Hardly something a street urchin can afford."

Zuko could see from the side of his eyes Jasmin stiffened. He could understand her, so far, the stranger described her to a T.

"Of course, I would be more than happy to-"

"Are you quite finished?"

Zuko cut him off.

"If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked it, you smelly old geezer. I am well aware of her so-called victims, each at least twice her age. Quite frankly, I trust her much more than I trust you, old man."

"Your loss, than. You know, they have a juicy bounty on their head, those siblings, I'm sure many men here would be interested."

The old geezer shrugged his shoulders in an uncaring expression.

"Of course, a few coins of gold will be enough to keep my mouth shut. You look like a wealthy sort, you can afford it for the upkeep of your toy."

The expression turned greedy now.

" I say we follow his request, in the most literal way."

'You know what? Let's do it.'

"Very well. Men, hold him down and keep his mouth open. I will melt a few gold coins down his throat, that ought to keep him quite."

His men were quick to react. Two men caught the would-be blackmailer, one from each side, and pulled him to the counter. The right one pulled the hair, so that his face would back backwards, and the left one pulled the mouth down, making a big and easy opening for Zuko to do his deeds.

"W-wait! I-I pay protection to Mi-Sha himself!"

The man said, at least as much as he was able to with his mouth constantly open.

"I don't worry, after some time beating his thugs becomes boring."

Zuko pulled a gold coin and began heating his hand.

It took only for Zuko's hand to be above the men's mouth for the low life to break.

"Fine! Fine! Just take your stupid things and go!"

The men released him, and the disgusting seller quickly pulled himself to the back of the wall.

"Very well, take it and let's go, men."

The men grabbed the supply and the group started to move outside. In half of the way, a group of men stood in their way.

"As fun as the show was, old Salut is right about one thing, this place pays good money for protection. So I'm afraid we have to gut you kid, no hard feelings."

The leading man spoke. Unlike the rest of the men at the pub, he had a bigger build than most. His way of speaking and how he looked reminded Zuko of the first thug leader he fought, Tar or something.

"Although if you pay now with all your money we may let it slide, of course your charming companion will have to come with us as well."

The look in his eyes became cruel and promised nothing good for anyone at Zuko's party.

Jasmine went to him and whispered in his ear.

"Kill him, make it quick and brutal."

Zuko nodded at her.

It was funny really, a month ago, he had cried himself over maiming a thug that reigned terror on an entire colony, but now? Now he had no problem to butcher each and every one of the lowlifes that are before him. He wondered silently what changed.

"Some very generous terms, now for my counteroffer."

He held his hand and pointed a finger to the face of the leading thug. He then released a blast, with the same intensity as the one that tore that thug's leg all those weeks ago, right to the target's face.

The attack met its mark head on, the nameless leader's headless body fell to the floor as the door behind him blew apart. Needless to say, every desert dweller was shocked to his core.

"Scram while I'm in a good mood."

The thugs were too shocked to move.

"Now!"

Zuko may or may not have used Sai's ability to enhance voice, either way, the Thugs ran as if Koh was after them.

Zuko and his party walked out as if nothing happened.

"My prince, I must say that you know how to impress a lady. I can still feel goosebumps in all the right places~"

"Thank you, I understand it was enough show?"

Jasmine giggled a little.

"Oh, that was more than enough, my prince. I can assure you that more than a few wetted themselves."

Now her face turned somber and serious.

"However, I'm afraid that there is no way that Mi-Sha wouldn't hear about this, we have hours at most until his enforcers arrive."

"We'll be long gone by then. Besides, if they do bother us then we'll just blast them as well. You both are safe with me, I give you my word."

"Hey!"

Zuko looked and saw Mi-Dved waving them.

"What was that noise all about?"

"Nothing much, dear brother, let's just say that the people of tavern gave us an offer we couldn't except."

"Understood, are we leaving then?"

"It's for the best. Men, get the supply secured and mount. We leave immediately!"

"Yes sir!"

June was having a camp in the relatively dense woods in some forest near the place where her failed ambush happened. She was covering the various injuries of her little Nyla with healing salve that she always had just in case, something that she was glad that she prepared beforehand.

The beast wailed as the salve burned when it touched the open wounds.

"Shh… There, there… nice and slow… just like that, good boy…"

The shirshu gradually came down.

"Here, have a treat."

June threw it a treat as she continued to brood about the last butchered mission.

"Damned prince, now what I will do for the next mouth!"

Because it would take at least that much time for Nyla to be back to good enough condition for bounty hunting. Oh, how she hated the little brat for that.

Worst thing is, she had some amount of respect for the kid, it's a given after the trashing she received. She completely understands how this kid put old Mi-Sha in a bind.

Nevertheless, her part in this hunting game is over, neither she, nor her trusty shirshu were in any form fit to continue. She moved a little the hand that used to hold her whip, she could still feel a lingering sensation from when the lightning stroke.

Nyla jerked his head and growled.

'Ah great…'

June thought.

"You can come out, you know. You'd be less of a creep this way."

From the trees emerged a goliath of a man with muscles upon muscles. He was bald and had a tattoo of an eye on his forehead, as well as metal arm and leg.

"Boom-boom man~ what do I owe the displeasure?"

She and boom-boom went way back in their bounty hunting business, she had to admit that the quite freak was professional and effective, if nothing else.

The man merely raised an eyebrow at her.

"Fine, fine, stupid question."

He then looked at Nyla, or more accurately the state her little boy was in and turned his head in confusion.

"Yeah, kid got us good, bought enough time for his thugs to throw all kind of things on poor Nyla here."

Boom-boom nodded his head in understanding. He then held his prehistoric hand up and moved his metal finger in a circle.

"Brat went to the desert a day ago with ten or so of his men ten miles west from here, more than that I have no idea. He didn't exactly lay down his vocation plan when we fought."

The man nodded and petted his metal arm.

"What is it, an integration?"

June said while rolling her eyes.

She received a bored look in return.

"Fine, such a killjoy. The uncle of that brat still has some fire left in him from his old days, managed to keep Nyla at bay."

"As for the crew, didn't have much interaction with them, but by the state of my poor boy here they can't be complete slackers. They had hooks and mechanical dart shooters on hand, no idea if they are fire benders or no."

Boom-boom nodded at her once for receiving the information ant once to tell her to continue.

"The brat himself? Well, he's a good enough fighter, a real protégé for his age. But still not quite there yet for the big fishes. He does however shoot lightning and it hurts, so be careful with that metal lighting rod you have there."

She pointed at his prosthetics, and he nodded in understanding, if she didn't know better, she may say he looked a little impressed.

"Oh, and you're going to love it, the too of you have more common than you think."

The seemingly mute man raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, you two are boom-boom man. He can shoot explosions from his hands, not quite as strong as yours yet. But he also wanted answer, so he may held back there."

Now the man looked extremely interested.

He nodded and threw her a silver coin that she caught easily. He then turned back and went to find his target.

"Hey!"

The man turned.

"Give him a kick for me, will you?"

He nodded and left.

Toph rode with the enforcers for the better part of the day, she had the usual uniform that the other criminals wore. In contrast to the others, her helmet had no holes above the nose, she didn't need them because of her blindness.

The first time she "saw" those uniforms at "earth rumble", she thought they were very cool. Needless to say, the uniform lost its spark long ago.

They were now in front of some dirty poor hamlet that apparently was a popular point of rest for those that come from the direction of Gaoling. The enforcers were about to interrogate some poor shmuk about the prince.

As her party walked through the streets, she could feel through her feet how everyone hid and played as small as they could when the enforcers passed. She could understand them, she saw how enforcers butchered people in cold blood for literally standing un the way or be as sword's reach.

She also had better hearing than most, most likely compensation for her poor eyesight. She barely heard the fearful whisper of the people.

"Spirits persevere, enforcers!"

"So many of them… are they going to kill us?"

"Silence… Don't give them a reason to notice you, you fool…"

"Who is the small one? Don't tell me it's the gnome!"

"Oh my spirits, will it bury us alive as well."

"I heard that it buried a fool platoon of fire nation soldiers, what is this thing even doing here?"

"Prick me, they're going to the old man Salut. You think they are after the siblings?"

"Don't be a fool, if anything they are after that brat who blasted big Hui."

She wondered what happened, not like it really interested her, but at least it would burn a few minutes.

They finally were face to face with the tavern, it was as dirty and stereotypical as she imagined. Barley standing wood and smell of alcohol, piss and other things. For goodness's sake, the door was blasted open as if someone was thrown from there!

Needless to say, the place was quite as grave when the enforcers came. Two of them stayed to guard the entrance, while the rest went inside to terrorize the patrons. The leading enforcer went to the counter with her following suit while the rest of the enforcement surrounded them in a semi-circle.

The leader put a fist down the counter, nearly breaking the thing into two. The old gut manning the counter immediately jumped from under it.

"H-h-h-hello s-s-sir! H-h-how c-can I h-help?"

"A group of people with fire nation ethnicity on komodo-rhinos led by an armored teenager, did they pass her?"

"Y-yes! They went that way!"

The old man pointed at some direction.

"They said all kinds of things against the lord! And killed in cold blood his men, right there!"

The old men pointed at some point at the floor near the destroyed doors.

"They also have the wanted Jasmine and Mi-Dved with them!"

The leader pulled his hand from the counter, which had an arm shape dent on it now, and went outside. Toph and the men followed him.

"Mount up and move to the sinking library, if there is something someone may want here it's that."

The eel hounds left the road in a dust cloud as they sprinted to their target.

They were finally there, the famed library of Wan!

It looked like a damp.

'Are you sure this is the right place?'

" Yes, although even I mast admit that the old bird let his place down."

What Sai described as a tall tower that seemingly reached the sky was in reality, while not little, a much smaller building half buried in sand.

" Do you have the jaculus?"

'Yes, in the jar at my backpack. The jar also has small openings for air.'

For some reason, Sai advised Zuko to catch a small kangaroo mouse before they reached the library. At that, Zuko sent Xing to hunt and bring back a vermin unharmed.

Needless to say, Xing was very willing to hunt in its master's name and brought back results in less than fifteen minutes. The small, the creature could rest on Zuko's hand, thing was quickly put in a jar, and they continued their track for the library.

When Zuko asked Sai why they needed a mouse of all things, the later only replied that the owl liked mice.

"So, this is it? Don't get me wrong, it has this charm of an ancient place I suppose, but I think that I talk for all of us when I say that we expected something… more."

Mi-Dved commented, to which his uncle seemed to give a response.

"I'm afraid that times treated the great library of Wan Shi Tong. The place sought out for knowledge was gradually becoming a place for people of power to seek advantage again their rivals."

"During the later decades of avatar Roku, the great spirit of knowledge, Wan Shi Tong, had enough of the politicians in his library who had now respect for knowledge. So he put the blame on the sand tribes for bringing to the library people on base of coin and not intention."

"As time went by, the people of the sand tribes saw no reason to keep the grand library from sinking, which led to the sorry state of the once great building."

It was now lieutenant Jee's turn to voice his thoughts.

"Are we sure it will even allow us in? By the sound of it, Wan Shi Tong doesn't exactly like humans so much anymore. And we fill all the criteria of the people Wan Shi Tong doesn't like."

"The helmet sought this place, it obviously has connection. If this helmet can get us an in, then we can help millions of people. It is a risk, but one I'm willing to take."

Zuko and his group were now a hundred feet from the library, then suddenly the ground shook a little and from the window/door/opening? From the opening jumped something like a hundred wolves. The wolves surround them in great speed and their mounts become wary.

Xing barked in retaliation.

" Looks like something really pissed off the old owl, better tread this one carefully. Get the jaculus and follow my lead."

Zuko dismounted and took the jar with the kangaroo mouse. He walked towards the wolves that suddenly became a little unsure of themselves, as if they didn't quite know what to do.

Zuko waved his hand as Sai spoke from the helmet.

"Knowledge seekers, how are you? Was I really gone that long? "

The wolves looked among themselves in complete confusion, they had no idea how to follow two orders from their master that went against one another. Do they let the overlord and its accessory or bar entrance for all humans, especially ones touched by the sun.

"Fang, tell the others to calm down. I'm here to fill my arrangement with your master."

A wolf at the front, that looked a bit bigger than the others, moved his ear upward. Then, as if listening to someone (or something), it moved to the side. The rest moved as well and gave Zuko a clear way to go.

When he was already at half the way, his men started to dismount as well. Then, the wolf growled and bared fangs at his men.

"It seems that Wang Shi Tong invited me alone. Stay where you are for now until I call you, do not aggregate the knowledge seekers."

With his last words the men stood in place and Zuko went inside. He used fire bending to descend from the window and walked to the center of the immense room he was in.

'It's definitely bigger in the inside.'

He felt that he wasn't alone and that he was watched by someone of great power.

"Come down already, you old bird. Over three thousand years, and that's how you great an old friend?"

Zuko then saw a shadow moving that much to his amazement and horror wasn't a shadow at all. When the creature finally reached him, Zuko saw Wan Shi Tong in all his glory.

Black as tar body with a white, heart shaped head and pitch-black eyes, the spirit of knowledge was a sight to behold. It had this justified prideful aura around it that Zuko couldn't help but think of a being of a higher caliber than him, much to his irritation.

"This is the spirit energy that's in your body now reacting to a named spirit of a much higher standing. Ignore it, you will grow in time."

Wan Shi Tong finally stopped a few feet in front of Zuko and the prince understood just how big the spirit was. It was the biggest land walking creature he had seen, the swamp monster doesn't count, and Zuko had no illusion that it was the strongest being he had met so far.

While the Unagi took the lead in brut strength by far, the sheer intelligence in Wan Shi Tong's eyes was overwhelming. He was glad that he, or at least Sai, was on friendly terms with the great spirit.

"I apologize for the harsh welcome, recent events forced me to take a… harsher approach with guests."

The gigantic owl spoke without moving his mouth, it was like the spirit was talking into his head, not unlike Sai.

"It's quite understandable, it seems those are chaotic times as well, old friend."

Sai answered back as the spirit continued the conversation.

