The Broken Throne by Nephthys Moon

Ch. 2 The Awakening

Mai was lying, Ty Lee thought as she slipped into her own room. She is upset that Zuko is dead. Azula was planning on a return to the Fire Nation soon, and when she did, she planned to kill her own father. Ozai was bad enough, but with Azula on the throne…

Ty Lee shuddered inwardly, laying upon her comfortable bed and staring up at the ceiling. Azula on the throne meant that the world would burn. When the comet came, Azula wouldn't try to subjugate the other nations, Ty Lee knew. She'd merely obliterate them in a wash of blue fire and laugh as it burned to ash. She had to be stopped, but when – and even more importantly, how? Reaching into the neckline of her shirt, she groped for something small that had hidden in there since the day she'd left the circus, giving her resignation to the Ringmaster. He'd taken a look at the Fire Nation Princess behind her and nodded, sympathy in his eyes. When he'd shaken her hand, he'd slipped this round object into it, and as she'd cartwheeled towards Azula, she'd made sure to slip it into her breast bindings where it wouldn't be found. She'd taken it out at the earliest opportunity and studied it carefully, recognizing it for what it was at once, and knowing that should the time come, she could use it, though it had been years since she'd been taught how. All she needed now was a tavern with a Pai Sho table – and a few moments away from Azula's piercing stares. That would probably be harder than anything else, she decided gloomily.

She spent most of the night trying to figure out how she could accomplish that, but she needn't have. When she awoke in the morning, Azula called her to the throne room and she leapt from the bed, putting the small tile back in her bindings and applying the cheerful, not-too-intelligent mask on her face once more.

She bowed low in front of her Princess, and waited for orders. "Ty Lee, Mai and I are going to spend the morning with the Dai Li, arranging for the destruction of the Wall. You will stay in the city and see that no one knows of the change in leadership until the Wall comes down. Two Dai Li agents will accompany you. I trust you to take care of any rebellions that you might spot quickly."

Ty Lee stood and nodded, knowing she was dismissed, though she was a little surprised that Azula was sending her out into the city. Why separate her now, unless she knew that Ty Lee was planning something? But she couldn't possibly, because her aura was not indicating suspicion – in fact, Ty Lee saw that it was bright lemon-yellow. Azula was afraid. She was afraid her father would reject her, and she wanted to control the city completely before she went home to crow about her victory. Azula could lie without the usual indicators, but Ty Lee could always read Azula's aura, always knew when she was lying and what she feeling. She fought the urge to hug the demon in front of her and bounded cheerfully from the room.

There wasn't a whisper of rebellion in the streets of the upper or middle rings, and for this, Ty Lee was grateful. The lower ring, however, was so full of dirty auras that Ty Lee couldn't make out whether the people had any knowledge of what had happened the night before or if they were just naturally so dismal. It was worse than being around Mai and she found it depressing to linger too long, but a likely looking tavern stood before her.

"I think we deserve a drink, don't you?" she asked cheerfully of her companions, whose names she had not bothered to learn. Their eyes sidled towards each other before one of them spoke.

"It is against Dai Li regulations to drink while in uniform," he said. This was interesting.

"Can we at least go in?" she asked, putting on her most charming smile, but the looks passed between the two again, and she knew that wouldn't work on them.

"No, we cannot. It is against Dai Li regulations," he repeated dully. This was better than she'd hoped.

"Well, fine," she pouted. "You two can stay out here then while I go in and have a drink! What Azula doesn't know won't kill me!" And with that, she bounded into the tavern, glancing at the faded but discernable lotus image next to the name on the overhanging sign. The men, she was sure, rolled their eyes and stood to either side of the door, determined to wait outside until she was finished. She looked about the dingy room carefully, her eyes still adjusting to the dimness, and spotted the Pai Sho table in the far back corner of the pub.

She bounced over to it and sat down, a true smile in place when the old man at the table looked somewhat surprised to see a young noblewoman in his midst.

"The guest has the first move," he said softly, and Ty Lee smiled brighter. She was in the right place. She reached into her bindings, drawing more than a few curious stares, and laid the white lotus tile on the center of the table.

