99 A.G
Once Chin City was far behind them, they returned to the sky. Aang had felt better after they left, though not completely. General Lin had given them food, water, blankets, hay for Appa, and even a waterbending scroll, which should have made the stop feel like a success.
Instead, he kept looking over his shoulder for a long while, half expecting someone to realize they had made a terrible mistake letting him go. No soldiers followed them, and Appa flew north without trouble until Chin became only a pale mark behind the hills.
It took two days before Omashu came into sight, although they spotted the railway tracks first. From high above, the tracks looked like a thin dark snake cutting through the land toward the mountain city. Aang had never seen anything like it the last time he visited.
The old roads had followed the shape of the hills, twisting and climbing with them, but the Fire Nation had simplified it by going into a straight line almost. They crossed open ground, cut through stone, directly toward two massive bridges, one entering the city from the south, then exiting from the north in the same direction.
Omashu had turned darker in color, there was a lot of metal now surrounding the top of the city and for Aang, it had lost its distinctive beige color. There were pillars of smoke rising to the skies. Back in the day you would never see a cloud on top of Omashu, now you could hardly see the sky.
Sokka leaned over the side of the saddle, squinting down. "Pheeew, that's a lot of metal, that's the Fire Nation alright."
Katara pulled him back by the collar of his coat before he leaned too far. "We can see that without you falling."
"I was fine, Katara."
"Whatever. Now what?" Katara asked.
Aang was about to reply when he saw those Fire Nation flying machines on the horizon. He had to quickly climb twice into the clouds and wait while they passed below them. The machines didn't look that maneuverable, but they were still faster than Aang liked, with metal frames, canvas wings, and leaving a trail of fire behind them.
Once they knew it was clear they descended again putting a bit of distance from the city to avoid being detected in the air. Aang scouted for a place to land safely and leave Appa where he wouldn't be discovered.
It didn't take long and by afternoon, they had already landed in the perfect spot far away from prying eyes, near a small patch of water. The pond they found sat between low hills, surrounded by tall grass and enough trees to hide Appa from the road. It was quiet, and they didn't see anyone close by.
Appa settled in the middle of the pond, splashing the water with a tired groan, and Momo began investigating the branches above them. As they settled, they checked their supplies were secured after getting them from Appa's saddle.
As he watched the water, an idea came to Aang's head. "Hey, Katara. Can you teach me some of the waterbending moves you have learned so far?"
"Oh, sure Aang. Let's see if I can teach you something." she replied, excited.
"Fancy splashing here we go." Sokka commented.
Katara ignored him and took Aang's hand, moving them closer to the water.
"Alright, this is a pretty basic move, but it still took me months to perfect. So don't be frustrated if you don't get it right away."
Katara got into a forward stance and raised both hands in front of her. "Just push and pull the water like this. The key is getting the wrist movement right."
Aang quickly got into stance as well, copying her movements. "Like this?"
"That's almost right. If you keep practicing I'm sure eventual-"
Aang was so focused on the feel of the water that when he saw it move the way he wanted he practically shouted in excitement. "Hey I'm bending it already!"
"Wow, I can't believe you got that so quickly. It took me two months to learn that move." Katara said, a bit dejected.
"Well, you had to learn it on your own, I'm lucky enough to have a great teacher." Aang said, trying to cheer her up.
"Thanks." Katara said, now smiling.
"So what's next?"
"This is a more difficult move, I call it 'streaming the water'."
She moved her arms in a flowing motion, picking a stream of water from the pond to manipulate as if it were a snake. Aang quickly followed her motions and successfully controlled one stream of his own.
"It's harder than it looks, so don't be disappointed if…"
But Aang was too amazed at the ease at how he could bend another element, and started playing with the stream of water, adding flair and movement to it happily, finally returning the stream to the pond without splashing water around.
"Nice work, though the over-the-head flair was unnecessary." Katara said, looking annoyed.
"Sorry. Well, don't stop them now. Keep 'em coming." Aang said, ready to learn more.
