Embers: Chapter Twenty, Part I

[masterghandalf]

This is a repost from Das_Sporking2; previous installments of this sporking may be found here.



MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Vathara’s Embers! Last time, Amaya met the Gaang, Toph teamed up with Zuko, and I couldn’t escape the feeling that Vathara just put a whole lot of her uglier biases on display in a way I don’t think she entirely realized she’d done. Today, it’s time for Zuko and Toph to begin infiltrating Lake Laogai, while the rest of the Gaang… get up to other things. Yaaay. Joining us today will be Toph and Sokka!

Chapter 20

A/N: At this point, changes from canon plot start snowballing. Hang onto your seats, it's gonna be a bumpy ride….

MG: *sighs* Well, it is going to be that, I suppose. And it’s true that the fic is going to (largely) break free of the rails of canon as of the end of the Ba Sing Se arc (which is still several chapters away) but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to intersect with it again at all, as we’ll see, and in ways that don’t, IMO, always make much sense. So don’t worry that we’re going to be getting rid of our “Stations of the Canon” counter, because it’s still got a fair bit of work left to do?

-

"Where's Toph?" Katara wondered.

MG: And when Toph’s not on page, everyone else should be wondering “where’s Toph?” Same goes for Zuko. *beat* I know, I know, cheap shot, but Vathara kind of walked into that one.

Sokka frowned, ostentatiously looking around and down for an aggravated earthbender. No Toph.

Toph: Am I aggravated because I’m stuck in this story and Vathara’s making me look like the world’s biggest snob? ‘Cause that is pretty aggravating!

Which was just what he'd expected. Don't make me have to explain, Toph. Please? Katara's scary when she gets mad….

Sokka: …for the record, while I prefer not to get on my sister’s bad side, I’m not scared of her. Because sure, we butt heads sometimes, but we also love each other and have each other’s backs, and why is Vathara sounding like she’s trying to make Katara out to be like Azula or something?

Beware the Sugar Queen: 15

"She said she was going to see that jade-carver, Luli," Aang said, looking everywhere at once as they walked back through poster-strewn streets. "Wish I knew why. How often am I going to have to bend jade? It's not like it comes in pieces big enough to throw at somebody."

Toph: Actually, it kind of does. A rock doesn’t need to be big to do damage. Bigger issue is that you don’t usually just see jade lying around – you’re probably not going to have to bend it very often, unless you’re, like, a professional jade carver or something. But it sure sounds like Vathara is trying to make Aang sound dumb to me.

He Has Much to Learn: 41

"Hey, your old friend Bumi learned to bend with his face," Sokka pointed out. "I think having rocks in your head makes you just a little bit crazy."

Sokka: Don’t think Bumi being a little crazy has anything to do with him being an earthbender. I mean, all the old masters we’ve met have been a little… off. Pakku’s probably the normal one in that crowd, and that’s saying something! What’s that they say, if being enlightened made you more normal, everyone would manage it?

"Toph's stubborn, and she likes to pretend she doesn't have any manners, but she's not crazy," Katara argued.

Toph: I’m not pretending, I grew up stifled in that stuff and chose to leave it behind. There’s a difference. Still better than I’d expect Vathara’s Katara to give me, though.

"She knows how worried we were the last time she walked off. She wouldn't stay out this long without a reason." His sister dropped her voice. "And I think we're being followed."

"We are," Sokka said practically, carefully not looking up to those shadows on the rooftops. Aw, spirits. I'm going to have to tell them. "I'm hoping that's a good thing."

Sokka: *rolls his eyes* Right, because we all know the Dai Li are just a bunch of big, cuddly fire ferrets in robes who just want to make sure we don’t stub our toes while we’re out. *more serious* Of course being followed by the Dai Li is a bad thing! And I guess with Toph and Zuko not here I’m the only one Vathara kind of, sort of likes, so I get to be the one who notices.

"Um… how is us being followed a good thing?" Aang said, confused.

"Because if we're lucky, they're not following Toph." At the airbender's raised brow, Sokka sighed, and nodded at the crowds carefully parting around them, wherever they walked. "Look. Haven't you noticed nobody's talking to us? Not about anything important. I'm guessing they know we're in trouble, and they don't want to end up in the stewpot with us."

Toph: Pretty sure the Dai Li can follow all of us – there are lots of Dai Li, and we were kind of a big deal. And duh, nobody was talking to us about anything important. And we knew why – they were scared of the Dai Li! This isn’t hard!

He Has Much to Learn: 42

"Like Amaya," Katara growled.

Sokka: Oh, let me guess, this is how Vathara’s going to be showing Katara’s a bad person for a while, isn’t it – that she doesn’t like the creepy mind control lady who did nothing but lecture and condescend to us the whole time she was here!

Beware the Sugar Queen: 16

"Not exactly," Sokka admitted. "Katara, think. Don't you guys say waterbending is about deflecting, and redirecting your enemy's attack?" Like Suki with her war-fans; oh, he missed her.

MG: Suki, for better or worse, is barely in Embers. I say she probably got off easy.

"Yeah," Aang nodded, glancing up at the roofs. "So?"

Sokka tried not to whack himself in the forehead. Subtle, Aang was not.

He Has Much to Learn: 43

"So, why would a waterbender come straight in and say she couldn't help us? And why would Toph, who loves to listen in on everyone and who's always nosy about places she's never been, just disappear while we're talking to somebody from the Northern Tribe?" Granted, it'd taken him these last few hours to figure all of it out, but Katara didn't have to know that.

Sokka: …but I guess Vathara couldn’t even let me have that much, could she? Anyway, Amaya wasn’t just there to tell us how she couldn’t help us, she was also there to tell us how stupid we all are. See! She can do more than one thing at once!

Elemental Determinism: 51

"Maybe she just, well… kind of got bored?" Aang said sheepishly.

He Has Much to Learn: 44

"You weren't bored when we were talking to Bato," Katara objected.

"Actually? I kind of was."

Toph: Wasn’t that the time you guys nearly split up because Aang tried to hide the letter Bato got from your dad? Think you’d remember he clearly wasn’t having fun!

"Toph doesn't bore that easily," Sokka broke in, before his sister could get huffy. "If she's not with us, she's after something important."

"Finding flaws in rock," Aang sighed.

"No. Appa."

"What?"

"Keep your voice down!" Sokka hissed. "You want to blow Toph's plan?"

"What plan?" Katara said pointedly.

Toph: …I’d kind of like to know that too, ‘cause I’m not sure how you get “Appa” out of all that.

Sokka: *shrugs*

Sokka sighed, hoping their watchers didn't have Toph's ears. "Amaya came to talk because we were Water Tribe, right? Why didn't she bring Lee?"