"Yes, I must admit that it is good to hear you again after all this time. I was starting to think that we will never see the overlord once again, this is one of the rare times when I am glad to be proven wrong, grand puppeteer."

"All that matters is that now there is a new overlord. And of course, as promised."

Zuko gave the spirit a small square of metal that Sai produced beforehand.

Sai raised one of his legs, which was bigger than Zuko's entire body, and took with his claws the little thing. It was worth noticing that the talon was bigger than Zuko's, and the prince didn't doubt it could shutter a Komodo-rhino's skull with ease. The fact that it was able to move with such precision in contrast to its size, and that the claws were sharp enough to hold the pinky nail sized construction, spoke highly of the spirit of knowledge.

Wang Shi Tong raised the thing to its eye level and gazed upon it.

"An excellent masterpiece as always, Sai."

The owl then put the thing inside his feathers.

"Oh, and as an apology for the delay, please have this."

Zuko then gave the spirit the jar with the kangaroo mouse, which the spirit eagerly took.

"An adolescence jacalus, my favorite, you do remember. I will save it for later."

Wan Shi Tong placed the jar inside his feathers as he did with the metallic thing.

"I do must ask, however, why the drastic measures?"

The spirit looked at Zuko and he felt his soul being judged.

"A few years ago, some humans that aligned themselves with the political entity known as the fire nation came here. They offered some technologies their nation developed as a toll and were granted entry as result. For the sake of saving all of us time, in the end they burned anything related to the fire nation and took off with a scroll about the story of La and Tui."

"Let me guess, you weren't present?"

The owl spirit nodded its head.

"I was away at the interdimensional rally of deities of knowledge. The humans also weren't even near your section of the library, else the security system would have made short work of them."

"So we should expect a raid on the north pole targeting the fish, then?"

"Most likely. I already warned the due and they have made a backup plan in motion."

"Would you like to tell?"

"I'm afraid those aren't my secrets to tell, especially to you of all creation."

"Fare enough. And speaking of fair, I would like to borrow a few files on medicine. Especially Penicillin and its kind. As well as files on glass houses."

"You know the rules, no use of violence."

"Of course, wouldn't dream of it. All of those will be used for curing and feeding the masses, not really much to weaponize."

"Very well, follow me."

The great spirit spread its massive wings and took flight and Zuko followed it with his fire bending. After some time, the corridor they were in was replaced with a giant metal wall. Wan Shi Tong stopped (and Zuko with him) and put one of his talons at the center of the wall.

As the spirit did so, the wall glowed around the talons in green light and with a sound, started to disappear into the walls that surrounded it. Both left and right, up and down, to Zuko it reminded a maw of some abomination too much for comfort.

The two of them flew another minute to some device and landed there.

"It is my understanding that you would like the files about medicine and about glasshouses in different devices?"

"Yes please."

"Very well."

The spirit pulled two black squares, that Sai named notebooks, and connected them to the device. It pushed some bottoms and turned his head back to Zuko.

"The data will be ready momentarily."

Zuko nodded and took a look at the rest of the room. It was filled with all kinds of wonders, from small automatons to magnificent pieces of art. From star maps, unfamiliar to any schooler, to plants that the word has never seen, and never will.

"Your collection has grown, Wan. Using the dimensional port often?"

"Guilty as charged. I owe you immensely for that gift, knowledge was gained exponentially from that."

"I also see you made some new friends along the way, I'm happy that you have others who share your ideals and can keep up with your intelligence."

Zuko looked at the various paintings of all kinds that depicted other beings, sometimes with Wan Shi Tong with them. There was a man with a head of an ibis, a monkey-man thing, a woman with four hands and a lute and many more. The most dominating figure, however, was a woman in her prime wearing a full armor with a spear and a shield that was hard to look at.

"Indeed, they are all delightful company."

"Especially Athena, by the looks of it."

"I find her as a very interesting and illuminating company, she also has a very keen eye on animals."

"She does like owls… You know that she swore off men, right."

"I am no man, and our relationship is purely professional."

Zuko looked at a painting of this Athena that was surrounded by flowers, even he wasn't dense enough to fall for this.

"Very well, I will leave you with your delusions."

Suddenly, there was an alarm.

Wan Shi Long addressed his guest and its toy.

"It seems like there are troubles coming after you as always."

"I will take care of it."

"Please do take it outside, my library is no pub for drunk fights."

"You wouldn't even hear a noise."

Zuko jetted away and flied back to his men.

AN

And this is the end of chapter 16

Toph is finally on the path to meat Zuko, for better or worse.

Zuko gave a pep talk to the siblings, something that he had never done before.

A little look at Hakoda, wonder what he cooked up in that brain of his. he is obviously a bit vengeful against both Zuko and Mi-Sha.

Zuko met the locals, notice how he is self aware of his changing morals.

June had a talk with boom-boom (not his real name) and Zuko has one more thing to worry about.

And we finally met Wan Shi Tong in all his glory, different from the cannon a bit because of his interactions with the different overlords. Which gods do you recognize from what little butchered description I gave?

And of course a cliff hanger, just what problems there are on the surface?

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 17

Iroh learned a thing on the journey that was both frightening and helpful, and that thing was the true nature of the helmet Zuko brought all those weeks ago.

It was frightening, because it opened a frightening possibility for Zuko's change. The idea of otherworldly influence corrupting his nephew was something he considered, but with the blue lily test giving no results he abandoned this idea.

This trip showed the spiritual aspect of the helmet, for what else could it be. It made Iroh face the truth that not only did his nephew come to intimate contact with a spirit for weeks no end, but that said spirit was strong enough to resist the blue lilies as if they weren't even there.

People went mad from much lesser spiritual interactions.

To add oil to the fire, for the life of him, he couldn't recognize the alignment of the spirit. Each spirit has alignment of either good or natural, with human deeds responsible of making the spirits dark until their justified due arrive and the spirits return to their natural state.

With his experience, Iroh could pinpoint where the spirit is on the spectrum and what may pacify it in case of going dark. But from the helmet? Nothing. Oh, it looked dark and evil, that was sure. And if Zuko's recent behavior change is of any indication, its influence was far from good. But no dark spirit energy, it's as if the helmet wasn't even a spirit…

At least Iroh had one helpful silver lining. Zuko's change came from the helmet, therefore, removing the helmet will help him go back to his true self. He understood that the path would hardly be that easy, but he was more than ready to make the effort.

Now if he may use the library to find some information about the helmet and its story it would be helpful, if there is one place where he will find answers it's in the great library of Wan Shi Tong. In the case where the spirit wouldn't allow entry, he was more than aware of Wan Shi Tong's falling out with humanity in recent decades as the grand lotus, he at least knows what to look after and will have the order looking for information. It was in the order's interest that the future fire lord will be someone that shares their ideals after all.

His thoughts were put to a hold as the pet his nephew brought with him growled in a single direction again. The men, already experienced with this behavior, prepared for an assault.

Lieutenant Jee took a spying glass and had a look at the same direction Xing pointed, by his expression he was less than happy.

"Look sharp, boys, a company of eight. Enforcers, by the look of it."

There were murmurs among the men, they remembered very well their first (and only) encounter with only one enforcer. Iroh wasn't there, but from the men only one enforcer was enough to take on the entire crew. Eight of them were not even funny.

He also noticed the extremely concerned looks of Mi-Dved and Jasmine. The later seemed to be in some kind of shock, as her face grew extremely pale, and her eyes became unfocused. He will have to treat the girl with his best brew of the tea of her namesake after this is done.

"What are we going to do?"

"One of those freaks almost killed the entire crew, now we need to fight eight of them?"

"We're dead, we're so dead!"

Oh dear, it seemed like he would need to take action.

"Quit! All of you!"

Never mind, it seemed like the lieutenant took command.

"What are you blabbering about?! We won that fight!"

Some, however, did not share his optimism.

"The prince won! Not us!"

"Yeah! And now we are on our own against eight!"

Jee, however, had none of it. He was entrusted to lead and command this unit by the prince, and by Agni he was going to do it.

"Have you forgotten all of our progress?! Have you forgotten about our new equipment?! About all our battle plans for this exact moment?!"

The man now looked uncertainly at each other.

"If you have forgotten, we still have a prince with us, you crying babies!"

The lieutenant pointed at Iroh. Which was somewhat rude, but the old general supposed he could forgive this one time.

"Even the girl is keeping quiet, unlike you wailing men! Now Snap out of it and form formation one three one!"

If there was one way to anger a man, is to punch his ego by comparing him to a girl that is young enough to be his niece.

Some of the men, however, were still cautious.

"But what will we do when they come at us in close combat? With all due respect, sir, excluding the general, we don't stand a chance."

"Then good thing that they wouldn't! Prepare the grapes!"

"But aren't those for emergencies and to use by the prince's orders only?"

"This is an emergency! And at his leave, I'm the commanding officer by his orders. And I say we use the grapes to return them the favor. Now who's with me?!"

"Yeah!"

"We'll blast them out!"

"Yeah! Let them taste their own medicine!"

Iroh knew what those grapes were, a heinous offspring of the very same bomb the enforcer used on the crew at the raid of the island. Except, it was tempered by Zuko's ideas (which now Iroh was sure was actually the helmet's doing).

The bomb had a special concoction of blasting jelly that made the blast fifteen times stronger than the one the one used by the enforcer. If that wasn't enough, the grapes had… well grapes in them, or at least small sharp pieces of metal that would be shot in whatever way the blast made them. Those grapes, then, will tear through flash easy and will add damage even farther than the blast area.

Indeed, a monstrous creation indeed.

It seems, however, that their adversity didn't stay idle. The enforcers continued their advance and now were seen by a naked eye, they seemed to have a cloud of sand as a shield against fire bending and arrows.

To be fair, it was a sound strategy. One that allowed them to bash into close quarters in the most effective way without dancing around the shots. It would be rather ineffective if the earth bender (or benders) wasn't strong enough to hold the shield, but considering the speed of the enforcer's advance, they should be fine against regular troops.

When the enforcers reached Iroh's range, he began to blast them. The blast slowed the men of the desert but didn't stop them. In this time, lieutenant Jee commanded Mi-Dved to do battle move slingshot, in which Mi-Dved covered the grapes with a thin layer of stone to control and monitor the path the projectile will go.

Mi-Dved shot the bomb in an arc to the right. The bomb avoided the shield but was stopped with a shot of sand, not that it did any good as the timer reached zero.

There was a loud explosion and the shield of sand that protected their enemy was no more.

Pain, Toph was in pain.

The plan was simple, create a shield of sand to protect and screen the thugs until they reach the fire nation men and do what they do. It was also simple enough for her to do, a master earth bender like her didn't even break a sweat.

The thugs had her riding in the middle, part of it to protect their shielder and most physically vulnerable, part of it to make sure that she wouldn't run away. Which to be fair, she would have.

The flamethrower that was shot at her was strong, stronger than anything she faced before from a fire bender. Something she should have expected, they hunted the prince of the fire nation, no way he would have trusted weaklings with his protection.

Even then, she continued to keep the shield. By her calculation, they would reach the target much faster than it would take her shield to break. She even stopped a rack that was thrown at them via earth bending.

Why and how did the prince have an earth bender in his ranks was beyond her, either way, the shot was pathetic. She was sure that the earth bender was pathetic as well, because really, what did he hope to achieve with that? Oh, how wrong she was.

When their shots clashed, she felt how the rock ticked inside. And then?

"BOOM!"

A load explosion threw her off her mount and broke her concentration completely. She was now on a sand in a pile of eel hounds and enforcers. As luck would have it, their circling of her kept her as safe as possible.

The ones at the back, faced the bomb head on. She even felt through her earth bending that they had some small sharp things inside them now, some of them would have hit her.

The ones at the front, now beneath her, faced the glass that was created from the flamethrower and the sand. They had no fewer sharp pieces in them than the ones from behind.

With her ears ringing, she could do nothing but hold her head with her hands in pain. She noticed that most of the thugs were starting to stand up and retaliate, it seems that their armor protected them from the worst of the injuries.

She did, however, noticed that two men didn't rise up. Same with the eel hounds, their unarmored skin stood no chance against the blast.

The enforcers were, for the first time she ever saw, in disadvantage. The fire nation soldiers shot all kind of things at them, which Toph had more and more hard time blocking.

She tried to bury the soldiers, but the constant bombardment and the ringing in her ears didn't allow her to concentrate enough for it. One by one, she felt how the enforcers, the terror of the criminal underworld, fell down, never to rise again.

And as their number went down, her desperation went up. For the first time in her life, she actually was fighting, and loosing, to someone who can and will kill her.

Oh, she lost before, and faced opponents that wanted her dead, but never together. When she lost to him, he wasn't planning to actually kill her. When she faced that animal in her test it wanted to kill and eat her, but she was to strong for it.

Now, however? Now she was losing to experienced soldiers and killers that without any doubt will kill her for trying to kill the prince. She was afraid, terrified, she didn't want to die!

At that moment, the last of the enforcers went down, and she lost control and went berserk.

"Can't die! Can't die! CAN'T DIE!"

Zuko flied back to the surface and was immediately greeted with the scene of battle. He saw his men spread out on their Komodo-rhinos and target a single spot.

He flew next to the Komodo-rhino of lieutenant Jee, so both men's eyes now were in the same height.

"Lieutenant, what's the situation?"

"A group of eight enforcers came from the east. With Xing's sense of smell, we got an early warning and managed to lay a trap, putting the enemy in disadvantage."

"We continued bombardment according to plan 'Extinguish' and now close to finishing off the remnants of the enemy."

"Well done, lieutenant."

"Thank you, sir. We unfortunately had to use a grape for this."

"You made the decision, how would you grade the bomb?"

"Fantastic, sir, the power and efficiency of the bomb are like nothing I had seen before. I, however, would recommend against using it in close quarters or in closed space, your highness."

"Noted."

In that same moment, the very earth shook beneath their feet as a voice was heard.

"CAN'T DIE!"

The sands quickly began to rise up as a storm of sand was forming. After a look around, he quickly recognized the culprit as the last enforcer standing.

The last one was strange compared to the others. It was small, smaller even than Jasmine if he had to guess. From what he could see, the mask on that guy had no eyelid and no way to see. When he combined the high level of earth bending, he concluded that this guy may very well be the gnome Shen warned about.