The old man's eyes shot into his hairline, but he spoke calmly. "I see you favor the White Lotus Gambit. Not many still cling to the old ways."

"But those who do can always find a friend," she answered, tilting her head down in a show of respect. They played quickly, and within a few minutes an outline of a lotus blossom was created on the table.

"The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets," the old man said softly, his respect for her clearly rising. She made the appropriate gesture in response, a bowed head with palms cupped and open in front of her.

"I must speak quickly and securely," she said softly. "Is there a place we can do this?"

"You may speak freely in here, young woman," the old man said. "I'm Bai Ben, and these men follow me."

"I'm honored to be in your presence, Bai Ben, but it is best that you do not know my name at this time," she said apologetically. "I have come with a warning and a message for the Grand Lotuses. Azula has captured Ba Sing Se. By nightfall, the entire city will know. She returns to the Fire Nation upon the morrow, but she will not stay there. She plans to overthrow her father and claim the throne for herself. She is mad, Bai Ben, and her rule will be the worst that the world has seen in many centuries."

"Thank you for the warning, my young friend," Bai Ben said, nodding. "We were aware that she had taken the city last night, and killed her own brother as well, but now that we are aware of her future plans, we can put out the warning. You must go, and quickly, before your guards come looking for you, but before you do, gargle this," he said, handing her a drink from under the table, "and if you are asked about your whereabouts, pretend drunkenness. It might save your life." Ty Lee nodded gratefully, swishing the burning liquid around her mouth briefly and standing unsteadily, forcing her eyes to appear unfocused and confused and dancing cheerfully out of bar. Bai Ben's respect for the young woman skyrocketed and he turned to face the men stationed at strategic points across the room.

"Get the message out. Make sure that it is received by all the Grand Lotuses across the world, but make sure that it is discreet. We want nothing to put this young girl's life in danger for the information she has brought to us, and if she is discovered, death is the best we could hope for her." The men nodded and the chairs across the room scraped at set intervals as each man got up according to his preplanned schedule and prepared to leave and pass on the most useful information to come their way in a long time.

When he was alone in the room, Bai Ben looked at the closed door. "Thank you, young Ty Lee. Your father will be proud when he learns of this."

***

Katara awoke to soft snores and warm furs. For a moment, her mind tricked her into believing that she was back home, snuggled into her pallet next to Sokka on the floor of the igloo, comfortable and secure in the knowledge that when she woke up, her day would be precisely as all those before had been, a reliable, safe monotony. The tenor of the snore was too deep, the temperature outside the furs too warm, and the crackling sound of roaring fire, the kind only used to keep a dying man warm, all belied her illusion and she forced her eyes open. The tent was distinctly Water Tribe and she recognized the weapons as those belonging to her father – there were rather distinctive marks on the end of one of the spears where Sokka had chewed upon the joint of the bone. She smiled at a sudden memory of her father using that to embarrass Sokka to his friends.

The snoring could belong to her father, she supposed; Sokka was certainly his father's son, after all, but it didn't sound right to her ears, so she darted her eyes around the tent and saw two sleeping forms, one of whom had a full gray beard and was the source of the noise. Though she had never really studied it before, she recognized it at once: Zuko's Uncle Iroh, the once-great General of the Fire Nation. With that realization the events of the catacombs came back to her and she looked at the other figure, noting the way the chest rose and fell slowly, but regularly. She rose to her knees and crawled carefully towards him, pulling the covers low on his waist so she could look at the wound of his chest.

"Oh, Zuko," she muttered. "I'm so grateful you did it, and yet I can't believe you did."

"Had to." His voice was hoarse and low. "Azula –" he broke off coughing.

"Shh," she whispered, pulling water from her skins and gloving her hands with it, passing them over the wound in his chest, noting in some relief that it was much smaller and less deep than it had been, and she could feel the pull of the moon upon her; it was still several hours until dawn. "Don't talk yet."

"Thank you," he continued.

"I said don't talk," she admonished softly, continuing to work on his chest until she felt tiredness pulling on her again. "There. I've done all I can for now. Go back to sleep."