"Maybe we can take a look at the scroll next, I also want to learn new things." Katara commented.
She then brought out the waterbending scroll and placed it in a rock near the water. "I can't wait to try some of these moves." she said.
Aang sat with her near the pond while she unrolled it carefully across a flat stone. The drawings showed stances, hand positions, and flowing movements. It was real after all, and Aang felt a bit ashamed that he had thought so little of the gift Lin had given them.
He was having issues with what he was told and what he had seen so far from the Fire Nation. Still, they were clearly occupying territory that isn't theirs and they massacred a lot of people. But not all of the atrocities they say the Fire Nation did were true. Aang couldn't see Lin as this evil spirit or monster. It was clearly an exaggeration based on her looks.
While he was lost in thought, Katara studied each figure and was determined to try the one that seemed the easiest to start with; the single water whip. Katara's face lit up, and Aang could see her excitement written on her face.
"The single water whip. Looks doable."
'She is really pretty.' he thought. Then he chastised himself, as it wasn't the time to be thinking about those things.
She tried one of the forms by drawing water from the pond in a slow arc, and the water followed her for a moment before losing shape and splashing across her face when she tried the final move.
"That was close." Aang said quickly, but Sokka just laughed at her.
Katara pushed wet hair away from her cheek. "What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry, it was funny! It's like watching someone trip or fall. Nothing personal." Sokka said.
"You will regret that when I learn it." Katara said.
"Why don't you let Aang try it?" Sokka asked.
"I just want to get this move done first and then it's all yours. Aang will get its turn once I figure out the water whip." she replied.
Again she tried replicating the moves, but now trying it faster than earlier and it went the other way, hitting Momo instead, who cried indignantly.
"Ugh, why can't I get this stupid move?" Katara said, getting more frustrated.
Aang looked down at the scroll again carefully. "You'll get it." He encouraged her, moving close to the water to practice himself.
"I think your movement is just a bit stiff. You just have to shift your weight through the stances." Aang said, remembering his many lessons learning airbending.
Without much effort, he grabbed a stream of water from the pond, even though he had never done so before, following the movements in the scroll felt natural to him. He completed the whip in the direction he wanted and he was satisfied he had been able to do so quickly.
"There, see? The key to bending is-"
Katara's expression tightened and she interrupted him before he could continue giving advice. "Will you please shut your air hole? Believe it or not, your infinite wisdom gets a little old sometimes!" Katara's voice rose before she seemed to notice it.
Aang stopped, stunned. "I was just trying to help." he said, quietly.
"Why don't we just throw the scroll away, since you're so naturally gifted?!" she finished, almost screaming at his face.
Aang lowered his hands, feeling that painful heaviness in his chest, something he hadn't expected out of these lessons. He blinked hard before the tears could form properly. Even if he knew that Katara was frustrated and that she never had a master in the South Pole, that did not make the words hurt less.
Katara's anger faded almost as soon as she saw his face.
"Oh my gosh, Aang." she said, softer now. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me."
He rubbed his sleeve across his eyes quickly and tried to smile. "It's okay."
"No, it isn't. You were helping me, and I got mad because I was embarrassed." She looked down at the scroll. "It is just hard watching you learn something I have wanted my whole life."
Aang sat back down beside her. "I don't want to make it harder."
"You didn't." Katara took a breath. "I did."
Sokka cleared his throat from the other side of the camp. "What about Momo? He is the real victim here."
"I'm sorry Momo." Katara said, petting him.
"Good, now let's eat some breakfast before heading to Omashu, you will feel better after eating something, I think Katara is just hungry."
"Hey!" Katara exclaimed without real protest.
They chuckled, and the tightness between them eased enough that Aang could breathe normally again. They put the scroll away after that, Sokka was right after all, Omashu awaited and they should head there while they still had daylight.
After eating, they left Appa and Momo there to rest, promising to return before night if they could. It took them almost an hour to get to Omashu walking. Aang kept the hood of one of the Water Tribe coats pulled low over his head as they approached the city on foot. The closer they came, the stranger Omashu looked.