The gnome attacked now without any rhyme or reason, he had to bring the men, and Jasmine, into formation before they are all buried.

"Men! To me!"

With Sai's enhanced voice, Zuko was able to rally everyone around him.

"Mi-Dved! Can you do something about the sandstorm?"

"Sorry, this is way over my head!"

"Shelter."

"Move to the side of the library! Use it as a windshield!"

Zuko ordered.

All of them quickly moved to the library.

"What now? Should we enter?"

This time it was Jasmine who asked, and his uncle who answered.

"We don't know how long the sandstorm will be, it may bury us with the library. Besides, our mounts will have no way to enter."

"You have an idea, sir?"

One of the soldiers asked.

His uncle played with his beard as he answered.

"My best idea is just to wait and wither the sandstorm. We may be able to create a glass bubble with our fire bending as a hiding place until the earth bender exhausts themselves."

Zuko, and the rest made a face. None of them really liked the idea of hiding inside glass made walls.

'Sai, any ideas?'

"Some. Every storm like this has an eye, a place where the wind is almost null, the most likely place the enemy is in. fly with the wind and you will reach it."

"I have a plan, but you're not going to like it."

"What is it, sir?"

"The earth bender, he most likely inside the sandstorm, right in the middle of its eye. I can use my fire bending to fly with the wind up high and reach it, there I will Smash the enforcer from above."

"Absolutely not! Nephew, there are hundred things that could go wrong, starting with flying in a sandstorm!"

"Well, we can't wait either! We will be buried inside a glass prison in the best situation!"

"No! I refuse to allow you to do it!"

"And you have a better solution? You can't really fly so well."

Zuko looked at his uncle's belly.

"Besides."

Sai closed the helmet completely.

"I'm not asking permission."

Zuko then flew above and was almost immediately whisked by the wind.

"Zuko!"

The screams of his uncle and the others quickly were overwhelmed by the shrieking of the wind and sand in his ears… wait, he could hear in his left ear again? Question for later.

For now, his main concern was to navigate in the sandstorm. He could see nothing as the sand obscured his vision and the sand grains had enough force in them to saw through his flash, luckily, he had Sai.

The helmet showed him the surroundings, which way to fly so go up and which way had the least resistance. The armor saved him from being grinded to sand himself, the enhanced steel stood strong against the desert winds.

Then, after what felt like hours, he followed the green path and saw the sky.

He was above the storm now, higher than any man have been since the start of the war. He doubted that anyone but an air bender could reach this height.

As he looked down, he could see the sandstorm. It was huge in size, but like Sai said, it had an eye in the middle of it. When he looked down at it, Sai's enchanted vision allowed him to see the enforcer in the middle of it.

The man was throwing waves of sand around randomly and Zuko had a concerning suspicion that the storm wasn't an intended results but more of an aftereffect of the random waves of sand.

" She has an incredible amount of energy."

"She?!"

" Yes, it's a girl under the armor."

"What?! Never mind. We're here, what's now?"

" We fly down and meet her head on. I will guide you in your decent."

Zuko then shot through the eye. He pulled his entire strength in his fire bending, and his speed made him look like a meteor or a shooting star.

With a speed that excided nearly anything in the world, Zuko smashed into the enforcer. It seems like she sensed something, maybe heard him approach, and raised a quick barrier above her.

It helped little as Zuko tore through it with relative ease. His armored fist made contact with her helmet in a load bang and continued to push the head into the sand.

The storm around them dissolved almost immediately, as the shockwave and the fall of the enforcer took hold.

Zuko was on his knees now with his hands supporting him, breathing heavily. That last attack took everything that was left of his energy.

"Huff… huff…"

"You did well, your highness. You can be proud."

"Zuko! Zuko!"

He heard his uncle, and the others call his name as they ran to his direction.

"Nephew! Are you fine?!"

Surprisingly, his uncle was the first to reach him. Iroh knelt next to him and held both hands on Zuko's shoulders.

"Fine… just tired…"

The rest of the men, and Jasmine, had reached him by that time.

"Your highness, do you require assistance?"

"Here, have something to drink."

"Let me see if you have any injuries , my prince."

"Thanks…"

Zuko greedily took the water sack and drank its content, his helmet off the head for now. A komodo-rhino had sat there to allow Zuko to lean on something as Jasmine took care of any injury he may have.

"Sir, what will we do with the bodies and the prisoner?"

Lieutenant Jee asked.

"Prisoner?"

Mi-Dved brought the unconscious body of the short enforcer that created this sandstorm. Now that Zuko had the time and strength to look at her, he was surprised how young she looked.

The girl couldn't be older than ten years old, maybe eleven. She had black hair that was tied with a green bun and light skin. Her eyes were closed, and it looked like she was sleeping.

"Search her for anything that may be used as a weapon and tie her in both the arms, legs and elbows, tight, I have no desire for a second round."

"Yes, sir."

"What is the state of our troops?"

"A little bruits, but no one was seriously hurt. Lady Jasmine was a great help in patching the men up."

Jee nodded at the mentioned girl that tended a scratch Zuko got from some sand that got inside his armor. Jasmine nodded and smiled in return.

At the same moment, he heard the noise of Xing 's bark, as well as a grunt of a large beast. When he turned, he saw a surprising sight.

Xing herded the rest of the Komodo-rhinos in a group, but that wasn't the most surprising part. What did surprise Zuko, was that each beast had a body of an enforcer in its mouth and dragged it with them.

"Don't take it in the wrong way, Zuko, but your pet has an unhealthy obsession with bringing back corpses."

Mi-Dved commented.

The rest couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Zuko opened his arms and Xing immediately jumped at him and licked his face with passion.

Zuko patted the hellhound in return.

After a few minutes, he put on his helmet once again.

'Ok, Sai, what's now?'

"First, we should write a message to the old owl for anything that may help us identify the people who stole from him. We need to keep an eye on them in case they become an obstacle in our way or worse, messing with things they can't control."

'Very well. What would we do with the bodies?'

"Oh, I have an idea~"

Zuko led the way when they entered the helmet again. This time, they were greeted with fear and respect. It may or may not have been because of the enforcer bodies that were dragged by the Komodo-rhinos.

The people that once looked at him and his group with apprehension, but also with great greed, are now trembling and hiding under whatever cover they could find.

"Have to say, it's a much better welcome then last time. We should bring enforcer bodies more often, maybe Xing did have the right idea after all."

Mi-Dved said next to him, Zuko couldn't help but snort in agreement.

After a while, they reached the bar. Zuko had the same group as before going inside for supply, the sandstorm spoiled their last batch rather thoroughly.

Inside, the old man that was in charge of this place shook in fear, it seems like someone already told him about Zuko's arrival.

"W-welcome, m-my lord. H-how can I h-help?"

"Hello, we're here to resupplying again. Do you think you have some to spare… oh, I never got your name."

"S-salut, sir. Yes, of course you can have whatever you want!"

"Oh, now, now, there is no need for that."

Zuko feigned concern.

"I understand that we were on our left feet last time. And I do feel bad about not paying, even if you didn't ask me to. Please have this as a compensation, both for the payment of last time and of this time."

Two of Zuko's men brought to the table a battered armor of one of the enforcers, it landed with a thud on the table.

"As you must know, this is an enforcer armor. It belonged to one of the idiots that tried to ambush my men and I. Wonder how did they know were we went?"

Zuko enjoyed the pale color that the usually tan man before him had. With all the wrinkles and other imperfections on his face, he now looked like a leper.

Yet, Zuko was merciful and continued the conversation without pushing more, the message had been received after all.

"Of course, naturally, any weapons the thug had were confiscated."

"N-naturally."

The men completed the transformation of all the supply they needed to go back and didn't take more. Zuko may dislike the man and the entire hamlet, but he didn't want the people to starve to death.

"Oh, and by the way, can you pass to Mi-Sha something for me? Tell him that if he's so interested in me, he should cut off the middleman and just do it himself."

The shopkeeper gave some incoherent noises that Zuko decided to take as a yes.

"Do you want to say something?"

Zuko turned his gaze to Jasmine, who stood next to him.

"Why, yes. If you'd be so kind, could you pass a message to prince Ali in the same breath?"

She said in a charming voice.

"Please tell him that both my brother and I are safe and sound, and that we are quite happy. Do tell him that I hope he found another girl as I have found a better man."

She than warp her arm around Zuko's.

"I believe that it would be all."

"Then we'll be off, have a nice day Salut."

Zuko turned around and waved dismissingly at the old man.

"Y-you to m-my lord…"

As they left the bar, Zuko had to ask his female companion something.

"Prince Ali?"

"Just one of the many creeps that stalked me back in Amora. He's the son of the vazir of the coliseum and thinks the sun shines from his butt because of it."

"Should we be concerned?"

Jasmine thought a little.

"No, I don't think so. He is vain and petty, but also a cowered. He wouldn't dare pick up a fight unless he has the upper hand, at least as long as he doesn't have a tantrum. He wouldn't dare to go against you."

"Very well, I'll write him on the 'maybe someone to worry about' list."

Jasmine hummed as they both rose to their respective mount and rode out of the hamlet.

"Argh…"

Toph woke with a killer headache. She tried to move from side to side and nurse her poor head with her hands but discovered that she couldn't move at all.

Her earth bending told her that not only was she tied in her arms and legs, but each limb was bent and tied tight. She couldn't move a muscle.

Then she heard some old man's voice.

"Oh, it seems like our guest had woken up."

"Wha-"

Then she remembered everything, the mission, the attack, the load explosion, then she didn't remember much except a painful sensation in her head.

"No!"

She began to panic and trash about, terrified of what the fire nation soldiers would do to her. She tried to reach her bending, but with no limbs to move and the exhaustion from the battle, she couldn't lift even a pebble.

"She's trying to escape!"

"Stop her before she summons another sandstorm!"

"Quite!"

The same first voice that she heard was now much harsher.

"Here, has some tea. It will help you calm, we mean no harm."

With her feet tied and off the ground, she had no way to check if the man was telling the truth.

"Oh, yeah? Because it sure doesn't look like it. How do I even know that the tea isn't poisoned?"

"Because if I wanted you dead, there were plenty of opportunities to make it so while you were unconscious."

A new commanding voice of a man spoke. Toph didn't miss how the voice spoke "I" and not "we". Clearly, he was the one in command, and there could be only one person in the entire world who could be the owner of the voice.

The man was none other than the fire prince himself, the man she was sent to kill or maim. Somehow it didn't help her calm down at all.

"Sit her so she could drink."

The same voice commanded as she felt armored hands grab her shoulder and sat her on her knees, at least her feet now touched the ground.

She allowed herself to take a few sips of the tea the old man offered her. It did help her calm, and it felt good on her dry throat as well.

The old man started to speak.

"Now that we all calmed down a little, would you mind answering a few of our questions, young lady?"

Oh, so the interrogation begins. To be fair, she expected that. It also was much nicer than what she had in mind.

"Let's started with a name, shall we. How should we call you, young lady?"

"Poppy"

There was no way she was going to tell her real name to her fire nation captors.

*Shank*

Before she could even react, a claw came from the man she figured to be the prince and sliced millimeters right her head. She could feel her ribbon cut off and her hair now freely down on her shoulder.

"Zuko!"

The old man cried in dismay.

"Lie to me again, and it will be the last thing you will do."

She was frozen in shock. The voice came from the prince, but it sounded deferent, deeper, more commanding, more evil…

She decided not to test the guy and told her real name.

"T-Toph."

"Very well, Toph, why did you attack us?"

The prince, Zuko, thankfully retreated his claw and used his normal voice.

"Mi-Sha wanted you gone, ok?! It's not like I can say no to him."

Wait, do they even know who Mi-Sha is?

"I see… what brings us to my next question. How did you, a ten? Eleven? Year old managed to be in an elite hit squad of the most nutritious criminal in this side of the map?"

Never mind.

"He saw me at 'earth rumble' and decided that I was worth it, he kidnapped me from my home right after."

"Poor girl."

The old man commented.

"I see. Then why didn't you escape then? You had more than enough power to do so."

"You think I hadn't thought of it?! Well, I did! Every night! But I couldn't! He told me that he would kill my parents!"

That kept everyone quiet.

"Besides, it's not like a blind girl can walk home from some spot at the desert."

"I have been meaning to ask you about it. You act as if you know exactly were everyone and everything is located, how?"

"I… well- "

Toph didn't know how to answer the prince's question. On one side, she didn't want them to know how she did what she did, on the other side, she really didn't want to anger the prince again.

"You 'see' with your earth bending, aren't you ? Sensing movement on the ground through your feet?"

How in the world?

"How?"

"Well, you are an earth bender, so the answer obviously lies there. From there, this isn't much work to guess."

"Oh…"

Now it did sound stupid. No wander Mi-Sha figured it out so easily.

"I must say, this is impressive. Both your sense and your level of bending are better than any earth bender I have seen, sorry Mi-Dved."

The prince looked at the bid man to his right, who shrugged in acceptance.

"Are you sure you are ten years old?"

A little of her confidence was returning to her.

"What can I say, I'm just that good. They don't call me the strongest earth bender alive for nothing, you know."

Actually, with Mi-Sha beating her that may not be true, but he cheated and a criminal so that doesn't count.

"Not enough to beat Zuko, apparently."

The man that Zuko called Mi-Dved mumbled.

"Yeah… I don't remember much, what happened?"

"Well, after you created the sandstorm –"

"Wait, wait, wait, sandstorm?!"

"Hm? Yes, didn't you intend to?"

"No, I just wanted you to go away… Was it big?"

"Huge. Anyway, after you created your sandstorm, I flew with the winds using my fire bending until I rose about it and reached the eye of the storm. From there, I fell down like a shooting star and smacked you on the head strong enough to break your helmet."

"We still have some fragments of it if you want."

"Nha, keep it. I don't want to 'see' this thing ever again."

"Very well. Now you said you worked under Mi-Sha, right? What can you tell us about him?"

"Well-"

Toph was cut off as she felt pressure in her lower belly.

