A/N: And I'm back from camp! It's been great being away and unwinding with my church mates, but I'm happy to be back as well! Thanks again, you guys, for sticking with me.

18

In and out. In…and out.

Feng breathed in deeply, feeling his inner fire grow with every breath he took. It had only been a minute or so since the Dai Li made their exit, but it felt like a minute too long. Concentrate, he told himself sternly. Focus, or else you're really going to get an early burial. As if on cue, the building trembled. Feng closed his eyes and breathed in again, chest rising until he hit his limit.

You are your fire.

His earth prison blew apart when he released his breath; fire filled his vision for a few seconds as he discharged the power from his being. It was a move made out of desperation and he immediately knew why most firebenders never tried it on a regular basis. His body tingled with the burning sensation caused by the excessive firebending that engulfed easily half his body, but his insides felt the worst. Feng tumbled to the ground, hissing, and lay there for a few seconds before he remembered where he was.

Reminders of what the Dai Li said came back at him with full force; a rubber band seemed to stretch and snap in his chest and he sat right up, forgetting all about the soreness in his body. He turned over and got on his knees just as the entire place shook; it might as well have been an army of komodo-rhinos stampeding through at that moment.

He reached for his fallen blade, struggling to his feet, and sheathed it before heading out the door. No use trying to find them now, they're trying to bring the whole place down! Feng dashed past the observation room just next to Azula's old ward and skidded to a halt when he saw a broken form lying on the floor inside. He took a closer look—

—and charged in when he realized the man was still breathing.

"Spirits, what did those Dai Li do to you?" Feng gingerly scooped the doctor up from underneath his form and turned him over slowly. The doctor's matted hair covered his eyes, but Feng could feel him looking directly at him. Blood was everywhere, especially on his thighs and legs. They crippled him…and left him to die with me. Feng leaned over. "Can you hear me?"

"You…another survivor…?" the doctor croaked, and his hands began to tremble. "Must…stop Dai Li…intercept…"

"Intercept? What?" Feng swallowed hard. "Was it something the Dai Li discovered here?"

Slowly, the dying man nodded. "Princess…Azula's…medication—" Blood spurted from the man's mouth as he coughed. "Senior doctor…tampered."

"Her medication…was tampered with? On whose orders?" Feng demanded. His urgency intensified when the building shook and groaned again. The vibrations he felt were still far off, but he knew what was coming. I don't have much time…come on…

"Doesn't…matter. Dai Li…" The doctor raised a shaky finger to the door behind. "War will break…out. Find them…please…"

Intercept the Dai Li. Retrieve whatever evidence they've got, or else we're going to war. Feng moved to hoist the doctor up, but the man shook his head with all the strength he had left.

"No! No…I'll only…slow you down. Go…Dai Li. Now!"

Feng shook his head grimly, but laid the man back down in his own pool of blood. He bowed his head. "Agni keep you, brother."

He rose just as the light left the man's eyes and the building began to crumble from beneath. Feng barreled out the door and down the corridor as the ceiling and walls crumbled around him. Debris rained on him like a storm, and he raised his arm to shield his head from any potentially fatal hits. The window… He squinted at the window ahead, and then looked back at the mass of concrete and bricks behind him.

There was only one way left.

He dived headfirst through the window, and wondered how anyone could ever be so unlucky.

"How's it going, Sparky?"

Sokka leaned against the doorframe, just a few feet away from where the young Fire Lord was seated. He had a faint smile on his face, but Zuko knew better than to take the tribesman at face value nowadays. Katara had told him enough before she took her leave with Aang and Nilak—enough to worry him as he forgot the letter on his desk. He set down his brush, careful not to let its bristles touch the parchment laid out before him and reclined his back against his chair, regarding Sokka thoughtfully.

"I've been better. I'm glad you're here." Zuko nodded towards the chair across his desk. He never took many visitors in his own reading room, but it was a precaution, just in case. "Take a seat, Sokka, if you're going to be here a while."

"I've got nothing to do, anyway," Sokka shrugged and sauntered over, pulling the chair out. He sat down with a sigh, and then proceeded to slump into the luxurious piece of furniture. Zuko raised an eyebrow at the utter look of contentment on his friend's face.

He leaned across the desk, meeting Sokka's eyes. "So…how are you?"

"How am I," Sokka chuckled as if it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard, "I'm fine! I'm fine…why…why wouldn't I be?" His eyes flicked away, hazy with remembrance. Sokka seemed to shrink into his seat even further and fell silent.

