Book Four: Air - Chapter Five

"How did you do that!?" They'd been on the move most of the night, avoiding pursuit, but Aang couldn't keep his questions to himself any longer.

Ganto checked to make sure the coast was clear. "I don't know what you're talking about."  

Jun was the only one out of breath but it didn't take her long to recover. "Are you insane? You could have killed us both back there!"

"We're alive. I must not be too crazy."

Aang was still having trouble reconciling what he'd seen with what he accepted as normal human ability. Ganto's display of one armed aerial gymnastics followed by at least a thirty foot drop to solid stone was bordering on the impossible. It was making his head hurt just thinking about it.

"Looks like we lost 'em. Same old Fire Nation." When Ganto grinned the white scar on his chin stood out against his tan.

"Then this is where I say goodbye," Jun said, turning to Ganto with a threatening gleam in her eye. "You should know; I don't let a target escape once I set my sights on them." She grabbed the front of his tunic and pushed him back against the alley wall. Aang was ready to intervene, but the only capturing on Jun's mind involved one fierce and entirely too involved kiss.

Aang stared slack-jawed as a tiny piece of his innocence was taken from him. He wondered what Katara would do if he tried to kiss her in a similar manner.

Most likely she'd kill him.

Jun finally pulled back, running her tongue over her teeth as she eyed the pirate like he was a piece of meat. "Consider that your only warning."

Instead of looking surprised, Ganto looked smug and Aang decided he would call the young man Sifu if he could only teach him to be as cool and confident around girls.

"What are you going to do next?" Ganto asked. "You're probably going to be blacklisted. Would be best to avoid the Fire Nation for a while until we figure out what's going on."

"I have a lot of contacts who might know something," Jun replied. "I'll send word if I find anything."

"You mean you're gonna help us more?" Aang blinked. "I thought our partnership was a one time only thing?"

"Don't take it personal. I just hate being duped and these fake Fire Nation bounties are bad news."

"Thanks Jun. For everything." Aang placed a fist to his open palm and bowed his gratitude.

Jun nodded to both of them, smiled confidently, and disappeared into the early morning crowd on the main street.

"You sure know some interesting people," Ganto commented, keeping his tone casual.

Aang shrugged and grinned. "It comes with the territory."

Ganto held up the box with the phoenix emblem and who knew how many secrets, locked inside. "I hope you're ready to meet one more. My captain needs to see this."

------

Incessant, rhythmic pounding dragged him to consciousness. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. "Toph…?" His voice cracked from disuse and it hurt to talk, but he desperately wanted more sleep. "Earthbending. Later. Please."

The pounding didn't stop and it took him a moment to realize where it was coming from. Either the diminutive bender had found a way inside his head or she'd simply practiced a few new moves on his skull.

If she wanted a piece of his mind, he'd give it to her.

He cracked open an eye and found something fuzzy and white blocking his view. He scowled. "Off the face, Momo."

Momo was cool, light, and strangely translucent, and Sokka began to suspect his amazing powers of deduction were failing him. The sticky wetness coating his body probably wasn't Appa's slobber, either.

The air was stale but a more pleasant smell drifted in on a tiny breeze. Katara, he assumed, was cooking breakfast and his stomach rumbled like an underfed sky bison, but more than anything he just wanted a drink of water. He tried to wet his lips but his tongue was dry and disgusting and left him wondering exactly how long he'd fallen asleep with his mouth open.

Action was required but when he tried to get up, nothing happened. Not to be deterred, he tried again, willing his body to move. The pounding in his head started to spread, connecting to a dull throbbing ache he hadn't noticed radiating from his limbs.

Something told him it might be better to just stay still.

He ignored the mental warning and started small, wiggling his fingers and toes. Pain reared its ugly head like the dark twisting monster from half-remembered nightmares and memories. His right arm burned and his lower left leg felt stiff, heavy, and uncomfortably tight. He sucked in a breath and pain jabbed him in the ribs.

He gasped, exhaled, and let a low groan rattle in the back of his throat. Fumbling, remembering broken fingers only after trying to move them, he pulled the cool cloth off his face and was confused when he only regained a one-eyed view of the inside of an unfamiliar green tent.

Ignoring the mystery of the tent, he brushed his hand across his left eye, afraid of what he might find. With broken fingers he probed the tender swelling and winced from the doubled discomfort, feeling rather foolish. Further exploration revealed a lump on his forehead covered by thick gauze and a wrapped bandage.

And then he remembered. He'd boomeranged himself, right in the face. The Universe was laughing at him and Sokka surprised himself by adding his own strained chuckle.

He felt something tucked against his side and lifted his head to look. Others might have been distracted by the myriad bruises and bandaged wounds or the feeling of nausea and dizziness the motion produced. All Sokka saw was Boomerang.

"Hey Boomerang... You really do always come back, don't you?"  

Despite the pain and the humiliation and the fact that he hadn't been the one to actually find his long lost weapon, it felt like victory with a slice of homey goodness. He had Hawky to thank for returning the weapon.

He lifted Boomerang to inspect it, ignoring the slight quivering of his weakened, but functional, limb. There were a few extra scratches and the crack in the blade had deepened, but after a good sharpening and cleaning at least one of them would be in serviceable shape.

The weapon felt right in his hand, and that was all that really mattered.

His head throbbed and he lowered Boomerang to his side, closing his eye as a wave of dizziness passed. "You didn't have to come back so directly, though."  

"Sokka?"

His good eye flashed open and he turned his head until he got a clear view of the girl standing in the open tent flap. She had a wooden bowl in one hand and an armful of bandages in the other and she dropped it all when he smiled and said, "Hi."