"Aham… can I… Go to… the toilet before?"

The prince looked at her for a second. Then just as quickly as before, he slashed with his claw and cut off the rope that tied her legs together. He also cut the ropes that didn't allow her to unbend her knees, so now she could walk properly.

"Jasmine, walk with her to the latrine. If she does something even remotely suspicious, scream."

"Chief, are you sure about this?"

Bato, his second in command asked him.

Hakoda and his men were now in "borrowed" fire nation armor hiding near a place of ill repute.

He told them about his plan to make the prince and the crime lord bash each other's heads, and it was received with mixed feelings. On one hand, they all liked the idea of those two killing themselves, on the other hand…

"I myself don't like the idea to impersonate a fire nation soldier, Bato, but sometimes sacrifices mast be made."

They acted as loyal soldiers of the prince that are about to bust an illegal gambling den that belongs by proxy to none other than Mi-Sha. This will no doubt cause the big brute to return a favor to the prince and will give them more reasons to kill each other.

"Besides, don't think about it as helping the fire nation, think about it as saving all those poor people that their life got ruined by this place and be a man that your family can be proud of."

"*sigh* Damn it, you have a way with words, chief."

"I know."

Hakoda smiled before his face got serious again.

"Are all the men in position?"

His second in command nodded.

"Good, in this case-"

Hakoda blew his horn, and the men started their raid.

"Freeze!"

"Hands on the wall!"

"This is a raid!"

"You are all arrested by the name of prince Zuko!"

Hakoda walked inside as his men rounded the people to the wall and took care of anyone who showed resistance. A smartly dressed man walked with quick steps towards him.

"Pardon me, sir, what do you think your doing?!"

"What does it looks like we're doing? We're shutting down this place for good!"

"WHAT!? How dare you! On who's orders?!"

"Are you deft or retard? I just told you it was the prince!"

"He has no right! This is a perfectly legal establishment!"

Smarty pants got a fist to the liver as a response.

After a minute or so, Smarty got his bearing.

"Y-you c-can't do this… this is earth kingdom territory…"

"You think we care?! If there is fire nation presence, there is fire nation jurisdiction!"

"D-do you even know w-who you mess with? Once my boss hears about this-"

Another fist was sent to the other kidney this time.

"We know all about that fat slob you call boss. Rest assure, the prince has a plan for your retard Mi-Sha."

"YOUR'E A DEAD MAN, YOU HEAR! DEAD MEN ALL OF YOU!"

Hakoda had enough with the guy, so he knocked Smarty out with a well-placed punch to the face. Some teeth may or may not have flown.

One of his men went to him.

"Aham… commander…"

Stuttering, well that can't be good, at list he stayed in character and didn't call him chief.

"What is it, soldier?"

"We… had some unexpected developments."

"Of, what?"

The man pointed at the one of the doors who now had a flow of poor conditioned people coming out of it.

"The place had a trafficking ring as well as gambling, apparently. The people are asking what will we do with them now."

Damn it, what mess did he put himself into now?

Unbelievable, simply unbelievable, Toph was a treasury of information.

The girl had photographic memory of all the tunnels she was in (and those she wasn't in as well) and rich knowledge about how Mi-Sha acts, how his men work, even on which side of the bed he prefers to sleep. Zuko and the others had no heart to ask her how she knew the last one.

"And he has this weird thing that when he puts his hand down, suddenly you feel pressure on you and go down as well. I have no idea what that may be."

'Sai?'

"I have some guesses but without farther study I can't bring conclusive results."

'And what shall we do with her?'

"Oh, we must have her by our side at any cost, her raw power and talent at earth bending is too much to ignore. I, however, suggest we use honey with her. Antagonizing the girl will force us to kill her, and this will be a waist of both resources and talent."

"So what now?"

Toph asked.

"Sorry?"

"What now? I mean, technically I'm your prisoner so what will happen to me?"

"Oh… I don't really know. To be fair, I was ready at first to interrogate and execute you once you told me everything."

He noticed how the girl paled.

"Then, I noticed that you were just a kid, so I thought maybe put you in some school or other facility like that. Probably would have had you earth bend a few settlements to compensate the ones you destroyed, even if you were forced to."

Zuko raised his hand once he noticed Toph was about to open her mouth.

"Now after hearing your story, I'm not quite sure. To be frank, I really don't want to force you to do anything, although the part with the village building is still highly recommended for your therapy if nothing else."

"You also probably want to go back to your parents."

"My parents! I completely forgot! He told me that he is going to kill them if I break free!"

"Let her be the one to make the offer."

"Please, help me! I will do anything!"

"Hook."

"Well, I can send a few men, or a battalion, to retrieve them. I know an island that will have enough security to keep them safe from Mi-Sha, if they would like to go there. But even I can't just do whatever I please, I'm on bad terms with my own father as is. And as much as I feel you, is it really worth the risk for someone who a day ago tried to kill me?"

"T-they wouldn't just go, but if you let me talk to them, they may listen. Please!"

Toph now fell on her knees.

"Line."

"I suppose I could try, but it will bring me a heavy blow both in manpower and reputation to waist so many resources on three people that could have been spent for the war effort. I will need some very successful campaigns and PR operations to get people off my back, dad may actually disown me for that."

"I can fight for you, build for you, whatever you want! You wouldn't be sorry, I promise!"

"And snicker. Now wrap this with honey and seal the deal."

"Ok, ok! You convinced me! You can stand up now, please!"

Toph did as she was told.

"Listen, I wouldn't force you to do anything you don't want to. I'm not Mi-Sha, ok?"

She nodded.

""No then, let's meet your parents. What's their name by the way?"

"Lao and Poppy Beifong."

"Now this is interesting."

"Wh-"

"-at is the meaning of this!"

Mi-Sha was angry, no, he was furious!

How dare that upstart little disgrace of a prince do this! And in his own desert as well!

He was looking now at the corpses of the men he sent to take care of his newest headache hanging on a noose in the entrance of a hamlet like some common thieves that rubbed the wrong person. And for all to see!

The disrespect! The audacity! He was going to skin that brat alive for that!

People are starting to lose fear of him, oh no one was stupid enough to show it, but he saw that some started to fear that brat more then him. He can't allow it!

To add insult to injury, The brat took his own prized horse. The blow to both his ego, and his standing, was severe.

"Prepare the men."

He told the enforcers behind him.

"This means war."

He will listen to the brat's advice from the, now dead, barkeeper. He will cut off the middleman and gut the brat himself.

In the sands of the desert near the library, a metal arm finally busted out from the sand that buried it in the sandstorm.

AN

And this is the end of chapter 17

Toph had joined the party!

How did you think I handled the fight? Just to remember, Toph is just a ten year old.

What about the interaction with her and Zuko? in the end, she's really just a kid that went well over hear head in this one.

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 18

Zuko had long since admitted that life liked to treat him as a joke, but this was getting ridiculous. Here he was, a prince of the fire nation, drinking tea with a noble earth kingdom lady that he saved from bandits (does it actually count if she was one of those bandits, even if forced?).

And now he was coming back to his base like a conquering hero with a maiden in his arms. Okay, the last part is more correctly phrased as Toph demanding to ride with him on the komodo-rhino.

Oh, and did he mention that he was going to use her to get Gaoling to fully surrender? Because that didn't make a mess out of things at all.

Please note the sarcasm of the last sentence.

He broke his head as to how to manage that, but for now he decided to leave it until he was back in his room. Right now, he was too busy entertaining the kid who sat in front of him, apparently, she was all to eager to hear about his adventures.

In particular, she liked to hear about his fights with Mi-Sha's thugs, for obvious reasons. That didn't stop her from enjoying the more mundane misadventures he and his crew had.

"And in the end, the stupid lotus tile was in his sleeve the entire time."

"Pfft… so, you all ran around the town for nothing?!"

"More or less, yes. The entire thing was a huge waist of time."

Zuko had to admit, as much as she could be annoying sometimes, she was quite endearing. For some reason once he told her that he would help, she seemed to trust him much more, go figure.

"But enough about me, how did you, miss prim and proper (she snorted at that), got yourself in 'Earth Rumble'? I thought they would mark you off for height or age, probably both if had to guess.

"Oh, they did, I just had to beat each and any person there. You'd be surprised how eager they were after that."

"Somehow I believe that."

"Bark!"

As Toph was in front of Zuko, so was Xing in front of Toph. She hugged the upper torso of the hellhound, who was much bigger than when Zuko found it.

"I still can't believe that you found it in the swamp."

Toph said.

"Yeah, Xing is one of a kind. By your tone I will rale a guess that you were there?"

"Yeah, I once ran from home when I was little and somehow managed to get myself lost there. Lucky for me, badger moles found me and thought me how the bend.

"So you were thought by the original masters? No wonder your earth bending is so strong."

Mi-Dved commented next to him.

"Nah~ I'm just that awesome. But I got to hand it to you, you're taking it way better than most earth benders I met."

"Oh no, I'm actually in distress right now. Being so outmatched by a little ten year old girl is quite a blow to my ego, I'm debating myself as a men right now. I just have enough self preservation and awareness to keep it to myself."

"Hah…"

As they continued their track, they rode past a ruined village. Toph was suddenly extremely sullen, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what happened.

Zuko decided to cheer her out.

"Hey, it's not your fault."

"It is. I appreciate the effort, but we both know that."

'Sai, help?'

" Tell her about the people of that village."

"Care if I share something with you?"

Toph said nothing, so without hearing a decline he continued.

"Do you know about the village south of the swamp?"

"I thought you wanted to make me feel better."

Toph said with grinded teeth.

"Bear with me. You know that I cane to it mere hours after it was destroyed?"

"Really?"

"Yes, right after the swamp thing. Do you want to know what happened to the people?"

Toph had a very uncertain expression on her face.

"I… Yes, I want to know. Are they ok?"

"Well… some more than others. No one was severely hurt, you're doing I suppose?"

The girl nodded.

"Very impressive. Anyway, the people moved on. Some moved to other villages, some tried their luck in the nearest city, some even took my offer and are under my employment. And do you know what they all had in common?"

He noticed that she was entranced.

"They moved on. Each and every one of them continued with his life the best they could. I can't talk about the rest, but the ones that took my offer are now working on a tropical island and are well fed and taken care of."

"Did none of them had any ideas to just give up? Of course not, but they continued regardless because that was the best thing, they could do for themselves and their loved ones."

"Now it's your choice, what will the greatest earth bender in the world do? Will you rise above, or will you let Mi-Sha be forever a part of your life?"

He suddenly felt a blunt force at the right side of his stomach as toph elbowed him. He felt nothing, but he supposed that it would have been a different story with the armor.

"Prick."

She said with a smile.

"Fine, enough with the pity party. You're really good at this, you know?"

"Let's just say I had a lot of practice and leave it at that."

" You mean I had a lot of practice with you. In front of the mirror."

'Shut up…'

At the south pole, the only teenage boy in all the south was having a heated discussion.

"What do you mean 'This is the last one?!'"

"What you heard. Sorry kid, but with most of the south under fire nation control tighter than a century old wine bottle we literally can't make the journey anymore."

The man he was talking to be an old sailor with white hair and gruff voice. Although smuggler is a more fitting description for one such as him.

"But you do this every week!"

"The last month had been more of a donation than anything, but without the coin to pay the men and still no word from your chief, I simply don't have the men to do this."

"Please, sir. The village will starve without the supply, I beg you to reconsider."

This time it was Katara who talked with praying hands and a pleading look on her face.

"Sorry girl, this all I have to give. Water here so dangerous that even pirates avoid it, the prince did a real number on them from what I heard."

The man shook his head and started to walk back to his ship. This made the water siblings run after him.

"Wait! What if you steal a fire nation ship? They wouldn't bother you after that!"

Sokka tried to negotiate.

"Ha! Good luck with that, kid. Your pa was the last one who tried it with an old ship, hit gold all right, and look where that got him. Let's just say that no one is too eager for a surprise visit of royalty anymore."

"But what will we do now?"

Katara asked in a broken voice.

"Don't know, don't care. Your brother looks old enough to hunt small game, maybe even take a page from the fire nation and have the ladies go out and bring whatever small animals there are here."

This wasn't so well received by Sokka, for more reasons than one.

"What?! Women can't hunt, it's the men's job!"

"Do what you will, I really don't give a damn, but you're on your own now."

"Please have a heart!"

Karara, while not the biggest fan of her brother's chauvinistic views, focused on the more important stuff and tried to save her village's food line. All she did, however, was get the smuggler's ire.

"Have a heart, have a heart?! All what I did until now was because of my bleeding heart, you ungrateful brats!"

"You think this venture somehow profits me?! Well think again! And don't even try to guilt trip me, I did above and beyond for your tribe! Goodbye!"

The old man entered his vassal and ordered his men to set sail, deaf to the screaming and begging of the siblings bellow him. The two watched with broken spirits as the ship sailed and got lost in the horizon.

After a long while, Katara finally spoke.

"So… What's now?"

Sokka sighed.

"I guess I have to do what the old man said."

"What, letting the women to hunt?"

Katara asked his not a small excitement.

"What?! No! I meant going to hunt myself, obviously. Really sis, I think the cold is finally getting to you."

It was safe to say that both katara's excitement and her view of her brother (which to be frank wasn't the highest) were lowered considerably.

"Geez, why did I even get my hopes up…"

The two began their track back to the village, blind to the turn of events that would follow.

Zuko was with Shen at the lieutenant's office, they were discussing the trip as well as the steps that should be taken.

"I still can't believe that he actually ordered you dead, you must have truly pushed him to a corner, your highness."

"What can I say, I'm a most wanted guy. Can't really blame him, can we? But on a more serious note, what are your opinions about our next course of action?"

Shen played with his beard as he thought.

"A difficult question, your highness… In my experience, bounty hunters are a practical sort, they wouldn't take a risk if there isn't a worthwhile reward. I suggest taking care of the reward, and the reward giver, and the hunt will crumble upon itself."

"But that would mean a direct confrontation with Mi-Sha in the desert. It would take more men and resources then either of us can manage."

"True, even with the men that we can spare should the Beifongs surrender, an assault on a target like Amora is not feasible. That is even without the bureaucrats breathing down our neck."