She saw her father standing in the open flap of the tent, his eyes hooded and arms crossed across his chest and sighed wearily. She was not getting back to sleep for at least another hour. She followed her father out of the tent and under the stars, noting that Sokka, Aang and Toph were sitting, awake, around a small campfire, and turned their faces towards her. She knew her father was waiting for her explanation, but she felt that her duty was to inform the others of the Prince's condition before she explained things to her father. She walked towards the campfire, leaving Hakoda to stare after her in surprise.

"He'll live," Katara said, sitting next to Aang on a log around the fire. She saw her father sit across from her and continued. "I don't think he and his uncle are threats, but I want everyone to be extra-vigilant tonight. You more so than the rest of us, Aang." They nodded.

"Katara," Hakoda began, but she shook her head.

"I'm sorry I commandeered your tent without asking you first, but a man was dying and I had to help him," she said simply, waiting for the inevitable lecture. He smiled at her in a sad way and shook his head.

"You grew up without me, Katara," he said simply. "I could rant and rave and tell you to stay away from that boy, but in the end, you'd just do as you wished. I could try and prevent it, but it would only make things worse. These are sad times we are living in, when children like you are fully grown-up before they should have to."

"I had no choice," she said, frost entering her tone as she thought about her home. "Mom was gone, and I barely had time to accept that before you were gone, too. I know we had Gran-Gran and she loved us, but it wasn't the same. I had no choice but to grow up, and do it the best way I could, since I didn't have anyone to tell me how. I'm sorry if you don't like who I've become." She made to stand up, aware that the others were shifting uncomfortably around the fire as though they'd rather be anywhere but there, watching the slowly heating exchange between father and daughter.

"No, Katara," he said, and she looked at him carefully. "I am so proud and so honored to have such an accomplished, intelligent and compassionate woman for a daughter." She smiled, tears forming in the corner of her eyes, but the feeling only lasted for a moment, interrupted by another voice.

"Hey, what about me?" Sokka demanded.

"You, too," Hakoda said, laughing. The joyful barking sound, so similar to Sokka's, broke the awful tension of the past few minutes and everyone visibly relaxed.

Aang looked up tiredly and his eyes widened. "We're under attack!" he shouted, jumping to his feet and snapping open his glider. The tension returned tenfold and Katara doused the fire immediately as Hakoda watched the metal beast in the water struggle to move for a moment as Aang and Katara destroyed each flaming missile the ship threw at them. The attack lasted mere minutes before the Fire Navy ship appeared to stop dead in its tracks and all hands jumped overboard.

"The Stink and Sink!" Sokka crowed, looking at his father for conformation.

"Come on, men!" Hakoda roared, the Water Tribe Warriors rushing from their tents to his side. "It's time we rounded up some Fire Nation scum! Bato, you stay here and watch over those two," he pointed to his tent, "and the rest of you men get on the boats."

"What about me?" Katara asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"What about you?" Hakoda asked, staring at her in confusion. "Do you have a spear or a boomerang hidden somewhere on your person?" He raked his eyes over his daughter and wondered what she was getting at. A sharp smack to the back of his head got his attention and he spun, wondering where the attack had come from, meeting his daughter's eyes and noting the smirk on her face. "Oh."

"Yeah." Her voice was mocking and he shook his head with a slight smile, gesturing for her to follow him as he ran towards his ship. He watched, impressed, as his daughter used her Waterbending to scoop the Fire Nation soldiers from the depths of the bay before they drowned and deposit them on the deck.

"You won't be able to stop us," one man said between coughs, seawater spilling from his lungs. "The other ships will see you, they will see our ship and come – " His words were cut off as his entire face was covered in a coating of ice.

Hakoda stared at his daughter in dismay. This was what she had learned? "Katara?" he asked. The ice shattered and the man opened his mouth to speak again, but apparently thought the better of it and lay upon the deck.

"He's right, Dad," Sokka said, interrupting whatever lecture Hakoda might have had for his daughter. "I think we should take the ship. If we hide our ships in a cave somewhere nearby, we can retrieve them later, but disguising ourselves as Fire Nation will give us a chance to pass through the bay without drawing undue attention to ourselves."