"Sokka!"

She rushed to his side and threw her arms around him before either of them had a chance to think about why hugging might be a bad idea.

"Ow, Suki!"

She let him go like he'd burned her, and as cool as her arms had felt against his bruised and battered body, he wouldn't have been surprised if he had.

"Okay, yeah..." His voice was an octave higher than it should have been. "That hurt."

"I'm so sorry." She sounded horrified. "I can't believe I just did that."

"Mmm, it's okay. It was nice," he joked while trying to regain his breath, "in an excruciating kind of way."

He smiled to let her know he was fine, or would be fine eventually, and for some reason it had the opposite effect he'd intended. Little tears built up in the corners of her eyes and he realized how exhausted she was, how close she was to the end of her rope.

"You've been out cold for days, Sokka. I didn't even know if you were going to wake up. And that monster has been stalking around the camp every night. What if it...? What if you...?"

"Hey," he stopped her before she could complete her thoughts. "Everything's okay."

"Everything's not okay. You've got broken bones and a concussion." She touched his forehead. "And your fever won't break. You need a real doctor and real medicine but you're too weak to travel and that thing is still out there and..."

"Suki?" he interrupted, trying to sound calm and in control. "Let's just take this one step at a time. Alright?"

She closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. When she opened them she was tired but focused. "Right. Sorry about that. I haven't really slept these last few days and I think it's getting to me." She scooted closer to him. "What do you need?"

He licked his cracked lips and gave her a hopeful look. "Water would be nice."

"Of course." She brought her water pouch to his lips and he drank, reveling in the feeling of cool liquid passing through his parched throat. Never in his life had he been so appreciative of his native element or more aware of its restorative properties. He felt ten times better, though it still wasn't much on the grand scale of things.  

"You're probably hungry, too."

His stomach grumbled and they both smiled; his weak and pained, hers unsure and tinged with sadness, but it was a start.

"I could eat a badgermole."

"Well, you'll have to settle for some warm soup broth."

"That was my second choice." He grinned for a moment. "As long as something meaty was boiling in it."

"It's vegetable soup," she apologized. "You're lucky Katara packed the extra tent and those supplies. We have enough bandages and food to last for a while."

Sokka groaned. "I'm never going to live this down." He looked at his injuries and grimaced. "Assuming I live."

She pointed a finger in his face. "Hey, no joking about stuff like that. I mean it."

He couldn't focus on her finger so he looked at her face instead. "But humor is how I deal with stress, Suki."

Her expression lightened and for a moment he thought she was going to hug him again. He put his left hand on her shoulder and she placed her hand on top of it, smiling.

"I'm so glad you're awake. Don't scare me like that again, ok?"

He pulled her into a careful, one-armed embrace. "Promise."

She sat back, wiped the corners of her eyes, and turned, grabbing her rolled sleeping bag. "Let's get some food in you."

He kept his pain and dizziness to himself as she helped him sit, fluffed his pillow, and propped him up on her sleeping bag. He felt weaker than he'd ever felt in his life and when Suki left the tent he found Boomerang with his half-broken hand and gripped it, looking for strength.

"Sokka?"

It was the voice of his father. The green fabric of the tent blurred and shimmered and became a different tent from a different time, a familiar tent made from animal hides and filled with furs and the delicious smell of meat.  

His mother smiled Katara's patient smile and scraped the underside of a fresh tigerseal skin, cleaning it.

"I don't see what the problem is," she said in Katara's voice. "If it makes him happy, why don't you let him be?"

"One day Sokka's going to lead our tribe," Hakoda said and Sokka recognized his own thoughtful scowl on his father's face. "Do you want our son to grow up soft?"

Sokka remembered pulling his blanket over his head as his father crouched down next to him.

"I have something for you, Sokka."

He'd peeked, curiosity getting the better of him as it always had. His father held something behind his back, grinning, and Sokka sat up and wrapped his blanket around his shoulders like a cape.   

"Don't you think he's a little young for a boomerang?" His mother looked on in disapproval and Hakoda ignored her, displaying the weapon proudly.

"I made it just for you! What do you think?"

Sokka reached out but Hakoda pulled it back.

"A boomerang is a warrior's weapon. A warrior must protect his family and be strong at all times, even when it's hard. Are you ready to be a warrior, Sokka?"

He nodded, unsure, and his father held out his hand and smiled. "Let's make a trade, son."

"Sokka?"

His family's tent faded and a forgotten feeling of longing and sadness settled in his chest next to his pain, weakness, and a growing sense of failure.

"Hey," Suki soothed and Sokka realized that he was crying.

He let go of Boomerang and wiped the pesky tear away with the back of his bandaged hand and faked a smile. "Sorry. I'm good now."

Suki frowned and brought a spoonful of warm soup to his lips. "You don't have to be strong all the time, you know."

He barked a laugh at the irony and Suki's frown deepened.

"I mean it, Sokka. Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is swallow your pride and admit that you need help."

He swallowed the spoonful of broth and kept his thoughts to himself, focusing instead on not spilling as Suki helped him eat. The soup was tasty, despite its total lack of meat, and he felt a measure of strength return with every spoonful.

She wiped his chin when he was done and he smiled but couldn't think of any words to express his gratitude. She busied herself making him comfortable and he sat up a little higher on her sleeping bag and tried to act like he wasn't exhausted and hurting.

"So..." He cleared his throat. "How do I look? Manly?"

