Wowzers, this story has been picking up quite the unexpected bit of traction lately! Last chapter we hit 600 favourites and 800 followers mark, and we've not even finished the first of the three books yet! I want to say a really big thank you to everyone showing their support. I really appreciate it.
The military base was a bustling hive of activity. It was like a living creature: the soldiers who carried supplies along dirt roads, its blood vessels; the messenger hawks flying back and forth, its nerves; and the tents stocked full of food, beds and all the other services essential to life, its organs.
And at the centre of the camp stood the brain that controlled everything: the command tent.
Inside the various commanders and important captains of the fleet sat around a rectangular table. All eyes were turned towards a large map of the world placed at the far end, and the small girl with golden hair who stood beside it.
"Scouts have confirmed that The Avatar's bison was seen flying out towards the North Pole no less than two days ago. No doubt he intends to find a waterbending teacher anong The Northern Water Tribes." Tanya's voice was even and formal, yet with a sharp bite to it that demanded attention. It was a tone she had developed long ago specifically for debriefing subordinates who might ignore her instructions because of her age, and had had many opportunities to perfect. "As many of you suspected, the late Admiral Zhao's plan was indeed a full scale invasion of the North Pole. By subduing the last of the resistance from the Water Tribes now, it would mean that the plan to defeat the Earth Kingdom when Sozin's Comet arrives will signal a decisive end to this war. The Avatar's presence presents both an opportunity and a threat. With three elements under his belt and whatever spiritual tricks he has up his sleeves, he will no doubt prove to be a significant asset to the Northern Tribe's forces. If we can capture him however, we remove one more obstacle that may seek to protect the Earth Kingdom on the day of the comet's arrival."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get him!" One of the assembled men shouted.
"Patience, Captain Li. He who fails to plan, plans for failure." Tanya replied sternly. "This is not the first time a siege of the North Pole has been attempted, and to succeed where our predecessors have failed we must understand why they failed. Our strategy must be foolproof."
"Yes, the fabled great plan Zhao left to you. The one our esteemed Acting Admiral will not deign to share with her commanders." Captain Li interrupted sarcastically. "Perhaps if we knew what the whole strategy was, we might be able to make it foolproof? Most of the men here have served in the military longer than you have been alive. Who knows, we may just have some worthwhile advice to offer? The only thing we know right now is that you've been sending our ships out to old battlefields for Agni-knows-what reason!"
Tanya's cold glare fixed on the captain, causing a couple of the fully grown men sitting next to him to shuffle in their seats uncomfortably. It was a credit to his resolve, or his stubbornness, that Captain Li himself did not wilt away under it.
"The plan, captain, is a top secret of national importance. When The Firelord approved my appointment as Acting Admiral, he decreed that information to be on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know." Tanya hissed back, her icy glare daring him to challenge The Firelord's authority. When Captain Li did not speak up again, she continued. "I am aware that many of you are displeased at having to take orders from a girl younger than some of your grand-daughters, but to imply that I am incapable of leading this invasion is to imply that The Firelord was wrong to appoint me. Tell me, would anybody else like to question The Firelord's will?"
Her eyes scanned the room as a tense silence descended, noting which of the assembled men were capable of holding her gaze and which could not. It was slightly worrying how many of the commanders were so easily cowed. "Nobody? Good. Then nobody will have any problems with following the instructions I give you to the letter. The enemy cannot be allowed to learn the core of our strategy, so each of you will be told enough to play your role as required and nothing more. Leave worrying about how it all fits into the big picture to me."
"If I may, Admiral." One of the commanders, a wizened old man with a long, greying beard, spoke up. "Might we return to your earlier point? What caused the previous invasions of the north to fail?"
Tanya's expression shifted back to one of neutral formality. "An excellent question. Every nation's military favours strategies that suit the strengths of their enlisted benders. We prefer fast, aggressive strategies to compliment our firebenders, just as the earth kingdom favours fortified positions and defensive manoeuvres to compliment their earthbenders."