At the main entrance, the old wall had been replaced with an actual gate, made of metal and golden decorations. Fire Nation guards stood beside Earth Kingdom soldiers in green and brown, both groups watching travelers with the same bored suspicion. Aang kept his head down while Sokka presented the notice Lin had given them.
One of the guards checked the seal, then looked at them more carefully.
"This is General Lin's seal." he said.
Sokka gave a nervous smile. "Err, yes, she gave that to us herself."
The guard folded the notice and handed it back. "Some people are lucky, wait here. We will send word to the governor."
As they were led inside to wait for an escort, Aang took a moment to gaze inside the city. It was the same mountain, and the city still rose from it in layers to the top, but the Fire Nation had changed too much of it. There were so many metal structures and new buildings being built. The train tracks they had seen entering the city now towered the landscape.
Aang couldn't help but grow sad with the view.
----0000----
The guards made them wait near the gate until another soldier came to guide them through the city. It was a big city and it would take time to reach the top, where the palace was. Aang kept the hood low over his head and tried not to look too long at anyone, although most people just seem to be keeping to themselves.
The Fire Nation had added metal walkways, banners, rail platforms and weird tube placements that were looking up for some reason. He wanted to walk away from the guards and explore on their own.
He wanted to find the places he remembered, to see if the old market was still there, or if the cart tracks still ran the same way. He really was fond of the delivery system since his friend Bumi showed him how to ride them.
But none of them wanted trouble, and the paper General Lin had given them seemed to be the only reason they had been allowed in without being searched more carefully, so for now, Aang kept walking.
"This is a lot more normal than I expected." Sokka whispered after a while.
Katara looked at him. "Normal?"
"You know what I mean. People are still working. Shops are open. No one is being dragged around by soldiers."
"That doesn't make this good."
"I didn't say it was good. I'm saying it's weird."
Aang understood what he meant. The city was occupied, and there were Fire Nation banners hanging from the walls, but most people were still doing ordinary things.
He saw a man argue with a fruit seller over prices, two children chasing each other between people until their mother scolded them. Earth Kingdom workers carried stone up a ramp while Fire Nation soldiers patrolled, yet they didn't intervene on anyone.
It was really confusing to him. On one hand they conducted genocide on a brutal scale, on the other they treated their occupation lightly? It was still wrong, but it was harder to understand than the simple cruelty he had been expecting.
After everything Katara and Sokka had said about the raids in the south, he had expected Omashu to look crushed beneath the Fire Nation. Instead, it looked changed of course, but still full of life.
The guard led them up toward the palace, where the old stone entrance had been decorated with red banners and polished metal lamps. There were guards at every important doorway, some in red armor and some in Earth Kingdom green.
Sokka leaned closer to him. "Free food, maybe a bed, and then we leave before anyone asks too many questions."
"That would be ideal." Katara whispered.
"It is the best plan."
Aang almost laughed, but the sound died before it came out when they entered a large hall. Several people sat around a long table, eating and talking comfortably. Servants moved between them with trays, and the smell of warm rice, roasted vegetables, meat, and tea reached Aang all at once.
A man in his forties rose from his seat as they approached. He had long black hair tied in a topknot, and a neatly trimmed Van Dyke beard. He wore layered red and brown robes and had broad shoulders.
"Welcome to New Ozai." he said. "I am Governor Ukano."
"New Ozai?" Aang asked.
"Well, yes, we renamed the city as we did in the colonies." Ukano answered.
"Err, right, thank you." Aang said, bowing at him.
Sokka and Katara copied him.
"General Lin's notice said you were to be treated as guests if you passed through our city so feel free to ask anything from us.," Ukano continued. "We will be pleased to honor her seal."
The trio nodded. Ukano gestured toward the table. "For now, join us for lunch. Allow me to make some introductions. Of course, first, this is Crown Princess Azula. Then my wife, Michi. My daughter, Mai, and my son, TomTom."
