Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

General Kuzon of Shijuichi's rise from a fresh-out-of-military-academy Major of a small company in a small division of fresh colony recruits to one of the Fire Lord's military advisors was not entirely accidental. You couldn't get to where hed gotten in three years through luck alone.

At least, that's what he told his reflection every morning.

Yes, his first battle ended with him being the only surviving commanding officer of his division, and yes his fifth ended with him getting promoted again because their general's first choice got ambushed and by the time support got there there wasn't enough left of her to promote, and yes he only became a colonel because his predecessor got a fatal case of earthbent rock spike through the throat after some idiot recruit saluted the man mid-battle , but the promotion after that was through merit alone. Probably.

He could pretend that his recent promotion to General answerable only to the fire lord was in the works before his predecessor was commanded to be a part of a new and untested fleet of ships that were meant to sail in the element whose sole surviving bender had more than ample means and motive to kill every last one of them and who had, apparently, taken down an entire very tested fleet a few months before with no trouble at all. But he didn't want to make a habit out of lying to himself. Former Fire Lord Ozai, may he, presumably, rest in Agni's light, was notoriously... dismissive of his soldiers who came from the colonies. He certainly wouldn't have allowed one into his palace, no matter his rank.

Either way, he was in the palace now, and it was... not at all what he expected.

The current Fire Lord, apparently, was not as well-fed as his position would lead one to believe, and certainly not as feared by the palace staff as his position would demand. He also did not need to be persuaded into recalling the troops from the fronts, which only made General Shijuichi feel a little bit like everything he did to get here was for nothing.

Still, a victory was a victory, so he continued the work.

"Your majesty, may I offer some suggestions regarding the divisions under my command?"

The meeting was about the logistics of withdrawing troops from unconquered and unassimilated territories, as had been the meeting before that, and the one before that, and what seemed like every war meeting since he had reported to the Fire Lord, and what was very likely every war meeting since the day the new Fire Lord was crowned, as well.

"I don't care if there are earthbenders among your troops, nobody is marching through the Si Wong desert!"

Which just showed both how much and how little the current Fire Lord knew about his armies. Yes, he was in charge of most, if not all, of the soldiers who were recruited from the colonies. No, he did not have any earthbenders among his ranks.

Not officially, anyway.

But one-and-a-half things at a time.

"Earthbending isn't allowed in your colonies or armies, your highness. Regardless, my suggestions are more about where they're withdrawing to than the routes they take to get there." He put a list of divisions and colony names on top of the map, facing the Fire Lord. "As all of the troops under my command are from the colonies, I've compiled a list of recommended military instalations for every division to go to, keeping in mind which towns the soldiers and their commanding officers are from."

"Fine." The Fire Lord took it, and looked no more or less tired than he did when general Shijuichi had first met him.

The Fire lord didn't ask what "keeping in mind" meant in this context, so general Shijuichi didn't say. He would have lied, regardless.

After the meeting was over, General Shijuichi began drafting troop reassignments, to enter into effect once the withdrawals were complete.

Just a little bit of reorganization between his divisions once they were out of hostile territory, nothing to worry the fire lord about.

He hoped his troops would enjoy returning home.

Three Points in favor of the current Fire Lord:
He seemed to care about the troops who pledged their loyalty to him.
He listened to advice and considered suggestions without caving to every whim of those under him.
He was, somehow, more well-traveled then all of his generals and admirals combined (Nobody asked him how he knew that swamp was a spirit swamp, but their troops would avoid it regardless).

Six points against the current Fire Lord:
He couldn't command his staff.
He couldn't defeat his predecessor. Had, in fact, abandoned an entire wing to her, and did not appear to have any sort of plan for if she ever decided to leave that wing and claim her right to the Dragon Throne.
Because of the previous point, he may not even be the legitimate Fire Lord at all.
His temper. He wasn't sure if it was because it was alarmingly uncontrolled for a Fire Lord, alarmingly toothless for a Fire Lord, or if it was because he was apparently working on it , but it was definitely a point against him.
He was sixteen years old, and had a very sixteen-year-old philosophy when it came to delegating. Namely, he didn't.
He wasn't clearing court of potential dissenters or traitors or people he didn't like, which was, apparently, a thing that Fire Lords were supposed to do. This might not have been a point against him except for the fact that he apparently had very good reasons to not like most of his generals, as well as to believe that the hatred was mutual.

He learned about these reasons when he overheard a conversation between General Daichi and another General who had just reported in from the front and was bafflingly insistent that the Fire Lord should have killed him on sight.

"I'm telling you, Fire Lord Zuko doesn't do tortuous mind games. He probably just doesn't remember you."

" How could he not remember me? It was my strategy. I was the one who presented it to Fire Lord Ozai. I was the one he thought challenged him. You can't expect me to believe he just forgot ."

"I know . But General Waido and I have been here for more than a month now and he either doesn't remember who was at that war meeting or he doesn't care and I don't know which is worse."

"Pardon me, Generals, I couldn't help but overhear. Why would the Fire Lord think you challenged him to an Agni Kai?"

As it turned out, there were one hundred and fifty points in favor of Fire Lord Zuko. Most of them buried under some anonymous patch of Earth Kingdom land.

Seven of the remaining eight would recieve a hastily-written letter shortly thereafter.

The General who had spoken to General Daichi and whose name Shijuichi couldn't be bothered to remember retired a few days later. Sick relatives, apparently.

Later that day, he'd be retired a bit more permanently. Earthbent spike through the throat. Nobody ever did find out what happened to Former Fire Lord Azula's Dai Li agents.

And if he bowed a bit lower to his Fire Lord than was strictly necessary, well, he was a Major fresh out of military academy only three years ago, it's only natural that he would be unused to serving in his Fire Lord's court.

Chapter Text

News of the old general's death was almost immediately overshadowed by the Avatar's arrival at the Palace, with the Dragon of the West in tow.

Messengers could interrupt war meetings without being challenged to an Agni Kai. This was as true in the Fire Lord's Palace as it was in the field of battle. Though, to General Shijuichi it was less an interruption than it was a way out.

"Shall we table this discussion for later, your Majesty?"

Fire Lord Zuko agreed by glaring at General Daichi with a final "You are not marching your troops through Gaoling." Before standing up and leaving the room.

Gaoling had not been mentioned yet. Neither had the troops under General Daichi's command. These facts were directly related.

"I wasn't going to suggest marching my troops through Gaoling." General Daichi was too old and too dignified to pout, so he didn't.

"And I'm the Dragon of the West," General Waido scoffed.

"I wasn't. I was only going to suggest we march them through safe terrain that also happens to be a populated area we have already conquered."

General Shijuichi rolled his eyes. "Beaten is not conquered, general Daichi." As well he should know, considering that the anonymous patch of Earth Kingdom land was just as Earth after the battle as it had been before. "And I am thankful that we were interrupted before you had the chance to insult the Fire Lord's intelligence that way. Are you normally this bold during war meetings?"

General Daichi was not cowed, but he did... hunch, a little bit.

"The current holder of Agni's flame is, admittedly,  more lenient than his predecessor when it comes to disagreement."

Which explained the Generals. It did not, however, explain the Dragon of the West.

General Kuzon of Shijuichi wondered if Prince Iroh had chosen to betray the Fire Nation before the war meeting, or after.

He wouldn't begrudge the General a bit of treason if it was after.

But the Admiral of the North said that since the day they set sail, Prince Iroh was a more a hindrance to his nephew finding the Avatar than a help. And that, according to the Wanyi 's final crew, he seemed perfectly content to pretend he was on a retirement cruise and keep his nephew banished forever, even after they had actually found the Avatar. And the admiral of the East said that he'd never seen Prince Iroh lift a finger to help his nephew run and supply his ship. On the occasions when former Fire Lord Ozai ordered him to dock at the same port as the Wanyi, while the banished prince who would one day be Fire Lord Zuko was spending most of his shore leave haggling and arguing and shouting loud enough to be heard two towns over to get enough food and fuel to prevent a mutiny, the Dragon of the West could always be found spending his ample funds shopping for frivolities or going to teahouses or playing pai sho.

"Teahouses?" He had asked, incredulous.

"Not the fun kind." The Admiral of the Eastern fleet had said.

"Don't you call them Massage Parlors over in the colonies?" The Admiral of the Northern fleet had asked, like someone who wasn't sure yet if he needed to assign several sailors to latreen duty for the rest of their careers.

"Massage Parlors are an Earth Kingdom thing. We call them both in the colonies."

"I see," the Admiral of the Northern fleet had said, like a military commander who was about to purposely make several of his soldiers very, very miserable for the forseeable future. "If you'll excuse me, General, Admiral. I need to remind a few of my captains about the proper uses of military funds." He bowed to both of them, and walked-not-stormed out. The polar winds did not follow in his wake, though that was more due to lack of proximity than lack of desire.

General Shijuichi did not envy those sailors, but it was their own fault. The first and most important rule of pulling wool over the eyes of your superior officers was to do so in such a way that you won't get caught.

Speaking of pulling wool over eyes.

"I don't like what you're insinuating," General Kwang-su scowled. It would have been quite effective if General Shijuichi hadn't met Fire Lord Zuko and been on the recieving end of several of his weapons-grade glares.