Sokka: I mean, we all know that it’s because Lee is really Zuko, but the me in the story doesn’t know that – wow, this is weird – anyway, for all we know he didn’t want to come, or he was busy running the clinic or something. We barely know Amaya, why should we assume this was all part of some big plan? We meet lots of people – most of them don’t have some big plan! How are we supposed to know Vathara has marked out Amaya as Actually Important?

"Because she doesn't want to help," Katara bit out.

"I think she did." Sokka eyed both of them. "I think maybe Amaya was a distraction for the Dai Li. Did you see how Toph was when she did come back? Like she was waiting for something. Maybe, getting a chance to split up?" He frowned. "I think Lee was there. And Toph talked to him."

Toph: Wow, of all the possible explanations for me not wanting to talk to Creepy Lady, you hit on the one that’s almost right! What’re the odds?

"And he knew where Appa was?" Aang pounced. But thankfully, kept his voice down. "Why wouldn't she tell us?"

Sokka winced. "She might think you still blame her for losing Appa in the first place. You were pretty blunt about that."

Toph: I blamed myself for it too, you know! I hated that I couldn’t help the rest of you and save Appa at the same time! And you know what, once we’d escaped from the desert and all calmed down some, Aang didn’t yell at me about it anymore! Because we all knew that finding Appa – and getting to the Earth King – was more important than blaming people!

"He was angry," Katara defended Aang. "Anybody would have been. Toph knows he didn't mean it."

"I'm just saying, he never said he was sorry," Sokka shrugged. "And you know how Toph is about pulling her own weight."

Toph: Sounds to me like Vathara just wanted me to have a cool adventure with Zuko and then went back and figured out how to get me away from the rest of you.

"But this is different!" Aang insisted. "If she knows where Appa is, we've got to be there!"

Sokka: *sighs* Knowing Vathara, if we were there we’d just trip over our own feet so Zuko could sweep in and save the day. *notices mg’s expression* Sometimes I hate being right.

"Aang's right," Katara nodded. "Toph's a little overconfident sometimes-"

Toph: Hey, it’s not overconfidence if you can back it up.

The little menace could trash Earth Rumble benders with flicks of her fingers, and take out a charging saber-moose lion. Overconfident was not the word Sokka would use.

Sokka: *rolls his eyes* Yeah, it’s pretty clear who here the author likes. Toph gets to sound cool, I get to be amazed at how cool Toph sounds, and Katara gets to be judgy about it. That sound about right?

"-She could need our help," Katara finished. "Especially if she's with Lee. Who in the Water Tribe names their kid Lee?"

Sokka: I don’t know, there’s a million Lees. That’s what Master Piandao said – it’s a pretty common name! Not really Water Tribe, sure, but there’s a bunch of reasons his mom might have come up with it anyway, if it really was his real name.

Okay, that was a good point. "But that could wreck Toph's plan!" Sokka argued. "If the Dai Li are keeping an eye on us-"

"Appa's more important than Toph's plan," Aang said impatiently. "Let's go find Luli."

Toph: *sighs* Of course Aang gets to sound dumb. Both for caring about Appa, and in general. Yuck.

The Blind Bandit Wins Again: 24

He Has Much to Learn: 45

-

"So… the Avatar didn't intend to destroy the fleet?"

Sokka: Oh. Dear. Spirits. We’re still going on about the North Pole? How many more times are we going to have to bring this up? Haven’t we gone over it enough?

MG: …quite a lot more, as it happens. And we’ve not even gotten to the part about why it’s going to be plot-relevant going forward.

Sokka: *facepalm*

Dark cloak over her robes, mask ready to go on at Zuko's signal,

Toph: Wait a minute; how do I know the cloak is dark? Did Zuko tell me? In case Vathara’s forgotten, I can’t “see” colors! That’s not something vibrations pick up!

Toph considered the exiled prince's words very carefully. Half of an Earth Rumble wasn't bending at all, really; it was getting inside your opponent's head, so you knew how he'd move, how he'd flinch, and what would get the crowd pumped up and roaring.

Toph: Yeah, yeah, neutral jin, wait and listen, Aang and I went over all that when he told me what Bumi told him to look for in a teacher.

He trusts me, a little, Toph thought, reading his footsteps as they made their way down farm roads toward the distant lake. A train would have been way faster, but she didn't need Zuko to tell her those earthbenders probably reported to the Dai Li too.

He's going to help. This time. But he's not just any firebender. He's Prince Zuko.

Sokka: Someone who Toph barely knows and has really only heard of secondhand at this point? You’d think it’d be us making a bigger deal if we had to team up with Zuko at this point, since we at least knew him!

Aang had been raised by monks, who seemed to spend a lot of time contemplating the universe and otherwise answered to a council of elders if they didn't shave often enough. Katara and Sokka had grown up in a small village, where their dad was responsible for, oh, maybe a few hundred people. Zuko? He'd been raised to someday take over the whole Fire Nation.

Zuko: *sticking his head in* Not really? For a lot of my childhood, I was expecting that Uncle would take over after Grandfather, and Lu Ten after him – I was a ways down the line. And after Dad took over… well, he always made it clear which of us he wanted to succeed him, and it sure wasn’t me.

Divine Right to Rule: 51 (one point for Zuko being awesome for being a noble, one point for Toph being the only one of the Gaang who picks up on it)

Prince Stuko: 86

Toph might not do maps, but she was a merchant's daughter. And she could feel how big Ba Sing Se was. Huge. Mind-numbingly huge. A quarter of a continent big.

And General Iroh had once held the entire city under siege.

The number of soldiers that must have taken made her head hurt. The number of people who had to be behind those soldiers, maintaining supplies of food, steel, new recruits… ow.

And Zuko had been taught to be responsible for all of them.

Toph: Pretty sure he’s got people who do a lot of that for him. Isn’t one of the perks of being Fire Lord that you get to boss all the generals and admirals and war ministers around? I think they take care of a lot of that boring stuff.

From what Katara and Sokka had said about the North Pole, Aang had wiped out years of shipbuilding. And who knew how much time and experience in the sailors and the marines on those ships. In one night.

Uh-uh. Zuko's question wasn't nearly as simple as it sounded.

Sokka: *flatly* Yeah, well, we may not be super-smart and special nobles like you guys, but we knew enough to know the Fire Lord wouldn’t be able to replace and entire fleet easy.

"He wanted to stop the fleet," Toph said bluntly. "I think he'd have been happy if they just turned around and went away."

"They couldn't do that. Not under Admiral Zhao's orders."

MG: Right, because that would’ve required breaking loyalty. *headdesk* Leaving aside that some of the fleet did retreat, and even in Embers there were survivors from the battle…

"So, what?" Toph asked dryly. "Aang should have just grabbed a waterbending master and run away?"

