The smell hits him first. The moment Ozai pushes the door aside to step through its threshold, a wall of stench thick with human waste assaults his nose. A moment later, his eyes adjust enough to see Hama's handiwork. Chains and hollow cheeks fill his vision. Men and women, elders and a few scattered teens, all stare back at him with wide eyes.

He is only vaguely aware that the grass and brush at his feet has caught flame, rising and falling with every misery-tainted breath he takes. Sparks slip past his clenched teeth and he's rendered half-deaf by his own raging heartbeat. Blood boils in his veins and his vision tints red.

Despite Tui's and Agni's warnings, it's a struggle not to turn back around and seek out the one responsible with fire-wreathed hands.

Still, blinding rage isn't exactly a new emotion to him, and he's learned the hard way how detrimental it can be.

Ozai wrestles his breathing into something slower, forcing his heart to follow suit.

Immolating the bloodbender won't help these people.

...Much.

Honestly, while it's not their most immediate need, the majority of them would probably sleep better at night if they knew for a fact that their tormentor was dead. But Tui already has a claim on Hama. They'll have to settle for whatever passes as justice among the spirits.

Temper successfully shoved down deep enough to let him function, Ozai takes another look around the mine's entrance. People have been chained haphazardly to the tunnel's walls, some by their ankles or wrists, others around their waists or necks. All of the prisoners in the makeshift dungeon look half starved, many of them have untreated wounds that have been left to infection. It's a good thing the Fire Nation has a fairly stable climate, seeing as some of the prisoners are clearly dressed in the rags of their winter outfits while others are draped in the remnants of their summer clothes. There are regions in the Earth Kingdoms where being dressed for the wrong season can be a death sentence all on its own, but more importantly...

How long has Hama been doing this to his people?

How had he never known about this?

Why hadn't any of his friends ever told him?

"Agni!" someone swears and the curse is taken up in a ripple of shocked whispers and murmurs around the room. The sole unchained occupant of the abandoned mine, Hama's latest victim, hurriedly falls into a kowtow.

"K-King Agni!" the old man stutters at Ozai's feet.

Oh.

...Right.

Between the white fire and glowing eyes, is it any wonder he might be mistaken for a spirit?

Ozai extinguishes the brush fire he hadn't meant to start and raises a hand. His audience falls immediately silent.

"I am Fire Lord Ozai, Herald of Agni," he announces, voice echoing through the man-made tunnel, "I came here tonight with Moon Spirit Tui to address the actions of Hama." He decides against giving the woman any identifier beyond her name. Drawing attention to the fact that Hama is Water Tribe or acknowledging bloodbending as a bending form that others could learn both seem like poor ideas. It isn't as if these people will need a further identifier for their captor, anyway. "Are any of you able to walk under your own power?"

----------------------------------------

Tui watches the mortal woman collapse to the forest floor as fresh tears slip down the borrowed face of a teenage Katara.

Despite the ignorance with which they had been spoken, Hama of the Southern Seas' words ring true. The mortal woman could not have known how promises made under the chaotic first charter had been rendered infeasible by the restrictions of the second charter, and yet... And yet it cannot be disputed that oaths have been broken, prayers have gone unanswered, and duties have been neglected. The ever growing distrust of the moon among man is justified, and the rebuke is all the sharper for it.

Only time will tell if the third charter is capable of bringing forth a prosperity between spirit and man that the previous charters have failed to foster. And even should it succeed, Tui must still work to mend the wounds of a long absence and perceived indifference.

The bonds of the reforging hum at the back of the Moon Spirit's mind. The night's events have already become upsetting and this is not yet the final leg of the evening's planned journey. Tui's essence of serenity wavers under the strain of her heartbreak.

...Her?

It would seem there are more symptoms of instability brought about by tonight's activities than she had previously suspected.

Tui frowns as she takes stock of her current state. A discordant note in the reforging and deep sorrow welling up from depths left carefully unexamined. Closer to the forefront of her thoughts swirl concepts of life, death, and suffering; of fear, anger, and cyclical violence; of familial duties and bonds. All said, while Tui remains in control rather than lost in vicarious memories, she nonetheless is feeling rather human at the moment.