"Then you'd find it more unpalatable if I stated it outright," General Kuzon of Shijuichi said. "But that doesn't make it less true. The Avatar, with the Dragon of the West in tow."

"I've known General Iroh for a long time, General Shijuichi," General Daichi said, "If he seems to be in league with the Avatar, then either the Avatar is not an enemy of the Fire Nation, or he is merely using the Avatar as a means to an end."

"And what end would that be?"

General Waido stood just a little bit straighter. "The Dragon of the West never abandons his people."

Unless it meant fighting his brother, apparently. He didn't even fight Fire Lord Ozai when they were openly on opposite sides of the war.

Fire Lord Zuko must have gotten his stance on fratricide from him. It would have been endearing, had they not been a Fire Lord's brother.

Prince Iroh, at least, was wise enough to delegate the task to someone who was willing to do the job.

So far, that was the only point in his favor.

(It was still one more than former Fire Lord Azula, who seemed perfectly content to inhabit the Fire Lord's rooms and set things on fire whenever she wanted to call on her brother. And who, apparently, had suggested burning the entire Earth Kingdom to the ground. It was unclear if Former Fire Lord Ozai had considered the colonies to be too Earth to spare from his plan, but General Kuzon of Shijuichi had seen too much to consider himself an optimist.)

General Kuzon of Shijuichi didn't say any of this. Instead, he said. "You know him better than I do, so I suppose I must trust in your judgment that he hasn't changed in three years."

"He's an old Dragon," General Kuang-su said, "he cannot change his nature so easy."

He had meant it as a reassurance. It wasn't.

He wouldn't begrudge Prince Iroh a bit of treason if it was after. Might even bring himself to forgive him if it was before, provided there was a good enough reason and an ounce of regret. If it was the third option, however...

The Dragon of the West brought his nephew into that war meeting, and proceeded to show exactly how much he cared for him ever since.

He wouldn't fight his brother, but his brother wasn't on the Dragon Throne anymore.

He would need to speak to Captain Izumi about this.

-

"Captain Izumi, may I speak with you a moment?

The Captain of His Majesty's Guard did not slow her pace for him.

"Make it quick. Prince Iroh has just woken up, I am escorting him to the Fire Temple."

"He's allowed to wander the Palace?"

"All the doors are open to him, By order of the Fire Lord."

"I see. What do you think of His Highness? Have you met him before?"

"The Royal Family's business is their own."

"Of course, my apologies. I'm simply worried that his months as a refugee on the continent and his princely expectations for the finer things in life may have... eroded his sense of personal property. Especially when it comes to ornate chairs."

Captain Izumi was on the other side of a doorway when he said that last part. She made a motion with her hands, and suddenly the door became very blocked without, technically, being closed at all.

"The Fire Lord does not seem to share your concerns." She said, from the other side of one of her guards. "If you have reasons to believe he should, you can bring them to him."

Until then, don't openly accuse Princes and Dragons of treason, she didn't say. He heard it, regardless.

"My apologies, Captain," he bowed. "I won't distract you further."

It seemed he would not get to speak to the Dragon of the West that morning.
That didn't mean he couldn't do other work, in any case.

-

"Your Majesty,  may I have a word?"

"Uncle isn't going to dethrone me, General Shijuichi."

So captain Izumi told Fire Lord Zuko about their conversation. Interesting.

"I admit I don't have all the information, your Majesty. But that isn't what I came  here to discuss."

His Majesty had gotten very good at working and listening at the same time.

"What is it?"

"It's about the continued skirmishes in some of the colonies. If I may, I would like to use my position as the only person in your court who is from the colonies to suggest a possible way to mitigate them."

Fire Lord Zuko looked up, like he suddenly remembered something important.

"The Avatar wants me to give away the colonies."

"What?"

"I won't do it," he assured quickly. "I just thought you should know. Since that's your home and you'll probably want to go back sometime and we're probably going to be trying peace talks again later today. So now you won't get caught off-guard when a member of his group suggests it."

"I... appreciate it, your Majesty. All of the colonies, really?"

"I know."

"Who do they think won the war?"

"I know!"

There is no solidarity quite like that of shared bafflement.

After General Shijuichi left, he found that he had entirely forgotten to give his advice.

He was very glad that his Fire Lord saw fit to warn him about the Avatar's plans for his home. If he had found out during the peace talks, he'd have been too rattled to be of any help.

Now, perhaps, he could.

-

Apparently he couldn't.

The first day of peace talks began with establishing what each side wanted out of the deal, and didn't move forward from there.

Fire lord Zuko wanted an end to the war with the current de facto borders maintained, and all Fire Nation prisioners of war. In exchange, he would return all of their prisioners of war, including any military leaders they may have (provided they agree not to restart the war. Obviously the fire nation prisioners of war would also agree not to restart the war, Ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe, that's what being at peace means.), and any and all stolen water tribe artifacts. The waterbender had been very insistent on the return of those artifacts.

"Fine, " Fire Lord Zuko had said, upon confirmation that the Fire Nation was, in fact, in possession of a great deal of artifacts from the Southern Water Tribe. "I don't even know why we have your-" he caught himself before he said stupid. Was it odd to feel proud of a boy who was only a handful of years your junior and also your superior officer? "-artefacts. Who steals from a place they want to burn to the ground?"

Which was a good question, but rather undid any goodwill the percieved concession may have bought him.

It was the only concession that would happen that day.

The Avatar wanted all the colonies –General Shijuichi knew it was coming and he still wasn't prepared enough to see the Avatar propose that with a straight face– returned to the Earth Kingdom, and when General Shijuichi had interrupted to ask  what that would mean for his men, he was told that every Fire National in the colonies would be forced to go back to the Fire Nation. Or, as the Avatar had put it, "they'd finally get to go home."

Never had such a fundamental misunderstanding been said with such a wistful smile.

By the time he could think of a rebuttal that could even begin to clear things up, the conversation had deteriorated in a different direction.

The Avatar also wanted a terms-free release of all their prisioners of war, the stolen water tribe artefacts, "and maybe the  dismantling of the Fire Nation Military while you're at it. What?" the Water Tribe ambassador had added when his suggestion was met with incredulous stares from Fire Lord Zuko's side of the room. "Can't burn the world down if you don't have a military to burn the world down with, it's science!"

"I like that idea," the Avatar said, "do you think we can get the Earth Kingdom Generals to agree for their military to do that too?"

This was when General Kuzon of Shijuichi fully realized that the Avatar was twelve years old.

In exchange for all of that, the Avatar's group might give the Fire Nation some of their prisioners of war. If they could get the Earth Kingdom Generals to agree to it, and if they agreed not to restart the war, of course.

"I have the increasing suspicion," General Shijuichi whispered to the Admiral of the Northern Fleet, as the peace talks in the foreground grew increasingly bellicose, "that these peace talks are meant to distract us from something."

"You've heard of the Dai Li's assassination of the retired General too, I take it?"

If causing the rumor could be considered hearing it, then yes. He half-nodded, then half-truthed. "They haven't killed anyone else, it was probably just some personal grudge. I mean something more like the Day of Black Sun."

The Admiral eyed the Avatar Warily. "Could spirits be involved?"

"Let's rule that out for now. If the Earth Kingdom could weaponize spirits against us, they would have already."

"Not with the Avatar gone for a hundred years."

General Shijuichi shrugged. "I'm taking a closer look at the known troop movements this evening, once this is over."

"So what are you lovebirds talking about?" The Earthbender's voice cut through all the arguing and shouting, and made every last head in the room turn to them.

"The moon," General Shijuichi said. For some reason, that made the Water Tribe Ambassador angry.

The Earthbender... Grinned? Bared her teeth, more like. "That's a lie."

General Shijuichi rolled his eyes. "The sun, then. And the possibility of typhoons or earthquakes in the near future trying to blot it out."

The Earthbender cocked her head to the side a bit. "Huh. Truth. You really do a conspiracy-whisper during peace talks just to talk about the weather?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," he said. It wasn't an answer. It was also a lie.

The Dragon of the West, General Shijuichi noticed, had been completely silent for the entire meeting.

-

Progress continued to not happen until dinnertime arrived. Most of the Avatar's group was eating in the courtyard, including the Dragon of the West.
He was reminiscing with the other generals. Since any reminiscing on General Shijuichi's end would likely be considered treason, he opted for different conversation partners.

Partners, because the Avatar and the Waterbender were practically joined at the hip.

"Before you do anything that would end with me returning to my home in an urn, you should know that I'm unarmed, I'm not a firebender, and even if I were either I would have no hope of doing anything other than looking menacing before either or both of you resolved the incident permanently."

"What do you want." The waterbender was flexing her states of matter at him in much the same way as his sister would flex her muscles whenever he got particularly on her nerves. Just with less "I will wrestle you to the ground" and more "you'll be lucky if you only lose your hands."

He held his plate of food like the plate of food it was. Both of his hands were clearly occupied by something much more worthwhile than losing a fight. Not that he needed his hands, but she didn't know that. And it wouldn't help, anyway.

"Just to talk. I admit that I'm relatively new to this whole politicking thing, but from what I understand, the best negotiations happen over food."

