Zuko was struggling to escape the foul mood that had caught him.
He had chased The Avatar quite literally halfway around the world. Day and night, sun or storm, he had pursued the last airbender's trail from the South Pole all the way across the Earth Kingdom. He'd had more chances than anyone to capture The Avatar before he could reach the North Pole and master more than one element.
Yet he'd failed. The Avatar had reached the North Pole.
"Poor Zuzu. Can't do anything right, can you?" Azula's taunting voice echoed in his head, and Zuko pressed his pillow against his ears in an effort to block it out.
He hadn't failed yet! He hadn't! Admittedly it would be more difficult to capture The Avatar when he could bend water as well as air, but since when had he allowed himself to give up because a task seemed too difficult? The Avatar wasn't invincible, and he only had to succeed once.
So what if Azula would have got it right the first time?
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and Zuko looked up just as his uncle entered the room. "For the last time, I'm not playing the tsungi horn!" He growled, irritated by Uncle's persistent attempts to cheer him up.
Yet Uncle wasn't smiling as he'd been expecting him to. "No, it's about our plans." The older man replied, looking unusually worried. "There's a bit of a problem…"
"You play the tsungi horn? Wow Zuko, you never told me that."
Zuko shot to his feet at the sound of the dreaded voice he'd been hearing far too often recently. Lo and behold there in his doorway stood Tanya, his rival in the hunt for The Avatar, in all her five foot glory. And from the cheshire grin on her face he knew she was up to something.
"What do you want?" He snarled aggressively.
Tanya raised her hands in a placating gesture, and Zuko noticed the bandages wrapped around one of her forearms. She'd been injured? For all the time she spent sparring with Azula when they were kids, Zuko had never seen Tanya seriously hurt before. "Please Zuko, I promise I come in peace. I just want to catch up with a friend. Is that so much to ask?"
"Friends?" Zuko scoffed. "Funny, you didn't seem too friendly when you were trying to steal The Avatar from me."
"I admit, that wasn't my nicest moment. I'm sorry about that." Tanya replied. "I was under orders from Zhao. And I know that's no excuse for trying to steal the one thing you need to reclaim your birthright, but I really did think I was doing what was best for the Fire Nation." Tanya offered him an apologetic smile.
Had he not grown up around Azula perhaps he would have believed it was sincere, but Zuko had seen enough fake smiles to spot one a mile away. Still the fact that she was bothering with deception at all meant that she needed something from him, which was curious given their positions.
"Still that's all water under the bridge now. Things have changed recently, and I was actually hoping that perhaps we could take another shot at coming to some kind of a deal.
Zuko snorted. "What, Zhao's decided that he doesn't mind you running around making bargains with me now?"
"Zhao won't mind anything Zuko. He's dead."
That caught Zuko by surprise, as well as Uncle if the widening of his eyes was any indication. "Dead? How?" Uncle asked.
"Has the news not reached you yet?" Tanya asked innocently. "He was killed by The Avatar a few days ago."
"Killed?! By The Avatar?!" Zuko was stunned. That couldn't be the case! He'd fought The Avatar more than anyone, and the young nomad seemed to go out of his way to avoid even hurting his enemies. The thought of that peace-loving child murdering someone just didn't seem possible.
"We caught wind that The Avatar was being trained in firebending by Zhao's own treacherous master, Ex-Admiral Jeong." Tanya continued. "Zhao insisted on fighting The Avatar alone. When I returned I found Zhao dying on the ground with a huge hole in his back. The Avatar had struck him from behind."
Tanya's face was completely serious, with no tells he could see signalling a lie, yet Zuko's gut instincts screamed at him that it couldn't be true.
"But then again, who else could it be? The Avatar was the only one who fought Zhao." Come to think of it he had seen The Avatar unleash a hidden fury back during their first encounter at The South Pole. In that moment when his eyes and tattoos had started glowing, he'd seemed ready to drown Zuko's entire crew if needed.
"And what of Admiral Jeong?" Uncle asked. "Is he now travelling with The Avatar."
"Jeong Jeong is dead. I killed him myself."
Tanya said those words with startling indifference, as if merely remarking on the weather, yet the reaction they had on Uncle was immediate. His face paled, eyes growing wide with disbelief. "D- dead?!"
"Oh?" Tanya raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know the two of you were acquainted."
Uncle seemed to be wrestling with some sort of emotion Zuko couldn't identify. "We met a long time ago, back when we were both young men serving in the military." He replied, sounding very weary all of a sudden. Silently, Zuko put a hand on his shoulder and steered Uncle to sit down on his bed. "He was always a very powerful fighter."
Tanya chuckled to herself. "Yes, he did take a considerable amount of effort to put down."
For a moment so brief he could have imagined it, Zuko thought he saw a flash of genuine hatred in his uncle's eternally patient eyes. Yet just as soon as it had come it was gone. Tanya didn't seem to notice, so Zuko assumed he must have misread the look. Why would uncle get angry over the death of a traitor after all?
