Chapter 104

The return to Ba Sing Se was begrudging but also relieving in its own way. The meeting with Hama had shaken the gang, but Sokka had to admit that it hardened his sister for the better. Katara was quieter for a couple of days, no doubt struggling to come to terms with the horrific act that was bloodbending.

They'd left before Hama's execution was summarily enforced, and for once Aang didn't even try to argue the point. The flight away from the Fire Nation islands was quiet, and even Toph held her quips back when Aang decided to give up the search for a firebending master on their own and seek Xing out.

"The faster I get the firebending over with, the faster I can put an end to this war so I can find and help more people like Hama before they…before they lose themselves completely."

It was a noble excuse, but Sokka also wondered if Aang was also entertaining the same fact that he had: That learning under a monster - and a particularly successful one at that - in supposedly conditional terms might help equip them to identify and deal with more monsters in the future.

Regardless, Appa flew with no deviations and limited stops, reaching Ba Sing Se in a matter of days. As per their agreement with the Scorpion, the gang flew in at night, keeping high in the sky until their landing within the palace courtyard. The soldiers that greeted them kept their spears at ease, and they wasted little time in escorting the gang into a corner of a palace wing that was all for themselves. Toph was the most comfortable amidst all of that, especially when it turned out that one of the Fire Nation soldiers guiding them was Captain Ping who had 'captured' her back during the whole drill thing.

"This whole area was meant to house guests of significant rank, so there's bedrooms for not just the nobility, but their servants as well," the cheery captain explained. "Plus, private baths just around the corridor there, that whole row are basically offices and study rooms, and there's a couple of halls there…and there. Feel free to use the rooms in this section however you see fit, Prince Xing is still working on figuring out how to renovate the palace to be more practical."

They spent their first night in a Scorpion-controlled Ba Sing Se in the same opulent bedroom. Appa managed to fit in by virtue of Toph bending the walls open to let him in. It was that spacious.

The following morning began with an invitation to have breakfast with the Scorpion Prince. Sokka was surprised to find the meal rather simple considering where they were eating. The table was basically filled with steaming hot buns, with colored pips on them to denote their fillings like most Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation eateries practice. Xing seemed content with slowly enjoying his bread as he conversed.

"I'm glad you're back faster than expected." Annoyingly, he wasn't being smug about it, or if he was, his tone was hiding it really well, Sokka thought.

"I just decided to get this over with," Aang curtly replied, reluctantly chewing on a bean paste filled bun and begrudgingly enjoying the taste of it. Sokka knew the other boy liked it because he had wolfed down that same flavor, and boy did it taste better than just about every place else. Or maybe Aang was just too annoyed with Xing to properly enjoy the rich flavor.

Even Katara had lowered her guard a bit as she munched away, unable to hide how much she was savoring the bread. Toph of course was freely gobbling down the buns like they were about to expire.

"Well, to not waste your time further…" Xing nodded towards the other guest by the table. Sokka recognized the old man as Zuko's somewhat laconic traveling companion. The guy actually managed to exude a harmless air about him during their encounters, and even now he gave a slow and warm nod in greetings behind a curtain of steaming tea. "May I present to you the Dragon of the West, Prince Iroh. He's Prince Zuko's uncle, in case you weren't aware."

"Wait, doesn't that make you-"

Toph tapped the stone table with her hand, causing a small pillar to unkindly poke into Sokka's side to shut him up. "Hey!"

Iroh smiled as he ignored the commotion. "It would be an honor to aid you in your lessons, young Avatar."

"Uh…hi. Um…how's Zuko?"

Iroh's smile didn't waver as he answered Aang's awkward question. "I'd like to think he's doing better now, now that he is no longer burdened from chasing you."

"Oh. That's…nice? I'm glad we don't have to deal with him anymore then. No offense."

"None taken," the prince said with a sagely shake of his head as he put down his bowl of tea. "He had forced himself into that role, which in turn forced you through hardship. For that, I must apologize on behalf of my nephew."

Aang squirmed a bit in his seat with discomfort as the old firebender bowed his head at him. Sokka felt the second-hand pang of awkwardness at receiving the genuine apology. "It's alright," Aang managed to say.