Zuko drummed his fingers on the top of his desk, allowing the sound of it to fill the awkward silence for a moment. Sokka looked unnerved—uncomfortable—and it was the worst he'd ever looked in front of the Fire Lord.

Well, not exactly, Zuko reminded himself. There's that other time…

"Do you want to talk about it, Sokka?"

The use of his name made the tribesman snap back to attention. Sokka blinked, looking at Zuko as if he only just noticed the man was there. "Huh? Talk? Yeah!" He sat up a little straighter now, hands on the armrests. "Yeah, we can talk. What about?"

Zuko shook his head. He tends to space out from time to time, Katara's voice reminded him, when he's remembering.

"About your, uh…" Zuko looked down at the letter he was penning, and suddenly it was the most interesting thing in the world. I don't do therapy sessions, Katara. "Do you want to talk about what happened that night?"

When Sokka's reply didn't come as expected, Zuko looked up. He nearly did a double take when he saw the guarded expression on Sokka's face. His defenses were suddenly up, as if Zuko was nothing more than the Angry Jerk who tried to kill them on multiple occasions before. But that wasn't the reason why a chill was slithering down his spine and bringing back sour memories like they just happened yesterday.

Zuko had seen that same look in Azula's eyes—once when he went to the asylum and a thousand times over in his dreams. Nightmares. Seeing it on Sokka—Sokka, the one that sometimes made bad jokes and then really good ones to redeem himself, the one that always had a sarcastic jibe at the ready even in the middle of a fight—felt wrong. Everything about what he was looking at felt wrong and out of place.

It was like Zuko was cornering a child, and there was a very real risk of having the kid slip away out of fear if he wasn't gentle enough. A child, or a confused animal. And right now all he could think about was his sister.

He shook his head. Weird.

Sokka twitched, if not from the thick silence then from Zuko's scrutiny. And then his eyes flicked away again, chasing something invisible behind Zuko's head. "I—I don't want to, really. Did Katara put you up to this?"

"You're gonna have to, sometime," Zuko said. "And is it really that bad if your sister asked me to look after you while she's gone? Besides," he smiled at the tribesman sitting across him, "you're my friend. We're bros. That counts for something."

Sokka relaxed at his words, and the hard look in his eyes faded. He began twiddling his thumbs and fixed his gaze on his hands instead. "Don't—don't get me wrong, Zuko, but this isn't something I'd talk about to…to anyone. Not Katara. Not Aang."

"And Suki?" Zuko asked carefully. "Toph?"

Sokka shook his head. "I can't. It just—it sucks." He sighed, and let his hands drop into his lap. "I can't ever think about it without wanting to throw up. Without wishing I could just—disappear."

Zuko picked up his brush again, and resumed writing. Maybe it'll work if I don't look at him. "But you have those nightmares. How often?"

"Every night," Sokka said slowly. Painfully. "Sometimes it's better when—when Yue shows up, but she doesn't come by all the time." Zuko paused at the mention of the Moon spirit, but didn't look up. Sokka was still talking. "She tells me things, you know."

"Things like what?" Zuko kept his hand working, and hoped he wouldn't start writing gibberish soon. Mai could multitask, but he was different.

"I don't know, you know how spirits like talking in riddles," Sokka said, the tightness in his voice fading with every word. "Something about illusions and riptides…or illusions of riptides."

Yeah, riddles are their favorite. Zuko finally looked up and gave his friend a half-smile. "Illusions? Azula needs to hear some of that talk."

"Hah! Yeah." He choked out a laugh and rubbed his eyes. "Not that it'd make a difference for her, though. No offence."

None taken. Zuko shrugged, glancing away. The thought of spirits and Azula getting tangled up in their riddles? Almost laughable. Zuko knew his sister was crazy, but she wasn't stupid. She wasn't a block of wood. She'd figure them out and give them a run for their money.

But that wasn't the point.

He turned back to Sokka. "But it made a difference for you?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you're always thinking about it."

Sokka shrugged. "It's not a problem, Zuko."

"If it wasn't," Zuko set down his brush again, "then Katara wouldn't be this worried. And you know how sharp her instincts are. And frankly, I'm just as concerned."

"You're busy," Sokka said flatly, and looked ready to leave. "You've got all that Fire Lord stuff to attend to—"

"You walked in here," Zuko pointed out. "And you're seeing this through, at least once. Talk to me, Sokka. Man to man."