Tanya pulled down a rolled up parchment that had been pinned to the top of the world map, revealing it to be their most current map of the layout of the Northern Water Tribe's capital city. "To date, every invasion of the North Pole has followed the same routine. Our ships arrived at the break of dawn, using the power of the sun to push forwards as quickly and aggressively as possible during the day. The water tribe soldiers used their walls and other defensive positions to delay us, but unlike the Earth Kingdom would easily give up these positions and fall back before they could be overwhelmed. Rather than attempt to repel us, they focused on delaying our advances for as long as possible while preserving their strength."
Tanya's expression turned grave. "Then the sun would set, and just as our firebender's powers fell, so too would the rising moon empower their waterbenders. Suddenly their soldiers turned around and began fighting back, using the strength they'd conserved during the day to push our forces back out of whatever territory they'd lost during the night. Like the tide flowing in and out."
"Then our only course of action is to take the entire city before the sun sets?" The wizened commander asked, stroking his beard.
"A sound analysis, but ultimately impractical." Tanya replied. "Their walls are too high, and their traps too numerous, for a fleet even twice our size to power through so quickly."
"Then what if we fortify the territory we capture during the day?" Another commander offered. "If we attack on the night of a new moon, their waterbender's strength won't be that much stronger than it is during the day. We could hold out through the night, and resume our push forwards at daybreak!"
"Again, sound in theory, but not in practice." Tanya admonished. "That tactic was attempted eighty five years ago by Admiral Han. He failed to consider that the entire Northern Water Tribe is built upon carved ice. There are no fortifications we can make that the waterbenders cannot simply sink into the ground."
"I do not see how it is possible then." The wizened commander said with concern. "What plan could Zhao have possibly concocted that can overcome all that?"
"As I have said, the plan is top secret." Tanya replied. "I will however reveal that it is not to attack during a new moon, as all other invasions have. Quite the opposite in fact. For it to work, the waterbenders must be confident in their strength. Therefore we will be setting sail in a few days time. When we arrive the first day will be used for a bombardment, and for the first night we will remain out at sea. The second day we will begin the invasion in earnest, and that night…" Tanya grinned, a predatory gleam shining in her golden eyes. "Will be the night of a full moon."
The resulting uproar blended together into a deafening mass of incoherent noise, drowning out any individual comments. Even with her sternest glare it still took Tanya a good couple of minutes to restore order. "Peace gentlemen, peace! This rambling does none of us credit! You may speak your thoughts, but do so one at a time!"
"This is madness!" Captain Li shouted urgently. "Everyone knows never to fight a waterbender beneath a full moon, nevermind a city of them! We'll be massacred! What trick could possibly counteract the moon?"
Tanya grinned then: a wicked, malicious smile that sent a chill down the spines of every man present. "Fear not Captain Li. The moon will not be an issue." Though she said it so casually, the confidence behind her words caught the assembled officers off guard. It was as if she was saying something she already knew to be a foregone conclusion.
"The only thing I need to do," she continued, a hint of sharp teeth peeking out from between her lips, "is pay a visit to a childhood friend."
Katara couldn't help the defeated sigh that slipped out of her lips.
Yagoda was an excellent teacher. It was a little embarrassing sitting in with a class of girls half her age, but the veteran healer had been patient and understanding. In the span of a few hours she had already learned an incredible amount about how to use her healing gifts to their full potential.
"But I don't want to just learn how to heal." She thought. "I want to learn how to fight alongside Aang."
"You seem distracted, Katara. Care to share your thoughts?"
Katara looked up from the dummy she was practising on to find Yagoda kneeling next to her, her expression serene and understanding. "It's nothing." She lied.
"If it was nothing, it would not bother you so." Yagoda replied, no hint of judgement in her tone. "A healer is trained not just to remedy issues of the body, but the mind as well. Speak, Katara. It will do you no good to bottle your thoughts up, and nothing you say will leave this room."
