Plots

On the horizon, the second largest city in the Earth Kingdom could be seen. Built on top of a tall mountain peak, part of the Kolau Mountain Range in the southwestern Earth Kingdom, it rises high out of a deep chasm and was created by earthbenders several centuries ago. 

Being considered the second most defensible city-fortress in the known world, it was shocking to see smoke coming out of several sectors of its area. Omashu now sports huge Fire Nation flags on each side of its walls.

Inside the city, the famous Omashu Delivery System now lays bare and empty, with no earthbender to work on the lifts and slides anymore, the city looks… bleak… bleak and broken, especially during the current night time, with the clouds fully covering the moonlight. 

Walking through the deserted streets, surrounded by red armored guards carrying metal torches, a small group of three could be seen… well two and a half;

"There really is no fathoming the depths of my hatred for this place." Said a young female in a monotone voice, her long loose robes billowing with the little wind that managed to reach inside the city, her black hair and eyes only deepen her deadpan expression even more, as if she was always bored;

"Mai, your father was appointed governor. We're like royalty here. Be happy and enjoy it" said an older elegant woman wearing traditional Fire Nation red robes while carrying a baby in her arms, trying to make her daughter smile at least a little bit;

"Sure… and then he went back to his hobby that he got since he came back from that Resort last year…" replies the monotone young girl.

"Don't be mean to your father." Answered her mother, Michi, with a wry, forced smile. "He deserves his hobbies."

"Yes… it's not like it has gotten out of hand or anything…" said Mai with a dry sarcasm, not even showing a smidge of emotion

"He paid his debts and we earned good favor with the Fire Lord, now we are governors of New Ozai… don't be too harsh on him."

"It's still disturbing to see your forty-something-year-old father yelling to the world, declaring that a man more than half of his age is his lifelong rival…"

The older woman tripped a little bit, her smile getting more forced "Nothing wrong with a little competition, look where it led us! We rule this city now…"

"Sure… let's call an old man collecting anything related to a 'former criminal' and writing conspiracy theories about their origin and goals …. 'a little competition'…"

At this point, even the baby in Michi's arms started giggling;

"Be as it may, as long as he is responsible with money and not burning it in gambling… your father is entitled to do whatever he wants" concluded Michi with a tone of finality.

"He literally burns money with his new smoking habits… " Mai couldn't help but sigh "To think that our boringly normal family would be more exciting than our new 'hometown'… Nothing ever happens…"

At that moment, a loud noise could be heard from the stone ramps that lead to their location.

Looking up the entourage could see a large boulder exploding, and only a small kid in orange, with an orange hat and holding a staff staring at them from one of the layers above;

Pointing towards the badly disguised but still unbelievably effective Avatar, Michi shouted;

"The resistance!"

Mai finally let out a faint smile on her face, dashing towards the staff-wielding kid. Spreading her arms, many tiny arrows flew towards her target as she followed the perpetrators through the streets of Omashu.

As she reached the platform above, she could see the two guards that went ahead of her being tossed back to the ground level. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at their 'professionalism'

As the chase continued, she finally got face to face with the kid, but after tossing a hidden blade that hits the target's staff, her targets were suddenly swallowed by the earth, leaving her to sigh in disappointment and boredom again. 

She could only slump her shoulders a bit and turn around, returning to her family

"Did you get hurt?" Asked a worried Michi

"No."

"We will get them next time, sweetie," said her mother with a gentle smile.

After a long walk the family of three finally reached the palace on the top of the highest point of the city, and as expected… the lord of the city wasn't there…

Mai and Michi could only sigh as they both go to one of the side doors, opening they see the messiest room ever, on the wall there were many articles connected one to the other with pins and strings,

A middle-aged man with grey and white disheveled hair, wearing messy yet luxurious Fire Nation robes with pointy shoulders, and nasty bags under his eyes could be seen writing something on a piece of paper, before putting it on top of a pile of already written papesr;

"Mai! Michi! I thought you were going out for a walk…" Asked the man with a look that screamed 'go to bed!'

"We've been out for three hours… dad…" Said Mai with no emotion behind her words.

"Tom-Tom is already in his crib dear…" said Michi with a badly hidden concerned face.