Xing cut through the brewing weirdness with a polite cough. "If you agree, Prince Iroh will teach you firebending to the best of his abilities." He then looked to Katara and Toph. "If you wish, I have people who might be capable of providing you further lessons in water and earthbending..." And then the Scorpion's gaze rested on Sokka. "...and practical combat training."

That's mighty accommodating of him, but…

"Why are you being so generous?" Katara asked with an arched eyebrow. "We know that you helping us plays into some scheme of yours, but I'd thought you'd only want to have Aang trained."

Xing shrugged as he tore a bun in half. "I'm already making an investment, might as well not half-ass it. There's no nuance in how treachery is perceived, after all."

That little reminder that he was doing this behind the Fire Lord's back - with the Fire Lord's own brother being complicit too - further impressed on the gang of the surrealness of the situation.

Xing then gave Katara and Sokka a smirk that was somewhat comforting in its annoying smugness. "Besides, I'm told that I'm a sucker when it comes to reuniting families."

"Families?" Sokka blurted.

As if on cue, the old waterbender that Sokka had met once in Lake Laogai entered the feast hall, wearing a much warmer smile instead of the stern face she had back then. Sokka felt a bit wary at first, but then he noticed her wet eyes and how wary she herself was being in her movements. "These are Hakoda's children?"

Katara immediately rose up. "You know our dad?"

"Sokka, Katara, may present to you Elder Kilin, aunt of Hakoda. That makes her your grandaunt."

The siblings were up and walking with disbelief towards the old woman, and Sokka found himself too fixated on the staggering implications of the words to care about Xing's stupid and smug delivery.

*****

Despite his misgivings, Aang found it truly hard to dislike Iroh. The prince was far more affable than Xing, and was proving to be a far better teacher than Jeong Jeong in their first lesson. Just an hour after breakfast, they were sitting by a garden, with the guards considerately being out of sight.

"Now, look into yourself. Focus your breathing. That's it. Let your chi flow with your breaths. Do not cage it, but guide it, like a waterbender might."

Thanks to Iroh's guidance, and Aang's own matured and patient approach to mastering the elements, the flames were conjured and harnessed with ease. Through using the other elements as references, the prince made firebending a lot easier for the young Avatar to grasp. In that 'introductory' lesson, Aang found himself rather proud of his progress, as well as admiring Iroh immensely as a tutor.

For a member of Fire Nation royalty, Prince Iroh was a far nicer guy than expected. A shame that he seemed to be the exception, rather than the rule.

"You've made good progress, Avatar Aang," he said when they took a break. "It should not require too much work to lay the foundations of your firebending. Then, we can move on to properly harnessing chi, and controlling your flames."

"Please, just call me Aang."

"If you insist," Iroh answered with refreshing earnestness compared to Xing's snark. "Now, while we rest, do you have any questions for me?"

"Why are you helping me?" Aang immediately blurted out before he knew it. Well, too late to take it back, so he carried on with his question. "I mean…you're the Fire Lord's brother, right? And you helped Zuko chase us."

Iroh's smile faltered a bit, but he still answered without hesitation. "I once shared my father's and grandfather's vision for the Fire Nation, but…serving in the field, I saw too late the horrible mistakes we had wrought on others." Iroh paused as emotions flashes across his kindly features. "To my shame, it took me the loss of my own son to realize that."

"I'm sorry," Aang immediately said.

"Thank you." There was another brief pause before the prince continued. "It took some time before I understood fully what the Fire Nation had done, and I sought ways to make amends. It might be hard to believe, but I followed Zuko as much to ensure both his safety and yours."

Seeing the prince as he was now, Aang believed him.

"Thank you, by the way, for not leaving my nephew to freeze out in the North Pole."

"It was the right thing to do," the airbender immediately answered, remembering how Sokka had casually asked him to just leave Zuko in the cold wasteland.

Iroh beamed a smile as he nodded. "That it was. Unfortunately, too many people forget about that, doing the right thing for the sake of it."

"I bet," Aang muttered, thinking of a particular Scorpion especially.

Iroh chuckled as he rose up to his feet. "You are the second person to help my nephew unconditionally, and the first to do so honestly. Thank you, Aang."