Aang focused on the princess first, she looked about their age, maybe a little older than Aang, with golden eyes, dark hair arranged perfectly, and a calm expression. But her appearance reminded him a bit of the angry teenager that is burning villages looking for him.
Katara had gone very still beside him. Sokka's smile froze in place. "Crown Princess. Right… we didn't know we would have royalty receive us." Azula looked at him for a few seconds, unsure what to say.
Mai, sitting beside her with a blank expression, looked at Sokka's coat, then at his face. "They seem harmless."
"Thank you?" Sokka said, clearly unsure if it had been an insult.
Ukano cleared his throat. "Please, sit. You must be hungry after traveling."
Katara placed a hand lightly on Aang's sleeve. "Thank you, Governor. We appreciate it." Aang said, still unsure. If the princess was anything like prince Zuko they would have to make a run for it, in a city full of Fire Nation soldiers.
They sat near the lower end of the table. Food was placed before them almost immediately, and Sokka's caution fought a brief but visible battle against the smell of the meal. The food won after a few seconds.
Ukano smiled politely. "May I ask your names?"
Aang hesitated, then kept his answer simple. "I'm Aang. This is Katara and Sokka."
"Travelers from the Southern Water Tribe, as the scroll said." Ukano said, glancing at their clothes.
Sokka swallowed quickly. "That's right. We're heading north."
Azula tilted her head slightly. "What for?"
"Well… we had never left our village before, we would like to visit our sister tribe, although we are unsure if we are able to get there at all." Katara said.
Mai looked down at her cup. "Sounds better than being stuck here to be honest."
Azula's mouth curved faintly, while Aang focused on his bowl and tried not to look like he wanted to run from the table.
----0000----
Aang didn't know what to think about Princess Azula. She seemed alright, although it didn't make him feel safe. At one point she seemed to have lost interest in them luckily, while they talked with the governor about how they liked New Ozai or the colonies south so far.
Mai was sitting beside her with a blank expression, looking bored enough that Aang wondered if she even cared if they were there.
"So…" Azula said, looking at Sokka. "You've met, Lin."
Sokka looked down at it. "Err…Yes?"
"What do you think about her?" Azula asked.
"She was not what I was expecting." Sokka said.
"Oh? Why were you expecting something at all?" the princess asked.
"We heard rumors before meeting her." Katara said, hesitantly.
"Ahh, right, I understand. My favorite one is the one they call her spirit blessed while at the same time saying she is an evil spirit." Azula said, smirking.
"Certainly. You can never trust rumors." Michi commented.
"Well, what we can say is that she was nice enough to even give us a gift with the deal we made. It was a very thoughtful one." Aang said.
Azula's interest sharpened at once. "What did she give away?"
Katara held the scroll a little closer. "This waterbending scroll, it preserves a bit of our culture. I hadn't seen one before actually."
"I don't suppose you had, no." Azula said. "I'm surprised she had one. Did she say where she got it?"
"Pirates." Sokka said.
Azula's mouth curved slightly. "I remember, we sunk their primitive ship. The captain was skilled with the sword if I remember correctly. He didn't live to tell the tale obviously, he met a quick death sadly."
Aang shifted in his seat. "Uhm…You know General Lin well?" he asked, trying to switch topics and ignore the casual way the young princess talked about their death.
"She trained me, and together we have taken the south from the Earth Kingdom." Azula said.
"You are quite the duo, Azula." Mai said, taking a small sip of her cup, and a knowing smile on her face.
"Of course we are."
"She was nice to us, although I admit it was a bit intimidating." Aang said, honestly.
"I know. She is… Lin is great, isn't she?" Azula said.
The question made Aang pause. Katara looked at him, and Sokka suddenly became very interested in his food.
"I suppose so." Aang said carefully.
Mai's mouth twitched. "That wounded her."
"It did not." Azula protested.
"She expects everyone to say she is amazing." Mai retorted.
"No, no. I wanted an honest assessment, this was good enough."
"What about her appearance?" Mai asked Aang suddenly.
Azula gave Mai a cold look. "Do you want to eat outside?"
Mai shrugged. "It might be less boring."