She laughed lightly and shook her head at the joke, but then stopped and appraised him, scanning his face. Something she saw amused her. "Well, I guess you do look a little rugged." She reached up and brushed her thumb over his chin. "Especially with the facial hair."

His good eye widened and he lifted his left hand to his face. He'd never gone more than a day or two without shaving and he scowled in disapproval at what he felt. "Aw, man. Where's my knife?"

He glanced around the tent and she snorted. "You think I'm letting a sharp object anywhere near you right now?"

"You let me lay here with Boomerang," he reminded her and Suki couldn't deny he had a point.

"Well, you seemed happier when you had it close. Like it was comforting."

He scoffed and heard his father's words in his head. "Boomerang is a warrior's weapon, not my blankie."

She grinned and Sokka realized he'd said something stupid.

"Blankie?"

He winced and sank lower into the sleeping bag. "I'm suddenly really tired."

He closed his eye and she laughed, prodding his shoulder. "No, no, I want to hear about Blankie."

He cracked his eye open and glared at her. "Are you really gonna make fun of a guy on his deathbed?"

"What did I say about those kinds of jokes?" she scolded but then went right back to smiling. "Besides, I think it's cute that you had a blankie. You must have been adorable."

"I was like four," he protested, "and Blankie is just what my mom called it."

"And what did you call it?" she probed and Sokka rolled his head to the side and started snoring. She laughed and put her hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, I shouldn't tease you when you can't defend yourself."

"Never stopped you before," he complained and then turned back and grinned so she would know he was just teasing. He lifted Boomerang and gestured toward his chin. "I guess I could try shaving this way. What do you think?"

"I think Hawky should have let me hang onto that." She folded her arms in mock disapproval.

"Hey, speaking of Hawky, where is the little guy? I need to thank him, big time. He pretty much saved both our lives back there." A sudden idea struck and Sokka sat up without thinking. "OW!"

Suki grabbed his shoulders. "Easy there. You really shouldn't be moving."

He exhaled through his nose and gave free rein to his excitement.  "No Suki, I really should be moving. As in, back to civilization and a doctor and all that."

"You're in no condition to ride anywhere. I don't even think you could mount Horsie right now."

"I don't need Horsie, I need Hawky!"

Suki raised an eyebrow. "Uh…"

"So I can send a note to Aang and Katara," he explained, though he thought it should have been obvious. "And they can come and airlift me out on Appa, snug as a bug in a place where bugs would be snug."

"Sokka."

"It's perfect! What's a messenger hawk for if not for sending messages?" He put his arm around her shoulder. "I'm surprised you didn't think of it."

"I did."

If his grin got any wider, it would split his face. "See, that's what I like about you. You're always one step ahead."

"Except…"

"Except what?" His smile didn't falter, even in the face of Suki's mysteriously cautious responses.

"I didn't exactly send a message. Not a written one, anyway."

Sokka held onto hope, tenaciously, his smile locked in place. "So, what…?"

"It was right after we were attacked by the dragon viper."

Sokka felt like he was sliding down a mountainside. Again. "A dragon what now?"

"The monster that attacked us. I realized what it is while I was trying to fight it off. It's bad, Sokka, and it's still out there."

"And what does this have to do with Hawky?"

"You were unconscious, I was scared, and I wasn't thinking clearly and Hawky was there and I…"

He gripped her shoulder, urging her on. "You what?"

She winced and gave him an apologetic look. "I told Hawky to go get help."

Sokka blinked.

"I'm so sorry." Suki shook her head. "I don't know what I was thinking."

He patted her shoulder, absently. "Hey, it could be worse."

"Worse than being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a vicious monster that wants nothing more than to play with us before we die?"

"Or maybe not. But don't discount Hawky. He did find Boomerang, after all."

Suki didn't look convinced and Sokka wasn't sure if he was, either.

"What are we going to do?"

Sokka pulled aside his sweaty blanket and reappraised his injuries. "You're going to help me get out of bed."

"What?"

"Plans aren't going to make themselves, Suki, and I can't do this alone. I'm man enough to admit when I need help."

She locked her gaze on his and whatever she saw seemed to satisfy her. "Then let's do this."

He grinned despite all the discomfort he was about to experience. "Together."

------

"It doesn't make sense. What is he after?"

Mai rose from the couch and placed her hand on Zuko's shoulder to get him to stop pacing. The carpet wouldn't survive another hundred passes from the frustrated young Fire Lord.

"I'm glad you're not trusting your father, but don't you think you might be over analyzing things?"

"No." He gave his fiancée a very serious look. "Whatever reason my father has for bringing up Azula, it definitely isn't because he's concerned."

Mai sighed. "She isn't doing well, Zuko."

The young Fire Lord sat heavily. Azula had never been particularly stable but she had always been in control. Events at the Boiling Rock had started her on a dangerous downward spiral and nobody knew how much worse it was going to get.

Zuko hadn't seen her since becoming Fire Lord. He'd tried, but her caretakers and doctors had always warned him away. It seemed every day was a "bad day" for his visits.

Mai sat next to him, guessing his thoughts. "They won't even let me talk to her. Maybe it's just as well. Even sane Azula would probably never forgive me for my betrayal…"

Zuko didn't seem to be listening. "I don't know how to help her." He slid his fingers into his hair. "I don't even know if she can be helped."

There was a knock at the door and Mai went to answer it. Advisor Lee entered, glancing around the royal chambers.

Zuko rose. "What's the news?"

"Warden Ming will personally oversee the transfer, but it will be difficult to move Princess Azula from the Asy... the mental health facilities. She's very fragile right now."