Sokka looked supremely uncomfortable, and there was a raging conflict in his tenacious blue eyes that was all too apparent to the thoughtful Fire Lord sitting across him. The air grew heavier, or at least it seemed to be pressing in on the two of them from all sides. There was a long silence, deafening and disquieting all at the same time.

Then the tribesman let out a deep sigh, and nodded.

"Fine. Man to man." His eyes glinted with resolution in the firelight from the candle sitting between them. "But whatever it is, it stays in this dingy office of yours."

"I will honor that."

Ling hurried down the hallway with the tea set on her tray, trying her best not to trip over her own feet or do something else as equally stupid as that. She'd been running a lot of random errands ever since Azula made her departure for Kyoshi Island, but this one was different. The Fire Lady had summoned her to bring her tea—a meeting long overdue. Ling slowed down when she saw the guarded doors up ahead, and came to a halt before the two imposing guards.

"State your business," one of them ordered gruffly.

"Um…tea for the Fire Lady," Ling replied meekly, bowing her head.

She was allowed entrance within no time, and she took purposeful steps towards Fire Lady Mai, who looked particularly bored as she cleaned her little knives. Ling eyed them with apprehension; she'd heard a lot of stories about the Fire Lady's deadly precision and efficiency with those knives of hers. She hoped she wouldn't do anything to end up on the receiving end of that kind of skill.

"Your Highness," Ling did a little bow and quickly set the tray on the table beside Mai. "I brought you your tea." She was about to take the pot when Mai stopped her with one hand atop her own.

"Leave the tea. Is the door closed behind you?" Mai stopped cleaning her knives and set them down beside the tea set.

Ling's eyes widened fractionally. "Y-yes, Your Highness. What do you need from me?"

Mai pursed her lips, eyes watching something else, before her attention returned to Ling. Her gaze was made of steel—there was nothing she couldn't hide from anyone with that look in her eyes. Ling had to admit the woman carried herself like a true royal, even if she didn't have a drop of royal blood in her veins. All she could think of was how much Mai was made for this role beside the Fire Lord.

"I need you to stay close to Azula for me."

"What?" Ling blinked at the Fire Lady, incredulous. "But, Your Highness…she's on Kyoshi Island—"

"No, she isn't. Not anymore." Mai sighed and rubbed her temples. "But I know where she will be. I'll send you to Ember Island once I get word, but what's important is that I have your word on this: you will keep an eye on Azula for me. Talk to her, even, just—"

"But why?" Ling blurted, and then clapped a hand over her mouth. I just interrupted the Fire Lady. Agni, that was a good move, Ling! But Mai didn't look offended. She didn't even twitch a little. Her eyes grew distant as she looked away, and Ling shuddered with relief.

"Something's wrong with this," Mai gestured to something invisible. "This whole thing. Something's happening, but Azula's not the one who has her hand in this. Not directly, not intentionally. Her life is in more danger than I'd like to think."

"Does the Fire Lord know about this?" Ling asked. Her heart hammered in her chest. "Couldn't you just assign a soldier, or a group of soldiers, to watch over the princess…?"

"Zuko knows there's someone else playing this little game," Mai said bluntly, "but he will not know about what I'm instructing you to do. There's something I need to find out. My husband thinks it's wise to tell me only ninety-percent of everything he knows, but that's men for you."

Ling swallowed the lump in her throat, and tried to still the butterflies in her stomach by pressing one hand to it. The Fire Lady knows where the princess is? But the Fire Lord doesn't? She lifted a hand to the jade pendant around her neck instinctively. You were right, Yuzhi, she thought to herself. Politics are so messy.

"But how am I supposed to find anything out for you? I'm just…" Ling shrugged. "I'm just me." And that was the truth.

"You can do a lot more than you believe," Mai said coolly, tucking her hands into her sleeves. "And you'll be doing it in service to the Fire Nation. Can you say no to that?"

Ling winced. "What you're asking of me…is surely important, but what am I supposed to do exactly, Your Highness?"

Mai bit her lip, fishing for her answer. "I don't know. Care for Azula when you see her again. Just take care of her and make sure she doesn't kill herself or anything." Mai sighed, sinking into her chair. "I know Lady Beifong is with her, but I can't guarantee…I can't guarantee Azula won't find a reason to break away. I just need you to ask her about her time in the asylum, her nightmares—because that's when she's remembering the most—and just…anything. Get anything out of her, and send me letters regularly. Can you do that?"