Ukano cleared his throat. "My daughter, please behave."
Azula leaned back, still looking at them. "What was the deal about?"
Sokka swallowed. "Ice mostly, in exchange of supplies."
"Ice? I guess there is ice everywhere in the south." Azula asked.
Katara's expression tightened. "Yes, she wanted our people to guide her on where to set up camp and which zones would be less dangerous to gather it."
Azula seemed pleased by that. "Ah, I remember why, that's nice, smart." Aang glanced at Sokka, but they remained silent after that.
Mai rested her cheek on her hand. "She is great, isn't she?"
Azula looked at her again, then smirked. "Of course. You don't have to repeat my words so much."
"Don't you want to tell them more about her as you have been telling me for the past days?" Mai said, smirking.
Azula's face tightened, and for the first time since they had entered the hall, she looked closer to her age. "You are being tedious."
Mai gave a small chuckle. "I'm just saying, you love to do that."
"I just spend a lot of time with her."
"I don't know… you didn't talk about this Toph girl that much, and you also spend a lot of time with her as well."
Sokka stared between them, clearly fascinated. Katara nudged him under the table before he could say anything.
Michi looked embarrassed and set her cup down. "Mai, Princess, perhaps you should continue this elsewhere."
Azula stood first. "Gladly."
Mai rose more slowly. "Still grumpy, she will arrive in a few days, no need to be like that."
"I am not grumpy."
"You sound grumpy."
They left still arguing, and Aang watched them go with relief. Princess Azula had not acted like Zuko, but the way she spoke about certain things made him feel a bit uncomfortable. At least there hadn't been any problems.
Ukano apologized and let them leave soon after.
----0000----
As they stepped into the palace corridor, two guards near the entrance were speaking quietly.
"I visited the late King Bumi this morning, I'm sorry, I couldn't make him see reason." one said. "He laughed the whole time."
Aang stopped. "Did you say Bumi?"
The guards looked at him.
"Err, yes." one answered. "The late king."
"Wait, you don't mean your friend, Bumi, right? There is no way." Sokka said, with little subtlety.
"How old is he?" Aang asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
The guard frowned. "Over a hundred now. Why? Now that I think about it, maybe he is just too old to think clearly."
Aang looked at Katara and Sokka, barely able to believe it. "He's alive…" he muttered.
"Of course, it's the age. I told you that already." the other guard said. "He wouldn't have lost the duel if it happened a few years back."
Sokka leaned closer. "What duel?"
"The duel for the city. From your clothes you must be foreigners. Almost an entire moon cycle back, our King battled Toph Beifong." the guard said. "The blind earthbender won and took the city with that monster general from the Fire Nation. They say the small girl bent lava that day, I wasn't there to see it."
The other guard lowered his voice. "It is the evil spirit's fault. Being close to her is said to corrupt others, like a disease."
Aang ignored that part. "Can we see King Bumi?"
"Well… I guess. He is not imprisoned actually." the first guard said. "Though many people turned their backs on him because he indeed walks free. They think he made a deal before the duel, to live comfortably while the rest of us are under their control."
Katara frowned. "Did he?"
"I was a captain before the city fell." the man said. "My general and I wanted him to fight back. He just laughed and said there was no need. Suspicious."
Aang tightened his hands around the edge of his coat. "Could you give us directions to him?"
----0000----
The guards gave them directions to the place where Bumi lived now. They left the palace through one of the side exits and followed an older road carved into the mountain. It curved downward instead of up, away from the busy halls and the metal additions the Fire Nation had built around the palace.
The farther they walked, the quieter Omashu became. Or New Ozai as it was now called. The sound of workers, soldiers, and carts faded behind them until only their footsteps remained. Aang kept his hood low, though it was harder now.
Part of him wanted to run ahead. He kept remembering Bumi as he had been a hundred years ago, laughing too loudly, being goofy, and somehow turning every bad idea into a better one. He was a mad genius.
It was hard to imagine him as an old king who had lost his city, and even harder to imagine him letting people think he had betrayed them.