"It's just-... Katara paused, struggling to put her thoughts into words. "I don't understand why you follow this silly tradition of not letting women fight! It's insulting! The other nations have proven that women can fight just as well as men can!"
"You've met warrior women?" Yagoda asked, genuinely curious.
"Yes! The Kyoshi warriors are some of the most respected warriors in the Earth Kingdom, without even being benders!" Katara replied passionately. "The women of my home village fought back the southern raiders for years! And the Fire Nation…"
The Fire Nation had the girl with the golden hair. The one she'd seen twice now in the company of Zhao. Tanya, Aang had said her name was. Katara had yet to see her fight, but Aang had told her about their encounters back at Roku's Shrine and the stronghold. He'd said she was highly skilled, describing his experiences trying to evade her as like trying to outrun a wolf, yet had also claimed she had come across as reasonable, if misguided, during their one chance to talk. It was strange to think that a girl younger than her had apparently climbed so high up the ranks of the military, but no doubt spoke of her competency as a fighter. She described her to Yagoda, and was surprised when the elderly healer frowned in a way that spoke of recognition.
"The Devil of the South Sea." She said disapprovingly.
"Who?" Katara asked, taken aback by the sudden shift in tone.
"Not someone you should aspire to imitate." Yagoda warned, her expression uncharacteristically grave. "Even here in the North, where we keep ourselves isolated from the rest of the world, word of her deeds has reached us."
"She's famous?" Katara asked, surprised to find that Zhao's little shadow was a celebrity.
"Notorious would be a better word." Yagoda replied. "She is single handedly credited with the deaths of hundreds of Earth Kingdom soldiers, and has ordered the deaths of thousands more. Rumours say she is completely without compassion or mercy. A killer to the core."
"What? No-... no, you must be mistaken. The Tanya we've met is just a little girl." Katara stuttered, shocked by revelation.
But Yagoda shook her head sadly. "There is no mistake. There is only one girl, in all the world, famed for hair the colour of sunlight." Yagoda looked back towards the other girls in the room, none older than ten, as they chatted quietly and put their best efforts into their healing studies with child-like enthusiasm. "She represents all that is wrong with the Fire Nation, that one so young could be twisted into something so-..." Words failed the aged healer for a moment. When she spoke, it seemed as if just uttering the words caused her pain and regret in equal measure. "... evil."
Evil? No, that was surely taking too far. Katara had seen evil before: first reflected in the faces of the southern raiders who took her mother, and then again in the scarred visage of Prince Zuko as he ordered her village burned. Though she served the Fire Nation too, Katara couldn't comprehend someone as young as Tanya being evil. "Aang spoke with her. He said she only wanted peace, and had been lied to as to how to obtain it."
"I never said she chose the path she walks." Yagoda answered. "But whether she has been forced onto it or not, the fact remains that Tanya has killed many, many people, and has not even been in the military for a decade yet. How many will have fallen at her hand by the time she becomes a woman? How old will she be when people stop counting?" She shook her head sadly. "Regardless of her intentions, Tanya has been turned into another weapon in the Firelord's armoury. Do not doubt that, should the opportunity present itself, she will try to kill you, your brother, or even The Avatar without a moment's hesitation. The fate of the world rests on The Avatar defeating The Firelord and restoring balance. So please, Katara…" Yagoda grasped her shoulders, forcing Katara to look her in the eye, and the grim resolve she found in her teacher's eyes rendered the young waterbender speechless. "Stop her! Look past her age, her appearance, and even that she may not act of her own free will! For the sake of the entire world, if she threatens The Avatar then you must, no matter what the cost, stop her!"
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."
"Again!"
Aang tried, and failed, to suppress his groan at Master Pakku's command. The elderly waterbending master was stern and severely lacking in compassion, instructing him to go through the same forms over and over without rest until he got them right.