"It would have been the smart thing to do," Zuko shot back. "There are islands. There are miles of coastline in the north, near the mountains. He could have trained on the coast, kept somebody on lookout, and just retreated behind the mountains any time Fire Nation forces approached. Move there out of sight - it'd be easy on Appa - and he could just fly back over to the coast when he was clear."

Oh. Now she felt like an idiot. Why didn't Sokka think of that?

Sokka: *outraged* Because it would’ve been throwing the Northern Water Tribe to the wolves to save our skins! Zhao wanted to capture Aang, sure, but he wasn’t just there for Aang. He was there to conquer the Northern Water Tribe and kill everyone who got in his way, up to and including the Moon Spirit. We weren’t going to just grab Pakku and run and leave him to do that. Aang sure wasn’t, and Katara and I weren’t either! Vathara, do you have any idea what sorts of stuff happens to a city that gets sacked? Because I grew up on stories of Fire Nation raids, and it’s not pretty! And Zuko is suggesting we should’ve just abandoned them to that? And Toph seems to be agreeing with him? What!? I think it’s pretty obvious why we wanted to stand and fight!

He Has Much to Learn: 46 (for the implication Aang was wrong to stay and fight)

Simple Rubes from the Water Tribes: 28 (for the implication that abandoning the Water Tribe was the right, or at least a plausible, course of action)

"But that probably wouldn't have stopped the invasion," Zuko admitted reluctantly. "Zhao had… too much influence by then.

Toph: Also, you know, pretty sure old Ozai signed off on a “conquer the North” mission, not a “take the entire armada on a joyride after one twelve-year-old” mission.

Came close to catching the Avatar too many times. Did catch him, once. Why the hell was he after frozen frogs in range of Pohuai Stronghold, the idiot…."

Sokka: Because that’s where we happened to be at the time? It’s just a place we stopped while we were heading north and, guess what, Aang was looking for those frogs (I can’t believe I ended up with one of those in my mouth…) because Katara and I were sick and couldn’t really be moved! He didn’t have time to be choosy!

He Has Much to Learn: 47

"Frozen frogs?" Toph asked, curious. Sokka had complained about frogs a few weeks back, something about warts on his tongue. To absolutely no sympathy from Katara.

"…Nothing."

Definitely wasn't nothing. But Zuko had tensed up in a way that said she'd have more luck asking with hot knives and bamboo slivers.

"Zhao had influence, and he had a plan. The Fire Lord backed him. If the Avatar hadn't headed into Water Tribe territory, maybe… but he did." Zuko blew out a hot breath. "Nothing would have stopped the invasion then."

Sokka: Zhao kind’ve thought it was his destiny to kill the Moon Spirit and conquer the Water Tribes. He didn’t really shut up about it. Pretty sure he’d have hit the North with or without Aang being there – it just happened to work out pretty well for him that Aang was there, so he could kill two arctic hens with one stone.

"You sound like you think it was a bad idea," Toph said, trying for casual.

"Well, it didn't work, did it?" The acid in Zuko's voice could have stripped limestone down to chalky water.

"You got in," Toph pointed out.

"Zhao didn't even know I was there," Zuko snorted. "He thought I was dead."

Say what? But Toph let that interesting fact slide, feeling the tension seeping out of Zuko's stride. Maybe he just needs somebody to listen. "Okay, Sparky. How would you have pried Aang out of all that ice?"

Toph: If he had Zhao’s mission, he’d probably still have to conquer the city, you know. Not just “pry Aang out of there!” I wasn’t there, but I heard all about it later, and it sounded like Zhao had a lot going on.

"With Zhao's resources? I wouldn't have used a whole fleet," Zuko said thoughtfully. "A few ships, to carry the people I needed… you've met Ty Lee."

"Uh, yeah," Toph said, startled. "How'd you know that?"

"My sister was chasing you," Zuko said dryly. "I found some of the camps she chased you out of. Only one thing makes master benders retreat that fast."

Toph gulped. "There are more people like her?"

"A lot more. They're not supposed to leave the Fire Nation in wartime,

Sokka: Right, because you clearly want to keep your elite commandos who can paralyze people and take away their bending hidden away in your country and not use them against your enemies! *beat* Hey, what about the Yu-Yan Archers? They did better against Aang than just about anyone, why not use them? *sing-song* That’s how Zhao did it!

but Azula's never let little things like laws stop her…." He tapped fingers against his thigh, thinking. "Stealth teams. Sneak past the lookouts; they're looking for metal, red, and black, not small boats and people dressed like snow.

Sokka: Oh, yeah, clearly the Water Tribes have no experience with people dressing like the snow to be stealthy. Pull the other one.

Simple Rubes from the Water Tribes: 29

They're not trained lookouts anyway. The Water Tribes don't have an organized military. More of a militia. They're trained warriors, they're good individually, but their command and control structure sucks. There are exceptions, like Chief Hakoda, but most of their leaders don't have a grasp on long-term strategy. They don't fight to defend their nation; they fight because you're an outsider, and you're there.

Toph: Except for at the Siege of the North, where it sure sounded to me like they were fighting to defend their nation, not just picking a random fight with anyone…

Simple Rubes from the Water Tribes: 31

The Northern Tribe is used to relying on their waterbenders and the ice. They hadn't suffered a determined assault in eighty-five years, which meant all their trained warriors had no one to fight but each other. And believe me, they did. Hereditary house territories and political alliances with upper-class families, that's where their weapons and bending training got focused. And that means when they put lookouts on the walls, those people weren't watching the Fire Nation. They were watching their enemies, the ones they'd have to live with after we were gone. And they assumed we would be gone - the last invasion didn't work, and this time they had the Avatar on their side." Zuko's bitter smile seared through the ground. "And because they couldn't forget about each other and focus on us, they huddled in allied groups. Which left gaps in the lookout coverage." He shrugged. "Make it in through the gaps, find the Avatar, extract him, and retreat. Let the Water Tribe think the Avatar's abandoned them. Again. That would break their morale right there. You wouldn't need to fight."

Sokka: Just love how this whole plan is based on the Water Tribes being a bunch of stupid, backwards hicks who care more about feuding with each other than we do about protecting our homelands from the Fire Nation. It’s not like the North stayed unconquered for the whole war for a reason or anything… and hey, when Zuko himself snuck into Agna Qel’a, he came in a completely different way, under cover of an actual battle! Funny how that works out.

