99 A.G
Lin had spent most of the morning going through what Agent Wu and the rest of her intelligence network had gathered, and by the time she reached the last piece of information, there was little room left to doubt what was happening inside the Fire Nation.
There was an organized attempt to remove Fire Lord Ozai from power. The pattern now was too obvious once everything was placed together, and she was not surprised her father had found out about it.
Several nobles had distanced themselves from him, officers and ministers connected to his administration had been exposed or removed, and people who had once been considered among his strongest supporters were suddenly losing influence one after another, if they didn't lose their lives altogether.
What surprised Lin more was what Wu's agents had learned about the plans for what came afterward, because several of the people involved seemed convinced that she would somehow end up on the throne.
That explained her parents' strange behavior during their last conversation, but it did very little to explain how anyone expected that outcome to happen. Lin had no blood claim, had never expressed interest in ruling and had spent most of her career publicly loyal to the Royal Family.
More importantly, she had not talked with any of the conspirators privately, making it even more strange. Another odd occurrence was that these conspirators did not seem interested in removing the Royal Family itself.
Their anger appeared focused almost entirely on Ozai. Crown Princess Azula's popularity was higher than ever after Ba Sing Se, and nobles, officers and ordinary citizens alike seemed eager for the day she would inherit the throne.
If Ozai disappeared, Azula would simply take his place, which made the idea of Lin somehow replacing her difficult to understand. Unless, of course, Azula was involved and she intended to change the rules as soon as she ascended.
Lin stared at the reports spread across the table while that possibility slowly stressed her out little by little. Azula had changed considerably during the months away from her father. She had become more independent, openly questioned several of his decisions and had already spoken about preparing for her eventual ascension.
The nobles they met lately were also strangely comfortable criticizing Ozai in front of her, something that no one in their right mind would do, unless Azula herself expected for them to say exactly that.
If she was behind the coup, then there would be no reason to purge the Royal Family at all. Ozai could be removed while his heir remained, keeping the transition legitimate in the eyes of the nation.
That still left Lin's supposed role unexplained, although even that began to make uncomfortable sense when she considered how close she and Azula had become. But even if they expected her to rule beside her, that didn't explain her father's words fully.
Their relationship was private, but probably not invisible to anyone paying close attention, especially when Azula constantly requested her presence during political meetings and rarely hid how much she trusted her.
Lin leaned back and rubbed her forehead, unsure where to go from here. Was it impossible to think that Azula might want to replace her father? Unlikely maybe, but not impossible. She had no proof yet, and accusing Azula based on assumptions would be foolish, but ignoring the possibility simply would be just as dangerous.
For now, Lin needed more information before deciding what she was going to do with it.
'And I thought things would calm down after coming back. Damn this world!'
----0000----
Aang was feeling anxious and sad. Katara and Sokka had returned after their shock wore out, and they had still gone over the entire wreckage trying to find any clue that would rule out if their father was truly gone or not.
The pieces of ships had been scattered across the shoreline for some distance, broken wood and damaged sections of hull carried in by the current until they became trapped between rocks or buried beneath wet sand.
Sokka had recognized the markings to know that the ships had belonged to the Southern Water Tribe fleet, and although he didn't see anything that clearly belonged to their father's vessel, it didn't ease the siblings' concern.
They had searched what they could before learning about an Abbey farther inland, where people living near the coast might know more about what had happened. Katara and Sokka immediately wanted to investigate.
The group got atop Appa and they flew a short distance to the Abbey. As they flew above it, he saw that the Abbey looked newer than Aang expected, built from a kind of light grey stone and surrounded by smaller structures, a huge central courtyard and a main hall.
As they descended and landed inside, several elderly women slowly came forward, their expressions tired but curious. Aang gently used airbending to get down from Appa faster to greet them.
Recognition came quickly, along with excitement in their smiles.
"The Avatar! It cannot be… You grace us with your presence, young one. It seems the cycle has finally continued." The eldest said, overwhelmed.
"Oh, eh, hi. Yes, I'm the Avatar. Would you mind if my friends asked you a couple of questions?" Aang asked.
"Of course, let's talk inside."
While they moved inside, a few of the citizens stared at Raizo. Aang noticed the suspicion immediately and could hardly blame them when the man standing beside them was enormous, visibly Fire Nation and looking intimidating.
He glanced at him and it seemed that Raizo noticed as well.
"I'll stay outside, Aang." He said softly. "Appa could use a good brushing, he is not shedding it with the cold and it's getting tangled."
The older woman visibly relaxed once he began walking back toward the bison. Aang watched him go for a moment and smiled slightly. Raizo was truly quite gentle, and patient as well, for he didn't get offended.