Aang's arms moved in serpentine motions, pushing and pulling the water so as to coax it into the shape he desired. The water flowed upwards at his command, spiralling around him in a way that reminded him of airbending. Unlike airbending however the water was heavy, and its weight fought against his grasp with every motion. A moment's slip in concentration caused it to slip out of his control as if through a crack in a bowl.
"Concentrate!" Pakku snapped.
"I'm trying!" Aang growled back.
"Try harder!"
Aang did try. He really did. But hours of practice had worn his concentration down to a dull edge. As he repeated the motion again the water sloshed and slurred lazily, rising briefly into the air before sluggishly crashing back down again.
Aang expected more harsh words of disapproval, but all he got from Pakku was a tut of disapproval before the ageing master turned his back to him. "We're done for today." He declared, already walking away. "Perhaps tomorrow you might actually be in the mood to take this seriously."
Jerk. Aang was not usually the judgemental type, but everything Pakku had done today, from his refusal to train Katara to his strict training and heavy use of criticism, had fostered the beginnings of an intense dislike in the young nomad.
"Avatar. How was your first day of training?"
Aang looked over to see Arnook, the chief of the Northern Tribe, approaching: a gentle if not somewhat forced smile on his face. Aang bowed politely. "Chief. What brings you here?"
"It would be remiss of me not to check on my honoured guest's first day." The chief replied. Somehow Aang doubted that Katara and Sokka would receive the same courtesy, but kept that to himself. "So, how was your training?"
"Frustrating!" Aang replied, the temper he'd been keeping bottled up finally finding a way to release itself. "He was snarky, stubborn and-… and-… just plain mean!"
Arnook shot him a sympathetic smile. "My apologies, Avatar. Master Pakku is the best waterbender, and the best teacher, that the Northern Tribe has to offer. Sadly he received news that a dear friend of his passed away recently, and he has yet to find the time to grieve."
Aang's temper deflated in an instant. "Oh, I'm so sorry." He whispered, now silently regretting the attitude he'd been giving Pakku. He'd thought the waterbending master to be just a mean old man, but to realise that he was hurting stole the wind from his sails. "Were they close?"
"Very." The chief replied, a fond smile crossing his face. "Not that either of them would ever admit it. A stubborn pair, the both of them. They met years ago as young men during the height of the war, and fought each other many times across the four corners of the world."
"They fought?" Aang asked, his eyes widening in realisation. "His friend was a firebender?"
"Indeed. And a powerful one at that." Arnook answered. "They despised one another at the beginning, but neither could help but respect the other's skill and courage even when it was turned against them. The honour and mercy they showed to one another in victory eventually created a mutual, if a little grudging, sense of kinship. When Admiral Jeong eventually expressed a desire to defect, it was Pakku who helped him survive the difficult transition."
"Jeong Jeong!" Aang cried with alarm.
Arnook looked taken aback by the sudden noise. "Yes, that was his name. Admiral Jeong Jeong: the first man to desert the Fire Nation and live."
"But- But he can't be dead!" Aang refuted. "I met him only a couple of weeks ago! He taught me a little firebending, and helped me to escape the Fire Nation!"
A pitying look crossed the chief's face. "Avatar… Jeong Jeong was killed by a Fire Nation a couple of weeks ago."
"No! No-…" Aang felt faint, a well of guilt washing up from his stomach and making him feel like throwing up. Jeong Jeong had given his life so that he could escape! "How?-…"
"Reports say that he fought Tanya, The Devil of the South Sea, in one-on-one combat." Arnook continued. "Their battle razed the forest for miles around."
An image of the golden haired girl he'd spoken to back at the stronghold flashed through Aang's mind. That Tanya! She had killed Jeong Jeong!
"I'm sorry you had to find out this way." Arnook offered sympathetically, placing a hand on Aang's shoulder. "If the rest of the Fire Nation was even half as wise as him, this war would have never started."