Ling dipped her head in a bow. "Yes, Your Highness." But I don't like the sound of it. She looked up, unsure. "What—what's happened to the princess, Your Highness? What's happening to our nation?"

Mai rubbed her temples wearily. "I don't know." She closed her eyes. "It would be easier to put the blame on Azula and do away with her," Ling flinched at this, but was grateful that Mai didn't see it, "but nothing's ever easy. Especially politics. And especially if we're going to war with the Earth Kingdom."

Ling covered her mouth in horror, and Mai opened her eyes to look at her. The Fire Lady had never looked more tired in that moment. "Will you do this for me?"

"I…accept." Ling lowered her hand and let it fall to her side. She stared down at the ground. "You…care a great deal about the princess, Your Highness, if you don't mind me saying. Were you really friends with her once?"

"Once," Mai affirmed. "But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that no lives are lost unnecessarily and that the Fire Nation remains standing at the end of the day." Ling looked up and their eyes met, and she realized the Fire Lady's lips were curled upwards slightly. It was almost a smile, but not quite there yet.

It looked kind of sad, too, when she looked closer.

"Something the matter, Your Highness?"

Mai blinked, and then her almost-smile vanished. She looked away. "Nothing. You can go. Wait for my summon, Ling."

Ling knew the end of a conversation when she saw one; she bowed and shuffled out the room, shaking her head in disbelief at what just happened.

When the servant girl was gone, Mai nodded to the empty room. "You can come out now."

"We're risking a great deal, here," the man said as he stepped out from behind the drapes that decorated the room. He ran a hand over his head, smoothing the loose strands of hair back into place, but one remained stubborn and stuck out proudly. Xun, Head of the Intelligence Bureau, dusted his shoulders with an unreadable expression. "Sending that servant girl like that. She's probably going to let something slip, the way she's looking so nervous all the time."

"Azula knows her, and that's enough for us." Mai gestured towards the tea set sitting beside her knives. "Tea?"

Xun wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Hate the stuff," he said, putting up a hand. "General Iroh deserves the blame for that."

"Zuko says the same thing," Mai said, nodding. She pursed her lips and looked long and hard at the officer standing before her. "You're sure your information was correct, Xun?"

"Positive." Xun inclined his head. "I made sure of it myself. I don't trust the underlings now, much as I hate to admit it. If the message Toph Beifong sent was accurate, then they're headed to Ember Island. I'll be sending watchers to keep an eye on them, and keep your servant girl safe."

Mai took this in at her own pace, picking up one of her knives and watching her own reflection in it. She curled her lips in distaste when she saw the rings around her eyes, more pronounced than ever. It was a look she saw on Zuko and Zuko only. It was all but a testament to the fact that she, too, had been working her tail off in the dark.

This wouldn't be happening if you were upfront with all the details, Zuko.

She sighed at the thought of her husband and set her knife down. "I'm glad you came to me when you did. Really."

"I know," Xun said, taking a seat beside her. His amber eyes studied her with refined confidence. "Your face says otherwise, but I know you, cousin." Xun turned his gaze from her, looking straight ahead at the bookcase at the far end of the royal suite. "You're the one who reads, right?"

"Yes. Zuko never has time for leisure."

"I wonder why." It was hard to ignore the sarcasm in his voice, but Mai had been long used to it by now. She watched her older cousin rise from his seat and walk towards the bookcase, eyes transfixed on it like it was the only one in the world. She snorted.

"You can look at that all you want later. I want to know what else you found out when you dived into work."

"I can do two things at once, Fire Lady," Xun said, waving languidly over his shoulder. "Or three. Or four…" He chuckled when he saw the look on Mai's face, and turned back to the books arranged neatly before him. "You already know what I told you. There were irregularities in the delivery of Azula's medical reports. They were supposed to be sent in every three to six months, but there were gaps in between several reports. Twelve months, fifteen months and eighteen months."

"And there's only one person who can possibly have them at this time," Mai said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes," Xun affirmed. "It wasn't what I wanted to find out, let me tell you, but I had to pick at everything related to the case. Especially Azula, since things are all centered around her nowadays. So much hassle for a fallen royal." He ran his fingers over the books, one by one. "Haven't you seen those reports yourself?"

"No," Mai admitted. She suddenly tasted something sour in her mouth and scowled to herself. "No, I didn't want to read them. I had nothing to do with her anymore."