"Talking's good!" The Avatar said, jumping out of his bending stance. "I like talking, I'd much prefer it to the... other thing. That you said. I'm Aang, by the way! And this is Katara. Oh, right, I know hiw much you guys like titles. This is Sifu Katara. Of the Southern Water Tribe."

The Waterbender –Master Katara– looked like she'd much prefer the other thing that he said, but there were too many witnesses around, and the stakes were too high. He'd never encountered members of the water tribe before, so he had to assume that the look on her face was aimed more towards the Fire Nation as a whole, plus or minus certain Dragons.

"General Kuzon of his Majesty's colonial divisions." He wasn't sure which bow was appropriate for this instance, so he decided on soldier-to-somebody-else's-commanding-officer. It wasn't in the official rules of etiquette, but soldiers had a habit of making their own. He grinned a little. "You want to give my home to the Earth King."

Avatar Aang looked sufficiently aghast. "No I don't! I just want to return the colonies back to the Earth Kingdom! Just the colonies. Not the Fire Nation. That way, everybody can go back to their homes and not have to worry about getting arrested for Earthbending or anything."

Which reminded him.

"Pardon me one moment. Your Majesty!" he moved to intercept Fire Lord Zuko as he was returning to his office with what could only generously be called a plate of food, provided one pretended that the plate was half its actual size. "I apologize for forgetting why I came to meet you this morning. I've drafted my proposal for improved colonial integration on this scroll. I hope you'll consider it."

"Thank you, General. I'll... look it over. When I have time."

"That's all I ask, your Majesty. Thank you."

General Shijuichi bowed, and his Fire Lord bowed back. When it was over, the Fire Lord returned to his office with one more thing on his plate than he expected, and a lot more food.
Master Katara's indignation was replaced by bafflement. "Did you just... swap plates with Zuko?"

"Look at how much food he gave himself." He showed them the plate the Fire Lord had served himself. "This is how he always serves himself, and he never goes back for seconds."

Master Katara scoffed. "So someone makes him food three times a day and he isn't grateful for it, what else is new?"

Cultural miscommunication. It happened between Colony Men and Proper Fire Nation Citizens too. At least, he hoped that's what this was.

"In the Fire Nation, how much food you eat has nothing to do with how grateful you are for it. Sometimes, you just don't have an appetite." The Fire Lord hadn't had an appetite for two months.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense," Avatar Aang scratched his chin in thought. "You live in a place where the food literally grows out of the ground, so don't need to worry about hunting or fishing as much as the Water Tribes do, and when you add the fact that your nobles and soldiers probably never go hungry because of the war..."

"Well the war's over now," he said quickly. "And thank Agni for that. But that doesn't give his Majesty the excuse to starve himself."

"What did you need to give him that was so important anyway?" Her tone was less accusatory, and more curious. Still a bit accusatory, though. Fair enough. He was the one who had started that conversation.

"It's something I've been working on for a while." He smiled in that way his sister said made his green eyes almost glow "It's a proposal to legalize Earthbending in the colonies."

Then the Avatar's Earthbender almost gave the bearer of Agni's flame an eyeful of the place Agni's light refuses to go, and important political conversations were quite suddenly impossible to be had.

-

Later that evening, the Dragon of the West found him.

"Greetings, General! I don't believe I have had the honor of meeting you."

"The honor is all mine, Prince Iroh."

"General will be quite fine, General."

"I would sooner claim myself Agni's equal than put myself on the same pedestal as you, your Highness. In any case, I was under the impression that you were retired."

"Sometimes, a man must put on a coat that he cast off long ago, if it means keeping others warm."

"It's a difficult coat to wear if you want to keep others warm."

"You sound as if you speak from experience."

"I do what I can. But I'm sorry to say that your higness' recent traveling companions want to make that task more difficult for me."

"Is that so? They are very bright children. Though, I suppose, too young to be tasked with the heavy burden of making peace."

"Far be it from me to assume age has any bearing on these sorts of things! They're idealistic, to be sure, and definitely patriotic, but any comparison one can make to His Majesty can only be a positive one."

" Really? There are some here who'd disagree with that sentiment."

"Then they are no friend of mine. It has been an honor and a pleasure serving under him, your highness. I hope he continues to reign with wisdom and grace for many decades to come."

"Ah, it makes an old man's heart smile to hear you say those words."

"That surprises me, I admit, given who arrived with you. Or did you arrive with them?"

"It was more that we arrived with each other. It just happens that a flying bison was the quickest transport available to me. You don't approve?"

"It's not my place to approve or dissaprove, your highness, though I admit I don't understand. I was told that your association with Avatar Aang means that he is not the enemy of the Fire Nation, but having met him and heard his demands for peace, I can't convince myself that is true. Since you've known him for longer, I can only hope that you'll enlighten me."

"The Avatar's role is to maintain balance in the world, General. The Fire Nation has upset that balance, quite severely might I add. Returning the colonies to the Earth Kingdom would be a step towards restoring that balance. I assure you, the Fire Nation itself would remain untouched. Avatar Aang would be most displeased if he found the balance tipping in the other direction."

Which was not at all what he had seen in the peace talks, unless the boy who decimated the Northern fleet for killing the Moon Spirit was unfamiliar with the concept of vengeance.

"With all due respect, your Highness, returning the colonies to the Earth Kingdom would start a civil war."

"You seem quite certain of this."

"I doubt your traveling companions would believe me, but the vast majority of the soldiers under my command have never seen the fire nation proper in their lives. What should I do if they refuse to leave? They would hardly pledge themselves to the Earth King."

"You don't seem so weak a commander that you would need to worry about such trivial things as your men not following orders."

He had made a mistake, then, in mentioning that possibility.

"I came into my position less than two months ago, your Highness, so I'm largely untested in that capacity."

"Still, reputation preceeds a man in a way that actions do not."

A threat, and an order. He had definitely made a mistake, then. He bowed.

"I am His Majesty's loyal servant, your Highness. I will see that it doesn't come to that."

"But, I admit, I am surprised that you'd think it would be a problem at all. I was under the impression that the colonial divisions were a rather... temporary affair, although I never did agree with that particular strategy."

"As I said before, your Highness, I do what I can. Though from what I understand, his Majesty also disagreed with that strategy, and if he was the same then as he is now, likely did so rather vehemently."

"And one of my many regrets is that he was without support. It's a mistake I have since tried never to repeat. Though it seems I have failed in that respect as well. I've decided to visit his chambers this fine evening to see if he's willing to give an old man a third chance. If he isn't resting, of course."

"I'm not familiar with his evening schedule,  but I wish you well, your Highness."

"General."

The Dragon of the West bowed, General-to-General. General Shijuicji bowed, General-to-Prince, and they both went their separate ways.

Chapter Text

There was nothing suspicious in the known movements of the Earth Army. Both the official ones and the unofficial ones.

The possibility that the avatar and his group were sincere about these peace talks was more terrifying than the possibility that they weren't.

The second day of peace talks was going about as well as the first, until Ambassador No-Concessions of the Southern Water Tribe let slip that Fire Lord Ozai was alive.

"No, why do you think you're in a position to make demands? We're the ones who have your daddy completely at our mercy underneath a palace somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, so if you want him back-"

"Oma and Shu, you didn't kill him? You didn't let anyone kill him? By Agni please tell me you just meant his corpse you can't just let The Ash-"

"General." His fire lord interrupted him before he could say another word he'd regret. "Unless you have something constructive to say, I suggest you shut up before I'm forced to do it for you."

Ashmaker meant something entirely different in the circles he frequented than it did outside of them.

There was only one of them, for starters.

"My sincerest apologies, your Majesty. I was overcome by surprise and momentarily forgot myself. I did not mean to insult your father."

"Lie," the Earthbender helpfully grinned.

"Insult him all you want, General. He's already proven that he is without honor. And you're right, the Earth Army should have killed him. But they didn't, and I don't want him back."

"Be sure to let him know that." The Northern Admiral said with a wry grin.

"Maybe you could reduce his meal intake," the Eastern Admiral put in, showing his teeth in a mirror to his counterpart. "Say that he should learn how to ration and not waste essential resources."

The Fire Nation Navy, it seemed, did not appreciate being ordered to antagonize a thirteen-year-old.

"We are not talking about my Father," the no-longer-a-thirteen-year-old said to the table at large, and the subject was dropped.

-

This time, it was the Avatar's group who decided to seek him out.

"So, you're not a fan of the Fire Lord either, huh?" Ambassador No-Concessions sidled up to him, holding another plate that used to belong to the Fire Lord. (The servants had immediately replaced it once the Ambassador turned his back on them. With a plate that was twice as full.)

"Given that Fire Lord Zuko has publically declared him as an Honorless Exile for the rest of his life, Fire Lord Ozai is no longer a title that applies to him."

"Yeah. Still getting used to that, by the way. But, hey! You don't like Ozai, I don't like Ozai, and you're apparently not above ambushing little sisters and Avatars during mealtimes to talk Peace Talks, so spill. What's a guy gotta do to get Fire Lord Immovable Object to cave on something? Because let me tell you, I've been trying to figure that out since the fall and I have not been getting anything."

"In my experience, come up with a better idea than the one His Majesty already has. And a reason as to why it's a better idea."

"Okay, but consider: giving back the colonies is the better idea."

"Why? Because you said so?"