Zuko snorted. "Fragile is one way to put it."

"They have to sedate her so she doesn't burn the place down," Mai added dryly.

Zuko ran a hand back through his hair, trying to straighten it. "She needs a change. I'm just not sure if I want to move her from a hospital to a prison."  

Lee rubbed his hands together. "Warden Ming tells me the accommodations will be befitting Azula's status. Considering our security risks right now, it's not a bad idea to put her somewhere we can keep a better eye on her."

"We don't have much of a choice if we want to hear what my father has to say."

Ozai had made his demands clear but he'd left the details up to Zuko. They'd analyzed the potential dangers from every angle and come up with no obvious reasons to deny the former Fire Lord's request to move Azula away from the remote island mental hospital. Zuko nodded to Lee and the advisor bowed and left to finalize the transfer.

"Mai, can I ask you to do something for me?"

Mai didn't need to hear his request. She went to the weapon cabinet and pulled a spare roll of knives and her traveling cloak. "Azula will reach the prison safely. You have my word."

------

The dimly lit back room of the brothel swirled with incense.

Aang tried to squint through the red veil separating him and Ganto from a mysterious woman, the latest in a series of mysterious people they'd had to speak with to get where they were. He was still trying to figure out how he'd gotten into the situation and what exactly he was going to tell Katara when he saw her. So far the conversation went something along the lines of, "Hey Katara, sorry I've been gone so long. Me and my new pirate friend stopped by a brothel after getting into a tavern brawl and infiltrating a Fire Navy base."

Katara was not going to be happy. But Aang would have rather faced her at her worst than continue sitting in the awkward silence as he waited for the woman to speak and hopefully send them on their way.

Aang exhaled and sent an airbended breath of incense off into the hovering cloud.

The woman shifted and rose to her feet.

"Ganto." The woman's voice was smoke and silk. "You're later than I expected."

Ganto surprised Aang by dropping to one knee and hanging his head in shame. "I know. There were a few complications along the way. I'm sorry, captain."

"Captain!?"

His jaw might have hit the floor but he was too stunned to check.

"Avatar Aang, meet Captain Xuan, the most dangerous pirate in the world."

There was pride in Ganto's voice and Aang could only gulp as the woman rose from her cushions and came toward the veil.

"This isn't how I imagined our first meeting," Captain Xuan spoke with regret. Aang couldn't see her clearly, but he could tell that she was beautiful.

"You wanted to meet me?" his voice squeaked and he coughed to try and cover the sound.

"Of course. I've been watching you for a long time." She stared through the veil and Aang got the uncomfortable feeling that she was picking him apart, piece by piece, analyzing him right down to his core.

"Do you believe in fate, young Avatar?"

"A really wise fortuneteller once told me I have the power to shape my own destiny."

"She wasn't wrong." Captain Xuan sounded amused. "But Fate and Destiny are not the same thing."

Aang cocked an eyebrow. "They're not?"

"Think of it this way - Destiny is a destination, a result of all your efforts. But Fate is an active hand in your life, sometimes for good, sometimes for ill, always pushing you forward."

"I think I understand," Aang started slowly. "You're saying that our meeting is a result of fate?"

Captain Xuan didn't answer, but Aang could tell she was smiling. He scratched the back of his neck.

"We found this at the naval base." Ganto pushed the phoenix box forward, under the red veil. Captain Xuan leaned forward to retrieve it, and Aang was glad for the fabric wall between them. The pirate was dressed to fit in with the other women he'd caught glimpses of in the brothel.

"Hmm, a secure lockbox. With the mark of the Phoenix King, no less." Xuan reached between her exposed bosom and Aang looked away, blushing furiously, until she removed what appeared to be some kind of special key.

The pirate captain expertly slid aside a panel of wood that Aang hadn't even known could move, and inserted the key in a hidden lock. He wanted to see what was inside the box, but somehow he suspected Xuan wouldn't approve the breach of her barrier. Whatever she was hiding, it wasn't worth discovering at risk of losing her help.

"They're secret orders, from the Fire Lord to his most trusted commanders."

"Zuko doesn't keep secrets from me," Aang blurted and then realized his mistake. "You didn't mean Zuko."

"No, but perhaps I spoke too soon. I should have called him the Phoenix King, for he stopped being the Fire Lord a long time ago."

Xuan scanned through the pages. She stopped and raised her eyes to meet Aang's and he could just make out a hint of gold in her gaze.

"This is…" Her voice faltered and she paused a moment to compose herself. "These are recent."

"Recent orders? From the Phoenix King?" Aang didn't know why his voice sounded surprised - He didn't feel surprised. But then, he wasn't entirely sure what he was feeling.

"The news is grim, young Avatar. I'm afraid there have been plots in motion from the beginning of the end of Ozai's corrupted reign.  Your friends are in danger." She pulled aside the red veil just enough to hand him the orders. "All of them."

Aang read the first piece of parchment. "He's going to overthrow Zuko!?" He shoved the others in his pocket. "Well, it's really nice to meet you, and all, but I have to go help my friend!"

"You call the young Fire Lord your friend?" There was no heat to the question, but Aang still bristled.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"After everything he did to you?"

"Zuko made up for his mistakes. He found his true destiny." Aang wasn't sure why he said it, but it felt like the right thing to say. The very air itself seemed to clear after he spoke.

"Go, Avatar!" Xuan pointed toward the door. "Save your friends! You need them as much as they need you."

Aang didn't need any more encouragement. He was halfway to the docks before he realized that he hadn't thanked the mysterious pirates or even said goodbye.