"And yet here you are, watching over her like a depressed guardian angel." Mai twitched at Xun's sense of humor, but let him continue. "Some part of you still cares about her, Mai. You're just not ready to admit it yet."

"Care about her? The one that had me and Ty Lee thrown in prison and tortured?" Mai snarled, the spike in her emotions not unusual to the officer in the room. "Mother and Father always called you the dysfunctional one; now I can see why."

"Uncle and Auntie don't know me well enough." Xun shrugged. "Besides, the right word is sociopath. Much like your princess friend, here." His hand paused at one book, hidden in between two thick ones, and even from where Mai was sitting she could see his brow furrow. "You said you read all of these?"

"What of it?"

Xun plucked the one he had his hand on out from the case and looked down at the cover, features knotting even further. "You read up on medical drugs for leisure, Fire Lady?"

Mai stiffened. Medical drugs? Whatever the hell for? She rose from her seat and strode over to Xun in purposeful steps. "Let me see that."

A Conclusive List of Medical Drugs by Physician Shaowen, the cover read. Mai narrowed her eyes and flipped the book open. She began to flit through the pages, though she wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for. There was nothing but information about medicines and drugs that could put Mai to sleep in five minutes and Ty Lee in one. This book's probably misplaced or something—

Mai paused when she found an odd sight in the middle of the book. The page numbers had skipped by two numbers, and there was a rip carelessly left behind where the missing page should have been. She looked up at Xun and nodded down at the book. "A missing page."

"Oh, now that's interesting." He took the book off her hands and scanned the pages before him. "Well, I don't know who this Shaowen is, but his drugs aren't arranged according to afflictions and such. Lousy. I'll have to find another one of this."

"Why would Zuko need a book on medicine? Drugs?" Mai dropped her hands to her sides. "Something's out of place."

"It's been out of place since I went through Azula's reports," Xun sighed. "Look, I don't want to look like the devil's advocate or anything, but your husband knows a lot more than he claims to. Especially when it comes to Azula."

"I know," Mai said through gritted teeth. I just wish it wasn't true.

Xun reined himself in a little and snapped the book shut. Then he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, though it helped little. He was never a comforter, even when he was a child. Mai just shrugged him off, knowing it was as awkward for him as it was for her.

"Look," Xun started, walking in time with her as they crossed the room, "I'll head down to the asylum tonight and see what I can get out of those doctors. Or their files. Maybe I might even find this stupid book again," he lifted the book in his hand and waved it at her, "and I'll come back as soon as I'm done. Don't make that face, Mai. It's unbecoming of a Fire Lady."

Mai rolled her eyes. "Like you'd know what decorum is? Don't think I don't know you haven't been addressing Zuko properly," she jabbed a finger at his chest. "He just tolerates it because you're the best of the best."

"A compliment from the Fire Lady herself," Xun chuckled. "This must be my lucky day. Well, I'll be seeing you in a few hours. Or not, if Zuko's back in bed with you by then." He sidestepped Mai as she moved to smack him on the arm. "Drink that tea, cousin. I hear Iroh's got a new recipe he wants to let you and your husband try when he gets back from Ba Sing Se."

Mai dragged a hand down her face as Xun left the room.

Zuko thought he knew all about guilt and remorse.

He thought wrong.

Sokka brought a hand to his face as he finished, breathing heavily. "After the way I let those raiders get to Tikaani and Kaya…after the way I let them die because I was so stupid. Stand-in chief for Dad, but all I gave him when he came back was two dead kids. Family." Sokka shook his head. "Worst chief ever."

"But you got over that," Zuko said quietly. "Didn't you?"

"Until I mauled the firebender to death, yeah. And a lot of good that did me." Sokka dropped his head into his hands and let out a frustrated groan.

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Why are you beating yourself up about that? He took Katara, didn't he?"

"I killed someone," Sokka said slowly. Heavily. "I killed someone and I liked it. That's why."

Oh. Oh. Zuko understood now. He sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes. This is going to be harder than I thought. "Look, dude, it's okay—"

"No it's not okay!" Sokka glared at him. "I'm getting worse! I haven't been home in years but I'm just—I'm—" He slapped a hand to his face, anguished. "I feel like I'm…different. Like I can never be that—that guy with the boomerang again." His hand slid away. "I feel so much guilt. Like I can't do anything right again. Do you get me?"