Feeling embarrassed for some reason, the boy reflexively scratched the back of his head. "It's no biggie, really." Then he registered the first half of the prince's words. "Uh…what did you mean by that though? How did the first guy help Zuko…dishonestly?"

The Dragon of the West gave a wry smile. "It's a bit of a funny story, really. Xing tries to hide it, but he-"

"Wait wait wait. Xing?" There was no way that…that Scorpion did anything simply for the sake of being good.

"Indeed," Iroh said, betraying Aang's expectations. "The young prince tries to hide it, but beneath all his scheming, his altruism is not that hard to pick out."

Against his better judgment, Aang spent a considerable amount of time listening to Iroh tell stories about Xing, stories that were far from what the general rumors about him said. The unexpectedly tragic past brought Hama back to mind, but the young Air Nomad pushed it aside for now. By the end of the day, he came to an understanding of the Scorpion Prince's way of thinking. Aang didn't agree practically all of it, but he understood the reasoning behind Xing's brutality…somewhat.

"My, how time flies," Iroh commented as the afternoon sun began to set. "Come, Aang. I've been told to get you ready for dinner. We have guests that are keen to meet you."

At an earlier time, Aang might've been wary of the Fire Nation prince's words, but now he simply took it at face value. "Do you know who's coming?"

"I am not acquainted with him, but I'm told that you know who the Mechanist is?"

"He's here?" Excitement was tempered with a pointed realization. "Why is he here?"

Iroh shrugged as he began to lead them out of the garden. "He and his son has agreed to work for Xing in helping to…modernize Ba Sing Se."

Of course Xing found out about the Mechanist, and found a way to get him down here. Wait…

"Teo's here as well? How did he-"

Aang stopped as he saw Iroh tense up, and then the prince quickly turned and lunged at him, tackling the surprised boy to the ground as the ground beside him erupted in a sudden explosion.

*****

A good operative carried out orders to the letter and reported back only when total success was achieved.

An excellent operative knew how to better meet the intentions of their given contract.

Bao-Zha liked to think of himself as the latter, and he saw the opportunity that presented itself when his quarry appeared with the Avatar. Stalking Prince Iroh had been troublesome due to the security of the palace, and the mission to cast suspicion on Xing as the Fire Lord had requested was nigh impossible due to how unexpectedly close both princes were.

The amateurish insurgency made the assassin's work harder as everyone was on edge, though Bao-Zha had to admit that the way the Scorpion Prince dealt with his prisoners was highly impressive in execution and intention.

Worse, what little of Xing's so-called 'invisible firebending' that he managed to glimpse was completely different from Bao-Zha's own explosions. So to accomplish the spirit of the contract, the initial order had to be discarded completely. Bao-Zha was ready to settle for simply smothering Prince Iroh to death and plant the right amount of evidence to point towards Xing.

It was orthodox and boring, but subtlety could rarely be solved with explosions in the first place.

But now, with the Avatar being in Ba Sing Se, under both princes' warm welcome too, Bao-Zha found his opportunity. Interestingly, it looked like the last Air Nomad was wary of his hosts.

It was sheer luck that his lookout perch had a clear view to the garden Iroh and the airbender was in, and though he was too far to hear the conversation, the assassin understood well enough that the old prince was teaching the Avatar firebending.

Bao-Zha delivered his attack once he was certain he had the clearest shot possible. He tightly focused the chi out his third eye, but he didn't wait to confirm its results. The Avatar's death or maiming was a nice bonus, but more importantly it would serve as a potent distraction for the occupying forces. If the Avatar or Prince Iroh was wounded or worse, Bao-Zha was sure that he would hear of it well before he left the city's outer walls.

No, the Avatar was secondary here. What was important was to deliver to the Fire Lord the all important justification that he needed. Both the recently promoted Prince Xing and the retired Prince Iroh were party to a most treacherous conspiracy against the Fire Nation. Whether the crown princess was involved was irrelevant; Fire Lord Ozai would no doubt make it so or otherwise depending on his needs once he received this damning news.

The Scorpion Dragon and the Dragon of the West would be denounced as traitors, and the Fire Lord can then send his own forces to deal with them, and Bao-Zha would hopefully be able to spend his well-earned pay in peace instead of having to face down those admittedly fearsome firebenders by himself.