But something told him it didn't matter.

They'd meet again.

------

"The warden and her guards are here for the princess."

"Finally." The doctor rose to his feet. "Are the preparations complete?"

"She's ready. We couldn't have done a better job even with the facilities of Lake Laogai at our disposal. Long Feng will be pleased."

"I'd worry more about pleasing our new master and less about pleasing the old." The doctor held his hand over a paperweight on his desk. The stone started to wobble. "Soon we'll be free of the restrictions of this place. Free to bend as we please." The rock shot to his hand and he crushed it to powder.

His companion frowned. "There's just one complication." He pointed out the window, toward the docks on their tiny island.

"So, the young Fire Lord still doesn't trust this place."

"What should we do about her?"

The doctor smiled. "I don't think one little knife thrower stands a chance against two Dai Li agents."

His companion grinned and led the way to meet with the small delegation. The doctor bowed in greeting. "Lady Mai, it's an honor to see you again. I trust the ferry ride was pleasant?"

"As pleasant as it could be." Her expression was dour. "I wish to see Azula before we head out."

The doctor cast a glance at his companion, receiving a slight nod.

"That would be fine."

Mai led the way. "I wish to see her alone."

"Of course. Warden Ming, if you'll excuse us."

The doctor and his companion hurried after the young Fire Lord's bride to be, leaving the warden and her guards behind.

"You've kept her comfortable?" Mai asked.

"As comfortable as we can, while still maintaining safety."

The young woman narrowed her eyes. "Has she been responsive?"

"She only seems lucid during her outbreaks. I'm afraid she's been resistive to all our therapies."

"Perhaps she'll do better closer to home. Closer to people who care about her."

"As you say, my lady."

They reached the door to the princess's cell and Mai stopped, fixing them with a steely gaze. "Wait here." She opened the door and stepped inside, taking in the sight before her.

The walls were padded with material that had been scorched and shredded and replaced as often as supplies allowed. The mismatched sections of white and crispy black did little to create a calming atmosphere.

Azula sat in the corner with her knees pulled up to her chest and her face buried in her arms. Her wrists and ankles were shackled together and attached by chains to the wall. She didn't seem to notice her visitor.

"Azula?"

Mai approached, silent and cautious, and knelt before her former friend.

"Azula, I'm here to take you away from this place." Mai paused, waiting for a response that wasn't coming. "Would you like that?"

Mai reached out to touch Azula, but hesitated. She exhaled and took another breath. "I'm not going to hurt you." She slipped her hand past Azula's arms and found her chin. "Look at me, please."

Azula twitched and allowed Mai to lift her head. Her hair was uneven and unkempt and her cheeks were smudged with ash, but the thing that bothered Mai the most was the blank emptiness where fire used to crackle behind the princess's eyes.

Not one for emotional outpourings, Mai could only give her best smile and hope it didn't look too forced. "I'm going to help you."

"But who's going to help you?" The door to the cell clicked shut.

Mai whirled, knife in hand, and found the doctor's assistant standing between her and the locked door. Chains dropped from the man's sleeves, their rattling muffled by the padded floor.

Mai didn't give him a chance to react as she threw two simultaneous daggers, pinning him to the wall by his tunic. With a laugh, her opponent pushed his arms forward and launched a pair of stone gloves at her chest. The chains came with the gloves, clanking above her head as Mai rolled out of the way.

Before he could retract his gloves, Mai tossed two stilettos and severed links in the chains. The extra length dangled uselessly from his sleeves, and Mai dove forward, grabbing one end. She pulled and the man ripped free from her daggers, only to stumble forward into her waiting boot.  

Her kick knocked the man cold and Mai was back on her feet before he hit the padded floor.

"I'd say you two are Dai Li," Mai said, glaring through the barred opening in the cell door at the doctor. "But if you are, that was disappointingly sloppy."

"Only a slight miscalculation."

"And how do you expect to do any better?"

"I don't." The man smiled and looked past Mai. "Azula. Your father loves you."

There was something wrong with the way the doctor spoke. The statement came out sounding more like a command than any kind of assurance or casual affirmation.

Mai narrowed her eyes and wished, not for the first time, that she were a firebender, so she could melt the cocky smile from the imposter's face. Then the air tingled and Mai widen her eyes in surprise as she recognized the sensation.

"Azula, no!" She turned, but there was nothing she could do as an arc of electricity ripped from the damaged princess's fingertips.  

------

"Now, focus on the metal while you strike."

Fifteen blindfolded students slammed their open hands against thick metal sheets.

"Feel the vibrations," Toph said as she walked up the line. "Again!"

Fifteen matching echoes hit her ears in time with the tremors she sensed in the earth. She could feel each of her pupils struggling, their muscles flexed and bodies stiff with concentration.

"There are particles of earth in that metal!" She stopped behind one of the younger men, a university student named Jian. His form was more relaxed than the others but he tensed when he felt her stop. They'd spent a week learning to sense movement through the earth, and Jian was one of the few who'd caught on.

"A good earthbender can bend even the smallest speck of dirt! Now strike and show that metal who's boss!"

Fifteen men struck out and Toph could tell all but two of them intended to put their fist through the plating with strength alone. Thirteen students grunted in failure and two pulled back their fists to reveal sizable cracks in their metal. Everyone removed their blindfolds to inspect their fellow students' handiwork.

"That's enough for today," Toph said while the men gathered around to congratulate the two minor successes. Her students straightened up and bowed. "Dismissed."

She was almost out the door when her two star pupils caught up with her.

"Thanks for another great lesson, Professor Toph," Jian said, breathless with excitement.