Aang nodded, but in truth he barely heard Arnook's words. His mind was a haze of conflicting emotions. He hadn't known Jeong Jeong for long, but the old firebender had left a lasting impression. Guilt, regret and anger wormed away inside his gut, leaving him confused as to how he was supposed to feel.
That day at the stronghold, when he had spoked with Tanya and been saved by Zuko, he had seen a glimpse of the way the world could be again if reconciliation with the Fire Nation was reached. Now, he wasn't so sure if that had just been an impossible dream after all.
The sun had yet to even begin rising the next morning when Zuko's ship appeared at Tanya's military camp, blending silently into the mass of other metal warships without a second glance. With clockwork efficiency the crew members were registered and reassigned to positions across the fleet suitable for their skill sets, and within the hour Zuko's ship was no longer his own: now just one of the many hundreds of war machines that sailed on Tanya's bidding.
Zuko himself made his way straight to the command tent and barged his way in, only to find Tanya awake and in full uniform, sitting at the meeting table as if she'd been expecting him. The smile she gave him seemed pleasant enough, but had a superior edge that made Zuko feel like he was being manipulated. "Prince Zuko." She began politely. "A pleasure as always. I trust you've come to a decision then?"
Of course he had. His presence here made it obvious enough. That Tanya insisted he say it felt to him like the kind of subtle power play he'd heard often enough from the governors his father surrounded himself with. "I have." He replied. "I'll work with you."
"Good. And General Iroh?"
A flash of guilt crossed Zuko's face. "Uncle has agreed to stay behind."
A victorious gleam shimmered in Tanya's eyes. "Excellent. He didn't take it too hard I hope?"
"He… may have needed some convincing." Zuko answered, looking down at the floor. "But he eventually saw sense."
"I'm glad to hear that." Tanya stood up and circled around the table, pulling out a seat for him. "I apologise if I've seemed harsh, but secrecy is paramount to my invasion plan. If the water tribe hears so much as a whisper of what I'm planning, everything will be for nothing. Not even my commanders know the full picture. For this to work the only people who know everything will be you and I."
Zuko frowned, but took the offered seat. "And what exactly is this plan?"
There was no answer for a second, but just as Zuko was about to look around, Tanya's arm snaked out from close beside him and set a scroll down on the table in front of him. It was old and worn, like the kind Uncle liked to collect on their travels, but something about it filled Zuko with a sense of trepidation.
"The plan, Zuko, is to tip the very balance of the world in our favour." Tanya whispered in his ear conspiratorially, like a witch enthralling her victim with dark magic. "And it all begins with a pond, and two spirits who long ago made a very poor decision…"
The room Zuko had been given was the VIP quarters on Tanya's flagship, Azulon's Revenge, and was second only to the admiral's in terms of luxury. Rich red flags embroidered with the black symbol of the Fire Nation hung beside tasteful paintings of famous military leaders and old battles, and furniture of fine, polished wood surrounded a large double bed with a mattress stuffed to burst with the finest feathers, and draped in soft red silks. It was the sort of refinery he'd grown up in: a taste of the opulence befitting someone of his birthright.
Yet after years of knowing nothing but the rusted iron walls of his ship and the barest necessities packed within, Zuko was surprised to find himself uncomfortable with all the comforts he'd been afforded.
The exiled prince ran a finger over the good filigree embedded around the edges of his wardrobe, wondering how it was that the royal treasury had been able to afford such lavish decorations for this room, yet had not been able to find a door for his old ship that didn't have broken hinges. Why was it that back in the homeland, the war council feasted on five course meals after every meeting, yet soldiers on the frontlines in the Earth Kingdom often went for weeks on nothing but ration bars and water? Why did the workers in the colony towns he'd visited slave away to build mansions for their governors, whilst so many of them lived in slums or the burned ruins of houses? The goal of The Fire Nation was to share its prosperity with the rest of the world, yet that prosperity only seemed to reach a select few places.
A knock at the door broke him out of his thoughts. "Enter." He called, and watched warily as one of the fully armoured soldiers who stood guard outside of his room entered, and bowed respectfully in a way than none of his crew ever had done.