MG: It’s also worth noting that this sort of decentralized army made up of a hodgepodge of regional militias and the retinues of local nobility who spend as much time feuding with each other as they do fighting the enemy would also fit in just fine with the decentralized feudal structure Vathara gives the Fire Nation, more than a modernized professional army would… but Vathara doesn’t follow that train of thought to its logical conclusion, does she? As Sokka said, funny how that works out…

Prince Stuko: 88

Simple Rubes from the Water Tribes: 35

"Oh," Toph said, voice small. Swallowed hard. Well, you asked.

And when you felt past the scary shiver of realizing Zuko had thought about this… he'd told her the truth. Again. Toph frowned. "How long is it going to take us to get to this lake?"

"A while yet. Why?"

"You know I could feel anybody sneaking up on us way before we had to hide," Toph said confidently.

"Good," Zuko said warily. "So?"

"So, tell me what's happened since you started chasing Aang," Toph demanded. "These guys only mention things they think I need to know, and they leave all kinds of good stuff out! Katara stole a waterbending scroll?"

MG: And clearly, Zuko is going to be a totally clear and unbiased source, completely unlike those losers in the Gaang! Not to mention, sure, Zuko was the Gaang’s most recurring antagonist in Book One, but it’s not like he met them every episode (by my count he only encounters them directly in 9 out of 20 episodes – and that’s including “The Storm,” where he and Aang just see each other from a distance at one point – and even those episodes have a lot of important events happen he wasn’t there for) and then he didn’t encounter them at all between the events of the Siege of the North and their meeting Toph for the first time. So, even if we assume that Zuko is going to be completely honest about everything he knows… there’s a lot of this story he doesn’t know. But clearly, he’s the best source for all the juicy details. Right.

Prince Stuko: 90

"Ah, yeah…?"

"She never told me that part! I had to hear it from Uncle." Toph bounced on her heels. "Tell me what you saw. How'd this whole mess get started?"

Sokka: Which part? When Aang got frozen, or when Katara and I found him? Zuko wasn’t there for either of those!

Tell me how I can get you on our side. Twinkletoes is going to need a firebending master, like it or not….

MG: Which is going to go absolutely nowhere, because Zuko isn’t going to become Aang’s firebending master, never will become Aang’s firebending master (Vathara’s going to go out of her way to make this impossible, in fact) and indeed is never really going to join the Gaang or become Aang’s friend in this AU (with various characters making it clear Aang is a naïve fool for wanting this). So, in light of that, I think it’s finally time to break out the final count I’m going to be using for this sporking (I think…) which is going to be getting a lot more use in the back half of the fic…

Roads to Nowhere: 1

And if your sister ever wised up and gave you what you need to catch Aang, we'd be in big trouble.

Toph: I guess I’ve not figured out yet that Zuko’s been outlawed and isn’t with the Fire Nation anymore, huh?

Zuko swallowed, and drew a breath. "A hundred years ago, a ship's log recorded sighting a bison heading toward the South Pole…."

Sokka: Wow, when Zuko starts from the beginning, he starts from the beginning. *chuckles* Though I guess we should be lucky he didn’t start all the way back with “once upon a time in the Fire Nation there were two friends named Sozin and Roku, and then everything changed when Roku found out he was the Avatar” because then we’d really be here for a while!

-

"Why would Healer Amaya visit the Avatar?"

Toph: Because Vathara wanted her to have a chance to be all smug and condescending and stuff?

Reading by lantern-light - handy as glowing crystals were, his eyes hated them - Shirong started. Glanced up at Quan, curious. "Nothing I can think of-"

No. He wouldn't.

"But?" Quan said pointedly.

"One of the Avatar's companions is a waterbender," Shirong said practically. "Amaya might want to discuss bending." All the while, his mind raced. Oh, spirits. Lee, tell me you didn't. "What's going on?"

Sokka: Hey, you’re the one who knows he has a history of doing pretty wild stuff and brought him in on your plans anyway, so this one’s kind of on you…

"We should advise her not to do that again soon." Quan frowned. "Long Feng is… disturbed. The Avatar's Joo Dee has had to be removed from duty. Again. Currently the children are chasing their posters through the city, which is relatively harmless… but we've lost track of the earthbender."

Oma and Shu. He did.

Toph: Wait a minute. I just through the city to find Iroh and Zuko, right, and then we headed out to Lake Laogai together? How did I lose the Dai Li?

Only long practice let Shirong keep his face neutral and interested. Inside he was torn between gut-wrenching terror and utter delight at Lee's sheer nerve.

He needed an earthbender to get to the bison. He found one. Oh, my…. "I seem to recall that the Blind Bandit's remarkably apt to vanish when she wants to," Shirong observed. "But she always shows up again. Usually with a new rock sample to bounce off her companions' heads."

Sokka: *crosses his arms* Still doesn’t answer Toph’s question. How did you guys lose her this time? *beat* Also, I don’t know how Zuko broke into Lake Laogai during the real version of this, but he clearly didn’t need Toph because she was with us.

"True," Quan acknowledged. "Well. At least you'll get a good night's sleep."

Sokka: …you’re taking this way, way too well.

"Extra guard shifts?" Shirong raised a brow.

"Just a precaution." Quan regarded him levelly, just a fraction of an instant too long-

Smiled, and saw himself out. "Have a good night."

Shirong kept an answering smile on his face as Quan's footsteps retreated, feeling his heart try to freeze in his chest. Oma and Shu. They know.

No. They couldn't know. They might suspect something could be amiss, Lee hadn't exactly looked perfectly calm and contained heading out with Amaya, but they couldn't know. Or he'd be answering to Long Feng personally.

Toph: I mean, that’s how the actual Dai Li would work, but the actual Dai Li wouldn’t have lost me so easily, and would have hauled Zuko and Iroh and Amaya in for questioning a long time ago, so who knows how you guys do things.

And not of my own will.

Spirits, no. I'd rather die.

Startling thought. Living was living, after all. He'd served Long Feng for years, darkening his soul as every Dai Li had to. Did it matter if he lost one more shred of himself?

Yes. It does. I won't be used. I won't betray my city to the whims of people who can't see beyond the Avatar's power to the heart of a twelve-year-old boy!

Sokka: But all the soul-darkening stuff you did before that – all the lying and disappearing and brainwashing and general dictator stuff – that was, what, for the greater good so it’s all okay? And why do I think Vathara meant the “darkening his soul” bit to be cool because Shirong was doing the hard but necessary things instead of being, you know, evil.

Shirong sucked in a breath, shaken by his own certainty. It burned, that sureness; warming and painful at once.

I won't be used. And I won't betray Lee.

Which meant he had to do the hardest thing of all. Nothing.

He broke into Pohuai Stronghold. He got into the North Pole. He can do this.

I hope.

Toph: And if Long Feng does show up in the next five minutes to come breathing down your neck? Do you have a plan for that one?