Perhaps this explains why Agni persists in orbiting her within the Lunar Palace, dressed in the worry of flickering electricity. Her brother -- Brother. Another human term slipping through her mind as if it has always belonged, rather than being taken on for convenience's sake when speaking with mortals. -- is being quite distracting, and Tui has become unpracticed at effectively splitting her focus. It is not long before the Sun Spirit takes notice that her attention has wandered back to the spirit world when it is meant to be on the mortal plane.

"Tui?" Agni says, not in man's tongue, but rather in the subtle gravitational waves of their shared native language. "I could still --"

"Agni," the Moon Spirit interrupts, "I am fine. What I need from you is trust."

"It is a situation that is difficult to refrain entering," the fire spirit insists, "and there is no need for you to face it alone."

"If I am to reclaim my place and duties as a great spirit, I must begin somewhere," Tui reasons, "This is a relatively minor task."

"This is two of my aligned, recently reforged, confronting unnecessary strains," the burning sphere says in lingering disgruntlement.

While Agni's concern is valid, to put the endeavor off may as easily create greater distress in the future, and it is too late to abandon the effort now, regardless.

"Brother," Tui says, gentle but determined, "The path may not be painless, but I am ready. And let us not pretend between us that we are not both keeping a careful watch on Ozai the Reforged. Your herald shall be well. As shall I."

The Sun Spirit is not so easily dissuaded, but the next offer is given with some reluctance. "If not me, La could --"

"Agni," the Moon Spirit interjects before her fellow spirit can finish the thought. It is a tempting option, but she will not grow by sheltering within the ocean's shadows any more than she would by being bolstered under the sun's light. "I must be capable on my own."

Electricity crackles. The Sun Spirit's orbit dips and sways. "...I am only a call away."

"I know," Tui says, allowing gratitude to touch her words, before diverting her attention back to the mortal world. Sorrows and regrets run deep within her, but Agni's charter has opened a path forward and she will neglect her duties no more.

On a small island within the Fire Lands, Tui wipes shed tears from the cheeks of a borrowed form and steels herself for what will come next.

----------------------------------------

Ozai hisses as the chains burn under his hands.

He's reclaimed some control since discovering his ability to bend Agni's white fire, but two days isn't nearly enough time to relearn how to produce the fine, concentrated dagger of flame needed to cut through Fire Nation steel without heat radiating throughout the material. On the longer chains, he can cup his hands around the anchor point and blast the steel and rock with a tight cyclone of flames until one of them gives. For the short chains, however... There's nothing for it. He doesn't currently have the restraint necessary to keep the heat contained through the usual forms.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The woman yelps as her chain melts and molten steel drips to the tunnel's floor.

A deep breath.

Two.

Then a third.

The glow of the metal dims and the end resolidifies into a messy collection of broken and stretched rings.

"The end is still hot," he says, repeating a warning he's given over a dozen times now, "Be careful not to let it burn you, and try not to grab any of the closer links. They might be hot enough to burn, too."

"Yes, Fire Lord," the woman rasps, tentatively grasping at the halfway point of the ruined chain.

Her name is Zira, and she is the last of those his limited triage skills have prioritized as requiring treatment sooner rather than later. The rest will have to wait until local blacksmiths arrive with the proper tools.

Releasing the scorched metal hurts almost as much as continuing to hold it had.

Zira glances down at his hands with a concerned frown. She isn't the only one among Hama's victims to do so.

Ozai allows the long sleeves of his robes to obscure them from sight.

"Oh..."

The Fire Lord looks back to see Tui's pale form lingering in the doorway, eyes slowly trailing over the scene as the spirit gradually shrinks into herself as if she were actually nothing more than an uncertain teenager. The Moon Spirit meets his gaze and says, "This is... worse, than I might have hoped."

"Tui?"

"Uh... Fire Lord, sir?" a boy asks. The teen is probably the youngest of Hama's prisoners. "Who are you talking to?"