"Congratulations, you cracked some metal. Maybe in a few months you'll actually be able to BEND it."

"Hey, don't be so hard on the guy, Sifu."

"What'd I tell you about titles outside of class, Haru?"

She could hear the smile on his face. "Something about how they're getting annoying?"

"That's right. I don't want people calling me professor or sifu or master while I feel like I'm not really teaching anyone anything."

"But we are learning," Haru insisted. "I'm sure it took you a while to perfect it."

"Are you kidding?" She stopped and the two young men nearly plowed into her. "I peeled myself out of a steel cage two seconds after I realized I could! I feel like the rest of you are too set in your ways to even imagine the possibilities."

"We have to unlearn a lifetime of bending." Haru sounded apologetic. "Just don't give up on us, okay?"

She sighed and grumbled under her breath.

Haru grinned. "So are you doing anything tonight? Jian and I were going to meet up with Teo and The Duke in the Lower Ring, if you want to come? It'd be just like old times."

"You mean the old times where you three were having a blast playing in the air temple while the rest of us were trying to stop a war?"

Haru shifted and she knew she had him.

"Sorry guys, I already have plans," she added.

"What? Like a date?"

She didn't like his skeptical tone. "Yes, like a date," she lied. The flip side of being able to detect lies was being able to make her own sound pretty convincing.

"Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow then." They waved and departed, melding into the crowd.

Toph wasn't sure what was more annoying - them following her around after class, or them leaving her alone without hesitation. Real friends were supposed to stick by you, even when you were being moody. Real friends wouldn't go off on adventures without you.

She huffed and blew her bangs from her face. A night alone in the empty house was too depressing to contemplate. That left only one real option.

It wasn't hard to flag down a carriage when you were one of the most famous people in Ba Sing Se.

"Where can I take you, Lady Toph?" The driver asked, sounding only too happy to have her patronage.

"Know any good tea shops?"

"There's only one tea shop that a lady of your status need visit." He flicked the reins and Toph settled back in the seat, feeling smug. They always said the same thing and they always took her to the same place.

At least there was still one person she could count on.

------

The Jasmine Dragon was as busy as ever but Toph had no trouble finding the only person in Ba Sing Se she wanted to spend time with. He bustled around, humming "The Girls in the City" while he worked, refilling cups and pots and generally making everyone at home. It wasn't the kind of song you would expect to hear in a classy establishment, or among upper class society, but that was just part of Iroh's charm.

Her parents hated the song, so naturally, Toph knew the whole thing by heart.

"It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se," she sang along with his tune as she fell into step behind him.

He turned and she could hear the smile on his face as he sang, "But the girls in the city they look so-o pretty!"

They both laughed.

"You came! I wasn't sure if I'd be seeing you tonight."

"Are you kidding? An army of angry earthbenders couldn't keep me away."

He led her toward their usual table and Toph sniffed the air. "You didn't put out flowers again, did you?"

"I like to be prepared. It's not every day that a beautiful young woman comes to drink tea with me. Aren't they perfect?"

"Eh, I'm not really the flower-loving type," she said, keeping her tone light.

"You're crazy," Iroh teased and took a deep breath. "How can you not enjoy such a fragrant smell?"

"Well, I guess it is kind of nice." Toph sat down in the proffered seat and Iroh slid her chair closer to the table. There were few people she would accept that kind of treatment from and it felt good to be with one of them. "You seem like you're in an even better mood than usual. Something good happen?"

Iroh took his place across from her. "Actually, I did receive some amazing news. My nephew is getting married!"

"Whoa! Zuko and Mai, huh? He's not wasting any time, is he?"

"Well, I think there was some pressure from the Fire Council but that's really no reason not to celebrate!" He poured her a cup of jasmine.

"I'll drink to that," she said, smiling and raising her tea. Iroh joined her and she toasted, "To Zuko and Mai!"  

"To young love," Iroh added with what Toph could only imagine as a provocative wiggling of his eyebrows. They drank and Iroh sighed in contentment. "So, any word from your friends?"

"Until they invent letters that read themselves, I don't think anybody is going to be sending me mail." Her words hung in the air and Toph winced. "Sorry, that came out sounding kind of bitter."

"You can't appreciate the sweet without the bitter," Iroh replied, lifting his cup of tea to illustrate the point. "Personally, I enjoy all of life's various flavors."

His tone was encouraging and Toph couldn't stop herself from unloading. "How hard would it be to send a quick note, anyway? Just a, Hey Toph, what's up? Everything's fine here. How are you?"

"I'm sure everyone is just very busy."

She ignored him. "I mean, what's the point of even having a stupid messenger hawk if you're not going to use him?"

"Oh." Iroh set down his tea. "We're not talking about all your friends, are we?"

"Huh?" Toph realized her mistake. "No, I meant, what's the point of having messenger hawks, y'know, in a general sense. Everybody's got messenger hawks these days..." It was too late to cover up the slip and she quickly drank her tea to cover her embarrassment instead.  

"You really care for him, don't you?"

"I care about all my friends," she maintained.

"Sokka is a lucky young man to have so many compassionate women in his life. In many ways, he reminds me of myself when I was his age." Iroh let out a full-throated laugh and Toph put her forehead on the table.

"Can we not have this conversation?"

He patted her on the shoulder. "I have just the thing to cheer you up." Iroh turned in his chair and signaled one of his employees. "Tell Wong to bring out the White Dragon!"

Toph raised her head. "White Dragon? That sounds kind of ominous."