But the only way Lee would stand a chance was if Quan wasn't sure. If Shirong moved to help, if he moved at all - Quan would be sure.

There's nothing I can do.

No. Not quite true. There was one thing. And given the close shave he'd had with the haima-jiao, it wouldn't even look suspicious. Much.

Lighting incense, Shirong stuck the smoking sticks in a bowl of rice before the mini-shrine every Dai Li kept in his quarters, and clapped his hands to pray.

Protectors of our Cultural Heritage: 42 (giving a point here for reinforcing the idea of the Dai Li as some sort of spiritual warriors instead of corrupt authoritarian culture police)

Oma and Shu, Tui and La… Agni, if you'll hear one who's cursed your people so thoroughly most of his life…. One of your children really needs your help.

I know he's a crazy, mixed-up kid. I know you're all probably staring at him cross-eyed, trying to figure out what to do with a Fire Nation waterbender - with a firebender uncle! - who can't turn around without tripping over a kamuiy. But he's trying to do the right thing. He's trying to help that other poor kid you stuck with the fate of the world. That's got to count for something.

Sokka: …can’t speak for Oma, Shu or “Agni,” but I don’t think Tui and La have anything to do with who the Avatar is. Pretty sure the Avatar spirit just sort of… choose who to be born as next by itself, so long as they’re from the next nation in the cycle? *rubs his forehead* Man, I’ve got to ask Aang about that sometime… makes my head hurt, anyway…

I know I don't deserve any favors. I'm Dai Li. I did what I had to do. But… help him. Please.

Toph: *snorts* Yeah, and I’m sure everyone you’ve killed and brainwashed over the years really appreciates that you had to do it. That makes it all better.

Protectors of our Cultural Heritage: 43

Well. That was it. Shirong sighed, and lowered his hands-

For one heartbeat, the shrine glowed gold.

Sokka: Oh, no, no, no, please don’t tell me that means what I think it means…

MG: *hums noncommittaly*

-

"Sparky?"

"Yes?" Zuko answered, half-listening as he scanned the dark lake for any sign of a boat. Toph could pick up anything moving on the ground, but they'd already had one near miss with a courier dead asleep on a canny old ostrich-horse standing in the middle of the road. Which had led to a tense, whispered explanation of how seeing with earthbending worked, and his realization that to Toph, the lake was one big black hole.

Toph: Yeah, gotta agree with Vathara on one thing. Not a fan of big, deep bodies of water.

"I'm impressed." Said with the kind of finality that implied Toph just didn't do impressed, most of the time.

"Why?" Zuko looked at her, puzzled. "You know what my uncle did as a general. If the Fire Lord commands, you obey."

Sokka: I also know that Vathara decided to make that about magic mind control, for some reason, but yeah.

"And…?" Toph prodded.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You know, that's really annoying." Useful, though. What he wouldn't give for a living lie detector to handle the court weasel-snakes.

Azula: *from just out of sight* Challenge accepted!

Would have given, Zuko reminded himself. At least you should be able to avoid most of them, now. Not entirely, the plan might bring them in contact with who knew what… but they definitely wouldn't be around on a daily basis.

"Deal with it," Toph said cheerfully. "Come on. We both know you're not in this just to follow orders."

Can I trust her?

Does it really matter?

Zuko sighed. "Do you want Azula in charge of the Fire Nation?" He shivered at the thought. No doubt Toph felt it. He just didn't care.

Toph: I mean… no, but right now Ozai is already in charge of the Fire Nation and we all know he’s a murdering dictator, so… first things first? Also, at this point I’d only met Azula a couple of times, and that mostly involved fighting her. I didn’t really know what she’s like as a person yet, just that she’s dangerous.

The earthbender let out what would have been a whistle, if they hadn't been worried about getting caught. "Yeah. Yeah, that'd make me… pretty determined. If it was me." She smirked, and stomped; a lump of shaped rock rose to the surface, round door shedding water. "Guess that just leaves one more question. How can you fake it so well everybody in the city thinks you're a waterbender?"

Zuko smirked back, and raised his hands, palms together. "Watch your rocks." A breath, and he swept his hands apart and down.

Water sheeted off stone, slipping back into the lake like a silken curtain. Toph's jaw dropped.

"We don't want to leave wet footprints," Zuko said bluntly. "I'm not going to be able to do that inside. The Dai Li keep track of every bender in the city. If I use water, the mask won't matter." He hesitated. "Don't tell them. Please."

Sokka: I mean, keeping track of every bender in the city seems like a lot, but keeping track of every waterbender seems like it should be pretty easy, because there’s so few of them, so… I’d buy it.

"Okay," Toph nodded, milky eyes still wide. "Nobody'd believe it anyway… how?"

"I drowned on dry land." Zuko shrugged, trying not to let it matter. "If… what I was told is right, the spirits are arguing over what should happen next. With Aang. With everything. Yue… she said I'd tried to bring some balance back. After that - Amaya got the water out of my lungs, and took me in." He snorted. "Want to know what's really scary? She and Uncle conspire on my lessons. There's nothing in any scrolls about bending fire and water at the same time, so they get to be creative. I swear I've caught them giggling." And that was really too much, he shouldn't have-

Toph: Kinda can’t help but notice you left out how it was because of Amaya you nearly drowned in the first place…

"I bet." Toph's face was one wide grin. "Can I at least tell the guys Lee's Fire Nation? We're going to be leaving anyway… and I have got to feel the look on Sugar Queen's face!"

Beware the Sugar Queen: 18 (one point for racist Katara, one point for antagonizing Katara being presented as a good thing to do)

Surprising himself, Zuko snickered. Wish I could see that. "Just say we're colonials. That's the story Uncle's been using." He let out a slow breath, shutting fear and laughter away. "Ready?"

"Right behind you." Toph crooked a finger, and the cover skated aside.

Focus on the goal, Zuko reminded himself. Forget you're helping the Avatar. Remember you're saving your people.

Sokka: Right now it might be a bit more important to remember you’re saving a ten-ton fluffy flying bison. Because, you know, that’s what you’re actually doing.

Determined, he descended into green-lit shadows.

-

In a way, the frantic pounding on Huojin's door was a relief.

Dai Li wouldn't pound, they'd just appear inside. The Guard hopped over one of Daiyu's stray wooden ostrich-horses as he headed for the door.

Toph: Hopped over? Wow, how big is that thing?

He'd been about to head out for headquarters anyway, his fellow Guards knew where he was. They probably just needed an extra, early hand. Riot, fire, fugitive in the area, something like that. All of which, no matter how dire, had to be better than Dai Li on his doorstep. I really lucked out-

He opened the door, and had to look down.