I think so. Zuko sank into his seat. But I can't tell you that, can I? He compressed his lips into a thin line and closed his eyes. Ozai's laughter seeped into his mind like a disease, and he couldn't shake it off even if he tried. There was his father's laughter, and then there was just one word.

Fool.

"Yeah, of course." He rubbed his temples and opened his eyes. "Everyone's been through that, Sokka. Look at Aang."

"Aang was twelve and scared. He ran away. I didn't run…I got cocky," Sokka said depreciatively. "Spirits, I thought I could show my people, show Gran-Gran…how much I grew. So I chased the raiders instead, when they didn't even see us in the first place. This is—this is different. It's not anything Aang can relate to."

"Sokka, you can't put down Aang's guilt because you think it's lesser than your own. You know that." He looked down at his letter and quickly looked up again. "Circumstances are different, but that's the only difference—"

"It's not the same!" Sokka struck the desk with his palm, rattling the items atop it. "I'm a murderer! I killed that firebender like how I killed those raiders—in front of my family! The way they looked at me…the way Katara looked at me…" He rose from his seat, shaking. "You don't understand, Zuko. You don't understand how it feels to have people not look at you…or worse, look at you like you're some kind of savage."

The words pricked harder than Zuko had expected. He got up from his seat, and stepped around his desk slowly.

"No one hates you, Sokka. You made a few mistakes, but so what?" He gripped his friend by the shoulders. "So what? As long as you're sorry, as long as you know it wasn't okay, you don't have to hide away. Your father…" Zuko looked down. "Your father loved you first."

He'd never tasted anything as bitter as his own words.

"You don't know how it is in the Water Tribe," Sokka pushed Zuko's hands away, stepping back like a wary animal. His guarded expression returned, and he was already edging towards the door. "You don't know how it works, Zuko."

"You're jumping to conclusions—"

"No, you don't understand! I have to redeem myself." He pressed his back up against the door, staring down at the floor. It was only then that Zuko realized Sokka was no longer talking to him. "I have to redeem myself somehow. Do something right, this time. Yeah…then they'll take me back. They'll take me back."

They'll take me back. Father will take me back, right, Uncle?

Zuko wildly thought of endless seas and an expansive sky, littered with stars. He thought of his days on deck, just laying there and watching the sky change, unblinking. He thought of his days of hounding Aang, pursuing his lost honor…

…and strode over to Sokka, delivering a swift punch to the man's jaw.

"Snap out of it!" Zuko snarled, knuckles tingling. "You don't have to—redeem yourself! No one expects that from you!"

Sokka fell to the ground, laughing hysterically. "Come on, Sparky," he said, looking up at Zuko with a bleeding lip and a frenzied look in his eyes that made him recoil, "you can do better than that." He stood up and grabbed Zuko by the collar. "Hit me again. Do what Dad never could!"

"I'm not your father!" Zuko tried prying Sokka's hands off him, but the tribesman had grown in physical strength as well, over the years. "I'm not going to discipline you like—like—"

Like my own.

Sokka let out a howl of rage and threw Zuko against the wall. The Fire Lord let out a groan but moved swiftly, regaining his footing as quickly as a cat. He parried Sokka's kicks and punches until he found an opening, and caught the tribesman in an arm lock. He'd keep him there until he came back to his senses.

It just didn't seem like it was happening anytime soon.

"Sokka, stop!" For a moment, all Zuko heard was Sokka's crying, voice cracking as he pleaded for absolution. He felt his friend shake and tremble violently in his hold. The arm lock had turned into a strong embrace, though Zuko wasn't sure whether it was for Sokka or for himself.

You're not the worst of us. Zuko sighed heavily as Sokka pulled away. His blue eyes were hollow, sunken even, though tears still spilled over his cheeks. Like Azula's.

He was growing increasingly disturbed at how he thought of his sister every time he looked at Sokka now.

"Fire Lord Zuko?"

A few urgent knocks on the door jerked him out of his thoughts. Zuko had never been so thankful in a while. Automatically, he stepped over to the door and opened it with a shaky hand.

"What is it?" Zuko asked blearily, not caring that it wasn't normal for the Fire Lord to answer his own door.

"I came here as soon as I got the message, Your Highness." The soldier paused in the act of catching his breath. He was as pale as a ghost, and he might as well have seen one, judging by the look in his eyes. "The mental facility island, sir—it's been breached by Dai Li. The mental facility has been destroyed, along with all the remaining staff in it."