"The White Dragon is indeed dangerous." Iroh spread his hands dramatically. "After your first cup, you will never be able to drink normal tea again without longing for its exquisite taste."

Iroh spoke with passion and Toph grinned.

"I'll take my chances."

Someone came toward their table with fear and uncertainty in their step and Toph tensed, ready for anything, but the man merely delivered a pot of tea.

"H-here you are, sir." His heart was racing. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, thank you, Wong. Perfect company to share perfect tea is all I could ever ask for."

Wong rushed off and Toph follow his movements all the way to the back of the Jasmine Dragon.

"Are your people usually that twitchy?"

"Hmm?" Iroh was wholly focused on the tea. "Yes, I suppose Wong is the nervous sort. He can't help it. His wife is very sick and it worries him, but that doesn't get in the way of his excellent brewing skills! I couldn't have found a better tea maker, besides myself, of course." He laughed again and poured them both a cup.

Toph let her senses pick through the crowd. Too many people were on edge, pretending not to watch them while everything in their body language said otherwise. She was used to the attention, but not the suspicious intensity.

"Something's wrong."

Iroh froze. "You're right." He lifted his tea, sniffing it. "This isn't the most heartbreaking tea in the world! What happened to my White Dragon!?"

Three of the more suspicious men rose to their feet in unison, setting off all of Toph's internal alarms.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. The Jasmine Dragon is closing early. Please proceed to the exit in an orderly fashion."

Iroh looked up in surprise. "Whaaa? On who's authority?"

"The Grand Secretariat's."

"Nonsense." Iroh waved away their words even as his customers were herded toward the exit by more of the suspicious men. "There hasn't been a Grand Secretariat since Long Feng was arrested."

"The Peace Council decided to reinstate the position."

Toph put herself between Iroh and the men. "You guys didn't come here to chat about current events."

"No, we didn't."

Toph could hear his smile and she didn't like it one bit.

"The Peace Council has formed the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes committed during the One Hundred Year War. General Iroh, you are to stand trial for the Six Hundred Day Siege of Ba Sing Se."

Toph nearly exploded. "What!?"

The man ignored her and his companions surrounded them. "You're under arrest. Step away from the General, Lady Toph. For your own safety."

"You're crazy if you think I'm going anywhere!"

Iroh moved behind her, placing a fatherly hand on her shoulder. "He doesn't think you'll stand down. In fact, I daresay they're counting on you to resist them."

Toph glared at nothing. "So they can arrest me, too." It wasn't a question.

"I would speak with my accuser," Iroh said, his voice carrying through the shop.  

A man Toph kicked herself for not noticing sooner stepped through the open doors. "If you're hoping to strike a bargain, I'm afraid it's far too late."

Toph could barely believe her ears.

"I am willing to answer for my actions, Long Feng," Iroh replied. "I have nothing to hide from the Peace Council, unlike some."

"N-no, Iroh!"

Toph was ready to object but Wong beat her to it, rising from his hiding place behind a counter.

"You can't go with these people. They'll k-kill you!"

"Silence!" Long Feng barked.

"They paid me to mix something in your tea. I-I don't know what it was..."

"Wong... Why...?"

There was pain in Iroh's voice and Wong collapsed to his knees.

"I'm sorry, I needed the money for my wife's treatment... I didn't mean to betray you!"

"Hm?" Iroh's tone became jovial. "I don't care about that. But how could you ruin a pot of White Dragon tea? I'll probably be crying myself to sleep tonight thinking about it." He sniffed loudly and Toph imagined a single joking tear trickle down his lined face.

"Cry yourself to sleep in jail, old man."

"I'm sorry, there's a bit of a misunderstanding. I said I'm willing to answer for my actions, but I didn't say anything about going to jail." Iroh slid his arms back through the sleeves of his expensive outer robes, dropping the garment to the ground and taking a fighting stance at Toph's side.

Toph grinned, knowing exactly what their would-be captors had just witnessed; a seemingly harmless old man becoming a serious threat.

She laughed as ripples of doubt spread through their enemies.  "You should have brought more men, Long Feng. Two versus twenty won't even count as a warm up."

"You insolent child!" Long Feng lashed out with stone fists attached to metal chains, latching on to Toph's wrists.

She smirked and grabbed hold of the metal, sending a ripple of bending back to Long Feng until his own chains fused his arms together. "Did you forget who you're dealing with?"

Long Feng smiled. "Did you?" He spread his hands and shattered his metal bonds. "You think you can teach the secrets of your most powerful technique without your enemies learning it?"

Toph was trying to come up with some kind of response when the arrival of an unexpected ally removed the necessity. Long Feng didn't even know what hit him as he crumpled to the ground.

The rest of Long Feng's agents could only stare at the armored and face painted young warrior woman.

"Hi guys! Is something interesting going on?"

"Not too interesting, Ty Lee." Toph snickered and then faced the remaining men. "Three versus nineteen, you guys should probably run."

Two of them hoisted Long Feng to his feet while the others made a strategic retreat.

"You should have just drank the tea, Dragon!" Long Feng taunted as they dragged him away. "Now you've sealed all your fates!"

"What was that all about?" Despite her interference, Ty Lee really had no idea what was going on. Toph respected anyone who attacked first and asked questions later.

"I'm afraid we've overstayed our welcome," Iroh replied. "Do you have news for me?"

Toph hadn't noticed the messenger hawk on Ty Lee's shoulder, but when it squawked impatiently she recognized it beyond any shadow of a doubt.

"Hawky?"

"I found this little guy back at your house, Toph. I knew you'd be here with General Iroh so I thought I'd deliver the message."