Skinny kid. Shaved bald. Flying lemur on his shoulder. Airbender tattoos. Oh, and two determined-looking Water Tribe teens backing him up, one carrying a mean boomerang and the girl a waterskin and a glint in blue eyes that said she knew how to use it.

…I'm going to get you for this, Lee. Somehow.

Sokka: Oh, yeah, maybe this is a lucky break for him, but it’s us meeting one of Vathara’s pet characters again, so I don’t think it’s going to be lucky for us.

"Where's Luli?" the airbender - the Avatar - demanded.

"Where's Toph?" the waterbender added, voice edged with violence.

"And who's this guy Lee, anyway?" Boomerang jumped in.

Sokka: …and why is Vathara having us act like we think Huojin and Luli kidnapped Toph or something-

Toph: As if they could.

Sokka: - because otherwise we’re just barging into someone’s house and demanding they start answering questions. And okay, sometimes we screwed things up and got burned – sometimes literally – but I don’t think we were usually this bad!

He Has Much to Learn: 48

"Evening to you, too," Huojin drawled. Act like you don't see the threat, and maybe they'll get over themselves. "You can report missing persons at Guard headquarters." Might as well head there now, Huojin thought, stepping into the street past them and marching off. I want backup. Lots of backup.

Toph: I mean, yeah, you guys could do that, and then the Dai Li would know all about it five minutes later, but of course Huojin has to he the one who can carefully handle all the stupid kids! Ugh.

"Report this, wait for that - everything here strangles in rules!" The airbender's staff struck the ground, and Huojin felt a familiar tremor-

Sokka: …okay, I don’t know who this kid is, but that does not sound like Aang. *beat* Honestly sounds more like something Toph might say, not that Vathara would go there…

He didn't move fast enough.

Okay, Huojin thought, up to his neck in rock and trying to hold his temper to a slow simmer, now I know why Lee's so snarly.

Toph: Right, because the guy who got burned and thrown out by his father and given an impossible job to do in order to go home would only have a bad temper because of dealing with Twinkletoes. Riiight. Though I guess Huojin doesn’t know about all that, so maybe I should cut him some slack. *beat* But Vathara probably really thinks that, so naah.

The Avatar landed in front of him, gray eyes determined. "Where's Luli?"

Sokka: Seriously, the only time I remember Aang sounding anything like this is after Appa got stolen. Wow, he really does think Luli kidnapped Toph or something, doesn’t he?

Keep your temper, Huojin told himself, trying not to growl. Don't escalate the situation. "What the hell do you want with my wife?"

…Well, I tried.

MG: And I can’t shake the feeling that Vathara thinks this is the entirely natural and sympathetic reaction one should have when dealing with the Gaang, even though she’s writing them very much out of character to justify it… which just feels like stacking the deck against them, and in favor of her OC.

"Your wife?" The Avatar blinked, and seemed to shrink a little. "Um… we just want to talk to her…."

"Rocks off," Huojin said flatly. "Then we can talk."

Earth rumbled back into the street.

Toph: Oh wow, and Huojin just takes control of the situation that easily! Yeah, this really is “the cool adult sets Team Avatar straight night” isn’t it?

Brushing himself off, Huojin looked at the kids and shook his head. "What is with you, anyway? Don't you know that's assault? On a City Guard? Trouble doesn't even begin to cover it." He eyed the oldest of the bunch, boomerang and all. "And you're all out past curfew. Toph would know better."

Sokka: Yeah, we know better than to just go running around assaulting random people, I can tell you that!

Toph: And, come on. The only reason I’d pay attention to curfew is so I could sneak out past it.

The Blind Bandit Wins Again: 25

"She said she wanted to talk to Luli, and then she didn't come back," Boomerang stated, hands out to ease the tension. "It took us hours just to find you. We just want to know where Toph is."

MG: That Toph just ran off with Zuko and never seems to have tried to get a message to her friends telling them not to worry about her doesn’t seem to factor in at all…

"And who Lee is," the waterbender said darkly.

A kid with more guts than sense. "Toph was here earlier," Huojin said plainly. "I didn't see when she left." Or who she'd left with. The less he knew about Lee breaking into Dai Li headquarters, the better.

Sokka: You know, when this actually happened, we broke into the Dai Li headquarters. We didn’t just go randomly wandering around town attacking people!

MG: *grimly* Trust me, I’m going to have things to say about that little change, both this time and next time…

"Why was she here?" Boomerang said pointedly.

So one of them had half a brain. But given he'd asked that on the street…. Huojin sighed.

The teenager slapped himself on the forehead, and gave Huojin a weak grin. "Right! To see Luli. Why else? So… where is Luli?"

Sokka: *sighs* And here we go again…

"Papers," Huojin said bluntly.

"What?"

MG: It feels remiss of me not to note that “papers, please” is usually a bad guy line…

"You're underage, you're out past curfew, you assaulted a Guard, and you are definitely behaving in a belligerent and disorderly fashion," Huojin stated. "You think I'm going to tell you where my wife is when I don't know who you are?"

"We… don't have any papers," the waterbender admitted. "Toph did, but…."

The Blind Bandit Wins Again: 26

"We don't need papers!" That obstinate look was back in gray eyes. "I'm the Avatar."

MG: Honestly, Vathara is framing it to make Aang look bad… but it’s probably the truth. It’s elaborated more on in later sources, but I think even just from the show it’s pretty clear the Avatar sits outside the usual power structures of the four nations. Asking Aang for his papers seems kind of like asking the Dalai Lama or the Pope for their papers.

Huojin lifted a brow, arched with all the skeptical disbelief of a Guard who'd heard every drunk spirit-tale under the sun. "Sure you are."

Heh. This could be fun.

Toph: Fun for you, not for us. Because wow, that was really awkward, and really made it clear Vathara only wrote that scene to have you three being a bunch of stupid kids who get told off by a responsible adult.

He Has Much to Learn: 50 (a couple of points for this whole scene)

-

Well, if everything blows up in our faces, at least Sparky's having fun, Toph thought, grinning behind her mask.

Toph: …I’d say that at least I’m getting to have a cool adventure, but it’s pretty clear only because Vathara likes me and wants to have me team up with her favorite character. So that’s not so great.

It wasn't anything big. Other people probably wouldn't even see a smile. But there was a lightness in Zuko's step she'd never felt before. A fragile joy, as if all the lumps of confused prince had dropped away and left a flutter-hornet dancing in the breeze.

He's good at this.

Sokka: Oh, yeah, nothing more fun than marching right into Dai Li central! Admittedly, I’m not Zuko, but even from him that seems a little out there…

Prince Stuko: 91

Which was weird, for a firebender, given how much of this was listening and waiting to move. Silence and speed and silence again, moving in the gaps of guards' attention. He'd even held her shoulder, one unseen moment, and demonstrated a slight adjustment to her step that softened her footfalls even further.