The last sentence caught Zuko off guard.

"Pardon?"

The old man nodded in understanding.

"Amora is infamous for its illegal activities that are far from the eye of the law, I can promise you that many of the nobles at court have at least some investments there. They will do their hardest to kill any operation in its diapers, the fact that Amora has no strategic value doesn't help our case."

"Damn…"

'You have something, Sai?'

" The enemy of my enemy is someone I can use. For now, however, cut down his livelihood. The desert can give only so many resources, at least for this level of technology."

"Fine, we can talk to Beifong about more manpower, I imagine that he would like some action against Mi-Sha even more than us. For now, let's just cut whatever businesses and other resources from Mi-Sha we can, I can handle being hunted for some time."

Shen raised an eyebrow.

"Convincing Beifong will be a dragon's trail, we are trying to conquer his territory after all."

"He doesn't need to like us, his men don't even need to see us, they all just need to attack one place while we attack another at the same time. I can convince him to a truce for that at least."

"If you say so, your highness. What brings us to the next issue, what in Agni's name are we going to do with little miss Beifong? Where is she, by the way?"

"Oh, she's with Jasmine, I thought that a female companion close to her age may do her good. Right now, they are in the ship with Jasmine showing Toph around."

"Hmm… That may be for the best, especially if you want to leave a good first impression on her father. I do suggest tightening the security however, both to keep her in and keep unwanted guests out."

Zuko understood completely, it was a question of when, not if, Mi-Sha will send someone to silence Toph. For the old general Toph was a blind little girl, he knew nothing of her earth bending or the job she had for the last month.

A part of him felt bad for deceiving the old lieutenant, who had been so helpful to him, but he agreed with Sai that it was for the best that the fewer people who knew the truth, the better.

"By the way, I wouldn't dare to order you, your highness, but I humbly beg that you will at least keep me informed when you take my troops for your operations. The entire incident, no matter how well meaning it was, left me in a rather tuff spot."

Now that surprised Zuko.

"What do you mean? I have never taken soldiers without consulting you first."

It was Shen's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Really? Because I got a report of soldiers raiding an illegal gambling den in the disputed area, freeing some slaves in the process. They claimed that the prince sent them specifically to deal a blow to Mi-Sha."

"What gambling den? I never sent anyone to such mission."

It seemed that the old lieutenant sensed the honesty in Zuko's reply, because he nodded in understanding.

"I see, in this case we have very much to be concerned about. A deception like that while using your name is a heavy crime, this also forces you into conflict with the bandit lord. But to be fair, you already are in conflict with him."

"Do you have any idea who this third party may be?"

"I'm sorry, your highness, there are just too many possibilities. It could be someone that has an axe to grind with you, it could be someone that wants revenge on Mi-Sha (Agni knows there are enough of those.), of both. Heck, it could be one on Mi-Sha's underlings trying to kick off his boss."

"I see…"

'Sai?'

"I'm with the good lieutenant on this one, we need to go to the crime scene for me to have any concrete conclusions."

'Damn…'

"Fine, have some men you can spare investigating this thing, focus on finding the identity of the soldiers who did it. Right now, however, this is a low priority next to the conquest of Gaoling and the war against Mi-Sha."

Shen saluted.

"It will be done, my lord."

"Good. What is the status of our forces by the way?"

"As good as can be, I suppose. We made some good progress, completely surrounding the area around Gaoling. Losses are low as well, the enemy is yet to adapt to our eyes. Things are much easier when you can just dump blasting jelly on an earth kingdom stronghold from height way above their reach."

"I can imagine that this will help, how close is Beifong to surrender?"

"Hard to tell, but it's only a matter of time. He can't last long with the state of affairs. Actually, I plan a bombardment of his home right away, this should send a message and drop morale quickly enough."

"Hmm… wait a bit with that, I would like to try something first."

Shen raised an eyebrow.

"Another one of your crazy, and often suicidal ideas?"

"Most likely."

Zuko admitted.

"And I will have to borrow one of your eyes."

The old lieutenant sighed.

"Of course you do… At least you ask. May I ask what your scam is this time?"

"I plan to send a letter to Beifong about my arrival for a talk, I will bait him with information about his daughter. Once I receive the invitation, I will fly there with Toph and convince him to go my way."

Shen wasn't so pleased.

"Your highness, while I agree that Beifong will take the bait, I must object to you being there. The chance of convincing him is very low, while the chance of him trying to use you as ransom is high."

"I see your point, but I already have plans for each problem. Let me deal with all the noble bureaucracy, I managed to convince Zhao of all people to do charity after all."

"Can't argue with that... Very well, you succeeded in everything you did so far, I don't see a reason to doubt you now. You will have your eye, your highness, but I implore you to take some men as protection."

"Fine by me, how long do you think it will take until we get Beifong's invitation?"

"A day or two, I imagine. Especially if you mention that you need to leave in the next few days."

"Noted, give me an hour to finish the letter."

In the Beifong mansion, Lao Beifong sat in his office. He was going through the various reports of the state of the battlefield, none of them painted a pretty picture.

A servant with military uniform entered the room.

"My lord, you have a message."

Lao stopped his work.

"I asked to not be disturbed."

The Beifong patriarch then looked up from his desk and saw the stamp on the letter.

"And I think I made myself clear about any 'offers' from the fire nation."

"It's from prince Zuko, my lord."

Lao stopped to think about it for a minute, why would royalty involve itself with this? The prince must want the prestige, what other reason there could be.

"I don't care, burn it with the others."

"It has your daughter's name on it."

"What?! How could he possibly… give it to me."

The man gave Lao the piece of paper.

As Lao read, he felt his hands shaking. This was either very good, or (most likely) a tremendous disaster. This one is something he can't decide alone.

"You may leave to your duties, soldier."

As once the man was gone, Lao ringed the bell to fetch a server. Almost immediately, a man appeared.

"Please summon my wife to my office."

The servant bowed and went to his new assignment, after a few minutes his wife entered the office.

"Very good, you may return to your duties. I will call when needed."

The servant bowed again.

"Yes dear, how can I help?"

His wife was in downed spirits, as was the norm those days. The kidnapping of their daughter affected her greatly, it took much effort to get her out of bed those days.

Lao silently gave her the letter from the prince to read.

As she read, he saw her eyes shining a little brighter.

"Honey, those are great news!"

Lao, however, didn't share her newfound hope completely.

"Dear, I must remind you that this could very much be a trap set by the fire nation."

"But what could they possibly do, honey? They will come here, in one of their supposedly flying abominations, true, but they will come here with five men at most. I hardly think it's beyond the capabilities of our guards."

"True, but this is what bothers me the most. And if recent stories about the disgraced prince are true, this may be more of a fight then anticipated. I'm also worried about why he wants you to come as well, I fear that it may be a part of his trap."

"Well dear, if the whereabouts of our daughter will be discussed, I would very much like to be present."

Lao sighed, knowing his wife had a point.

"So what do you think?"

"I think that we should except. If all goes well than we will have information on our daughter, in the worst case we'll be heavily guarded against a threat with no support in the sit of our power."

"Very well, I will write that I accept their terms."

"Thank you, dear. I love you."

Popy kissed him on the cheek and went to her way, her spirit lifted very much.

Lao wrote his answer and went himself to the falconry, he wanted to be the one to send this particular letter.

After all was done and the letter was sent Lao went back to his office to prepare for the meeting.

As he did so, he had another look at the letter.

"To lord Lao Beifong,

I ask for an audience with yourself about our terms and future cooperation.

In return, I will supply you with the recent information I have about your missing daughter.

I will come on a flying eye with five soldiers as escort and no more, I ask to let us lend with peace.

Please reply as soon as possible, in a few days I will have to leave the reign.

Sincerely,

Prince Zuko, first son of fire lord Ozai."

Lao sighed again.

"What is your game, prince…"

Whatever it is, he just hoped his little angel was fine. He couldn't imagine how scared she must feel right now.

"No! Stop! Get your hands off me!"

Toph was fighting like a woman possessed, she kicked to every direction. Alas, it was for naught as she was dragged against her will.

"I curse you all, you hear me?! I curse you all!"

"Kid, please stop being so dramatic. It's just a bath."

"I agree with Ling, Toph. This is a bit much even by my standards."

At Zuko's orders, Toph needed to be presentable before their trip to Gaoling. For that, as the only two women the closest to Toph's age, it fell under Jasmine and sergeant Ling to prepare the young girl.

One would think that the girl would be thrilled to finally be clean, but no~

Toph just had to be an annoying brat in that exact critical moment.

"But I don't want to!"

With how things are going, they will never prepare Toph in time.

"And why not?"

Ling asked.

"I just don't want to, okay? Besides, I can wash myself."

"I would have liked to believe that, kid, but so far you did the absolute best to stay dirty."

"Well, excuse me if I like the feeling of the earth in my feet."

"Your 'feeling' will cost his Highness his good first impression, so pardon me if we have different properties."

Ling concluded as Jasmine added.

"And we are all women her, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Not that you have anything at all…"

The last part Jasmine said to herself in a quiet voice, but apparently not quite enough for the blind girl.

"Hey! It's not my fault that the two of you are cows! Especially her!"

Toph point at _ direction.

"I'm blind and even I can see how huge her- Ow! Ow! Sorry! Sorry!"

The last part was a result of Ling having enough talking about her figure as she heads locked the poor girl and made some quiet painful movements on Toph's head.

Jasmine sighed, this was going to be a long day.

"Are you sure you want to do it, Zuko?"

While the girls had their… fun… Zuko and Mi-Dved had a talk.

"It's the best option. If all goes well then, we gain more territories and an ally, if not then we at least tried."

"Can I at least go with you?"

"We talked about this. While you may not care if you're being called traitor to the nation and other thing, I very much care about you. Besides, we don't want to give Beifong any reason to believe that we were the ones to kidnap his daughter."

"I suppose that's correct…"

Mi-Dved admitted against his will.

"Besides, I have a no less important task for you."

"I know , but still…"

"It will be a great win of you succeed."

"*Sigh* fine, I'll do it."

"Thank you, I knew I could count on you."

"Yeah, sure."

The earth bender waved him off.

"Just be sure to return with everybody safe and sound."

"Will do. By the way, have you seen Xing?"

"Can't say I did. You recon Xing's on the hunt again?"

"Agni, I hope not. I swear it's only a matter of time before it brings back a platypus bear or something."

Mi-Dved looked at a spot behind Zuko that caught his attention.

Mi-Dved looked at a spot behind Zuko that caught his attention.

"Well… you may have to make duo with an ostrich-horse for now."

"Please don't tell me…"

Zuko turned around and saw exactly what he feared. Xing walked towards them and in his mouth was a small ostrich horse.

The poor animal itself was quite smaller than the adults, but wasn't a chick, must have been an adolescence. It still was three times higher than Xing and had nasty claws and beak.

"On the bright side, it probably didn't belong to anyone, right?"

Zuko facepalmed.

"And take Xing with you, probably before it starts to see the similarities between human flesh and chicken."

"Acknowledged…"

Mi-Dved said in a much less certain tone, the random twitch in the ostrich-horse's leg didn't help.

"So, what are the news?"

Hakoda had his close console with him as they discussed the happenings of the war.

"As you predicted, Mi-Sha and Zuko are at the throats of each other. Rumor has it that Zuko entered the Si Wong desert and butchered an entire squad of enforcers."

The news surprised Hakoda, even if he didn't show it.

"Really? Why did he even enter the desert?"

The man before him shrugged.

"No idea, but the rumors said something about a library."

This time, it was Bato that answered with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

"Really? You expected us to believe that the prince of the fire nation goes all the way to a traitorous desert for some books?"

"Must be some library…"

Hakoda commented.

"Never mind, what are the prince's losses?"

"None, chief."

Now that caused a reaction.

"Excuse me, no casualties? He went head on with an entire enforcer squad, this is much less believable than the library."

"Sorry chief, it is what it is. The prince left a hamlet with ten people and returned to the same hamlet with the same ten people, only with an entire dead enforcer squad tied to the tails on their Komodo-rhinos. He apparently had them hanged in every possible place so that Mi-Sha wouldn't miss."

"La and Tui, kids way more ruthless then we thought. And you say that brute saw the bodies?"

Hakoda would have paid to see the look in Mi-Sha's face.

"Front row, yes. He went as ballistic as expected.

"Man, kid got balls, I'll hand it to him. I guess all my planning was useless than, hah…"

Hakoda lamented.

"Don't worry, chief, we sure helped lit the fire. Besides, we did good, moral is high, and the troops are happy."

"Thanks Bato, you always know how to cheer me up. But for the more serious business, what is the status of the war theatre?"

Hakoda address the men.

"Could be better. Gaoling is basically done for, and Omashu is still under siege. Those new eyes the fire nation created added another dimension to the war that we don't have a counter for yet."

Another man informed Hakoda.

"Really? From what I gathered, the eyes are purely for spying. They are just too high for combat, at least they were when I was bedridden."

"Well, things changed, chief, they now can build large enough eyes to carry troops and supplies. now they can just throw barrels of blasting and jelly from sky high, decimate a fortress to rubbles and call it a day."

"Damn… This is a problem. Any idea of the source? We may be able to sabotage it."

"Sorry chief, from what we know the eyes are being made in the heart of the fire nation in special facilities that are owned by some big shot businessman. No way we are getting anywhere close."

"Damn… I suppose we act at night than."

The men nodded in agreement.

"Very well, I suggest we go east. Everything we could have done here, we did. I have a feeling that the earth kingdom soldiers there will appreciate our help very much. All in agreement?"

"Ai!"

The men all said in agreement.

"Very well, east it is!"

Zuko was now in his room, preparing for the peace talk. Now he had the opportunity to ask Sai something that was bothering him and that he needed to make sure.

'Sai?'

" Yes, your highness?"

'From the near end of our battle in the desert, I noticed something strange…'

Zuko didn't know how to form it with words.

'I…'

"You mean to ask about your regained hearing in your left ear?"

'Yes! What did you do?'

" Remember our talk about the phoenix technique? As well as the spiritual energy I took from the swamp?"