Aang alongside Haru let the siblings go first. Katara did not waste much time once they were inside.
"We want to know what happened to the boats." She said.
"You must know something. Were there any survivors?" Sokka asked.
The women exchanged uneasy looks before inviting them a cup of tea.
"Well… the first wreckage appeared four months ago. At first, it was only loose pieces of wood and rope. By the following day, what looked like supplies and crates began to wash ashore. The next morning, it was bodies."
Katara and Sokka both gasped at that.
"We searched the shore for several days, and we checked every body we found. We even had a rotation going to reach anyone who might have survived farther out at sea, but I'm sorry to say, nobody living ever reached us."
"No…" Katara whispered.
"By your attire it is clear you have a relationship with whoever they were, I'm truly sorry. We eventually buried the bodies near the Abbey, beneath simple stone graves. Someone can take you there." The woman explained.
Aang felt his stomach tighten, it was the worst news they could have received.
"Was there anything you recorded? What about their uniforms and belongings, what did you do with that?" Sokka asked.
"Most bodies were too damaged by the sea to even identify them. We did store their personal belongings but that is all we have."
"We want to take a look then, our father was in that fleet." Sokka said, his voice breaking a bit.
Katara covered her mouth with one hand, tears already filling her eyes before Sokka moved closer and pulled her into him.
"I understand, I'm sorry to hear that, I will take you there myself." The woman said.
"Alright..."
Aang stood nearby without knowing what to do. He wanted to help them, but didn't know what he could do to help. There was a chance that their father was still alive somewhere but saying that felt wrong, and took him back to his own hope of any of the Air Nomads surviving.
It seemed that Haru was in the same spot as him, for he remained quiet, looking concerned and sad for them. They were then led to the storage room, and Sokka dived in to try and recognize the sailors belongings. Katara eventually joined him. They seemed to recognize some of the things they found and Aang feared the worst.
"Nothing here belongs to dad." Sokka said, finally. "But several things I recognize from others in the fleet. This was Bato's."
He passed a necklace to Katara who took it and closed her eyes. Eventually Aang moved closer and placed one hand lightly against Katara's shoulder. She did not say anything, but she leaned slightly toward him while still holding Sokka.
The women gave them as much time as they needed and even offered food and somewhere to rest, although neither sibling seemed interested in staying longer now.
"Avatar, while seeing you alive brings a great joy to my old bones, I'm truly sorry for the world you are left to face. You have a difficult journey ahead." The elder said.
"I know." Aang said, tiredly.
"If there is anything I can do to help your journey, let me know."
"Thank you. We are heading to the North Pole, maybe a few coats just in case?"
"We can do that."
Once they had thanked the Abbey workers for their help and promised to return if they learned anything about the unidentified graves, the group slowly made its way back outside.
Aang saw Raizo near Appa. He had removed part of Appa's saddle and was using a large brush through the fur along the bison's side, apparently having taken his excuse for leaving them alone very seriously.
Appa seemed pleased with the feeling and leaned slightly toward him whenever Raizo stopped. Raizo turned when he heard them approaching and the expression on his face changed the moment he saw Katara and Sokka.
"I'm sorry." He said softly once they were close enough. "I take it the news wasn't good."
Katara shook her head while Sokka looked toward the ground.
"They found bodies from the fleet…" Aang explained. "But no survivors made it here."
Raizo stopped brushing Appa and rested one hand against the handle while listening.
"We don't know if our dad was one of them, there was nothing to identify him." Sokka added.
Raizo nodded slowly. "Then don't give up on him yet. I know that doesn't make this any easier, but until you know for certain, there is still a chance he made it out alive."
Sokka looked toward him. "You really think so?"
"I think hope should be one of the last things you let someone take from you." Raizo replied. "I already asked my family if there are Southern Water Tribe prisoners being held anywhere in the Fire Nation. I haven't received an answer yet, but if your father was captured instead of killed, there is a chance someone has a record of him. I instructed them to send me a list if they do have them."
Katara wiped her face. "You asked them for us?"
"Of course. I said I would help."
Sokka looked surprised for a moment before glancing away, apparently uncomfortable with how grateful he suddenly felt toward someone he still did not completely trust.
"What can we do if he is a prisoner?" he asked.
"Then we can maybe negotiate his release." Raizo said. "We should first find out if he is alive, we can then see what to do from there."
Aang saw some of the tension leave Katara's shoulders, even if the sadness remained. Before anyone could continue, a familiar cry came from above.
Raizo looked up as his raven eagle descended toward them, wings beating heavily before it landed along the edge of Appa's saddle. A small message container had been secured around one leg.