"It's a good plan Sokka, but what about these men?" Hakoda asked, curious to see what his son had to say about the men whose lives were literally in their hands at that moment. To his surprise, it was his daughter who answered.

"Give them a choice. They can help us or they can spend the rest of the journey in the brig of the ship as prisoners of war," she said, her voice as icy as the element she bent. Sokka nodded his agreement. Hakoda didn't know what to make of the suggestion. Were his children not there, he and his men would have simply executed the men and taken the ship, but he found he was uneasy with the idea that his children may not see it in the same way he did. It was war, after all, but they were so young.

Not as young as you remember, he thought, recalling the way his daughter had nearly suffocated the Firebender a few minutes before.

"It's a plan," he said, nodding to his men to go along with it. "Katara, can you free the ship from the tanglemines?"

She didn't answer with words, instead creating a deadly-sharp stream of water to cut through the bindings holding the ship in place. One of the Fire Nation soldiers stood and saluted her. "I have made my choice. I will follow her."

Hakoda took in the relative size of this boy to his comrades as well as the uncertain tenor of his voice and stifled a groan. On top of everything else, he now had a Fire Nation youth with a crush on his daughter on his hands.

***

With the help of Katara and Aang's Waterbending, the Water Tribe boats were safely concealed in a deep cave with a low ceiling. Aang, remembering the Swampbenders, pulled a thicket of vines to cover the entrance to the cavern. When Iroh, stretching comfortably, stepped out of Hakoda's tent, more than half of the captured Fire Nation men bowed deeply in respect.

"General Iroh, we did not know you were assisting the Water Tribe," one of the bolder men said from his prone position.

"On your feet, Lieutenant Jee," he chastised the man gently. "And I should rather say that they are assisting me. Prince Zuko had a rather nasty encounter with Princess Azula and is currently unconscious. Miss Katara, I was wondering if I might ask you to take a look at him while I speak to your esteemed father regarding these men and their fate?" Katara nodded, and Sokka understood the look in his father's eye. As she walked to the tent where the Fire Prince lay in a deep slumber, he followed her, holding the tent flap open so that they could enter.

Aang and Toph soon joined them, the latter immediately placing her hand on the fur-covered stone slab that the Prince was resting on. She shook her head, a motion Aang picked up on immediately. "What's wrong, Toph?" he asked, watching as Katara lowered the blankets covering Zuko's chest and staring in horror at the mangled wound in the center. That could have been me, he thought. That should have been me. Katara's hands were gloved in her glowing blue healing waters and resting gently on the wound, but Zuko didn't respond. Aang remembered asking the older boy, when he'd saved him from Zhao, if they could have been friends. He didn't want Zuko to die before he could find out the answer to that question.

"His heartbeat is really slow," Toph said, her voice barely above a whisper. Sokka stood at the entrance of the tent, eyes alert. "Steady and strong, but slow. I've never felt anything like it before."

"Yugoda told me about something like this when I was in the North Pole," Katara said without looking up. "She called it a coma. She said that people sometimes never wake up, even though there's nothing physically wrong with them – nothing to heal. But that it is important to keep them hydrated or they can die while in it."

"So he might never wake up?" Aang asked, his voice unsteady.

"I just don't know," Katara said softly.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I really hope he wakes up," Sokka added, drawing the gazes of Katara and Aang – even Toph looked in his general direction. "What?" he asked, outraged. "I'm not allowed to be concerned about the guy who saved Aang's life?"

Three heads shook as if they couldn't believe it, but Iroh entered the tent a moment later and the subject was dropped. "Miss Katara, Avatar Aang – we are preparing to move to the Fire Nation ship. I thank you, Miss Katara, for sparing the lives of our men – most of the crew were members of Zuko's original crew and will swear their loyalty to you simply because you did not allow him to die. Tonight, on that small wooden boat, you sowed some of the first seeds of cooperation between our nations." He surprised them all by dropping into a formal bow to the still-kneeling Waterbender. "You have my loyalty as well."

Katara blushed, but could not think of words to reply. She merely nodded gratefully and continued to mask her true actions with her healing gloves, though the dual effort of attempting to heal while trying to increase Zuko's heartrate through his blood was beginning to wear on her, and Toph, who had yet to remove her hand from the stone slab, was beginning to get a suspicious look to her face.