'Yes, do you mean that it started taking affect?!'

The hope in Zuko's thoughts was unmistakable.

" It started taking affect from the first night after the swamp. I slowly but surely used the spiritual energy to reconstruct the scared tissues, as well as enhance your physical abilities. I did not lie when I said you are six times stronger then when you met me."

'Really? That's great!'

"Don't act so surprised, I promised you that your scars will heal in a year's time. I literally cannot lie, unlike others…"

'Sorry for doubting you Sai, but how I didn't feel it before?'

" Recreation of nerves is a very painful process, I disconnected them temporarily from the ill place  so that you wouldn't be wailing on the floor in pain all the time. Also, your body isn't capable to handle to much spiritual energy yet, a faster progress will literally burn you from the inside."

'Good call… So, what are the next steps in this regeneration?'

" For now, to rewrite your chi flow to a much more efficient design, one that could handle the spiritual energy stored inside you. Eardrum is an easy enough thing to recreate for the relative lack of nerves and other complicated cells. An eye, will require the chi rewrite to heal."

'Than keep doing what's you're doing.'

Zuko was beyond happy with the news, undeniably Sai was the best thing that happened to him!

With those thoughts in mind, Zuko prepared for the meeting with the Beifongs.

Zuko was now with lieutenant Shen in front of their ride. It looked very differently from the first eye prototype Zuko himself created, obviously Loban and his men spent many hours and resources on the project once he gave them his blessing.

So far, he liked the results.

The balloon was blood red with the fire nation symbol on each side, it also wasn't a ball anymore but a more sausage look alike.

The wooden basket, that once was barely big enough for two people, was now made of metal and was big enough to house up to ten grown men comfortably.

It also was bigger, if that wasn't obvious, much bigger. Zuko guessed that the thing was six Komodo-rhinos in height, width and length. He would have to ask Loban for a person "airship" of his own.

"Quite a feeling, seeing how the memorial of my son evolve. A good one at that."

The old lieutenant commented.

"I'm happy you liked it. Are you sure you will go with me as well?"

"Yes, while in is a huge risk, an even greater one will be facing the wrath of your father once he hears that you died under my watch. Besides, Chin is more than ready to replace me should the need arrive."

"Your faith in me lifts my spirit…"

The old man chuckled a little.

"Please don't take this wrong, your highness, I have every confidence in your ability to keep us safe. The main reason that I wished to join was for the protocol. In case any agreement is made, I will be official representee of the military. Any agreement that is written before me is as valid as the terms are allowed by my rank. Pardon me, my prince, but I don't trust the random opportunist to not play with your credibility after your banishment."

"Very well, thank you for your help."

Zuko would lie if he wasn't feeling hurt a little, but he understood Shen's point of view. Something a month ago he wouldn't have done.

"Nephew!"

Zuko locket back and saw his uncle walking towards him. with him were the other soldiers that will accompany them.

"Uncle, glad you could make it."

Zuko said with a smile, even if it didn't quite reach his eyes. Good thing a helmet has more uses than just to guard the head.

"Prince Iroh."

Shen bowed curtly. Zuko, however, caught a little stiff in the lieutenant's bow.

'Do you think he has some bad history with uncle? Can't be, their sons were good friends.'

"If I'm correct, his wounds are much deeper thar some personal misgiving. I will tell you later when it will be only the two of us."

"Oh, I can only imagine what kinds of tea there will be at the meeting. I wonder if I could compare notes with their tea maker, maybe even a game or two of pai sho."

"And we have the identity of another potential white lotus member."

"Uncle, please take this seriously."

"Nephew, I'm wounded. Of course I take my tea seriously!"

"Then don't let us stop you, you should get inside and prepare your wires. Can't leave our host wanting, can we?"

"An excellent idea, nephew!"

Uncle quickly went inside, the men that were with him followed.

Zuko sighed and turned to the more dutiful old man.

"I decided to tale uncle because of his fire bending skills, but also as a comic relief. He has a talent in befriending strangers over tea and pai sho."

"As… good reason as any, I suppose."

"Trust me, I'm as happy with that as you are."

Shen had an uncertain look on his face.

"Your highness, pardon me for my intrusion, but… is all well with you two?"

Zuko was quiet for a moment.

"It's… complicated."

"You know, I'm an old man myself, maybe I can give an advice or two."

"It's a little hard for me to take, given the amenity you seem to have with my uncle."

Zuko said in an accusing tone.

"Oh, you noticed…"

Shen seemed to be taken back.

"I offer my sincere apo-"

Zuko raised his hand to silence the old lieutenant.

"It's fine! I'm sure you have your reasons. So far you were ideal with your work, even when forced to work with a man you hate. I can't hold that against you, especially when you try to hide it."

"I… thank you…"

"Don't mention it. But I must ask, what's the deal between you two?"

"It's… complicated…"

"Hah… how the tables have turned."

Shen chackled as well.

"That they do, your highness, that they do. Now we only need our special guest, and we can take off."

As if Kho itself heard them, Toph and Jasmine just entered the line of sight.

Toph was dressed in a lime-colored kimono that was fitting for high born ladies such as her. She also wore (most likely unwillingly) wooden sandals that gave her a few inches. Her stance and behavior were also drastically changed from the easygoing little girl he knew her to be.

All in all, she looked like the very picture of high nobility that she was supposed to be.

Jasmine, however, she wore a matching kimono as Toph, only hers seemed to hug her figure very well. How did she manage that Zuko had no idea, but he threw in up there in things that were beyond him with women logic. To complete the picture, she had her namesake adoring the right side of her hair.

Jasmine looked both noble and provocative, somehow.

"My sincere apologies for my tardiness, your highness. There have been unforeseen delays in the lady's room."

That came from Toph of all people.

"Okay, who are you and what did you do to toph?"

The little girl immediately broke her mask and snorted.

"Don't worry, it's still me Sparky. I'm just preparing myself for the meeting. I must be the perfect daughter after all."

"Don't do it, it's creepy."

"For you and me both, Sparky."

Once she saw him make sparks with his hand to show her his lightning bending, she started to call him "Sparky". The soldiers, thankfully, were too afraid of him to mimic the girl. In front of him, at least.

"Fine, go inside and creep the others. We'll be meeting your parents soon enough."

"Whatever."

Even if she said that, Zuko noticed in her tone how excited she was to be home again.

Toph went inside.

"So how do I look?"

Jasmine asked innocently as she made a spin, showing off her outfit.

"Radiating, like a true highborn lady, I would have never noticed something amiss."

"You know what to say to a lady. See you inside, my prince~"

She gave him a peck on the chick and went inside.

He heard Shen chuckled from behind him.

"Oh, shut up…"

The two entered the airship last and it took off. He had a feeling it was going to be a long ride…

AN

And this is the end of chapter 18

A girl is finally inviting Zuko to meet her parents! are you as excited as I am?

Bu the way, can anyone guess why Shin has some grudge against Iroh?

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 19

"Do you remember everything you need to do?"

"Yes dad, I'm fine."

Toph had an annoyed expression when Zuko asked her about her preparations for the meeting. Something which he took notice but ignored regardless.

"And the letters?"

"Yes, I memorized your stupid letters as well."

"You didn't seem to think they were stupid back then.

Zuko said in an amused voice.

"Oh, shut up…"

Toph grew only more annoyed at Zuko's chuckles.

"In all seriousness, how are you feeling?"

Toph took a moment to gather her thoughts together.

"I'm… happy? I'm also scared, it's my fault that I got kidnapped in the first place. If I didn't participate in that stupid competition and was a good little girl like my parents wanted, nine of this would have happened."

"I really don't want them to say we told you so, and then lock me up in a room for the rest of my life. What if they disown me?"

She stopped as she felt Zuko's hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, I can't tell you how your parents will react, but I can tell you that they wouldn't disown you or anything. Whatever will happen, you will have me behind you."

" Excellent play, your highness. Now she will always see us as an ally in a time of need. We can even have her completely once she will have an inevitable clash with her parents."

'But I didn't… I was being honest, I had no alternative motives in mind '

"Oh, then the benefits of good karma, I suppose."

"Thanks, I mean it."

Toph said gradually, even if she became a little sheepish afterwards.

"Do- do you speak from experience? I heard the people talk and… never mind, you don't need to answer."

In the end she started playing with her fingers.

"Oh… well, it's too like it's a secret. Yes, dad disowned and banished me until I redeemed myself in his eyes. But as long as you don't follow my footsteps you will be fine."

"Oh… What did you do? Must have been something really bad."

"Ahm, I really don't want to talk about it. Let's just say that I disrespected him and then humiliated him in front of the entire nobility."

"Oh… Are you really fitting to tell me what to do then?"

Toph tried to raise the mood.

"Do as I say, not as I do."

Zuko returned with a smile.

LLao made some final preparations before the meeting, mainly making sure that the guards were neatly trimmed, and that the food was ready to be called.

"Dear, are you sure we need to leave such an impression? They are our enemies after all."

His wife regarded his decision, discreetly of course. They couldn't let the people know that the Beifongs aren't united as one.

"Yes, honey. A well-fed adversary is a more cooperative one, and we need any help we can get from them. Both for the sake of their terms, and more importantly, for the sake of our daughter."

"*Sigh* fine, dear. Your words ring true. I only hope that they didn't lie to us."

"So am I, honey, so am I."

"Do you think the prince as deformed and vicious as the rumors say?"

She was of course talking about the rumors that spread about the prince in the earth kingdom.

Even at the start of his banishment, it was said that he had a hideous scar on his face from his father. It also said that the prince was quick to anger and was very violent.

As of the last month, the rumors about the prince grew with his deeds. They also varied from one another, but most of them had some things in common.

His face was so deformed that he needed to wear a full-face helmet all the time to hide his shame. His anger and aggression, which were well known even at the beginning, only grew with his banishment and now were directed at the people of the earth kingdom with terrible resolve.

There were also rumors about his cunning intellect and bright mind that brought the fire nation many victories, some even say that it was him and not Zhao that was responsible for the humiliating defeat in his sea strip.

There was also a rather disturbing rumor, one that he found very unsettling. One rumor spoke of his predatory hunger of a unique kind, that he liked to collect exotic women to act as a part of his harem.

Apparently, after his visit to Kyoshi island, he was seen with a beautiful and athletic teenage girl who wore skimpy clothes and followed his every command. The rumors said that the prince seduced a Kyoshi warrior, maybe even the next in line for leadership, and made her his mistress.

Lao feared what the sick mind of the prince may have in store for his daughter, and that the information he had on hand was for more nefarious purpose than just a bargain chip.

Either way, it would do well to tell his wife what he was thinking.

"I'm sure that most of the things are either propaganda are very exaggerated."

"It does seems likely."

His wife let out a sigh of relief.

After a few minutes, they noticed a rad spot on the horizon.

"You think it's one of those 'airships' we heard about?"

His wife asked.

"Must be, it can't be anything else."

As the construction that became the bane of his existence got closer, he couldn't help but marvel at it. The costs it could save by transporting people and merchandise must be tremendous.

Those thoughts were mixed with jealousy and disappointment, because it was the fire nation, and not him or even the much larger and richer earth kingdom, who produced those marvels or enjoyed their benefits.

Of course, any emotion was internal, his face showed nothing of what he may have felt. A lifetime as a businessman made it so.

Finally, the airship flew downward and landed in the yard, which Lao made sure was surrounded with guard, the people inside started to disembark.

First were two bodyguards, which Lao figured was fair enough. The two were relatively tall and wore a marching set of uniforms, not unlike the rest of the fire nation soldiers. They had, however, a little different helmet that probably represented their seniority or rank.

After them, there were two old men. The first was relatively tall but lanky, wither the second was short and fat. Lai, however, recognized his face as none other than the dragon of the west. Even he has familiar with the only man in eons to breach the walls of Ba Sing Se. He will have to tread lightly, he wasn't sure that his men could take on both fire princes.

Then, came the men of the hour, none other than fire prince Zuko himself. The prince looked at the very image of a mighty warrior the propaganda painted him, the dark fitting armor and helmet made a very strong impression.

Lao also noticed that the helmet covered his face completely, not even the sun could laminate the unnaturally obscured slits. The deformation rumor may have more truth than he thought, he just hoped the other rumors don't follow suit.

As the prince got off, he offered his hand to the girl behind him. The girl was very pretty, Lao will admit that, actually his wife would possibly agree if her look was anything to go by. Lucky, her thoughts were clear only to her husband, who spent the better part of his life with her.

The girl, no, the young woman, wore a very expressive kimono that fitted her rather well. Lao (and probably his wife as well) could see through the disguise, her posture and walk wasn't like a noble lady, but more like a feline in search for entertainment.

He had a terrifying realization that the girl was most likely the one that the rumors were about, she did easily have the body fitness of a Kyoshi warrior. He now just prayed that the prince wasn't interested in blind girls, he could see from the side of his eye his wife doing silently the same.

Any thoughts he may have, however, were put on hold when the next person came. The prince and the young woman helped the last person off the airship, and it was none other than his missing daughter.

She was dressed in a matching kimono with the other girl and had her face all dolled up. She looked like she was going to a gala and not to her home after being kidnapped.

His wife audibly gasped, something that his daughter heard.

"Mom?"

The prince whispered something to his daughter, and she nodded, together they walked to Lao. When they were a few feet away the prince and the other girl stopped guiding Toph, and his daughter stood uncertainly in her place. She looked left and right as if she could see Poppy and himself.

"Mom? Dad?"

That seemed to be the tipping point of his wife because she immediately hugged their daughter with no regard for any sense of dignity, in front of the fire nation royal delegacy. And for once, Lao didn't mind it one bit, he himself had to stop himself from doing the same.

"I thought of maybe making a show and all but decided that it would be just cruel."

The prince said as he had a hand scratching the back of his head.

"Do you need some time alone? Because we can wait…"

In the end, her father and Zuko decided on an hour and a half delay, in which Zuko's party could eat breakfast. In the meantime, she was with both her parents.

"Oh my little baby, we were so worried!"

Mom finally said once she regained a hold on herself. Toph would have called it mushy, but t to be fair she had the same reaction.