"Okay, maybe it's not the better idea for the Fire Nation, seeing as it won't let you go all fwoosh fwoosh burn the Earth Kingdom again, but it's better for the whole World. Fire Nation people get to go back to the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom people get to stop being refugees, everybody wins! No more skirmishes at the borders, no more insurgent rebels, no more Earthbender Prison camps. Y'know, peace!"

"So you want everyone to go back to where they were before the colonies."

"I feel like you're trying to lead me into a trap here, which I do not appreciate, by the way."

"Only a verbal one, I assure you."

"Yeah, that's very reassuring. But yes. Everyone. Go back to where they were before they went to the colonies."
He grinned exactly the way he did before he killed two birds with one stone by literally killing two birds with one stone.

"So how do you suggest I go back into my mother's womb? Keep in mind, I've never met her."

The ambassador wasn't lying, he very much did not appreciate being caught in a trap.

General Shijuichi left the courtyard, despite the Ambassador's various insistances that "we're not done here" and accusations of being a liar (which were true, but not in that instance), and went to pen a letter.

Fire Lord Ozai was, apparently, alive. General Kuzon of Shijuichi wasn't entirely certain what, if anything, he could do to remedy this. But he would try all the same.

His sister still had those Earth Kingdom uniforms, and Colonel Mae-Jing was technically still part of the Earth army.

Mikai could take her for a spin again, if she was willing.

He outranked her now. Technically, he could order her to do that. But he didn't become a general in only three years by being an idiot.

In the letter, he wrote:

"To my sister, colonel Mikai of the forty-ninth.

I've heard that one fire from the day of the comet shone so brightly that it is still burning to this day. It's contained, fortunately. But fire that hot is apt to break out of its hearth and resume making ashes. I can't help but wonder how an earthquake hasn't snuffed it out already.

In what i'm sure is equally pleasant news, I heard a rumor that your dear unrequited nemesis and the woman who by now likely regrets ensuring my second promotion is going to report to Ba Sing Se now that the war is over. But rumors of enemy movements aren't as accurate in caldera as they are on the field, so I was wondering if you could confirm or deny them for me. You have my thanks, whatever your answer.

If you return to Yu Dao before me, please give my warmest greetings to our father and his students."

He knew how to delegate, even if neither the Fire Lord nor the Dragon of the West did.

The Dragon of the West found him again that evening, and bowed, ashamed-superior-to-wronged-subordinate.

Not a word had been spoken between them, and he already didn't like where the conversation was going. He bowed, forgiving-subordinate-to-forgiven-superior.

"I must apologize, general. After our riveting conversation yesterday was over I realized that In my old age, I had forgotten to ask your name. So I took the liberty of looking at your military records. You have an impressive list of achievements. It isn't very often that a new soldier completely bypasses the rank of Major, General Kuzon of... Yonjuichi, is it?"

"Your memory is sharp, Prince Iroh. I actually read those records shortly after I first arrived. They were shorter than I expected. Did you know that under Fire Lord Ozai, if a division's first battle is a defeat, and if the defeat is bad enough, the entire division gets stricken from the record?" It wasn't the reason he changed his name, but the same sentiment was behind it.

Prince Iroh's looked as though he had just eaten something unsavory.

"I did not, no. Though I must admit, it doesn't surprise me."

"His Majesty spent two days resolving the issue and ensuring proper compensation for next of kin once I brought the issue to his attention."

Prince Iroh chuckled a bit. "Now that most certainly doesn't surprise me. He slept during that time, I hope?"

"You know him better than I do, your Highness."

His face fell. "A pity. A man needs his rest, you know."

He nodded. "Something the palace staff frequently try to remind him of. But before I forget and accidentally embarrass us both in front of the court, it's Kuzon of Shijuichi. The first Kanji can be read in two different ways."

The Dragon of the West nodded, taking it as confirmation rather than revelation.

"I see. My dear nephew always reads it that way as well these days. I'm not sure if he recalls that it can be read another way, when followed by those particular characters. It's quite the unfortunate name for a town, is it not? And not one I've seen on any maps." He hesitated for a moment. "Except, perhaps, for one?"

"That seems extremely unlikely, your Highness. It's a rather anonymous strip of land, and easily overlooked."

"By far too many people, to my great shame. But I remember the map it was on very well. It's a very small village, isn't it?"

"Smaller than I'd like. It's mostly shrines for the departed now. But we can't make wood from ash."

"Quite true, General. Quite true."

And if the Dragon of the West took that as forgiveness, then Kuzon of the Forty-First would let him.

He was too high profile to be in a position where he could be mysteriously killed by the Dai Li, anyway.

"Ah, before I forget! I came here to tell you that the Avatar and his companions have invited you to have breakfast with them!"

"I will be there."

So that was another thing to have nightmares about.

-

Even though he wasn't a firebender, General Kuzon of Shijuichi always rose with the Sun. Serving with firebenders for three years and living with firebenders for longer got one into the habit.

He watched the sunrise and wondered idly if it was the last one he'd ever see. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. Well, as his father always says: nothing else to do about it but face it head-on.

He made sure to look sufficiently non-threatening before Entering the Avatar's courtyard.

They were eating in the shade of a flying bison.

Flying bison were... very big.

The Dragon of the West was conspicuously absent from their number.

But more importantly, flying bison were very big.

"Greetings, Avatar Aang and company. When I heard that you intended to have me for breakfast, I hope I didn't misinterpret, and that I am not meant to be the breakfast."

"Aapa doesn't eat people!" Avatar Aang pouted, hugging the flying Bison "He's a vegetarian, like me! Why does everybody always think that Appa eats people?"

"To be fair," the Ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe said, "he is very big and has a lot of teeth. I'm not saying he's ever accidentally swallowed something or someone who happened to be made out of meat, but if he did..."

"I get what you're saying, but Appa's smarter than that, aren't you boy?" And the Avatar moved from the floor in between the Bison's middle and hind legs to right on top of its nose in a heartbeat, stroking the top of its head.

The giant bison groaned in... agreement? Contentment? General Kuzon of Shijuichi wasn't fluent in the preferred communication methods of endangered species, Avatars excluded.

"My apologies, Avatar. The largest animals I've ever dealt with are komodo-rhinos, who are famously omnivorous."

Keep them well-fed or they will start to chew through their metal cages, in other words.

Very good for hiding evidence, in different words.

Excellent at pretending to hide evidence, in the words that got him to be a General in only three years.

"Well that's not ominous at all, you sure he isn't as evil as the rest of them?"

"Of course he is," Master Katarta scoffed. "I agreed to this because there's a chance we could get somewhere, but he's still a Fire Nation General.

"I dunno, Katara, It sounded like he really hates Fire Lord Ozai, and he does seem to care about the Earth Kingdom citizens in the Colonies..."

"Well clearly not enough to want to give them back."

General Kuzon of Shijuichi felt like a particularly interesting stalagmite in a cave that was shallow enough for parents to let their children play in.
The Earthbender punched the Water Tribe ambassador in the shoulder. General Shijuichi rubbed his own in sympathy. He knew how hard those punches could be.

"You were the one who suggested we meet him, Ambassador Snoozles."

"I said that every time he talks alone with one of us, it's conveniently out of your magic foot-detecting range. So the the next time one of us finds ourselves in the middle of a conversation with him, we should have our resident terrifying lie detector within terrifying lie detecting range."

"I'll have you know that I've never lied in my entire life," he chanelled as much of what his father called little brother energy into his grin.

"Truth," despite being blind, the Earthbender matched his grin fang for fang. "That was a lie, by the way." She said, for the apparent benefit of the other three children, who were staring at her with faces of sheer bafflement. She earthbent herself to be on the same level as him, and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Toph. And since I've never heard of you before, I assume you're very bad at killing my countrymen."
General Kuzon of Shijuichi raised his hand to meet hers, and tried to take that as a compliment. As if tired of him taking so long, she grabbed his hand and shook it in... the lowborn Earth Kingdom style. For some reason.

"General Kuzon of his Majesty's colonial divisions. I've been told that I'm the epitome of failing upwards."

"I know that kind of person," master Toph said, bending herself back down. "Somehow, you don't strike me as the pompous-boasting-with-nothing-to-back-it-up type."

"My previous commanding officers had that market fully cornered, I'm afraid."

"So," the Water Tribe Ambassador said, mouth half-full and chewing. He pulled the empty meat skewer out of his mouth and pointed it at him. "Colonies. You seem to have the Fire Lord's ear on that stuff, so what can we do to get you to give them back to the Earth Kingdom?"

"His Majesty is in the habit of considering every suggestion his advisors bring to him."

"You gave him that proposal," Master Katara said, "and he started writing letters about it to the governors that same day. It has to be something."

Huh. General Shijuichi didn't know that.

So it was strange that the Avatar's group did.

"The same day? Really? That's a rather specific window of time, especially considering that His Majesty wasn't with you for any of it."

"I guess it was technically really early the next day?" The Avatar rubbed the back of his head. "The letters were sorta... all over the table when Sifu Iroh went to talk to him."

So the Dragon of the West was the leak. That made sense, and was certainly easier to work around than any of the alternatives.

"Where is the Dragon of the West, by the way? I have a hard time believing that two midnight meetings which he initiated was enough to get him to cower from my presence."