Sokka immediately straightened.
"Is that it?"
Raizo reached for the message. "Could be."
Everyone watched while he opened the container and unfolded the paper inside. Sokka stepped closer.
"Well?"
Raizo looked toward him. "It isn't about your father."
Sokka's shoulders dropped again, although Raizo continued reading for another moment before slowly lowering the paper. Aang noticed Katara watching as well, while Haru moved closer from where he had been waiting near Appa.
"What happened then?" Aang asked.
"Ba Sing Se has fallen. The Earth Kingdom is no more."
----0000----
Azula was pleased with how everything had developed so far, especially because so far, her plan had worked very well. Her father had become increasingly paranoid over the last several months, and every new scandal or investigation only made the situation worse for him.
Officials he had trusted for years were exposed, servants were dismissed for the smallest mistakes, guards were questioned constantly and anyone who happened to contradict his memory risked being accused of disloyalty.
Azula had encouraged that paranoia whenever the opportunity appeared, and one of her favorite methods had started almost by accident after she intercepted a servant Ozai had exiled and ordered the man quietly returned to his position several days later.
When her father saw him again and became furious, the guards nearby, who she had bribed beforehand, insisted that no such order had ever been given and that the servant had been working normally the entire time, leaving Ozai confused enough that Azula immediately saw the potential in repeating the trick.
After that, servants dismissed from the palace would be intercepted before leaving the capital, offered enough money and protection to convince them to cooperate, and then returned through different sections of the palace once enough time had passed.
Some were terrified of being caught between the Fire Lord and his daughter, especially after Ozai burned several of them during his outbursts, but none dared expose Azula.
They knew that accusing the Crown Princess of manipulating him would sound like an obvious attempt to save themselves, while Ozai had become suspicious enough that he no longer trusted the people around him regardless.
The guards closest to him had been easier to manage than Azula expected. Money helped, but fear and ambition worked better, especially once they understood that supporting her now could secure their positions when she eventually inherited the throne.
Whenever Ozai demanded to know why an exiled attendant had returned, the guards would calmly tell him that he had never ordered the person removed, while conversations he remembered one way would suddenly be recalled differently by everyone else present.
Of course, he had guards exiled as well, but Azula just rotated them to different sections if that was the case, making sure Ozai didn't find them again. It was such an easy thing to do, that she wondered why she was so afraid of him in the first place.
Whenever he accused people of plotting against him, those around him became more careful, more distant and less willing to defend themselves openly, which only convinced him that his suspicions were justified.
Azula had watched her father slowly isolate himself while believing everyone else was responsible for it, and she could admit that the elegance of the plan pleased her greatly. The political side was working just as smoothly.
Nobles who disliked Ozai were becoming increasingly comfortable speaking with her, military officers had begun treating her future reign as something much closer than before, and several influential families were already discussing what positions they might hold once the transition happened.
It seemed now that removing her father had never been the most difficult part of the plan, because the one element Azula could not easily account for was Lin. She sat alone in her private quarters while looking over several reports spread across the table.
Every part of the plan had been prepared carefully enough that she could usually predict how someone would react, but Lin remained the one person she could not truly predict so far, especially now that Azula had accepted how deeply she wanted her by her side.
That realization made the decision of how to tell her far more frightening. If Lin accepted the plan, everything would become almost effortless. The army adored her, the Renshi family carried enormous influence, and most of the people already involved believed that Lin would stand beside Azula after Ozai was removed.
With both of them supporting the transition openly, very few people would risk resisting. If Lin rejected it, however, the situation could collapse almost immediately. Lin was loyal to the Fire Nation, and she still appeared as if duty and commitment should go over everything else.
If she decided that overthrowing the Fire Lord was treason regardless of who replaced him, she could easily turn against Azula and every noble involved. She obviously didn't want to fight Lin, this whole plan was so that they could be together and their nation prosper as fast as possible.
Maybe she could go against her and then trap her and hold her prisoner to her duties as Fire Lord consort, but if Lin decided to fight, she knew that most of the army would follow her if she openly declared the coup illegitimate.
Officers who currently supported Azula might hesitate once the general responsible for their greatest victory stood on the opposite side, and a civil war would erupt between the nobles who had forces in the capital and the army.
And while most of the army elements were away, it would be still difficult if rallied by Lin. Azula might still succeed but only after paying a price she had never intended to accept. What worried her even more was the possibility that Lin would simply walk away from her once she learned the truth.
Their relationship had developed slowly enough that Azula sometimes forgot how new it still was. They had only recently started becoming comfortable with openly showing affection, and Azula had only recently begun understanding what caring for someone meant.