Toph tried to contain her excitement. "Well, what's it say?"

"That's the thing! There's no message at all... Maybe it fell out?"

Hawky let out a low mournful cry and it was all Toph needed to hear.

"Sokka's in trouble."

"Wow," Ty Lee said, impressed. "You're good. I knew he was trying to tell me something but I couldn't quite make it out."

"Ty Lee, you should gather the Kyoshi Warriors and go with Iroh. If Ba Sing Se is turning against us, there's no telling what's happening back in the Fire Nation."

"What'll you do?"

"That should be pretty obvious." Toph held out her arm and Hawky flew to her.

"I'll send a warning to our allies once we're outside the city," Iroh said.

"Um, guys?" Ty Lee wasn't the first to realize the ground had started shaking. "Are there earthquakes in the Earth Kingdom?"

"No," Toph replied as tea cups slipped off their tables and shattered on the floor. Hawky flew for open air with Toph, Iroh, and Ty Lee right behind him.

"Oh good, because that seems silly." She slid to a halt when she caught sight of what Toph's extended senses had already spotted. "Wow, that's a lot of guys."

They were surrounded. A small army's worth of earthbenders, wearing the clothing of everyday citizens, stood on a circular stone wall they'd raised around the perimeter of the Jasmine Dragon. Two hundred boulders hovered in the air, aimed in their direction.

"Some of 'em are pretty cute," Ty Lee said, brightening up.

"I prefer my men with a sense of humor," Toph quipped as the men attacked in unison.

Toph covered them with a circular dome and spread her hands in the air, holding the stone together as the rock projectiles slammed harmlessly into her defenses.

Iroh started laughing.

"What's so funny, General Iroh?" Ty Lee asked, unconcerned by their predicament.

"An army... of angry earthbenders." Iroh wiped a tear from his eye.

Toph remembered her earlier words. She snickered as she strengthened their protective cover against the continuing bombardment. "What can I say? Armies of angry earthbenders got nothing on me."

"No indeed," Iroh agreed. "But how do you suggest we escape the city? We could fight our way out, but we really don't want to involve innocent bystanders or cause too much destruction."

"Not a problem. We'll use the Crystal Catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se." Toph kicked her heel into the earth and a slanting passage opened. "There's a cavern not too far below us."

Ty Lee, with Hawky on her shoulder, descended without hesitation. Iroh took two steps into the passage and then turned back to Toph.

"Just go," she told him. "I'm right behind you."

Iroh nodded and brought a flame into his hand before heading into the dark. Toph waited until Iroh was far enough into the tunnel before she sealed it up after them.

She hadn't lied, exactly, but there was something she needed to do before catching up. Escaping into the earth was a bad idea when two hundred angry earthbenders were out to get you.

She was pretty sure Iroh would forgive her for a little destruction, even if his precious Jasmine Dragon got caught in the crossfire.

Toph stretched her perception to the stone ring, feeling each of her opponents as they continued their measured assault. She knew what they were trying to do. Eventually even the great Toph Bei Fong would tire and falter - All they had to do was outlast one little girl.

Toph grinned and spun in a slow circle, locking her targets into her mind. She reached out to her earth dome and carefully shaped two hundred aerodynamic stones.

The earth groaned in protest as she pulled inward with all her considerable bending might and then, right when the imploding pressure reached the danger zone, she pushed out with everything she had.

The tiny projectiles shot toward their targets and each one found its mark, hitting with enough force to crack bone.

Two hundred men, with the size and strength to hold their own in the toughest Earth Rumble battles, were brought down like a group of fresh recruits. They could lift boulders the size of small hills, but it only took a pebble from Toph to take each of them out.

The ring of men wavered as, one by one, they stumbled and toppled from the stone barrier. Despite the fact that they'd just tried to kill her, Toph made sure that they landed on soft ground - so soft, in fact, that it swallowed the men up to their necks before hardening.

She stood and dusted off her hands, inspecting her handiwork.

"That should teach all of you a valuable lesson about messing with The Greatest Earthbender of All Time."

Toph grinned the infamous Blind Bandit grin and dropped into the ground, leaving no trace of her departure.

------

"As you can see," Long Feng said, gesturing to the courtyard, "General Iroh and the young Bei Fong girl have gone completely mad."

The members of the Peace Council could only stare in astonishment as Earth Kingdom soldiers worked to remove a group, of what appeared to be, normal Earth Kingdom citizens from their earthy prisons.

"Sir!" One of the soldiers ran up, waving a golden fan. "We found this in the rubble and some bystanders have reported that there was a young warrior girl with the two fugitives."

"Doesn't that weapon belong to the esteemed Kyoshi Warriors?" One of the councilors asked.

"It's worse than I feared," Long Feng said. "It seems we may have been wrong about the Avatar and his friends. As they were the last ones to know the location of the Earth King, I now truly fear for his safe return."

The eldest member of the council straightened his robes and stood tall. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you were right, Long Feng.  With these unprovoked attacks and the trouble the Avatar and his friends have caused, it seems we were mistaken about their intentions for peace."

"We must alert the generals!"  

The councilors hurried off, debating amongst themselves the proper course of action.

An undercover Dai Li agent stepped to Long Feng's side. "They escaped. Iroh and the Kyoshi Warriors commandeered a Fire Nation airship and were last seen heading toward the Fire Nation."

"And the little metalbender?"

"Our spies say she's heading off into the wilderness after her friend, the Water Tribe boy."

Long Feng smiled. "Alert the Rhinos. They've been itching for some action."