"He's having breakfast with Fire Lord Sparky." Master Toph popped another piece of dango in her mouth and dug her feet into the tile ground. Well that explained all the pockmarks. "Figured you wouldn't want to talk to him any more than you had to."

General Shijuichi looked at his own plate, and found that his own appetite rivaled that of his Fire Lord. "A statement as true as it is alarming, Master Toph."

She bared her teeth again. "Thanks, I try."

"He wants what's best for the Fire Nation too, you know that, right?" Avatar Aang asked.

"So I keep beeing told. I'm sure they even believe it."

"But you think they're wrong," Master Katara said.

"I think that my definition of the Fire Nation is a little bit more... transcontinental then their definition of the Fire Nation. Not to the degree of the Ashmaker- Pardon me, Former Fire Lord Ozai, but precisely to the degree of Fire Lord Zuko."

He could see precisely when each one of them had processed the incongruity between the color of his clothes and the color of his words.

"And before you ask," he added, because they were taking a really long time to fully process the incongruity. "He was planning on keeping the colonies before I arrived at the palace."

"Wow," Master Toph finally said, "you really hate Ozai."

"Not that I don't appreciate another member of the Screw Ozai club, because really, screw Ozai. But why are you even here if you hate the Royal Family so much? Forget that, how are you even here? Isn't treason a big no-no in your country? Like having to live in exile in the Earth Kingdom otherwise your crazy and terrifying niece-who-has-blue-fire-and-lightning will show up to kill you and won't stop until she kills the Avatar kinda big?"

"It didn't work," The Avatar helpfully provided. "Katara had some Spirit Water from the North Pole and used it to heal me."

Recontextualizations of every interaction he'd ever had with the Northern Admiral aside, "Treason's a common passtime where I'm from. Sometimes we make bets on it. It's really only a problem if you get caught."

"Really." The delegation from the Southern Water Tribe, it seemed, was unimpressed.

Master Toph shrugged. "I ain't getting anything."

"And I don't hate the Royal Family. His Majesty and I actually see eye to eye on a lot of things, and he's given me a great deal of reasons to respect him."

"Really? " Master Katara said, " Zuko gave you reasons to respect him?"

"Don't get me wrong," Master Toph said. "He seems like a decent enough guy, but I really don't see how you take 'sleep-deprived overworked teenager with heart problems' and get 'respect' out of it."

"Also, putting aside the weirdness that is people calling Zuko 'His Majesty', which I will never get used to, by the way, we're thinking about the same guy, right? Weird hair, obsessed with honor, shouts all the time, once tried to capture the Avatar in the middle of the North Pole at night during a full moon without any backup. That guy?"

"Maybe he admires his stubbornness," Master Katara said, "he seems very set on changing the subject every time the colonies come up."

Avatar Aang's eyes widened. "Oh yeah! You are! I didn't even notice! How did you do that?"

"You don't appreciate my stalling tactics, Master Katara?"

"Not when what you're stalling is fixing the thing that your people broke."

"It's rather beyond repair, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, I'm not buying it," Master Toph said.

"Neither am I. I'm the Avatar, it's my job to fix things. And sure there's some things the Fire Nation did that I can't fix, but I can fix this one. So that means I will."

Not try. Will. General Kuzon of Shijuichi was getting increasingly pessimistic regarding the integrity of his Nation.

He bowed to the Avatar, Sincerely-Ashamed-Superior-Officer-to-Wronged-Civilian.

"We robbed you of your people, Avatar Aang, and that was wrong of us. But regarding the colonies, I think you'll find that many of the people currently living there would be rather disinclined to leave."

"Tough," Master Toph said.

"Well I'm sure the people who lived there before were rather disinclined to leave also."

Invoking his soldiers would be considered a threat. He'd learned from his previous mistake.

"My main point of contention is that I'm still unclear on where you intend for us to go."

"Wherever you lived before!" The Southern Water Tribe Ambassador was growing frustrated, "Like we keep telling you guys."

"Avatar Aang, when was the first colony founded?"

"Um... I dunno, a few years before I was born, I guess? I remember the monks talking about it when they thought I couldn't hear them."

"And how many of those original settlers would you say are still alive today?"

The Avatar wilted a bit.

"Oh. So you're saying that a lot of Fire Nation Citizens who live in the colonies don't have a home to go back to, in the Fire Nation?"

"I'm from the colony of Yu Dao, like my father before me. The first time either of us had been to the Fire Nation proper was around half a dozen years ago when I enrolled in the Military Academy."

Master Toph threw a pebble at him. General Shijuichi caught it. "So you and your dad have never been to the Fire Nation before, big whoop. What about your grandpa? What was so rotten about his hometown that he had to leave?"

"My grandfather was also from Yu Dao." He dropped the pebble, and sent it back exactly twice as fast. "His mother was from Omashu. Also, please refrain from throwing rocks at me in the future. I've been told I overreact."

Master Toph caught it, of course. Despite her open-mouthed surprise at there being anything to catch.

"What," the Ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe said.

"Did you just..."

"He did, Sugar Queen. He really did."

"You're a spy," the Avatar almost whispered. "For the Earth Kingdom. And you... want The Fire Nation to keep the colonies? No, wait that doesn't make any sense..."

The Avatar was pacing a trench in the ground.

"I am a loyal servant of the Fire Nation, Avatar Aang."

"You're an earthbender," Master Toph accused.

"I'm aware."

"You're an earthbender who's a Fire Nation General."

"I'm better at my job than I let most people realize. If you want a firsthand demonstration, all you have to do is tell people here what you saw. That goes for the ears in the walls as well, just so you know."

Master Toph's face turned to the walls with a shortage of awe. "Well, you certainly scared those guys off." She cracked her knuckles at him. "But I could take you."

Three years in military service didn't get him used to threats from earthbenders, a life with his sister did.

"I don't doubt it, Master Toph. But it would rather cut the peace talks short, don't you think?"

"We'll get back to that," the Water Tribe ambassador said. "Don't think we won't get back to that. You're changing the subject again and I do not appreciate that, but we can't just un-change the subject after that whole..." the Ambassador gestured vaguely to all of him, "That. That you did."

General Shijuichi earthbent a small pillar to lean on, because the puma-cat was already out of the bag, so why not play with it a little. "I think it's very relevant to the subject, actually."

"You're really working for the Fire Nation," the Avatar finally came to the correct conclusion. It was a point in his favor, surprisingly enough. "You're an Earthbender but you're working for the Fire Nation. Why?"

General Shijuichi swallowed his dango before answering the Avatar's question.

"Oh, it's a fairly old story. When a foreign soldier finds himself attracted to a farmer's daughter and all that. Though in my case the soldier was a navy woman, the farmer's daughter worked in a teahouse, and the whole affair was a lot more pleasant for both parties involved."

The Avatar and the delegation from the Southern Water tribe did not appear to understand either of those statements. Master Toph,   however, understood both. Or near enough. She wouldn't see his smile, but he smiled anyways.

"Apparently I was worth nine gold pieces and a pleasant afternoon."

"Gross," Master Toph did not look grossed out in the slightest.

"Rest assured, he's retired from that particular profession, and has since started a school. Apparently he found raising children to be more rewarding than making them."

He wouldn't say what kind of school. There might still have been ears in the walls.

"I repeat, gross. So, why serve in the Fire Nation Army?"

"We are loyal sons and daughters of the Fire Nation. As such, we are taught all about the great things the Fire Lord has done for us and what a pity it is that the other backward nations won't allow us to share our greatness with them. It's quite convincing, even when you find out that you're one of those mud-slinging barbarians that want to bring the Fire Nation to its knees."

"But why not leave, instead?" Master Katara asked. "Be part of the Eath Kingdom. Help free your people."

"Though my sister tells me I look quite good in green, I find that red suits me more. It certaiy opens more doors. Besides," he popped a chunk from the spicy meat skewer that His Majesty was known to enjoy into his mouth, and chewed with all the ease that the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador couldn't. "I think I'd be a bit too Fire for their liking."

Master Toph looked like she needed to level a mountain. "So you like spicy food and politics-talk, big whoop. Still doesn't excuse being a traitor to your country."

"Why do you insist that my country is the Earth Kingdom? I did say I was brainwashed from a young age."

"So you're definitely Fire Nation. Good to know. I'm sure you and all your other brainwashed buddies will be more than happy to go to live in your great and glorious country and leave the Earth Kingdom territory to the Earth Kingdom then. Have fun not getting killed because of your treasonous bending."

"Is that what you meant," the Avatar asked, "when you said that people do treason all the time where you're from?"

He nodded. "I imagine it's a similar case with firebending in the Earth Kingdom. Is it, Master Toph?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. Most of the firebenders I've met just shot flames at us. Never heard of an Earth Kingdom firebender before."

"Just like you've never heard of a Fire Nation earthbender?"

"...Huh. So that's what 'war child' means."

"Quite so, Master Toph. I actually met one, after my first battle. She saw me earthbend my way out of the ground, cauterized my wounds, and then proceeded to spit on my face when she saw I was Fire Nation. To date, that was the most civil interaction with someone from another nation I've ever had. Present company excluded, of course."

"But..." the Avatar began, "Aren't there still a lot of Earth Kingdom people in the Colonies?"