MG: Yes, well, I think I’ve mentioned it before, but there’s a term that Vathara’s going to bring up a lot later in the fic – low war. And it just so happens that Zuko (and Kuzon before him) is an expert in it. Who knew?

Prince Stuko: 92

And while all the rest of him was silent, she could feel his heart beating like solstice morning.

Or like the tournaments, Toph realized, following close behind. This is the real opponent. The good one. The one that's going to take everything you've got, and you still might lose.

But if you pull it off… man, you win it all.

MG: That makes me wonder when the last time Toph faced a real, worthy opponent in the Earth Rumble was, anyway. At least in the one we see, the next most powerful contestant after her was the Boulder, and she still handled him easily. It was always clear her training with the badgermoles, and her particular senses, translated into a huge advantage, especially against other earthbenders.

On top of that, he was glad she was there. Her. Specifically. She'd felt tension seeping out of him as they'd walked, and she'd proved she was a better lookout at night than anyone with eyes. Felt him - not tense - but ready himself to watch what might be out in the water, where she couldn't see. Felt his hesitance as he adjusted her step, and his honest delight when she silently accepted the correction and did her best to mimic him, within the limits of her bending.

Zuko was glad she was there. That was… whoa.

Toph: We’ve been over this already, but I’ve met him all of twice at this point! Why is his opinion so important to me, anyway?

The Blind Bandit Wins Again: 27

Prince Stuko: 93

So stay on your toes, Toph told herself, as they ghosted down yet another corridor of mostly-empty prison cells. Don't screw this up. Her eyes widened, and she stopped, hand out close enough to feel the heat radiating from Zuko's shirt. "What?" she murmured.

"I don't believe this," Zuko breathed, peering into one cell. Wrestled with himself, and sighed. "We have to get them out. You'd better do the talking."

"Why just them?" Toph asked pointedly.

"I don't know why anybody else is here. These three, I do. Damn."

MG: Remember when I said the Freedom Fighters got captured so Zuko could have a big damn heroes moment? This is it. Strap yourselves in.

Okay, she could work with that. Zuko eased the lock open, and Toph stuck her masked head in enough to hear the differences between a young girl, a skinny guy, and a guy a little more heavily built than Zuko. "If you want out of here, follow us, and stay quiet."

Feet thumped the floor, startled. "I'm Jet," the more muscled teen said; voice trying for confident, but ragged at the edges. "They're Smellerbee and Longshot. Who are you?"

"You don't want to know," Toph said bluntly, aware of Zuko's silence. "Less talking, more sneaking."

Sokka: Oh, yeah, it’s ironic, get it? And hey, the actual mission to Lake Laogai is when Jet died! It was horrible, and sad, and I didn’t even like the guy, but we all knew we couldn’t let Long Feng get away with it, and we didn’t. And now it looks like he’s just here so Zuko can rescue him and look cool for doing it. Either that, or he’s going to still die to show how stupid he is.

MG: It’s the former, thankfully. Or not.

Around and down, following Zuko's earth-shimmering steps. Toph felt a chamber beyond the wall, the vibrations of too-still bodies, the earth-shadow of a partly open door.

"I'm Joo Dee," a man's voice said calmly. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

"I'm Joo Dee," dozens of women said in unison. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

"We are so lucky to have our walls to create order."

"We are so lucky to have our walls to create order."

There are hundreds, Amaya had said. Toph felt chilled. And angry.

Toph: Amaya also yelled at us for daring to think the Dai Li were evil! Pick a side and stick with it, Vathara!

Some of that was smoking off her partner in crime; she could feel heat drifting through the air. She couldn't blame Sparky one bit.

I don't care what Aang thinks. The Fire Nation wants this city? They can have it.

Sokka: Oh, yeah, because trading a home-grown dictatorship for a foreign occupation will make everything so much better, because that’s always how it works out, right?

MG: This is also a point where I think Vathara is really trying to have her cake and eat it too. She’s doing the Lake Laogai infiltration, and she’s actually letting the Dai Li actually be evil for once, which is a refreshing change… but something about it is off. Namely, that all this disappearing and brainwashing is being done by nameless, faceless Dai Li extras who don’t matter. None of the Dai Li agents we’re actually getting to know are going to be portrayed as truly evil, at worst as noble but misguided servants of the city who only got their hands dirty in the name of the greater good, honest (and if Vathara really thinks that’s the kind of person who joins a secret police organization like this and rises in its ranks, well… I don’t think the Gaang are the naïve ones here…). Only Long Feng himself and the late, unlamented Yunxu really feel like they’re being intentionally portrayed as genuinely evil people. Even Quan, Long Feng’s second in command, is going to end up coming around and becoming a good guy eventually. It just ends up feeling disturbingly disingenuous, like Vathara knows on some level the Dai Li as an organization are bad but refuses to let the Dai Li characters she likes writing, which is most of them, actually be tainted by that. And it’s not the thing I hate most about this fic, by far… but it’s something that bugs me a lot, that feels enormously hypocritical (look, the Dai Li are good when Zuko is working with them, and evil when he’s working against them!) and that I really can’t let slide.

The Superior Element: 56 (giving a point for the suggestion that Ba Sing Se would be better off ruled by the Fire Nation)

But that wouldn't be fair to people like Luli, and Huojin, and Amaya. People just trying to get by; people who knew something was wrong with their city, but didn't have the power to fix it.

I'm not sure even Aang can fix this place.

Toph: Oh, wow, one person can’t fix massive city-wide problems even if they’re the Avatar, who knew? But you know what one thing that would make Ba Sing Se stink a whole lot less would be? Getting rid of the Dai Li!

"That - they tried to do that to us, they-"

Sokka: And it apparently didn’t work because…?

Smellerbee grabbed Jet's arm, and Longshot clapped a hand over Jet's mouth, shaking his head no.

Oh boy. Toph's stomach headed for her ankles. We're in for it now….

Toph: And of course, it was Jet who gave us away! Who could’ve guessed? But no, it’s not like Vathara is biased or anything…

-

"Shirong hasn't moved?" Long Feng asked coolly. Juggling a myriad interlocking plots in his mind, calculating and recalculating the moves that would need to be made to maintain control of the city and the Earth King. Calculations the Avatar was making needlessly complicated.

He's twelve. He should sit still, keep his mouth shut, and let those who know better decide what is right.

MG: Honestly… I can but he’d think this. Long Feng is arrogant enough to think that he and he alone knows what’s best and everyone else would be better off if they just followed his lead and didn’t question, and from his interactions with the Gaang and later Azula, I also always felt that underestimating smart and capable kids was very much intended to be a flaw of his.