Spirits, in front of Zuko no less, she needed to do something absolutely badass to even it out.

"I'm sorry…"

For making you worry, for letting those thugs kidnapped me, for going behind your back and participating those stupid underground tourneys, for making your life harder…

"Sweetheart, you have nothing to apologize for. We all are here and fine, that's what's important."

Her father said.

"If there is anyone to blame, it would be that brute. You can be sure that he'll get what he deserves for everything, daddy will take care for it."

Her father was of course talking about Mi-Sha.

Zuko pulled him to the side for a few minutes to debrief him with the story of what happened, with a few things unmentioned obviously.

"I still can't believe that he managed to break in. What were those so-called guards doing, letting those thugs just dig up a tunnel under our nose?"

Her mother was enraged.

"We should have them all fired!""

"Now, now, dear, I will take care of it."

Father said with a pacifying tone.

"I'm more interested right now in hearing about how you were treated with the prince, because if he did something to you, I swear- "

"Zuko didn't do anything!"

Her parents stopped, shocked.

"I… Pardon me, it was unbecoming."

Her father was the first to react.

"It… It is expected you had a very traumatic experience. We're just glad that you're safe and with us now, we had no intention to besmirch the prince."

"Yes, it is only natural to be on edge."

Mom agreed.

"But how was your time with the fire prince?"

She continued.

"My time with Zuko?"

"It was… good, I suppose? I mean, I was scared at first. The bombs were really scary."

"I still can't believe those brutes used bombs on our little angel…"

Mom grumbled.

"While I completely agree with you, honey, at least they got our little girl back to us."

Father said before she continued.

"But after that, it was rather fun. Zuko told many interesting and funny stories and I got to play with his dog."

"Dog tiger?"

Mom said.

"No."

"Cat dog?"

It was father's turn now.

"No, just a regular dog."

"Weird."

Mom said.

"Maybe it's a royal thing, the earth king have a regular bear as well."

Dad suggested.

"Oh! Zuko also wanted me to show you something!

She pulled the sack Zuko gave her, the sack of which its content was a cause of great suffering for her.

From the sack, she pulled a few strange cubes. Each cube had some sin that Toph couldn't know what was written on, but that wasn't for her. What mattered to Toph was the little bulges on the top of the cube.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

Both her parents looked at her with interest.

"Zuko had it made for me, he said it was something that he thought on after he met me."

When she said that Zuko had it made, she meant that he told her to which form to bend the rocks.

"The cubes have a sign that tells which latter is on them, I feel the surface of the cube and by the bulges I can tell the letter. He told me that with this he could make the blind read, and enough capital he is planning to introduce this to the entire world."

Her parents silently looked at her, not knowing what to think.

She understood them, she herself thought it was crazy before. But after some grueling hours with Zuko, she managed to get her first sentence. She was weirdly happy about it, to be able to read like any other kid.

She also knew, even if they never said it, that her parents lamented that she couldn't do things like the other kids. Zuko was at list honest with her and said that his intentions weren't purely ultraistic, but you can't just make the blind read without caring about them.

"Would you like to show us?"

Her father asked, from his tone he didn't know if he should be hopeful or insulted for the jest.

And so Toph went from cube to cube, each time she said the right letter. She could feel that her mother was slightly sobbing.

"Mommy, are you okay? Did I get a letter wrong?"

Spirits! Maybe she did! Are they crying because she messed up again? What would they think about Zuko now, she hoped that she didn't make them think it was some kind of cruel joke!

"No, no, sweetheart, you said every letter right. Your mother is just very proud of her little girl, so am I."

Father calmed her down as he continued.

"And you say that the prince had thought of that?"

"Yes, he said I gave him inspiration. He also told me he wanted to talk to you about spreading it to everyone and make facilities more blind friendly."

"I see… It seems like it's also almost the time for our meeting with the prince. I will have to leave the two of you for now for preparation, you have given me much to think about, sweetheart."

"Good luck, my love."

"I love you daddy."

"I love the two of you as well."

Her father said as he left the room.

After they were fed and rested, Zuko met with lord Beifong at his solar. Accompanying him were his uncle, Shen and Jasmine, surprisingly. Lord Beifong was already present when they entered the solar, undoubtedly preparing himself for what's to come.

"Lord Beifong, we must thank you for your hospitality. My uncle wouldn't stop praising your tea maker."

"Think nothing of it, it was the least I could do after you returned my little girl back. Your honor stands before you, your highness."

"I just did what any other person with moral compass would have done. But we'll have time for pleasantries later, for now let's go down to the ugly business."

Beifong sighed.

"Right to the point, I can respect that, I suppose. What are your terms, your highness?"

"First let me introduce my companions. My uncle, Prince Iroh doesn't need an introduction, I think. Next is acting commander Shen, your equivalent from the fire nation side in this conflict. And last but not least, Jasmine, she was the one to see the needs of your daughter."

Each greeted the lord in his own way, be it a smile from his uncle, a nod from Shen, or a courtesy bow from Jasmine.

Shen handed a sheet of paper to the earth kingdom noble, who began reading it. After some minutes had passed Beifong put the paper down.

"Your highness, those terms are unreasonable. Not only would I get a blow that my coffers my never recover from, but you're asking me to give much land and have many people being fed to the grinder."

"My lord, those are a very watered down terms. Command wanted to just take everything you have and leave you without a single coin to your name, it took much convincing to merely tax you heavy."

Shen nodded in agreement, he had a very bug part convincing the higher ups that constant relatively mediocre taxation that allowed the Beifongs to have a stable income was better in the mid-term and long-term than just take everything he had at once.

"Besides, I plan to have you meet some of my associates in the financial world. A meeting that I think will greatly benefit both sides, maybe even bring you a greater fortune than before. Do remember the power balance, my lord."

"Be it as it may, it's still a blow I'm forced to take with little to no guaranties, your highness. And that's even not considering the land loss and forced conscription."

"Then it's just a leap of faith you'll have to take, do take to consideration that you will have access to the fire nation market and technology."

"With the loss of land, those are natural happenings with the losing side of the war. Besides, once I finish with my plans to develop the reign, even with the shrunken land you will find yourself with more capital than now."

"And as for your final point, it is beneficial for all of us. We take in the forcefully retired soldiers, the second sons who will have nothing to their name and the orphans and vagabonds. They will be given an honest living and a much better life than what fate designed for them."

And what are those 'plans' you will do in my lands?"

"I presume Toph showed you the blind script, yes?"

"Yes, and I'm very grateful for that, truly. But how does it help the collective? As much as I'm happy about it, it doesn't affect the entire population."

"True, but did you know that it doesn't have a name yet?"

The savvy businessman was starting to get an idea.

"And what would a miracle like that will be called?"

"I don't know, why wouldn't you ask the rich father of a young girl who put so much resources for it?"

"That would be laying, and theft of idea."

"Like you didn't do it before."

"Not to royalty, not to the man who saved my daughter."

"You have my permission. Besides, I have great interest in seeing you prosper. You can claim any positive changes that will come to your lands as something you took a part in, civilian airships, better medicine, construction projects. The list will only grow in time."

Beifong was silently thinking for some time, considering different approaches and their consequences.

"Your offer does sound much more intriguing, your highness… But in the end, I will still have to shamefully bow to your lord father, any and all goodwill from the people will disappear in that instance."

"Luckily, we may have a solution to that problem as well. Commander, if you may."

"Of course, your highness."

Shen began his explanation.

"You see, lord Beifong, we have many more airships like the one that is parking at your yard. The original plan was to just bomb you from above until either you submit or there is nothing left to destroy."

Beifong paled at that.

"But as for now, it's a contingency plan. We can use this as a show of force, probably on a strong enough military base or near a large civilian center, to give you a reason to surrender with dignity."

"You saw how many people that have sworn to you may perish and decided to take the lesser evil. Here you have a ground to stand on against any voices as you decide to sacrifice your dignity for the sake of the people."

Beifong processed this for some time.

"Yes… yes, it may just work. But I won't allow my people to get hurt by this show. I can supply you with reasonable places for bombardment, those that are either strategically important or close enough to here for a short of force but far enough to keep everyone safe."

"That would be ideal, lord Beifong."

Was shen's reply.

The hours after that were filled with boring discussion about all the places Beifong suggested until the right places were chosen. It was long and tiring, but with uncle's many advices (as well as Sai's), all parties were reasonably satisfied.

"That basically concludes our meeting, however, I would like to speak to you about something much more personal. Commander, uncle, we are all grateful for your work, you may have the rest the two of you deserve in the airship."

The two quickly caught on and gave their goodbyes.

Now it was only Zuko, Beifong and Jasmine.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Zuko decided to take the initiative.

"So… Lord Beifong, how is Toph doing?"

"Well- ahm, she is now with her mother compensating for much lost time."

"It's good to hear."

Zuko said with a sincere smile, before it turned into a frown.

"Tell me, have you considered your next move with Mi-Sha?"

"I would double the guards, and have her in an even safer place. As much as it pains to admit it, I'm not in any position to make a move against Mi-Sha on my own."

Zuko nodded as if he agreed.

"True, true, but what about Toph's mental health?"

""Pardon?"

The look of confusion on lord Beifong's face gave Zuko the opening he needed for his next step.

"I mean, think about it, a young girl was at the tender mercies of an entire organization of thugs. Surely the best solution is to lock her in another cell.

"She will have the best of everything, it will be a life most can't even dream of "

Beifong's tone started to sound hostile, he didn't seem to like being criticized for his way to keep his daughter safe by a stranger.

Zuko was this close to tell that Toph could clearly see the difference but held himself. Then, as he practiced with Sai, he continued his counter argument.

"Do you know that in her short time with me, she spoke a lot about how useless she felt and how big of a burden she was on you two? Sometimes she even said that maybe it was better for you if she stayed kidnapped."

A fat lie, Toph only ever said that she wanted her parents to stop treating her like a glass doll. But her father doesn't need to know that it was easier to manipulate him that way.

"How could she think that?! We would never do something like that!"

Zuko let the lord of the house to gather his senses a bit.

"Now you see why I'm against your idea? We both heard stories about people ending themselves for less."

"But we always showered her with love! Always gave her praise!"

"Hmm, and that's may be the problem. Tell me, what is the biggest achievement she made completely on her own? Without outside help?"

"Well, one time she walked down one stare, there was also a time where she drew a straight line."

"And do you understand now why she thinks that all your praises are hollow?"

Good, Beifong had a look of horror on his face. Time for the next step.

"Look, I'm on the other side of the fence, I don't even remember the last time my father said he was proud of me, so I'm probably not very fit to advise in such things."

"So that's why I'll leave this to Jasmine, she was the one who is the closest to Toph as a girl after all."

"Oh? And what would you suggest, my lady?"

Not an outright rejection, already a win.

"My lord."

Jasmine bowed a little.

"My humble suggestion would be lots of fresh air for starters. I would also recommend small steps that will allow lady Toph to fill accomplished, perhaps let her build small clay statues. I have noticed that in spite of her blindness, the lady is a quite good artist."

"If you dim her work good enough, have other people appreciate it. The more praise she will get from strangers, the better her self-esteem will be. Perhaps the more she truly impresses you and show herself capable, the more small freedoms she will get. The kind of walking up and down the stairs and the like."

"I see… You have given me much to think about, lady Jasmine. Once again, I want to thank for taking care of my daughter in her time of need. I also wish the two of you luck with your relationship."

"What?"

Zuko was completely caught off guard.

"What are you talking about?"

He could see Jasmine blushing with embarrassment from the side of his view. She had no right to blush! It was most likely her fault for the stupid misunderstanding to begin with.

"We – I'm n-not h-his p-paramour…"

Hey! Where did you come with the paramour thing? And don't you dare use that wishful tone! This is exactly what got us to this misunderstanding!

"Oh? Pardon my intrusion, I just heard…"

"Jasmine and her brother decided to work for me after I released the later from slavery and helped him find the former, they were separated by a sea storm. Mi-Dved is a reliable fighter and Jasmine has a talent in medicine and herbs."

"But what do you mean that you heard?"

"I-well you see, there are rumors…"

Beifong said with much reluctance, but Zuko was having none of it.

"What rumors?! Who is spreading them, I want names!"

"Ah, well it is to much spread at this point to pinpoint, but people saw you leaving Kyoshi island with a beautiful young woman. They assumed that you seduced a Kyoshi warrior and are planning your own harem."

Zuko grumbled loudly.

"Great, now everyone thinks I'm some kind of a playboy…"

"Sorry."

Jasmine said in a tone that clearly indicates that she wasn't sorry at all.

"Some more rumors that I should know?"

Zuko asked in a tired tone.

"Ahm, in that context there is only one more. Apparently, people think that you had intimate relationship with the protégé of the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, but I'm sure that it's just more nonsense."

"Ahm, yes .."

'How could they possibly know about Suki? She didn't squeal about it, on that, I'm sure.'

" I don't think that they know, it's just the most outrageous thing that could happen. And that happened to be completely true!"

It seems that his hesitating tone didn't escape Jasmine, because in an uncharacteristic display of indignation in front of a stranger she put her hands on his shoulders and shook him.

"What was that tone?! What did you do with Suki? She better not have kissed you; you hear!"

"Hey, it was only her, I didn't do anything! Besides, why would you care?!"

"We have known each other for so long, how can you treat me like that!"

"So long? I didn't even know you were excited barley a month ago! How short were your relationships anyway?! Hey, stop shaking me, you crazy woman!"

The two of them stopped bickering at the chuckles of lord Beifong.

"Oh, pardon me. It was a long time since I had such a lively display of youth. I wish each of you luck, and may our relationship be beneficial for all of us."

On the way outside they were met with the rest of the Beifong family.

"Oh, honey, sweetheart, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Toph wanted to say final goodbye to the prince, dear, she was quite insistent I'm afraid."

Lady Beifong replayed to her husband's unspoken question.

Toph walked to Zuko, without any help, something which had spooked her parents very much. When she reached him, she hugged him without any care for decorum. Zuko swore that her parents may have fainted then and there.

"So I guess this is a goodbye?"

She asked with a face buried in his chest, as much as the enhanced steel of his armor allowed.