"I mean, I think it's pretty obvious why they wouldn't like him." There was no bite to Master Katara's words, shokingly enough. She said it like it was merely a statement of the obvious.

"There are a lot of colony people in the colonies." That was really what he'd been trying to get at the entire time. But he'd been dancing around it. Like a firebender. "The division between fire and earth, in most cases, is largely cosmetic. Unless you want a ticket to an Earth Rumble."

Judging by the Dog Caiman-like grin on Master Toph's face, this had been the wrong thing to say.

"I must warn you, if it's between you and my sister, I won't be cheering for you."

"She'll lose."

He demonstrated both his skills in long-term planning and his skills in self-preservation by not saying anything.

His sister wasn't the best earthbender in the world, but she was certainly better than him.

Their conversation did not end up having an effect on that day's Peace Talks, but hopefully he'd given the Avatar's group something to think about.

Chapter Text

The consequences of General Kuzon of Shijuichi's new unofficial position as Advisor of Colonial Affairs to the Avatar amounted to a single amendment on the Avatar's position on the colonies: everyone who wanted to stay in the former colonies could stay and join the Earth Kingdom, and everyone who wanted to go to the Fire Nation could leave. It was a kind gesture, if naive.

Soldiers were not counted as part of "everyone".

("You made your bed, colonel rocks-for-brains," Master Toph had said at dinner afterwards. "Don't be so shocked that it's got stones in it."

There had been no hatred in those words. Earthquakes and rockslides didn't do hatred, only inevitability.)

And much to his own frustration, he couldn't find a better option, in the scenario where the Avatar got his way.

The ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe, whose name the Avatar had accidentally let slip but which General Shijuichi promptly forgot after a look from Master Toph had given him extremely targeted amnesia, seemed to make it a point to suggest bringing His Majesty's Predecessor back to his home country during every single meeting.

("I'm only telling you this as a courtesy, Ambassador, " he had said, the fourth time this happened. "If you allow the object of our mutual hatred into the land of my birth, there will quite quickly be nothing left of him to hate."

Apparently, this had not been as large a deterrent to the Ambassador as it would have been to the Avatar.

"Hey, as far as I'm concerned, when he's on your soil he'll be your problem. I just think it'll do the ol' Fire Lord some good if he works out some of his daddy issues, and, hey! We've got his daddy! Ooh I should write that down for next time. 'You've got daddy issues, we've got your daddy.'  Let's see, where did I put my note-taking kit...")

The Seventh day of Peace Talks actually began promisingly. Fire Lord Zuko, it seemed, had learned to draft the specifics of a plan before a meeting began, rather than during.

Or to delegate it, anyway.

It was probably unprofessional to feel proud of one's superior officer.

"What are you smiling about, General?"

"It's a good plan, your Majesty. I am simply appreciating your hard work."
His Majesty flustered in a way that reminded General Shijuichi that he was sixteen.

"The clerks did most of it. I just asked them some questions. I think I kind of... broke? The head clerk, when I went down there to thank him."

"It's worth being proud of, your Majesty."

"Okay, sure, but what... is this, exactly."

His Majesty's almost-smile fell into a scowl, he turned around, and the Peace Talks began.

Then the Dragon of the West spoke for the first time during any of the meetings, and things only got worse from there.

"Shall I order my men to kill him on sight, your Majesty?" General Shijuichi asked, when the Ambassador made the inevitable Suggestion.

He had already issued those orders, after his sister had reported that colonel Mae-Jing and her troops were not , in fact, headed towards Ba Sing Se, as she was apparently busy ensuring that the peaceful withdrawal of Fire Nation soldiers through her territories remained peaceful. However, if the ash-making flame were to escape its hearth, she would be more than happy to snuff it out.

(He hadn't asked or ordered Mikai to do that. But Earth Kingdom colonels didn't need to follow Fire Nation orders.)

But if the Fire Lord agreed, he would let his soldiers know that they didn't necessarily have to be quiet about it.

"Yes, please, do that."

"What."

"I'm not just going to let him overthrow me! Would you rather deal with him?"

Apparently, the Avatar could take away bending..

That was...

He didn't know much about inner flames. Just that Hisashi's little brother Yoichi hated dark, enclosed spaces, and that the firebending members of his troops never really got cold. But everyone else on His Majesty's side was...

"...I'll stay the execution orders then."

His Majesty shook his head.

Apparently, that was all he could do.

A mercy kill, then.

Master Toph was right. Tea would be good, right about now.

He was already intimately aware of how much the Dragon of the West cared about Colony citizens. He wasn't sure why he was shocked to see that care rear its head again now.

General Shijuichi had never really been afraid of his Fire Lord before. He wasn't even sure if he was now , but he was certainly afraid for him.

And then his Fire Lord declared his full intention to be killed by the throne, and Kuzon of Shijuichi found that he really couldn't begrudge the other generals for not speaking out.

And then the Dragon of the West showed his true colors, and he found that he really couldn't begrudge the other generals for not speaking out.

They were both firebenders, but he had seen mountains with less inevitability than what was about to happen.

"I accept your challenge"

His Fire Lord had spoken out. Rather vehemently, in fact. The least the Forty-First could do was repay the Favor.

"Your Highness, I must Protest. As you said before, His Majesty is Ill and-"

The Dragon looked up at him. "Are you offering to fight in his stead, General? I warn you, I will not go so easy on you as with my nephew."

"Nonbenders can't fight in Agni Kais."

"Then we have nothing else to-"

"That wasn't a no."

"Don't-" His Majesty rasped out. "I already accepted the challenge. I'm... I'm going to fight."

"Your Majesty?"

"Contrary to what by brother may lead one to believe, the participants must be agreed upon by both parties beforehand. And it seems my nephew has refused your generous offer."

The Dragon of the West sounded disappointed at this.

It was the only point in his favor.

He did not stay to watch. He was under no illusions as to how it would end.
Kuzon of Shijuichi had been unable to get the taste of dirt and blood and burnt flesh out of his tongue for months after his first battle. Leaving the room left much the same taste in his mouth.

He had only heard what the Dragon of the West thought of his nephew through second and thirdhand accounts. But he knew, a little, of what Fire Lord Zuko thought of his uncle. An idle observation on the type of tea they were having during a meeting. A recollection as to why it wasn't a good idea to send troops through a particular area. He had once walked in on his Fire Lord imitating the man after a particularly stressful argument with some of his advisors.

The Dragon of the West wouldn't fight his brother. But it seemed he had no such reservations when it came to fighting his son.

-

According to the doctor, His Majesty was in no condition to recieve visitors. That was alright, he could wait. Earth could be quite unmoving, if need be.

And he could be Earth, when the situation called for it.

One of the guards rushed out of the room past him, ashen-faced.

The Guard returned with Captain Izumi following behind.

She wouldn't look him in the eye.

"General." A question.

"I'm told His Majesty is in no condition to recieve visitors."

"His Highness."

"Of course, My mistake."

"Captain," her guard insisted.

Captain Izumi wasn't a visitor. She entered the Fire Lord's room strictly on business.

And then Princess Azula called on her brother the only way she knew how.

He could wish for the two remaining fires of Agni to snuff each other out all he wanted. It was only treason if he did so out loud.

When the Dragon of the West found him some indeterminate amount of time later, he was no worse for wear. Kuzon of Shijuichi wondered if it was because he had finally learned to properly delegate.

Former Fire Lord Azula was being carried to a different section of the infirmary behind him, so apparently not.

"I was wondering if I could find you here, General."

Kuzon of Shijuichi bowed precisely the way the official etiquette demanded, and stood just a little bit straighter once he rose.

"I'm told his Highness is in no condition to recieve visitors. And it's Retired General, your Majesty."

"Nonsense, General." A small smile graced The Dragon of the West's face.

"A man who shows such loyalty to my nephew is a man I would be honored to have in my court. Besides, you are young, I'm sure you have a fulfilling career to look forward to."

"I've changed my name before, your Majesty. I heard that the Earth Kingdom is going to expand soon, they will no doubt need the manual labor. To aid in the famine, if nothing else."

"Somehow, General, I don't think Green would become you."

"You'd be surprised, your Majesty."

"I'm afraid that my old heart can't take many more surprises. Yours would take fewer, I imagine." The Dragon of the West's hands were tucked serenely into his sleves in much the opposite fashion as a Cobra Sandgrouse's wings. "But for now, I only wish to convey my appreciation for your loyalty to my nephew."

"I serve the Fire Lord, your Majesty. Though I must warn you, colonel Mae-Jing of the Earth Army tells me I'm useless as a hostage."

"Then it's a good thing I am not colonel Mae-Jing."

"His highness seems inclined to agree with her, judging by our last interaction."

The Dragon of the West looked downcast. "It was... regretful, that he did not take the offered hand you gave him."

So, the Dragon of the West wasn't sure what to do with him yet. He could work with that.

"It would have been an honor losing to you, your Majesty."

"Strange, also, that you condidered yourself eligible to do so."

"He was left without support, Your Majesty. As I'm sure you're well aware, I'm not above deception when the situation calls for it."

"But a boy who claims to have seen a tiger-wolf when no tiger-wolf is around will soon regret it when he he finds himself between one's jaws."