If only he dared bring the Avatar down here….

Too risky. If that blunderer General Fong is accurate, the Avatar State is triggered by extreme emotions. We can't afford to lose all we've built here.

MG: Which is why the canon Long Feng knew better than to mess with it and mostly just wanted Aang out of his way. But I guess we can officially take this as confirmation that Long Feng really is working on trying to figure out how to control the Avatar State, and Shirong just sort of stumbled onto that plot by accident somehow.

"He's been quiet," Quan reported. "Reading. Praying." The agent met his gaze. "Sir, I admit he's acting… oddly. But we've all had bad days after spirit-injuries."

Protectors of our Cultural Heritage: 44 (this chapter has actually leaned into the Dai Li being bad guys for once, but we still need a reminder that they’re “really” noble spirit fighters who Long Feng has led astray)

"So we have," Long Feng acknowledged. "Coming close to death… it shakes a person. But that is precisely the point. I know you're his friend, Quan-"

"It will not prevent me from carrying out my duty. Sir."

"Of course not," Long Feng said levelly. "But friendship can soften any man's judgment." He frowned darkly. "He arranged to see Amaya and Lee unwatched, and then she arranged to see the Avatar. One of whose teachers is now missing."

Toph: Yeah, and I think the real Long Feng would’ve twigged to all this a long time ago and wouldn’t have let Shirong get into a position where he could do all this by himself.

"Coincidence?" Quan offered.

Long Feng cast him a look askance.

Quan bowed his head. "There are no coincidences." He breathed out slowly. "Sir, Healer Amaya has been a reliable asset for years…."

Sokka: You heard it straight from the ostrich-horse’s beak, folks – Long Feng’s own second-in-command thinks Amaya was “a reliable asset for years!” Can’t put it any better than that!

"But she is now Lee's master," Long Feng stated. "And Lee… troubles me."

Toph: But not enough for you to do anything about it. *beat* Aha, I’ve got it! This guy’s not the real Long Feng, he’s some poor slob Long Feng brainwashed into thinking he was him, and he uses him as a decoy while he’s really running things somewhere else!

Reluctantly, Quan nodded. "It wasn't obvious at first… but no one with that level of weapons training should have avoided military attention. Elderly uncle as a dependant or not."

Sokka: So, what, Zuko’s story didn’t add up? Maybe the guy who killed a really dangerous spirit is more than he let on? Gee, you think!?

"Yet that's apparently precisely what he has done," Long Feng observed. "And the haima-jiao. I've read the reports. They are disturbing." He shook his head. "How does a half-trained bender throw off a spirit that sucked in his own master whole? A spirit that drew strength from water, and was only harmed by light and fire?"

Sokka: Yes! That was, like, three whole chapters ago! Why are you only asking this now?

Prince Stuko: 94

Quan inclined his head, acknowledging the unanswered questions. "Lee is certainly suspect. But we have no reason to believe Shirong has… strayed."

"None yet," Long Feng started.

Toph: Well, there’s a lot of stuff we know he’s not been reporting to you, so consider it answered!

Running feet, and a junior agent was panting in his doorway. "Sir! We've found Bei Fong!"

Or rather, Long Feng realized as he and Quan broke in on the fray, she'd found them.

Toph: *smirks*

And she wasn't alone.

The three Yunxu questioned about the haima-jiao, Long Feng realized. Conscious, still defiant - but a minimal threat, given they were unarmed aside from a few hastily-grabbed shards of stone. Insignificant, in the face of a rampaging Toph Bei Fong.

Sokka: Okay, okay, sometimes I feel pretty inadequate when Toph does her thing, too, but I really can’t help but feel like Vathara just put that in there so we all know the Freedom Fighters are worthless.

And it was indeed her, despite that ridiculous mask.

MG: Which we’re not going to be describing, apparently.

No other earthbender could disintegrate stone fists without even looking, and swat Dai Li agents across the room with pillars of rock.

That's the known danger, Long Feng thought dispassionately, waiting motionless as he sized up the form behind the Blue Spirit mask. Right height, the right build, dao… a pity he'd been right about Shirong….

The intruder slashed stone from the air, and fire lashed out to blast agents away.

A firebender!

Toph: Wow. Real observant, guys. You all are such great spies!

MG: And since this is another long chapter, we’re going to stop here for today! The biggest issue that I see here lies in the obvious changes from canon. In the show, the Gaang infiltrate Lake Laogai together, confront Long Feng, escape his trap, are reunited with Appa and defeat a large number of the Dai Li, setting the stage for their storming the palace and revealing the truth to the Earth King next episode. Zuko’s also there of course, and is the one who actually frees Appa, though his role in the episode is more important for his character development overall in that it’s when Iroh confronts him about being the Blue Spirit and challenges him to start asking himself the big questions about what’s really important in life. And we’ve also got Jet’s death at the hands of Long Feng in there too.

This version… does not do that. Any of that. Instead, we split up the characters so Aang, Katara and Sokka don’t go to Lake Laogai at all but instead spend their time bumbling around Ba Sing Se looking for Toph, generally making nuisances of themselves, and eventually getting told off by Huojin. Meanwhile, Toph and Zuko get to have a badass adventure, infiltrating Lake Laogai all by themselves and reducing the Freedom Fighters to ineffective spectators who mostly exist to be rescued by them and then get out of their way. The divide is, uh, extremely stark, making it very clear which characters Vathara likes and which ones she thinks need to be brought down a peg. We also get the subtext that Zuko and Toph understand each other and the world around them because they’re nobles and the others simply lack the education and knowledge to appreciate the things they do, which is just yucky… especially when pared with some of Vathara’s continuing interesting takes on the Siege of the North (seriously, why would anyone think Aang grabbing Pakku and running away was a good idea, on any level?) and the Water Tribes in general. And of course we also get some foreshadowing of where Shirong’s arc is going to be headed later in the fic, if you haven’t guessed already.

Anyway, that’s all for today. Next time, the Gaang continue botching things, Zuko and Toph continue their mission, and I get to talk more about some of the implications of the changes Vathara has already made to this sequence and why I think the fic doesn’t explore them the way it probably needed to. We’ll see you then! Our counts stand at:

Beware the Sugar Queen: 18

The Blind Bandit Wins Again: 27

The Deadly Depths: 29

Detached from Reality: 11

Divine Right to Rule: 51

Elemental Determinism: 51

He Has Much to Learn: 50

Prince Stuko: 94

Protectors of our Cultural Heritage: 44

The Real Victims: 35

Roads to Nowhere: 1

Simple Rubes from the Water Tribes: 35

Stations of the Canon: 32

The Superior Element: 56

True Guardians of Balance: 1

The Ultimate Firebenders: 23