The place they found had a huge stone facade built into the side of the mountain. The front was wide and decorated with old Earth Kingdom carvings, though some of the lamps near the entrance had been replaced with Fire Nation metalwork.
From the outside, it looked large, but the road continued inward and downward, so Aang guessed most of it was buried deep inside the mountain. Two Fire Nation soldiers guarded the entrance.
Sokka slowed down. "Of course there are guards."
Katara looked at the doors. "The other guards said he wasn't imprisoned."
"Let's hope he isn't in a cell."
Aang stepped forward before either of them could change their minds. One of the soldiers stopped them with a hand.
"Halt. State your business."
"We are here to visit King Bumi, we are friends of General Lin." Aang said, trying not to sound too eager.
The soldier looked over the three of them, narrowing his eyes. Sokka pulled out General Lin's notice and held it up. "We were told this would help."
The soldier read it, then checked the seal more carefully. His expression changed a little when he recognized it. He handed the notice back after a moment and stepped aside.
"I'm not surprised, it seems the general just wants to collect people from every nation. You may enter."
Sokka blinked. "That easy…" he whispered
The second soldier opened the doors for them. They walked inside through a long corridor, the air was cooler there, and the walls carried the old smell of earth and dust. Somewhere deeper inside, something grunted, followed by the scrape of claws against stone.
Sokka moved closer to Katara. "I don't like how that sounds."
Aang smiled despite his nerves. "I'm sure it will be fine, guys."
The corridor opened into a wide chamber carved into the mountain. In the middle of the chamber sat an old man in loose green robes, calmly petting a goat gorilla under the chin.
"Who's a good boy, yes you are Flopsie, yes you are!"
The man was much older than the boy in his memories, but the grin he gave them when he turned was unmistakable.
"Bumi!" Aang said.
"Well, hello." Bumi said. "Who might you be?"
"Bumi, it's me, Aang." Aang froze. 'Oh no, maybe he is too old to remember me.'
"Mmm, are you really?" Bumi said, giving him a wild look. "Prove it." he said all of a sudden, launching a rock in his direction.
----0000----
Two days earlier.
Lin had returned to Chin City with the missing crewman. Prince Zuko was still there, surrounded by her soldiers and clearly hating every second of it. General Iroh stood a few steps behind him, looking calmer, although Lin could see the tension in his shoulders. Aiku had done as ordered.
The prince's crew had not been allowed to leave their ship, and several guards from the city garrison watched the dock with their hands near their weapons.
As Lin entered her office, she saw Toph sat on her desk, swinging her legs with a grin that told Lin she had enjoyed the assignment, in her own way.
"Brought your crewman alive." Lin said to the scarred prince.
The ensign hurried toward his prince and bowed, offering his apologies. Zuko looked relieved for half a second before he calmed himself.
"Good, you have my thanks. I will leave as soon as possible." he asked.
"You are not going anywhere until you explain yourself."
Zuko stiffened, as if slapped in the face. Lin walked toward him, stopping only a mere meter in front of him. The office quieted around them, her own soldiers along with Toph preparing for anything.
"I was told the Avatar was on Kyoshi Island." Lin said.
Zuko's jaw tightened. "He was."
"And you knew this before attacking the village."
"I'm a prince, I don't need to-."
"You told me the Kyoshi Warriors took one of your men because they interfered with your investigation." Lin said. "You did not say the Avatar had been sighted, and had you. You lied to me."
"I discovered him!"
"You purposely withheld crucial information that we could have used to capture the Avatar already. Not only that, but you did so in territory already under my control, while asking for my assistance after attacking a trade partner. That is bordering on treason."
Several soldiers shifted around them, but none spoke.
"I am the one hunting the Avatar." Zuko said. "I will be the one to capture him."
"That is irrelevant."
"Capturing him will restore my honor."
Lin stared at him for a moment, she couldn't believe how childish that sounded.
"Your honor…" She said, "You had so many chances to gain honor and did nothing."
Zuko's face darkened. "You don't understand."