"So with Zhao gone, that means the one in charge of his fleet is…" Zuko began, trailing off as the cheshire smile on Tanya's lips returned. Oh Agni! "You?!"
"Indeed. Which brings me back to the reason why I'm here." Tanya replied, inviting herself to sit down on his vacant chair. "You know me, Zuko. All I've ever wanted was to become an admiral, and now that I'm an acting admiral I just need one big achievement to solidify my position."
"Let me guess, capturing The Avatar?" Zuko sneered.
Tanya rolled her eyes. "No Zuko, not that. The Avatar is a threat to the Fire Nation that must be dealt with as soon as possible, but I don't need capturing him to be my crowning achievement. I have another plan in mind: something that will help both of us get what we want."
Memories of all the times Azula had claimed to have such plans flashed through Zuko's mind. She'd always been lying of course; manipulating him into doing something that suited her purposes, and often getting him into trouble along the way.
Tanya had never done that before, but then again she had never really needed to ask anyone else for help. She always seemed completely capable of doing everything herself. Zuko found himself unsure as to whether he could trust her or not.
"What plan?" He asked warily.
Tanya's smile grew sharper. "You're aware that The Avatar has reached The North Pole by now, yes? What's your plan to kidnap him right under all those waterbending master's noses?"
"I'm working on it!"
"Really?" Tanya shot him a teasing smirk. "I half expected you to try and just bulldoze your way in through the front gates."
Zuko growled, unamused, and Tanya held up her hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist. But as it so happens I might be able to provide you with the perfect opportunity to capture The Avatar once and for all."
"Really?" Zuko huffed sarcastically. "What are you going to do? Conquer the North Pole?"
Tanya didn't refute him. Instead her smirk grew, and Zuko's good eye widened in astonishment. "Oh spirits! That's your plan?!"
"I can't take all the credit." Tanya replied smugly. "Zhao began building the fleet for the invasion, and came up with the initial idea our strategy is based on. I just… fine tuned it a little." The predatory gleam she got whenever she was scheming something big flashed in her eyes.
"I believe we can conquer The Northern Water Tribe within three days.
The only complication is that The Avatar will no doubt pull some spiritual mumbo-jumbo out of his ass to foil my plans again, and with my arm currently injured I'm in no fit state to fight him.
He's a wild card that has the potential to ruin everything: unless of course someone, say for example a certain banished prince with more experience hunting Avatars than anyone, were to take him out of the picture for me."
Understanding dawned on Zuko like the sun rising on the horizon. "You want to help me capture The Avatar, so that The Avatar can't stop you taking the North!"
"Bingo!" Tanya smiled that wide, wicked grin that caused such terror in anyone who saw it. "You get The Avatar, and get to return home. I get The North Pole, and my position of Admiral will be secured. We both get exactly what we want."
He could do it! He could really do it! With the backing of Tanya's fleet he stood a chance of capturing The Avatar even in The North Pole! This was his chance!
"I'm in!" He agreed readily, unable to keep the naked interest in tone hidden. "What do I need to do?"
"I'm glad to hear it." Tanya replied, passing him a note. "Follow this heading to join up with my fleet tomorrow. We'll discuss the plan in more detail there."
Zuko nodded. "I'll be there."
"I know you will." Tanya smirked and stood up, heading for the door, then stopped abruptly. "Oh, just one more thing. This invasion will be undoubtedly risky, and while your participation is unavoidable, I wouldn't feel safe risking other members of the royal family unnecessarily."
She turned back around, and Zuko suddenly got the sense he'd walked into a trap.
"While you and your crew are welcome to come, I'm going to have to insist that you drop General Iroh off to wait at the nearest town until we get back."
"What!" Uncle was on his feet in an instant, a look of panic on his face. "I'm not leaving Zuko to go into battle alone!"
"He won't be alone." Tanya retorted so quickly that Zuko suspected she'd prepared her answer beforehand. "He'll be with me, and surrounded by an elite team of my finest soldiers."
Zuko stood up and placed a hand on Uncle's shoulder, glaring at Tanya. "Uncle is the wisest man I know, and a great strategist. He won't be a liability, and anything you can say to me, you can say in front of him."
Tanya frowned. "Actually I can't. I informed your father of my plan, and he made it clear that it was to be kept top secret. I may only share the plan with those who need to know.
As wise as I'm sure General Iroh is, he won't be able to join you in your infiltration of the water tribe, and as such may not be allowed to know what I am prepared to tell you."
Zuko looked like he wanted to argue, but Tanya spun on her heel and began walking away. "It's your choice Zuko, but if you want this shot at capturing The Avatar before I give it to someone else in my invasion force, you must leave your uncle behind. You have until tomorrow to decide."
...
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