"For now. But I will visit you, I promise."

"You better…"

She muttered into his armor as he chuckled, he then whispered into her ear.

"I have convinced your dad to give you more freedom. Baby steps for now, but if you play your cards right they may even let you earth bend as you please after a while."

"Thank you, for everything."

She whispered back.

The two released each other and Zuko (and Jasmine, of course) went back to the airship. He was met their with his uncle, Shen and the two bodyguards.

"Prepare to leave, we are done here."

The bodyguard saluted and started the preparations and before long, the ground grew farther and farther. Zuko took one last look at lord Beifong, who had a perfect poker face. Zuko had a feeling that he managed to impress the earth kingdom nobleman.

He then turned to the present company.

"So, how do you think it went?"

His uncle was quick to say his opinion.

"It was brilliant, nephew. In all my career, I can scarcely count meetings that went that well."

"I must agree with prince Iroh, your highness, it went spectacularly."

"You should be proud, nephew. By the way, how did your private meeting go?"

Zuko thought for a second.

"Well, it went very well."

They had a silence for a few minutes, that is until the only female on the airship asked something that bothered her for some time.

"So… What did you and Suki do?"

Zuko grunted, he had a feeling that the flight back would be even longer that the first one. He only hoped that Mi-Dved had a better time than him.

Mi-Dved had a great time!

Zuko had sent him on a mission to Kyoshi island, and so far, it went without a hitch. Of course, he now knew better than to say it aloud.

The ship he was on, a normal transport vessel, is now boarding the port of Kyoshi island. The sail was Unagi free, thank the spirits. Chances of pirate attack was now as close to none existed as possible, with all the fire navy patrols and the eyes.

It was really exciting to see the new eyes, or airships as they were called, fly from the ship.

Anyway, he went to the port and searched for the nearest inn. When he entered, he ranted a room and asked a few questions.

"Hey man, how can I get a meeting with the Kyoshi warriors?"

The inn owner snorted at him, no doubt the older man thought Mi-Dved was just like any other teenager full of hormones. Which to be fair he was, but he also was on a mission directly from the prince.

"Look kid, no one's just meeting the Kyoshi warriors. If you're lucky, you may see them as they do patrol around the port."

"So they are going here?"

"Sure kid, if that what'll get your hoped up."

"I see, thank you sir."

Mi-Dved heard what he wanted and left, he could hear the man behind him mutter about teenagers.

Mi-Dved decided to go to a spot that was far away from the port to look suspicious, but not yet entering the woods. He stayed there for an hour or two until he noticed a few figures in green descending from the trees, figures that he recognized.

"Suki, good to dee you!"

"Mi-Dved? I don't get me wrong, but what are you doing here? I thought that you and Jasmine are with Zuko now."

The named girl asked in a confused tone.

"Is he also here by any chance?"

He noticed that her tone sounded a tad more hopeful there but decided to ignore it.

"He actually sent me here on his behalf. can I have a meeting with Lyn?"

Zuko miraculously survived the flight back home. He managed to pacify Jasmine when he told her that Suki and he had a heavy heart to heart talk where he was kept prisoner, as well as the books she gave him. Even he, however, had enough tact to not mention the kiss.

He exited the airship with pride, and why wouldn't he? He just had gotten a great win! The people even gathered there to congratulate him. But something was wrong, the people weren't silent because of excitement and the want to hear him, but more like a somber and awkward silence.

His group went after him and stopped in confusion as well.

"What happened?"

Zuko demanded to know.

"Ahh… maybe it will be best if you follow me."

Lieutenant Jee finally said. He had a very uncomfortable expression on his face, not unlike someone who needs to tell their superiors something said superiors really wouldn't like.

With little choice, Zuko followed him.

After a few minutes, they were in Zuko's room.

"Yes Jee, what is it? Spit it out."

"Hǎibiān has been attacked by a force that was sent there by Mi-Sha most likely, it had been razed to the ground."

"WHAT!"

"There was also a box left for you specifically, we checked it for explosives but found something much worse. I warn you in advance."

Zuko went to the box and prepared to open it.

"Wait, don't!"

Sai's words fell on deaf ears as Zuko was too much invested. As he opened the box, he was shocked to the core.

In it there was whatever remained of the very first kid who ever saw him as a hero, on the back of the box there was a note written in handwriting.

"A trade you see, I took from you as you took from me."

Zuko literally exploded in rage.

AN

And this is the end of chapter 19

The ending was a bit darker then expected, but Mi-Sha had to even the score somehow after Zuko humiliated him by taking Toph and hanging his best men in display.

I hope I caught the interactions between the Beifongs well enough, as well as giving a relatively believable narration of the conversations the parents have with Toph. They love her, they really do, but they can't look past her blindness and treat her like she's made of glass. After Zuko's talk with Lao, however, they may change their behavior for the better.

Zuko got another influential man under his thumb, we all can only wonder what changes it will make to cannon, and what plans Zuko (or more likely Sai) has for Gaoling and how it will change Zuko's own place in the fire nation.

Sorry for the lack of action in this chapter, but it is focused on negotiations.

Chapter Text

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 20

Prince Zuko! Wait!"

Iroh ran after his nephew after the later stormed out of his room. He didn't get too close, however, because his dear nephew radiated hate like heatwaves. He didn't mean it metaphorically as well, Zuko had the air around him heated to such a degree that one could see how it distorted.

When his nephew opened the box, he went ballistic, Zuko immediately released a shockwave that destroyed most of the tables and shelves in the room. After that, he continued in a very Zuko fashion tantrum that reminded the old man of the first year of the banishment.

Now his nephew was speed walking to Shen's office to demand transportation to the now destroyed colony.

"Please reconsider this, nephew! What are you even going to do!"

"I will see to it that they all have a honorable burial and then hunt down the people who did it."

His nephew was acknowledging and responding to him, it's already an improvement. Now to stop him from this madness.

"It is commendable that you feel such responsibly for your people, but you mustn't let vengeance consume you! It will make you do things you will forever regret later!"

Iroh had to sidestep to avoid the shards of glass that were starting to be created when Zuko's foot stepped on the sandier ground.

"And what do you want me to do?! Let those criminals go unpunished? Invite them for tea maybe?"

"If you go down the cliff of vengeance you will find it nearly impossible to climb back up! An eye for an eye will make the world blind, it will help no one!"

This time his nephew stopped and turned his head to look at Iroh, his expression obscure by the infernal helmet that Iroh was now sure was possessed.

"I will not go for an eye, I will cut off the entire blasted head. As you should have done all those years ago in Ba Sing Se."

Iroh stopped on his tracks. That was a low blow, even after all that time. It was a cruel thing to say, especially from his own nephew.

The Zuko he knew would never have done it, now more than ever Iroh was sure that he was influenced by the helmet. He needed to think how to get rid of the cursed thing, and fast.

By the time he finished with his thoughts, Zuko was already inside acting commander Shen's office. The old man sighed as he followed his nephew, perhaps he could convince the old lieutenant to see reason.

He walked in just to see his nephew leave hurrying out, most likely to blow off some steam. He decided to enter inside and apologize on his nephew's behalf to the acting commander.

The acting commander was organizing a few sheets of paper as he noticed the other man.

"Oh, prince Iroh. How can I help you?"

"Commander Shen, I humbly apologize for my nephew's behavior. I hope he didn't take your refusal to hard."

Shen put down his paperwork and leaned his head on his hands with an arched eyebrow.

"What are you about?"

That caught Iroh by surprise.

"I mean, he must have demanded some form of transportation for the destroyed colony. A demand you surely refused."

"He did, and I didn't?"

"What?"

"Prince Zuko did indeed ask for some kind of fast transportation to catch those responsible. I agreed to loan him one of the eyes, he said that it should be enough for him to reach his destination in a day or so with his fire bending."

"How could you!"

"Well, usually I won't even think about it. But so far, the prince has exceeded expectations left and right. I have more than enough faith in him that he will see the job done. He also loaned me his crew for the duration of the trip, a more than enough compensation."

"But he's going to kill for vengeance!"

"I see no problems with that, the bandits deserve nothing less for their crimes. And he must avenge his people, as the prince it's his duty to make sure that such assaults on his people wouldn't be answered."

Iroh began running outside to stop his nephew's madness, however it was already too late. As he ran, he could see a single eye rising up to the air.

He was too late.

Mi-Dved was sitting with Lyn, the Kyoshi warrior leader. She inspected the papers that he brought with him with great interest.

"And how certain are you about the validity of this information?"

She said as she continued scanning the content of the pages.

Said content included some very interesting records of some very shady deals of certain people of wealth in the fire nation. Deals that were made in Amora and included a very specific group of people that Kyoshi island will take great interest at.

"Very. The man who brought it to us is loyal to the prince, or at least too smart to lie in such matters."

The man was none other than Loban, said businessman was all too pleased to use his knowledge and connections to leave his competitors in a tight spot.

Apparently, having a Kyoshi warrior paramour is considered very exotic and while it is mainly practiced in the earth kingdom, some of the less savory nobles of the fire nation took a liking to the practice.

When Zuko asked if Labon himself took part in it, the latter just laughed. The fat businessman, slimly as he may be, took interest in his business empire alone. Labon also was just too smart to take the risk with no financial reward.

Lyn hummed in response.

"And I suspect prince Zuko expects something in return, is he not?"

"As you can guess, Zuko has his own reasons to get after Mi-Sha. And what is the old saying… An enemy of my enemy is someone I can use?"

"That's not how it goes."

"Really?"

Mi-Dved looked in confusion.

"I think it's just right. You use Zuko and his armies to get an opening to rescue your sisters in Amora, and he uses you as a special force to counter threats that require a more covert touch or are too much for the regular soldier."

Lyn could do little but nod in agreement. Either way, she still had many concerns.

"And about those fire nation pricks that hold our sisters? I hardly think that the prince will be too happy if we bring them justice."

"Oh, you'd to surprised. Zuko recognize your claim and while he isn't too happy with a knife in the dark, he wouldn't cry on any of these men. On contrary, those kinds of people are exactly the ones who are most likely to pose problems when he takes the throne, so you'll be doing him a favor."

"So it's to win – win for him."

"More or less, yes. By the way, how are things around here? Any pirate problems?"

"Oh no, nothing of the sort."

Lyn waved off her hand dismissingly.

"Ever since that incident things have gone very quiet around here. In fact, we have almost zero incidents of piracy now, but I suppose that with the Unagi, the loss of their informant and the constant patrol of the fire navy it is to be expected."

"So when does his highness plan for us to join in?"

"In a few months, I suppose, the details are still being ironed."

"Fair enough, I will start to train the girls more about urban warfare and techniques against sand benders. How are the two of you by the way? Does the prince treat you well?"

"Hm?"

The question caught Mi-Dved by surprise.

"I mean, yes? Life threatening incidents aside, I couldn't have asked for a better employer."

"Oh, really? What incidents?"

Lyn asked in interest.

Mi-Dved than began to tell all the adventures they had up to this point. He, of course, changed a few things like having Toph and the Gnome who created the sandstorm as different people. Lyn was attentive all the time.

"Damn, this kid doesn't know how to take a break, does he. You could write a book from all of this."

"There is much to be done."

Mi-Dved shrugged his hands.

"And how is your sister taking it? I can't image her enjoying the danger very much."

Mi-Dved had a very tired look.

"Oh she doesn't, but the perks are more than worth it."

"Let me guess, she's having fun with the prince's money as she's constantly flirts with him?"

Instead of taking offence as some big brothers would, Mi-Dved just groaned and put his head on the table.

"She's driving me crazy. I swear, little sisters are just plain evil sometimes."

Lyn nodded her head in understanding.

"And by your tone I understand that your sister doesn't getting anywhere with the prince."

"Yes, thank the spirits that Zuko is smart enough to recognize danger."

"Not the best thing to say about your sister."

Lyn said as she raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I lived with her all of her life, I know exactly who she is."

Mi-Dved said defensibly.

"Can't argue with that."

Lyn said with a shake of her shoulders Before continuing.

"You can tell your prince that I won't mind the deal. Now the only thing to do is to make it official by having the mayor agree, but leave it to me."

Mi-Dved nodded in thanks.

"Now, would you be so kind to call Suki when you leave? I have some things to discuss with her."

Her tone was too quiet and too sweet to mean anything good in it.

He silently walked out of the door and to his surprise met the very same girl Lyn asked for. She looked at him like he caught her hand in a cookie jar.

"Your boss wants a word with you."

He finally said.

Zuko was seeing red as he flew with the eye. Luckily, the constant use of his fire bending to speed the flight was a great outlet. Before long, he could think straight again.

" Are you back, your highness?"

"Hm? Oh, Sai! Forgot about you, sorry…"

" Quite a tantrum to forget about the constant voice in your head. So, what are you planning to do now?"

"Ahm…."

Zuko didn't have a plan, per say. He wasn't even sure that he was on the right track, Agni, he hoped he was on the right track and not in the middle of the earth kingdom somewhere!

" Don't worry, I directed your jets to the right direction, we'll be there in an hour. But you still haven't answered my question."

"I didn't really… have one. I kinda hoped you will have one."

"We'll talk about this later, righteous fury isn't a reason to get yourself killed. Luckily for you, however, I could probably track the steps of the raiding party."

"Oh…"

Zuko at least had the decency to look ashamed.

They stayed in an uncomfortable silence for a while.

" It's not your fault, you know."

Sai answered the unasked question that hunted Zuko all the while.

"It was my decision to hang those enforcers, if I just left them where they were than Mi-Sha may have not attacked the colony."

" Maybe yes, maybe not, what do you really know about what a crime lord may or may not have done? There is only one to blame for this, and he sits in the desert."

"And that's it? You're just telling me to ignore it?"

" Hardly. Think about it, learn from it, but never regret it. Regret is a sin, and one that the overlord can't bear. When you start regretting, you think about what you should have done in the past, instead of what you should do now and in the future."

"I still failed, I promised them that I will protect them."

" And now you will avenge them, experience thought me that a bloodbath is always a good therapy."

They stayed quiet for another while.

" Do you want to know why Shen is antagonistic towards your uncle?"

"Ahm… yes."