"Breached?" Zuko spluttered, rising to his full height. "By Dai Li agents?" Sparks flew from his clenched fists, and the soldier took a step back from the enraged Fire Lord. "Who let this happen?"

"I don't—I don't know, sir," the soldier looked downwards, unable to meet Zuko's eyes, "But the message was only just received, my lord. There were—no survivors."

A chill down his spine, like a serpent's cold, scaly body. Zuko suppressed a shudder. No, something's not right about this…

"Then how was that message sent?"

"I don't know," the soldier admitted, and flinched when Zuko slapped a hand to his head in frustration. This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?

"Fine," Zuko said stiffly. He took a deep breath with more effort than usual, ignoring the odd rhythm of his heartbeat. Fear. His hand fell to the door's handle and gripped it tightly, as if anchoring himself from being swept away. "That's all, I hope?"

The soldier blinked. "Yes—yes my lord. Do you want me to send a detachment to—"

"No, I'm going this time," Zuko put up a hand. He looked over his shoulder and met Sokka's gaze. "Here's your chance, Sokka. Let's go get them."

"How long do you think they'll take to send the cavalry?" Shen sneered, sitting across his partner on the other side of the fire. Wei didn't meet his eye, but kept his gaze on the burning flame. Watched it flicker from time to time, as if it had a life of its own.

It probably did. Like the Princess—one born of fire…a true child of the dragons themselves. He blinked once. "I wouldn't go so far as to surrender all my trust to the men on this island. So I'd give them about a few hours. Perhaps a day, if nothing jumps at us tonight."

Wei looked up at the expanse of the night sky. He yearned to be watching the sky from home instead of foreign land. If he concentrated hard enough, he could hear the faint breathing of Ba Sing Se at night, a mighty beast just settling into its slumber. It was almost enough to help him tolerate being away from the city.

Almost.

When he looked down, Shen was watching him. Wei raised one brow. "Yes?"

"Three years," Shen said, flames dancing in his green eyes, "and I still can't figure you out. You're so damned calm all the time it gives me chills." He drew his knees to his chest, feet digging into the soil beneath. Wei watched him with mild interest. "How can you even trust what we found in that nuthouse? And that rat who betrayed his nation?"

"I have no reason not to," Wei picked up the branch beside him and prodded the firewood absently. "I know a man motivated by greed when I see one. His arrogance will be his undoing, I assure you. He thinks himself so great that the Dai Li will play right into his hand…but we have evidence that the princess would hate to hear. Does it matter if it's true or not?"

Shen grimaced. "And you think she'll just come with us once she finds out the Fire Lord's been keeping her like a pet in a cage?" He snorted. "You're better than that, Wei."

"And you say you can't figure me out." Wei shook his head. "No, Azula will not like what we have to tell her. But she can never go back once she hears it. She will have nowhere to belong except with us. We clear a path, and she will take it."

"What makes you think she'll want to be Earth Queen again?"

Wei looked down at the fire again. Watched it lick at the air with a will of its own.

"She is descended from the great dragons, Shen. She will rise," he said, lips drawing into a smile, "as the sun. And that, my friend, is what will bring her down."

Feng hid in the cover of the shadows, watching the two Dai Li and straining his ears to pick up on their conversation. Perspiration trickled down the side of his face, down his neck and under his collar. The cuts on his face screamed in agony, but Feng kept himself still.

They're going to kill her? No, that's not right…one of them mentioned an Earth Queen… Feng edged closer to the little campsite. Kept his breathing even, like he was firebending. He scanned the area, where the two Dai Li agents were sitting, searching until his eyes fell upon a satchel attached to Wei's belt.

There. His eyes widened. There was something jutting out, like the end of a roll of paper. No, not just paper. Medical documents, I'll bet. Feng's hand fell on the hilt of his blade but he stopped himself at the last moment. Can't just attack them like this…I'm outnumbered, no matter how I look at it.

He sank deeper into the shadows as Wei stood up.

"I'm putting the fire out," Wei said. "Let's get a move on."

The air smelled of charred wood and ash when the fire went out, engulfing Feng and the two men in complete darkness. The moon was conveniently hidden by dark clouds above, so Feng had to depend on his own vision. He blinked, then rubbed his eyes, and glared into the darkness.

Two figures were already slipping away, as silent as the air around him.

He got up, hand still on his weapon, and went after them.