Lin might decide that Azula had become exactly the kind of ruler she did not want to support. Losing the political advantage Lin represented would hurt her cause, but losing Lin herself would be far worse.
Azula leaned back and looked toward the ceiling while considering every possible way to begin the conversation. She could explain the political necessity first and show Lin how unstable Ozai had become, point out that most of the nation already wanted change and argue that removing one man peacefully would be better than waiting for his paranoia to destroy the government around him.
Another option was simply telling Lin the truth from the beginning and explaining everything before she had the opportunity to hear it from somebody else. That approach felt more dangerous because it placed the entire outcome in Lin's hands.
She smiled despite the unease growing in her chest, because there was something exhilarating about finally reaching the point where everything depended on what she decided to do from now on.
Azula had manipulated nobles, generals, servants and even her own father with relative ease, but none of those victories mattered as much as whether Lin would stand beside her once she finally revealed what she had done.
For perhaps the first time since beginning the plan, Azula could not predict what would happen next, and that uncertainty made her laugh quietly to herself while she continued thinking about how soon she would have to tell Lin the truth.
----0000----
Admiral Zhao stood high above the deck of his flagship and watched the fleet move north beneath him, unable to keep the satisfaction from his face as ship after ship cut through the dark water in disciplined formation.
More than five hundred vessels had been assembled for the operation, stretching so far across the sea that even from the tower of his command ship he could not see the end of them. It was a marvelous sight to behold.
Transport ships carried soldiers and supplies, warships protected the formation from every side, and larger vessels held the equipment they would need once they reached the Northern Water Tribe.
It pleased him enormously to be in command of such a force. For years, Zhao had earned glory in smaller campaigns across the Mo Ce Sea, with the only notable event following his promotion being the sinking of the Earth Kingdom's and Southern Water Tribe fleets.
There was finally a bigger opportunity for him now that Lin Renshi had crushed Ba Sing Se and destroyed the Earth Kingdom as a serious threat, leaving only one enemy standing outside Fire Nation control.
The Northern Water Tribe had chosen isolation for generations, but Zhao did not consider that an excuse to leave them untouched. For this reason he had gone deep into the desert to find Wan Shi Tong's library, and actually found what he was looking for.
So far, they had remained powerful, independent and openly opposed to Fire Nation rule, which meant that as long as they existed, the war could never truly be called finished. That responsibility now belonged to him.
The thought filled him with pride as he looked over the fleet again. While General Lin had taken Ba Sing Se and would be remembered for ending the Earth Kingdom, Zhao would be remembered for something greater still if he succeeded.
He would be the man who brought down the final enemy of the Fire Nation and ended the war after one hundred years of struggle. Every family that had lost someone during the conflict would know his name, and every child born afterward would grow up hearing about the admiral who completed what generations before him had failed to achieve.
Zhao had no intention of settling for merely capturing the Northern capital either. The Water Tribe depended on the moon for the strength of their bending, and if the ancient records he found were correct, the spirit responsible for that power still existed in the physical world.
Destroying it would change everything. Without the moon, there would be no waterbenders capable of rising against the Fire Nation again, no future master strong enough to rebuild the Northern Tribe's military strength and no generation waiting for an opportunity to seek revenge.
Zhao would not simply defeat their army, but remove the source of their greatest advantage entirely. He imagined returning to the capital after the Northern Water Tribe fell, standing before the Fire Lord while the entire nation celebrated the final victory of the war.
Lin Renshi had her triumph over Ba Sing Se, Crown Princess Azula had returned home as the heroine of the Earth Kingdom campaign, and now Zhao would have an achievement that belonged entirely to him.
He would be the most remembered Admiral there ever was in history. If everything went according to plan, he would place his name beside the people who had shaped the Fire Nation itself.
A naval officer approached from the stairway below and bowed before handing him the latest navigation report. Zhao read through it quickly, satisfied that the fleet remained on schedule and that weather conditions ahead were still favorable for the final approach north.
"Continue at full speed, Captain." He ordered. "I want every ship prepared before we reach their waters. We will use our guns' advantages in range to bombard them before they know we are there in the first place."
"Give the order to each captain to review their formations, and tell them that I will summon them to my ship once we are close enough."
The officer bowed and returned below while Zhao remained at the railing, watching the hundreds of ships continue forward. The Earth Kingdom had already fallen, and once the Northern Water Tribe followed it, there would be nobody left capable of challenging Fire Nation supremacy.
Zhao intended to make sure that when the war finally ended, the last victory belonged to him.
----0000----
The story has a discord if you want to join and see the art posted there before I attach it to a chapter: https://discord.gg/YuP58vBezb
Art commissioned done by Elar.