"My prince." The soldier intoned. "One of the chefs has come to see you. He claims he has your nightly tea."
"Send him in." Zuko replied, and the guard saluted sharply as if given an order of highest priority. A second later an elderly man with a grey cooks apron stretched across his portly stomach hobbled in, holding a tray with the kind of tea sets reserved for nobility stacked neatly upon it.
When the soldier did not leave, Zuko nodded at him dismissively. "Thank you. That will be all."
"My prince…" The soldier replied hesitantly. "My orders are to not leave you alone with any potentially dangerous guests-..."
"Mushi was the chef on my previous ship." Zuko interrupted. "For the past couple of years he has prepared my tea every night. He is hardly suspicious."
The soldier thought for a moment, then bowed again. "As you say, my prince. I will be outside should you call." He turned and marched out the room, closing the door carefully behind him, and Zuko knelt down before the low table where the chef was setting up his tea.
"Mushi? Is that the best name you could come up with?" The chef grumbled.
Zuko huffed irritably. "Perhaps if you hadn't caught me by surprise, Uncle, I would have had time to come up with something better. What's with the chef outfit anyway? I thought you were going to disguise yourself as a soldier.
Uncle grinned in that mischievously goofy way he always did when he'd done something foolish for the sake of his hobbies. "I was. But then I saw this beautiful tea set, and realised that by taking this disguise we could enjoy some delicious Blue Jasmine during our journey.
Zuko had not been comfortable with the deception initially. If Tanya found out it was sure to cost him perhaps the best chance he'd ever get to finally catch The Avatar. Yet Tanya's insistence on leaving Uncle behind hadn't sat right with either of them. There was only one person left in the world who Zuko could fully place his trust in; one person who had steadfastly stayed by his side no matter what dark and dangerous twists his life had taken. Why would Tanya want to remove the only one who's loyalty to Zuko was without question? What could she possibly gain from excluding a man renowned for his wisdom and military acumen from an invasion?
The only way it made sense was if Tanya was planning to trick Zuko somehow. Uncle was wise and experienced enough to see through most deceptions, and was not afraid to offer Zuko counsel even when he was at the height of his temper. Nor could he be bought, bullied or blackmailed into betraying his nephew, for he had proven many times that there was nothing he cared more about. Uncle was his shield against scheming and trickery, and Tanya's attempts to have him discard that shield suggested that she had some sort of machinations in store.
"So how was your meeting, Prince Zuko?" Uncle asked, pouring tea with practised precision into both of their cups. "Did Tanya tell you her plan?"
"She did." Zuko confirmed. "More than I expected actually. I'm the only person she's shared the entire invasion plan with." When a doubtful frown crossed Uncle's face, Zuko raised his eyebrow questioningly. "You think she was lying."
"There is an old saying among generals. To deceive your enemies, you must first deceive your friends." Uncle replied sagely, sipping his tea. "Imagine this. Tanya begins by telling each of her commanding officers that the plan is so secret, so important, that each of them is only allowed to know enough to fulfil their small part in it. Though outraged, her commanders cannot help but find themselves curious. What could possibly be so special about this plan that even they, the highest ranked, cannot be allowed to know it?"
Uncle sipped his tea. "Then one by one each of them receives a message, telling them to meet Tanya in private. There she tells them that she can trust them, and only them, to fulfil a special role: something she believes only they could possibly accomplish. And so she tells them a version of the 'great plan' where their role will be the deciding factors between victory and defeat. Something that will earn them great glory and the favour of The Firelord."