"If the boy finds himself between a tiger-wolf's jaws, Your Majesty, then it's his own fault for not watching out for them."

"Ah, but what of the tiger-wolf he cannot see?" The Dragon of the West smiled a little, but immediately sobered. "As for leaving my nephew without support... why do you think I challenged him, General?"

"He did not become a General in only three years by talking treason to the Fire Lord.

"It's not my place to speculate on the inner workings of the Royal Family, your Majesty."

"Not even when ordered to by your commanding officer?"

"I have achieved my current position through fortune, your Majesty, not foolishness. To even pretend to understand your Majesty's process for devising strategy would be the height of foolishness."

"Try."

"There's been no lack of effort, your Majesty, I assure you."

The Dragon of the west sighed, like explaining himself was some great effort on his part. Perhaps it was. Or he was giving himself time to come up with a convincing lie.

"My nephew is... not well, as you yourself have said." He'd only been repeating the Dragon's words back to him, but alright. His Majesty was, perhaps, not the picture of good health. "He will be well within his rights to hate me, after this, but at least he will be alive enough to hate me."

"May I ask what your strategy will be if his Highness does hate you, your Majesty?"

"I know my nephew," the Dragon's eyes returned to their previous sharpness. "No matter how much he hates me, he will always love his Nation more."

"Your Majesty," General Shijuichi sighed, he was getting rather tired of the Dragon of the West accusing him of treason. He was right, of course, but that just made it all the more tiring. And he certainly didn't appreciate the accusation that he would use his Fire Lord as a pawn. "I have only been in the army for three years. I have been a General for less than two months. Most of my promotions have been due entirely either to fortune or lack thereof. I do not have the power or command that you seem to think I do. My advice when we first met regarding the colonies was intended as a warning, not a threat. If my troops think their general has abandoned them, then they will simply find a different General." He tried to keep the pride out of his voice. It had taken him and his allies the better part of a year to ensure that this would be the case.

"It's a good thing, then, that the colonial divisions are being disbanded."

The better option. He had found it.

General Kuzon of Shijuichi smiled sincerely, and bowed.

"It would be my greatest honor and pleasure to return my soldiers to their families. Shall I do the honors myself? You will, of course, have full access to the letters before I send them."

"A dictation in my presence will suffice, I think. Though I must say, I'm curious as to why you agreed to this so readily."

"I hope I've made it clear that I want the bloodshed to end just as much as your Majesty, His Highness, and the Avatar's group do. It stands to reason that the war being over would mean a smaller army. I have more reasons than most to want the divisions under my command to be out of the line of fire."

The Dragon of the West looked... pained, a bit. Good.

"Quite so, General, Quite so. You, of course, will be reassigned. From what I understand, General Chisuke's divisions have been directly controlled by the Fire Lord since his retirement. My nephew had other things on his mind, it seems, than finding a suitable replacement."

Lateral reassignment only counted as a promotion for soldiers with the rank of colonel and below.

It felt like one, regardless. And not one of the ones he'd wanted.

"I take it that you will personally see to it that the soldiers make it home?"

"Unlike my dear nephew, I know when it's necessary to delegate."

Which wasn't an answer.

It was also, he noted when he heard what could charitably be described as laughing coming out of Princess Azula's infirmary chamber, demonstrably untrue.

Then a group of ministers arrived, and the Dragon of the West had more important matters to attend to other than ensuring that his nephew doesn't get visitors.

The royal guardsmen poked their heads out of Fire Lord Zuko's infirmary. "Is the Dragon gone?"

"Yes. The doctor?"

"Scurried off to take care of the Princess."

"His Majesty has... agreed to see you. More or less."

"More or less?"

The guards looked at each other.

The one that spoke wouldn't meet him in the eyes.

"I think more or less is all he's capable of at the moment."

Of course.

But nothing for it other than to face it head-on.

When the door slid closed, the position of the General and the guards relative to it had switched.

His Majesty bowed first. Far too low for either of his stations. He wasn't the Fire Lord anymore, only a sixteen-year-old boy.

Most of Major Kuzon of Yu Dao's men had been sixteen too.

He had been eighteen.

"General Shijuichi, I'm-"

"Before you apologize for decisions that I made," It was impolite to interrupt the Fire Lord, but His Majesty wasn't The Fire Lord anymore, only his. "I would like to convey my sincerest condolences for your recent demotion. And I have come here to let you know that despite this, I am still at your command, your Majesty."

There wasn't a proper bow for this sort of situation, so he made one up.

Fire Lord Zuko rose, one eye widened in shock.

"What? I'm not... I'm not the Fire Lord anymore, General. I can't just... order you to do things."

General Shijuichi remained bowed.

"Be that as it may, I'm still at your command, your Majesty."

"...Is this because I promoted you? Because when I asked about the General of the colonial troops they told me I didn't have one anymore and when I asked them where the colony of Shijuichi was they thought it meant I wanted to promote you and by then I was late for another meeting and I kind of... Forgot about it. Until you arrived."

He rose, a wry grin crossing his face. "In my experience, fortune tends to favor my promotion. It's how I rose from a Major in the 41st division to a General in only three years."

His Majesty opened and closed his mouth multiple times, before resigning himself to silence.

"I remain at your command, your Majesty."

Silence, for a moment more, and then...

"I... would like to have a different room. If you can. This one is... big."

He bowed again, General-to-Fire Lord. "I'll do what I can."

"He would've killed you, you know. If I had let you. He thinks..."

"I'm well aware of what he thinks of me, your Majesty. In my case he seems to have elected to keep his enemies close."

His Majesty sighed, and sat back down on his bed. "He does that, I think. Probably did it to me. I don't know."

"Neither do I. I hope, at least, that you can take some consolation in knowing that you finally succeeded in saving my life."

Fire Lord Zuko laid his head back, and almost smiled at that.

"Yeah, I guess... I guess I did."

Then he started doing what could charitably be considered laughing. It wasn't pleasant.

Which wasn't to say that he didn't get the joke, just that he wasn't its target audience.

"Doctor alert," one of the guards popped his head in. "Tatsuo's distracting him, but it won't hold for long."

"I remain under your command, your Majesty."

That time, when General Kuzon of Shijuichi bowed to his Fire Lord, he wasn't sure if it was going to be the last.

When the doctor arrived, nothing was out of place except for a lack of extremely young General outside the Prince's door.

"Ah! Doctor! There you are!" The aforementioned general came in from one of the halls that led to a different part of the infirmary the moment before the doctor could go on the warpath. "I just spoke with his Majesty. Apparently,  he requests that his nephew be moved to a smaller room."

"His Highness is in no condition to be put back in prison-"

"Not prison, doctor. Just... a smaller room."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed."I thought I told you that the Prince isn't in any condition to recieve visitors."

"He isn't in any condition to escape, either."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed further.
General Kuzon of Shijuichi was as Earth as he was Fire, and you can't out-stubborn a stone.

"It was his only request."

"Fine. But don't think I won't report this to the Fire Lord. Matters regarding the Prince's health are his concern."

He bowed, soldier-to-doctor, "Speaking frankly for a moment, doctor, I would rather die than be a detriment to Prince Zuko's health. Good evening, doctor."

-

Between that day and the coronation, The Dragon of the West carefully arranged things to ensure that General Kuzon of Shijuichi would never cross paths with Fire Lord Zuko.

("My nephew seems to be under the impression that your conversation with him last night was a mere dream."

"His highness was in no condition to recieve visitors.")

General Shijuichi, however, carefully arranged to never cross paths with the Avatar and his group. True, they were probably the most influential children in the world these days, but...

("Ah, general! The avatar and his friends have been asking about your health."

"I'm afraid I am also in no condition to recieve visitors."

"Are you sure? Avatar Aang and Lady Beifong seemed quite eager to train with you."

"I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean, Your Majesty. The Ambassador is the only non-bender of their group. Perhaps there was some miscommunication?"

"Perhaps. Though Lady Beifong can be quite articulate, when she wants to be.")

Well, simply put, he wasn't sure what he could say to them.

That didn't stop Master Toph fom cornering him.

"You, colonel rocks-for-brains, have been avoiding us."

"As the peace talks are over, you are no longer in need of a Colonial Advisor."

"Yeah, not buying it, rocks-for-brains. You've been all weird and mopey since Sparky got ousted. So. Spill."

"Last night, his Majesty relayed a message from you. Apparently, the Avatar and his Earthbending teacher want to invite me to train with them."

Master Toph scoffed. "Well, he obviously doesn't mind working with Earthbenders, and you've probably cooked up some interesting techniques, needing to keep your bending a secret and all. So I figure we pick one of those caves that are all over the mountain we're literally standing on and go at it."

Some of those caves that were all over the mountain were rather occupied at the moment. He would rather not antagonize the Dai Li any more than he already had.

"I assure you, it would be a thoroughly unpleasant experience for everyone involved. I did say I overreact."

"Fine, fine. But I'm getting a bout outta you sometime, colonel rocks-for-brains. Anyway, I know that that's not what's eating you, 'cuz we only got Twinkletoes to get over your threat-that-wasn't-actually-a-threat-but-sure-sounded-like-one two days ago."

Right. He had almost forgotten he'd done that.