"I suppose I don't." Lin kept her voice controlled, although the metal in her hands clicked softly as her fingers curled. "You could have had it captured by now if you had said anything. Every resource I had could have been used to capture him the moment he stepped foot on the mainland, we still had plenty of time, now the campaign to Ba Sing Se is more important as the deadline is almost upon us. Instead you have nothing."
"But I must be the one who captures him, not you."
"So we must leave the weapon everyone agrees can become the most powerful foe against the Fire Nation in the hands of a child who lies to his people? Who attacks innocent civilians without a care in the world? Who doesn't notice a crew member is missing, when you only have ten people to command?!"
Zuko looked away for a second, then back at her. "The rumors are that you don't care for honor, that you are using my sister to elevate your rank. So I say again, you don't understand, General."
Aiku's hand moved closer to his sword, and Toph's grin disappeared. Lin raised one hand slightly, and her soldiers remained where they were.
"Is that what you think of me?" she asked.
Iroh moved a little closer to his nephew. "Prince Zuko, perhaps we should continue this discussion in private."
"I don't care." Zuko said, not looking at him.
Lin took one slow breath. "If you wanted honor, Prince Zuko, you could have joined the army. You could have fought in any of the campaigns that took place in the south. You could have marched with your soldiers, taken a city, protected men under your command, bled for something larger than yourself."
Zuko's fists clenched.
"Instead…" Lin continued, "You sail looking for lost clues, and then hunt for a child who had no waterbending master to even learn from, and you still were not able to capture him. If you had found the actual master of the elements you were looking for, I have no doubt the Avatar would have wiped the floor with you. I don't believe you are even strong enough to grab the kid now."
Zuko's face changed, anger pushing past whatever caution remained.
"You know nothing about me."
"I know enough."
"You think you can speak to me however you want?"
"Yes."
Toph snorted from the desk, yet no one else laughed.
Zuko turned toward the soldiers, then back to Lin. "You will regret that."
"Prince Zuko, that's enough. Forgive him, emotions are high, I'm sure we can resolve this peacefully." Iroh said.
Zuko ignored him. "Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honor, and restore my rightful place in the throne. You won't be able to talk then."
"If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now. But right now, in his eyes, Crown Princess Azula keeps bringing glory to the Fire Nation, while you fail and disgrace your nation." Lin said.
"Agni Kai." he said.
The office went quiet enough that you could hear Lin's mechanical parts working inside her body. Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nephew, listen to me."
"Do not interfere, Uncle."
Lin looked around, her soldiers were angry. Some tried to hide it, others did not bother. To refuse now would turn their anger into indignation, they don't want me to do that. Colonel Zhou pushed through the line of soldiers, his expression sharp with concern. Having been promoted recently, he could now speak for the rest of them.
"General." he said quietly. "You do not have to entertain this."
"Look around you, colonel." Lin said.
"He is our prince." Zhou continued.
Lin looked back at Zuko. The prince stood rigid, breathing hard, his anger too visible. It wouldn't even be a challenge to face him like that.
"Very well, Prince Zuko. I accept, at sunset outside the airfield." Lin said.
Zhou looked troubled now. "General."
"Prepare the grounds, Colonel."
He stepped back after a moment, although he clearly disliked it. Lin could see General Iroh's face tightened with worry. Zuko's expression on the other hand looked determined. They left without saying another word.
Toph leaned toward Aiku and whispered loudly enough for half the dock to hear. "This is going to be a stomping, isn't it?"
"Yes, total humiliation." Aiku replied, smirking.
----0000----
"Prince Zuko, have you forgotten the last time you dueled a master?" Iroh said, with sadness and worry in his voice.
"I will never forget." he answered.
"Then stop this madness. It is said not even your sister could win against her." begged Iroh.
"Rumors, uncle. You can never trust them." Zuko said. "I've been training nonstop since we departed from the Fire Nation, I won't lose."
'Let's hope these rumors are false then. I don't think my brother would have let Princess Azula have an idle moment in her life.' Iroh thought sadly.