"Now each commander believes that they are special: that they are important enough, worthy enough, to be set apart from the rest. They believe they alone are Tanya's chosen one: that they are uniquely respected, valued, and that they will be rewarded so long as they obey her and keep it a secret from their peers. Suddenly everyone is loyal to Tanya before each other, and is more than happy to report on any behaviour from their peers that could oppose her. While together they could have provided a united front against the upstart child that stole the commanding position above them, now each is turned upon the other. And if any of them do reveal the top secret information revealed to them Tanya will know who the traitor is, for the 'great plan' she told them was different for everyone." Uncle sipped his tea again. "Tanya's greatest threat was insubordination due to resentment caused by her own meteoric rise. Through this deception she turns her greatest threats against each other, keeping her own position secure. It is a tactic your father has employed frequently."
"But I'm not a member of her commanding staff. Why bother working the same deception on me?" Zuko asked.
"To get you to do something you would otherwise be hesitant to do. Few soldiers would charge at an enemy force that greatly outnumbered their own, unless they believed that another group was about to charge from the other side at the same time." Uncle put his cup down and stared into Zuko's eyes. "Think not about what Tanya claims her master plan is, Prince Zuko. Look only at what she is asking you to do. It is there that the hints to her true intentions will be."
Zuko fidgeted with the corners of his own cup uncomfortably. "What if she's telling the truth though, Uncle? She was never as bad as Azula; Tanya put a lot of stock in making her word mean something, and never seemed afraid to admit to making a mistake." What few mistakes she made anyway.
Uncle shook his head sadly. "I believe her web of deceit has already begun. Remember what she said about Zhao's murder?"
Zuko nodded his head. "That it was The Avatar who did it? I felt unsure about that too. He's always been so careful about causing lasting harm to anyone before."
"I agree. The air nomads believed very strongly that nobody deserved to pay with their life, no matter what their crime."
"Then who did it?" Zuko asked. "Many soldiers witnessed Zhao begin fighting The Avatar alone."
Uncle nodded. "Indeed. And those same soldiers also found Zhao dead a few minutes later. There was only one person who discovered Zhao's body before them. One other person who was alone with Zhao in that brief span of time his guards were away." Uncle downed his tea and set it down, his expression grave. "I think we have to consider the possibility that the one who killed Zhao… was none other than Tanya herself."
Zuko very nearly spat out his tea, catching himself at the last minute as he remembered the guard waiting outside for any hint of trouble. "No! That can't be right!" Zuko hissed. !Tanya's known Zhao since she was a little girl! And she's the poster child of the perfect, loyal soldier! She'd never commit treason!"
Iroh began to slowly pour himself another cup of tea. "I've made a few friends among this fleet, and some of them shared some interesting news. Remember those Fire Sages back at the temple where The Avatar sought to contact Roku? A few weeks ago Zhao had them executed in front of everyone, Tanya included." He sighed heavily at the pointless loss of life. "Few people remember these days, but before Tanya became your father's golden girl she was raised by the Fire Sages. It is not impossible that she sought revenge for their unjust execution. And besides, she's always said she wanted to be an admiral. Zhao's death provided the opportunity to instantly achieve what might have taken her years otherwise."
Tanya was the killer! Though the thought was shocking, Zuko found that theory more plausible to his instincts than The Avatar being the culprit. He felt somewhat ashamed to admit that, as Tanya was one of his sister's best friends and someone he had known since childhood, but equally it was because of that shared history that he knew how utterly ruthless she could be when pursuing something she wanted. It wasn't that Tanya lacked morals, but that her moral compass had always pointed in a slightly different direction than most other people's. Zuko still wasn't quite sure what exactly she considered to be good and evil, but he was certain she didn't think that murder was in itself an evil act.
Sensing that Zuko was coming around to his line of thinking, Uncle continued. "What has Tanya told you her plan is?"
And so Zuko told him the plan Tanya had explained to him, beginning with the ancient scroll she'd set down in front of him. Uncle, normally so composed and carefree, looked downright panicked right from the start, and only became more horrified as the story continued. Yet he listened silently as Zuko recited the plan, and only when he was finished did Uncle then lean over the table and calmly but firmly grasp him by the shoulders.