Staring at the two women in front of him, Ukano, the patriarch of the family, only nodded

"I see… I am almost done with my work here… It shouldn't take too long;"

"Dad… you said that last week…" 

"Dear, you need some sleep…"

"No! What I need is the truth!" Shouts Ukano, slamming his hand on his messy desk;

Walking around the messy room, towards the panel on the wall, Mai couldn't help but raise an eyebrow "I think you are too much into …. This…. Dad…" she said with an uncertain yet still empty tone;

"THIS IS THE WORK OF THE PAST YEAR!" Shouted Ukano with pride, pointing to the messy wall 

"The first sight of the Ghost… has way deeper meaning than the world thinks it does! If my theories are right-" 

The patriarch was quickly interrupted by his frowning wife "That's it! You are going to bed!" said the angry woman while dragging her husband forcefully.

"Wait! There's so much more to uncover!"

"Tomorrow!"

"No! I need to know… what 'Uchiha' means!!!"

"GO TO BED!"

"THE WORLD NEEDS TO UNDERSTA-"

Sigh…

Mai could only rub her forehead with her fingers, staring at the pieces of paper spread across the wall. She couldn't help but shake her head at her father's…. obsession… about this whole thing, he had been writing theories about the Ghost for years, but ever since he went to the Uchiha Resort last year it evolved to a whole new level.

Her eyes stopped at one piece of information that her father gathered during the year; her fingers trembled a bit when she read it… 

"…Zuko…"

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she turned around and left the room, closing the door and locking it, no one could see her father's hobbies… it would be… incredibly embarrassing…

…

On the deck of a massive luxurious Fire Nation ship, a teen girl could be seen breathing harshly as she went through an incredibly intense training, even the soldiers surrounding her were shocked at what they were seeing;

"It's unwise to keep going."

"Your body needs to rest."

Li and Lo, the two elderly mummies that followed Azula during her travel towards the Uchiha Resort, expressed their worry;

"I need to get stronger, '' said the girl with a growing frown, before ignoring the two elders. She had been training during her whole trip back to the Fire Nation, and to her... It still felt like it wasn't enough!

The sisters could only shake their head, luckily one of the soldiers approached them from the side

"The Capital is in sight Your Highness; we shall be docking in thirty minutes"

Taking a long breath, Azula stopped her intense workout while grabbing a towel. "Noted, I shall retire to my quarters for a bath before we arrive, I don't want interruptions." Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the soldier, who gulped hard and nodded quickly.

After her bath, Azula could be seen back in her pristine armor, with her perfectly groomed hair and makeup, walking back to the deck towards her consultants, the two living-undead…

"When tracking your brother and uncle, traveling with the Royal Procession may no longer be an option." Said Li

"May no longer be wise." said Lo

""If you hope to keep the element of surprise."" Said both at the same time

"You're right. The Royal Procession is dead weight. If I want to catch my prey, I must be agile… nimble. I need a small, elite team. It's time to visit some old friends."

Even though she did her best to keep her aloofness, the fist she was holding behind her back clenched tightly.

'If I was strong… really strong… I wouldn't need anyone! Other people just drag me down!'

The beating that Madara gave her left scars deeper than anyone realized.

…

In a dark meeting room, where only six people could be seen sitting on comfortable zabutons, on a tatami floor, a man with long wild black hair turned towards one of the other five

"Did you do it?" 

"Yes Mr. Uchiha, we infiltrated three agents on Princess Azula's ship. If our information is right, they just arrived at the Fire Nation Capital." Answered Nari, taking a pause before continuing "As per usual, none of the agents were aware of one another, each one of them infiltrated during different times of the day, Aka went last night, Ao went during the fight between you and Azula, and Kuro took advantage of their long repair time to take over someone else's identity."

The Oniwaban agents had code names of course.

"And their report? Any discrepancies?"

"None, all of them do contain different details, mostly due to their different positions within the ship, but the overall information is the same."

Nodding "Good, now we have a link to the capital, it's time to start phase two of our plan."

Standing up, Madara then pointed towards a huge map on the wall, more specifically the eastern side of the Earth Kingdom.

"The acquisition phase is over, from now on until the fall of the Fire Lord Ozai, we shall work on phase two… expansion…"

Turning his glowing red sharingan towards Nari, Lei, Kaliya, Gan and Kira, Madara grinned;

"I want ALL the eastern colonies under our rule within a year…"

""YES SIR!"" All of them said at the same time.