The small collection of teenagers seem to share the speaker's confusion, but are either too polite or timid to question the Fire Lord. Most of the adults wear uneasy expressions.

"You can't see her," Ozai realizes with a sigh. He glances back at Tui without much hope for an explanation.

Tui defies his expectations. "Forgive me, Nephew. I deemed it best to return to the space between our worlds." The Moon Spirit gestures to the forest beyond the threshold. The bloodbender lies motionless at the base of the ethereal staircase of light that descends from Tui's main physical form. "These people have suffered much," the spirit appears pained as she admits, "and they have been given no reason to see me as their ally."

"But you're here to help them now, aren't you?" Ozai points out, "This could be --"

"No." Tui closes her eyes and says, "I am not."

The Fire Lord frowns. Tui is right here. More to the point, the Moon Spirit is clearly unhappy with what Hama has done and the harm it has inflicted on these people. What could prevent a great spirit from doing as they wish?

"Hama's actions, made duplicitously in my name, gave me a claim. Details of my alliance with Agni allow me a secondary claim to you. Beyond this, my ability to interact with the Fire Lands and Agni's children will be limited until such a time as the war has been brought to a complete end. As is the case for the other great spirits.

"We nearly destroyed this world a dozen times over while under the first charter, and interference in all of man's conflicts has been forbidden since the second charter was adopted. Even now, what allowances the third charter provides in regard to mortal wars are carefully restricted."

"This is one woman's sadism!" Ozai argues, "It's not part of the war!"

"Is it not?" Tui asks. "Her personal vendetta aside, Hama is a warrior of her people. She is here only because she was taken captive by her enemies before escaping her imprisonment. Over these past years, she has continued to strike at those she considers to be her people's enemies. It sounds much like war to me."

As much as he hates to admit it, Tui may have a point. A platoon cut off from the higher command structure is still a military unit. A soldier separated from their unit remains a soldier. And he's seen for himself how far afield a war can reach beyond its frontlines.

"I see." He doesn't have to like the presented facts in order to accept them. "I've sent runners to the nearest villages, for healers and blacksmiths and any others that might be able and willing to help."

Tui nods. "I am sure Agni will send healers from the Solar Court to assist. I am sorry, Nephew, but this is the most aid we can offer in this matter." The spirit glances around the tunnel and the anxious faces imprisoned within it. Weariness and regret cloud the Moon Spirit's expression. "Come. We have one more stop to make before I return you to the palace."

Tui leaves him to offer his farewells and doesn't look back.

Right. The waterbender prison. He'd almost forgotten that Tui had mentioned it earlier in the evening.

"Help is on its way. You'll be taken to nearby villages to recover until such a time as you are ready to return to your homes," he announces, "I'm sorry I can't stay with you longer, but there are other matters that require my attention and they can't be delayed."

He makes perhaps three strides toward the door before the croak of an old man's voice stops him. "Fire Lord! Please, wait!"

Ozai turns to face the speaker. He thinks his name might have been 'Hanzo'?

"What is it?"

The old man glances around warily before gathering up his courage to continue. "If you're dealing with the moon, be careful. Hama likes to boast it's what gives her the ability to turn people into her puppets."

The woman beside Hanzo snorts. She's one of the prisoners in better condition but too weak to safely make a trek through the nighttime forest on her own, and so remains chained to the stone behind her. "The witch claimed she was the moon's curse on the Fire Nation. Retribution for the Water Tribes' suffering over the last hundred years. Crazy old crone. Like the moon cares about our little island."

"If Tui didn't care, I wouldn't be here," Ozai says, "The Moon Spirit is the one who has brought an end to Hama's kidnappings. You won't have to worry about her after tonight." He decides against trying to explain any further. "I need to leave."

This time, nobody attempts to stop him and he meets Tui at the base of the celestial stairs.

"Before we go," Tui says, "we should tend to your hands."

Ozai suppresses a flinch. He's been trying not to think about them. "Do you heal? Like the northern waterbenders?" he asks as he lifts his hands with the palms upturned.