"Listen to me, Zuko." Uncle began, his voice slow and deliberate, yet with an underlying note of urgency that could not be ignored. His grasp kept Zuko's eyes locked on his. "Tanya is trying to play with forces she does not understand. The actions she is trying to convince you to undertake will spell disaster not just for the Water Tribes, but The Fire Nation and the rest of the world as well! She is attempting to meddle with the very balance of nature itself! Please Zuko, if ever you have heeded my advice, let it be now! You must not do this!"
Zuko found himself taken aback by Uncle's insistence. He had never heard him speak so forcefully before. "I-… I'll be careful, Uncle." He choked out. "But unless I go along with Tanya's plan, I'll miss the best chance I'll ever have to capture The Avatar. I cannot let that slip me by! And if I don't do it, she'll just send someone else in her fleet!"
A tired sign escaped Uncle's lips, and his downcast eyes turned to stare forlornly at his tea cup. "Someone who will not show the same care as you would. That is true. If she is so set upon this plan of hers, it would be better if you were in a position to influence its outcome than a stranger." Setting his cup aside, Uncle clasped Zuko's hands between his own. "I understand why you can't give this up, my nephew. But promise me this. If Tanya ever asks you to do something that you feel in your heart is wrong, do not do it. Your sense of honour is one of your greatest strengths. Trust in your heart."
"I will Uncle." Zuko replied, meaning every word. Uncle was the only family he had left that did not see him as a disappointment. He would not allow anything to change that.
Tanya strode to the balcony of the helm, looking out across the sea stretching endlessly into the midday horizon before her. At her back a fleet of hundreds of black iron ships stood primed and ready, waiting on her command to set sail.
The full moon would be arriving soon. How strange it was to think her entire future was wagered upon the outcome of one single night. Would it be known as her greatest triumph, or her greatest folly? Though she kept an iron expression up in front of her subordinates, Tanya could not help but feel a twinge of nervousness. This strategy was the magnum opus of her military career, yet for all the backup plans she had devised to account for every possible situation, the fact remained that she had built her invasion around information found in some dusty old scroll that Zhao had dug up from who-knew-where. If the identity of the ocean and moon spirits was incorrect after all, then the chances of her invasion succeeding plummeted drastically. And even assuming it was, there was no telling what The Avatar might have waiting in store to stop her.
Yes, it was no exaggeration in her mind to say that the outcome of that night would be decided by the actions of just three people: herself, The Avatar, and Zuko. Everyone else was just a pawn on the board, and she was willing to sacrifice every piece she had if that was what it took to put the North Pole in checkmate.
"The time is now." She announced, slowly raising one hand to point theatrically in the direction of the north pole.
"Set a course for The Northern Water Tribe."
A few people have been asking for a quicker, stronger divergence from the Avatar canon storyline. I want to assure those people that your concerns have been noted, but I would ask for your patience for a little while longer. My aim with this story is to make it as engaging and well crafted as my favourite author on this site, Coeur Al'Aran. If you haven't heard of them before I would highly recommend checking them out: they dominate the front page of the RWBY community when you filter by favourites for a good reason. Before I began writing this story I drew up a plan following their advice on story writing, which focuses on using smaller, subtle changes to build up towards bigger, more impactful ones during the finale of each of the books. Now that we're approaching The Siege of the North territory I think you'll see more of the divergence you've been hoping for.
I have to say, writing a Tanya story is proving to be amazing fun! I've always believed that the key to a great story is a great villain, and Tanya is a conduit to play through the Avatar storyline from the villain's perspective. The more I write this story, the more I've been mulling over plans for future stories that follow the same theme: Tanya being reincarnated as a character on the villain's side. Maybe it's because I've been playing a little Skyrim recently, but the one I'm most partial to right now is another crossover where she's reborn as an imperial soldier in Skyrim, yet the Dovahkiin has sided with the Stormcloaks. I won't be making any decisions until I've completed this story, but it's something to think about. Feel free to let me know in the reviews if you have any preferences.
That's all from me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and see you again soon.