"Avatar Aang, Miss Toph, if you would be so kind as to help load my nephew onto the ship, I believe we are preparing to depart."

"Whatever you say, Uncle," Toph responded, her signature smirk in place. In what seemed like no time, they had everything loaded upon the much-larger Fire Nation ship, with Captain Jee steering them safely through the treacherous waters. Few of the Fire Nation soldiers had chosen the brig, but those that were there were treated fairly, if only because there were children on board the vessel. After much deliberation, Iroh had decided that the best place for Zuko was a small room next to the boiler room. Though Katara found it almost unbearably hot, she didn't complain, determined as she was to make sure that her patient survived. Through the following days, she was vaguely aware of her father, Sokka and the General formulating and then discarding plans. She knew that Aang and Toph were somewhere in the ship, working on teaching Aang Metalbending, if the clangs that sometimes echoed through the halls were any indication. King Kuei had decided against joining them, setting off on Bosco to travel the world. Katara split her time between eating, sleeping and healing. In the back of her mind, she was aware that Aang was beginning to resent the amount of time she was spending away from him, but she knew, as he did, that it couldn't be helped.

And she was so tired. So very tired. She yawned and stood up, slipping the water from her hands into the bucket that was emptied regularly by someone on the crew, and leaving the room, meeting Iroh in the hallway, sweat dripping down her face and arms.

"Thank you, Lady Katara," he said. "You will be an excellent addition to the Fire Nation someday." She stared at him in horror.

"Ally, not addition. I apologize," he said with a knowing smile. "I did not mean to imply that we would ever hold you against your will or make a decoration of you. Simply that you have the true bearing and grace of a Lady of our Nation, and I would be honored to count you as one of us."

Katara nodded awkwardly and ducked away from the General. It wasn't the first time he'd said something like that to her, and she was starting to wonder exactly what it was he meant by it. Wait, did he just call me Lady Katara?

Iroh smiled to himself. Oh, that hadn't been very subtle, and he was aware of it, but he'd tried subtle on the Waterbender in the past, and it hadn't opened her eyes one mite, so he was resorting to more direct speech – well, direct for him, at any rate. He would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to notice the increasing concern the Lady Katara was showing over his nephew. And Iroh was none of the above. Unfortunately, the poor girl had simply worked herself to exhaustion over the boy, and that would never do. She would likely bring the entire ocean upon them, but Chief Hakoda had agreed. The girl must be locked in her room – it really was for her own good. There was only so much she could do for Zuko, and Iroh knew that, locked in dreams as he was, his nephew was rapidly approaching a decision that the others assumed he'd already made, and that when he awoke, the true test of the boy's loyalties would begin.

***

Zuko heard a door creaking somewhere nearby. "Water," he said, his voice hoarse and rusty from disuse. His chest felt like there was a four-hundred pound koala-lizard on it and he was sweating profusely.

"You chose poorly, my nephew," Iroh said, his voice deliberately too low to be heard outside of the walls of the room. He handed Zuko the water he requested and watched as the young man drank it down. "You sided with your sister. You tried to redirect her lightning because you feared that without a live Avatar to bring to your father, you would not be welcomed home."

Zuko said nothing; his uncle knew him well. "I have not told the others my suspicions, Prince Zuko, because I still believe there is time for you to change. But know this, my nephew. Should the Avatar be handed over to Ozai, I will mourn your loss, son of my heart, but I will be the one to bring you down myself." With these words, Iroh stood and left the small chamber without a backward glance, and Zuko was left staring at the door in astonishment.

Closing the door behind him, Iroh leaned his heavy frame against the wall for a moment. If Zuko forced him into that position, he would do what must be done to help restore balance to the world. Even if it broke his heart in the process. He wiped away his tears and headed towards the ship's galley. After a day of forced rest, during which they had all suffered through some very rough seas at Katara's hands, the Waterbender was recovered nicely and attempting to put together a meal for the group. She would want to know that his nephew was awake. Iroh was counting on Katara more than she knew to heal his nephew. He hoped the young woman was up to the task.

Back to Summary Page