The skin is badly burned, raw and deformed into overlapping imprints from the chains. Blood and some clear bodily fluid that he has no ready name for weep over the melted flesh from ruptured heat blisters. As bad as the burns look, the smell is worse. It had been buried under other scents in the stagnant air of the mine, but there is nothing to distract from the smell of burned flesh now that he is out in the open forest. It doesn't help that the smell of burned flesh never fails to trigger memories that leave him feeling nauseous.

"A waterbender's gift is push and pull in balance," Tui answers, "I am pull alone. However, even without La at my side, surface wounds are within my capabilities to relieve." A concerned furrow develops in the center of the spirit's brow as she examines the damage he's done to himself. "And I had assumed I would be the foremost cause for Agni's anxieties this night," the Moon Spirit sighs, "This will be uncomfortable, but please attempt to be still."

Tui waves a hand over both of his and bits of metal tear away from where they had resolidified over his ruined skin. Ozai bites off a hiss at the sting. Steel pebbles rain down to the earth as Tui releases the refuse from her influence.

"Agni didn't seem that worried when he checked in earlier," Ozai says, if only to distract himself.

Tui glances up at his face and the spirit's lips purse into something dangerously close to becoming a pout. "I was not aware Agni had contacted you directly regarding tonight's endeavor," Tui admits, "but I am not surprised he withheld his concerns."

"What concerns?" Ozai asks, suddenly invested in the conversation. Anything big enough to give Agni pause is more trouble on the horizon than he wants to think about, but better to face it and be prepared than to ignore it and be overwhelmed.

Tui hovers her hands just above his own and blood wells up from the burns to coat both of their palms and fingers. True to the Moon Spirit's words, the sensation is uncomfortable, but Ozai wonders if Tui is at all aware of how disturbing the imagery is. Do spirits bleed?

The red liquid begins to glow and the light it casts is eerily similar to the night Zhao killed the moon. If the sight disquiets Tui as much as it does Ozai, the spirit gives no indication.

The chill of waterbending-style healing is almost lost beneath everything else calling for his attention.

"The binds of a reforging can be strained by discordance between existence and perception. Emotional upset can promote thoughts that create such a discordance." The Moon Spirit looks up to meet his eyes and tells him, "I am not my Yue, although I grew with her for sixteen years and carry her memories. Nor am I the Tui that came before me, but rather a glimmer of a much larger whole that has been lost. And yet, although I am a new creation, they are my foundation and remain a part of me still. To forget the past would be unwise. To cling to it could destroy me. I must accept both what I have lost and what I have gained through my reforging.

"You are likewise a new creation reforged from two entities. While Yue and Tui were aligned, it is my understanding that Zuko and Ozai were irreconcilably opposed. Incompatible souls and mortal bodies demanded consideration, and so you are of Zuko's soul and Ozai's body. This necessary concession leaves a clear division within your being and renders your reforging brittle. If you pry at the seams, you might find the separation comes too easily.

"While your reforging should strengthen as it sets, I would counsel you not to dwell too deeply on the past and its pains until such a time as you can fully accept yourself as you are now," the spirit says with sympathy-filled eyes, "When the past beckons you, do not forget that there is yet a future before you and you alone can choose which will receive your focus."

Tui withdraws.

The Fire Lord's blood drips to the ground from two sets of hands.

Agni had told him that he'd nearly died from Liukshi's actions, and the Sun Spirit had become enraged after learning the contents of his dream. Is this the reason? Why hadn't Agni explained this to him?

Fingertips brush the smooth skin under his left eye. The unexpected slick feeling of the habitual motion reminds him too late of the consequences inherent to such actions when performed with unclean hands.

The Moon Spirit is staring down at her own red-painted palms, fresh tears gathered in her lashes.

"Tui?"

The spirit closes her eyes, allowing the new tears to fall, before looking at him. Tui takes in his thoughtlessly smeared face and allows her posture to sag.

"Perhaps we should make a short detour," the Moon Spirit admits.

The world blurs as the staircase brings Tui, Ozai, and Hama to their next destination.