"If you must know, the troops under my care are being held hostage by a potentially hostile power, and I'm not even allowed to know of their health."

"You really think Uncle would hurt his own troops?"

"Lately, I've been asking myself why Prince Zuko was without support three years ago when his Uncle was right by his side. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that he believes soldiers from the colonies are acceptable losses. He has since done nothing to dissuade me of that notion."

"Okay, that's not fair. He regrets it plenty, just ask him."

"No need, his Majesty apologized to me himself. But you don't get a rock to move by talking at it, do you, Master Toph?"

"Fine, I'll talk to him about proving that he isn't systematically sending your troops into Earth Kingdom ambushes, but you owe us one conversation. Deal?"

"No."

"Direct and to the point, I respect that. Still, Aang's worried about you. Something about you sharing a name with an old friend of his or something. Also: no conversation, no health reports."

"One conversation then."

-

"I'm still saying, that's, like, illegally cute. Who knew that Prince-travel-the-world-to-sell-you-to-his-evil-dad could be capable of that much... adorable-ness?"

General Kuzon of Shijuichi stepped out from a side hallway to walk next to the Water Tribe Ambassador. "Once, I saw Captain Izumi put a blanket over His Highness' shoulders after he fell asleep on his desk. How is his Highness? In better health, I hope?"

The Ambassador jumped, "Woah! Hello there."

"Kuzon! " The Avatar hugged him for some reason. The only people who ever did that were his father's children, biological or otherwise, as well as his old friends from his first division. He had no idea what to do in this instance. "You're okay! I mean, I knew you were okay, since Sifu Iroh said you were, but you kinda disappeared after you spoke out against the Agni Kai and everybody we asked said that you probably have sick relatives... But you're okay right? And your relatives?"

"I can't say much about my sister, but my father and his students are in perfect health. Why would people assume they were sick?"

Unless "visiting sick relatives" was the Fire Nation Proper's equivalent of "needing to care for a family member who broke a bone after getting harassed by Earth Kingdom rebels".

That... would explain a lot, actually.

"Why?" The Ambassador asked. "What's up with your sister?"

"I am no longer commanding his Majesty's colonial divisions, and His Majesty has forbidden me from seeing after their health."

"Why would he do that?" Master Katara asked. "He didn't seem angry about you trying to give Zuko an out."

"His Highness seems to be the only thing we see eye to eye on. How is-"

"That's a lie."

"As well as the fact that our visions for peace are fundamentally incompatible with each other. How is his Highness?"

"Very nap-y. Still think you can keep the colonies, rocks-for-brains?"

"My main goal right now is preventing a civil war."

"What."

"But His Majesty seems to be under the impression that I want to cause it."

"Back up a bit, what's this about a civil war?"

"Why would evacuating the colonies cause a civil war? We already said that everyone who wants to leave would leave and everyone who wants to join the Earth Kingdom could stay."

"Except the soldiers," General Shijuichi felt the need to clarify.

"Right, except the soldiers. But Sifu Iroh said that he was taking all of the soldiers who were from the colonies out of the army, so now that they're not going to be soldiers anymore, they get to make the same choice as everybody else."

Oh.

Well, that hadn't been a part of his original plans.

But General Kuzon of Shijuichi could work with this, if his Father was willing to help.

Not for the first time, he was greatful that Fire Nation helmets were built to obscure faces. If the Earth Kindom did end up occupying a colony, they would have no way of identifying the former soldiers.

"You're quite right, Avatar Aang, quite right. And furthermore, could you please tell His Majesty that I have neither intentions nor plans to raise arms or do battle against those who've pledged their loyalty to him? Because while it's the truth, I think he'd only believe me if he heard those exact words coming from one of you."

"Yeah, yeah, no raising arms no doing battle, got it. Toph?"

"He's clean. Enjoy those health reports, rocks-for-brains."

"You have my thanks, Master Toph."
That afternoon, the Dragon of the West arrived at General Shijuichi's office, with a servant carrying a pile of health reports.

"Lady Beifong tells me that you think that I meant something different when I said 'disbanded'."

"As I said before, your Majesty, I cannot devise the reasons behind your strategies."

"You're concerned for your troops, I understand, so please believe me when I say that you have my word of honor that they will return to their homes unharmed."

"I greatly appreciate that, your Majesty."

"And when you're done with that, write a letter to your sister, I'm told she misses you greatly."

"I will, your Majesty."

Late that night. Very late. Fire Lord Zuko entered General Shijuichi's bedroom by way of falling through the window.

"Um."

"Your Majesty?"

"Oh. General. Um. I hope I didn't disturb your rest. If you want me to, I'll..."

General Shijuichi stood up, and began to rearrange the rock garden by the window.

"Would you care to sit down, your Majesty?"

He did.

"I was told you... weren't allowed to see me?"

General Shijuichi placed another rock under the window, just so.

"Your Uncle seems to think I've been trying to influence you against him."

His Majesty blinked. "Oh. But you haven't though."

Shijuichi laughed, and put the final stone in place. "He seems to be doing a rather good job of it himself."

"Will you... get in trouble?"

There was quite suddenly a very flat slab of stone blocking the view outside the window. "Not if you aren't seen, your Majesty."

Fire Lord Zuko looked at the slab. Looked at him. Back at the slab. Back at him.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense."

It was the Shijuichi's turn to be confused. "How so?"

"It's kind of... hard. To get out of an earthbender ambush. Especially when you're outnumbered."

Ah.

"So you remember our previous conversation, then?"

"I thought it was a dream, at first. But the way Uncle talked about it... It wasn't,  was it? And I'm not dreaming now? I didn't pass out when I fell off the roof?"

For his own sanity, General Shijuichi did not ask him to elaborate. What teenagers do alone on roofs at night is their business and theirs alone.

"You're quite awake, your Majesty, I assure you."

His Majesty nodded. "And you... meant? What you said that night?"

"I'm at your command, your Majesty."

"And you won't tell Uncle about it?"

"You have my word of honor, whatever you ask of me will stay between us."

"Okay." His Majesty stood up. Jumped on his heels a bit. Breathed in. Breathed out. "Okay. It's about my coronation."

"Yes?"

That single spark lit the bonfire of words that were apparently trapped in his Majesty's brain.

"I have a speech prepared but I'm not sure if it's any good and I want to be convincing or at least have my reasons be understood in the 'I'm actually saying words' way even if he can't or won't understand me in the 'I know how you feel' and not 'I know how you must feel' way but I don't know if it works and if it doesn't then nothing will change but if it does then maybe I'll have at least done something even if that something is nothing and this probably isn't making any sense to you. Oh, and I wanted to thank you. For speaking out for me before the Agni Kai. Nobody... Nobody did that. The first time."

"My only regret is that it was about as successful."

His Majesty smiled, and general Shijuichi realized that he had never actually seen his Fire Lord smile before.

"It was, wasn't it? Maybe you'll win your second, like I won mine."

"Sir?" He asked, watching His Majesty swallow his laughter. It was rather more concerning than if he had just let it out.

His Majesty breathed a little bit to calm himself down. "Quiet, right. Anyway, I need to practice my speech. Can you make sure it doesn't sound horrible?"

"Of course, your Majesty."

It didn't sound horrible.

It didn't sound horrible at all.

General Shijuichi wasn't lying when he said that he wouldn't lead his troops against those who'd pledged their loyalty to the Dragon of the West. But if all went well during the coronation, those troops would have their hands rather full with ones whose commanding officers hadn't made such promises. His, meanwhile, could focus on securing the colonies against Earth Kingdom advances. Perhaps overthrow a local government or two. The recent overthrowing of the national government rather stalled the process of legalizing earthbending in the colonies, in favor of allowing their planned future local governments to criminalize firebending.

Delegation. It was something he took pride in.

There was a small risk of his Majesty becoming an unwilling figurehead, but as long as the Princess was alive and word of the Phoenix King's new lack of abilities was kept within the palace, the factions who wished to continue the war would likely flock to them instead.

He also wasn't lying when he said he was trying to prevent a civil war, but sometimes circumstances change.

"If you make it to the colonies, head to this address in Yu Dao. Ask for Sifu Jiangjun. He won't ask questions, and he won't tell anyone who you are."

"I'm taking my sister with me."

"...If that is what your Majesty wishes."

"Uncle will probably think you helped me. Which you did. But he won't know that."

"..."

"He'll think it, though."

"...You know him better than I do, your Majesty."

"So you probably shouldn't send me to your father, if that's who that is. Also my sister might try to kill him."

"I'll make a list of safehouses that the Dragon of the west doesn't know about and leave it on the windowsill tomorrow evening."
"Thanks."

"Will you need help packing?"

"I've already got everything, mostly. I was planning on leaving during the Day of Black Sun. I was going to join the Avatar."

"...would he have let you?"

He half-shrugged. "Probably not. It didn't work, anyway."

His Majesty didn't elaborate, so he didn't ask.

The sound of birdsong interrupted the easy silence, and time continued forward.

"You should probably leave before the Sun rises, your Majesty."

"Oh. Yeah. Is the Sun rising?"

General Kuzon of the Forty-First looked up at Zuko, the first light of pre-dawn framing his face through the crack between the stone and the windowsill, and smiled.

"Yes. Yes, I think he is."