The first night Azula's retinue spent in Gaoling, Xisheng spent the first half of it all by his lonesome. That was because he was assigned to a particular task while the girls found a suitable place for them to stay, which was making sure that the Overlord was still secure and well-hidden. After all, it wouldn't do to have the local garrison wary of Fire Nation presence, even if the discovery of the Overlord certainly wouldn't have been very specific evidence of who was around.

Even so, Xisheng understood the Princess' precaution, and he had also expected it to be his job to do this. Thankfully it was relatively easy to leave Gaoling, and when Xisheng was done out here, it wouldn't be that much of a problem to get back in either. While there were many issues with the bureaucracy of the Earth Kingdom, they certainly loved their procedures, and they did them pretty well. The faux passport he had used to get into the city had been stamped by the gate guards, proving that he had already been legally accepted into the city and that he was simply a returning individual.

Of course, while this was effective in some ways, it wasn't like it was without its flaws, and it wasn't really all that difficult to bypass, as Azula and her crew had proven. But personally Xisheng thought it was something that could be incorporated into the Fire Nation in some form. His home country didn't keep especially good tabs on the identity of every citizen. Most people that could be recognized were done so through reputation or the fame of their family name.

This of course meant that there was no locking people out of any one city. Literally anyone could step into the capital without obstruction. It was just that they would face the full extent of the law if they stepped out of line, and the Fire Nation was quite unforgiving when it came to crime.

But the somewhat impressive security of the Earth Kingdom could definitely find some use in the Fire Nation, so long as it didn't devolve into the same system of elitist segregation that the Earth Kingdom used now. Maybe Gaoling wasn't quite as bad as Ba Sing Se, but the fact remained that passports into the wealthy city weren't cheap, creating a natural barrier for anyone that wasn't at least middle class. The poor members of the city had either cheated their way into its walls or simply lost all their wealth while within them.

To say the Fire Nation didn't have some of the same problems would have been a lie of course. While the Earth Kingdom gave more opportunity to those that had more wealth, the Fire Nation had always favored those born of respected families. So people that were just born into a renowned name tended to have more opportunity available to them than the common citizen.

But the difference was the barrier to success. Xisheng imagined that it was not impossible for someone to make a name for themselves in the Earth Kingdom's economy. Surely there had been some people that were cunning or determined enough to fight their way to the top and find success. But there was an active resistance to such things happening in the EK.

Naturally the already rich members of EK society wanted to keep their status, and make more money by monopolizing whatever it was they made all of their money from. So they often tried to prevent others from rising to success in their particular market.

While you may have had to work harder to gain prestige in the Fire Nation if you were born a nobody, at least the only obstacle to your advancement was your own limitations. The Fire Nation was a meritocracy at its core. Regardless of what family you were born into, how much money you started with, or if you were a bender or not, you could acquire respect and prestige as long as you earned it.

Of course, that didn't mean everything was perfect and fair. Benders may not have had a concrete advantage over their counterparts, but they were still generally held in higher regard. Non-benders naturally had more difficulty gaining glory on the field of battle, and of course there was no stopping people from looking down on you if you were poor or weak.

But that was just the human condition. No government could ever change the way people treated one another. All it could do was try to provide an equal opportunity for everyone to succeed, without a corrupt system that made the strong even stronger and left the weak in the dust.

As Xisheng made his way across the small field of plains that separated Gaoling's walls from the forest where the Overlord was hidden (in almost total darkness since he dared not bend in enemy territory), he couldn't help but find it amusing that the Fire Nation, while seemingly obsessed with strength, cared more for the weak than their global counterparts.

Not that it was particularly a matter of morals. Xisheng didn't know the origin of the Fire Nation's social doctrine, but he doubted that it was really a matter of 'doing the right thing.'

Being a small island nation for almost all of its existence, and considering the intense segregation forced on the world by the ideals of the Avatar for thousands of years, the Fire Nation had always had to rely on its own ability to thrive more than anything else. Sure, trade and cooperation wasn't unheard of in the past; it wasn't like the Avatar was against interaction between countries at all, but even so each of the four nations had been forced to rely on themselves more than their relations with one another.

Point being, the Fire Nation had always possessed a rather small population, and because it wasn't massive like the EK, social issues had a more significant impact on the country. If a fifth of the population was poor in the EK, it barely affected the upper echelon of society. If the same was true in the FN's much smaller population, a huge portion of their potential workforce and future generation was unable to live up to their full potential, which was critical for a small country determined to thrive and grow.

So the Fire Nation had put a lot of effort into making sure the largest possible number of its people could become successful. In that sense the reasons for their humanitarian advancements were actually selfish. But did it really matter? Whether their motivation for fighting poverty, starvation, and bias was moral or selfish, it still achieved the same thing. They were still advancing the living conditions of their people, and as they took over more EK territory, doing the same for those people as well.

By this time Xisheng reached the edge of the forest he was heading for, and he was finally comfortable lighting a very small flame in his hand. At this distance, anyone that spotted him from the city would not be able to differentiate the light from a torch, and if he somehow encountered anyone this far away from Gaoling, Xisheng was certain that he could kill them before they had a chance to expose him.

Besides, he had plenty of trees to cover him as he pondered the nature of the war, as he was often inclined to do in his alone time.

He understood that it was easy to be blinded by anger and hostility during times of conflict, but hadn't anyone asked why the Fire Nation had been so successful in this war so far? Was it not obvious that a massive nation like the Earth Kingdom should have crushed the early Fire Nation advance in no time, unless the country itself was so broken that it couldn't manage to do so?

After all, logically speaking there was no way the Fire Nation should have had the upper hand in a conflict like this. Sure, the FN had marginally superior technology, but most of that technology proved its might on the open ocean. Earthbenders still possessed the capability to destroy FN vehicles, so it wasn't like that was making a huge difference. And of course, the EK had numbers exponentially beyond that of the Fire Nation military. Even if they just conscripted a massive militia, sheer numbers would have likely overwhelmed the Fire Nation in no time at all.

So how was it that this tiny country was winning this war against one more than a dozen times its own size in both mass and numbers, and on almost unstoppable offense no less? Aside from a few stonewalled offensives on cities like Ba Sing Se and Omashu, the Fire Nation had practically steamrolled over EK territory with minimal resistance or casualties.

The math just didn't work, unless the Earth Kingdom was just well and truly a broken system that couldn't even defend itself against a numerically inferior force. And there were of course many reasons why this could be.

Perhaps it was the lack of unity. Omashu had existed almost independent of the EK after all. It had received no aid from any other allied city, and it had certainly not received support of any form from Ba Sing Se, even during the past offensives when the FN had not taken the city in a single day.

On the flip-side, if any one of the Fire Nation's cities was attacked, it would be reinforced from across the country to defend it. There was one army that defended the entire nation, deployed to protect their territory regardless of where it was.

Maybe it was the isolationist attitude of Ba Sing Se, which was of course the most powerful entity in the Earth Kingdom. Ba Sing Se had never made an offensive of its own. It had never sent troops to defend settlements beyond its own walls. It had only ever used its army to defend itself, and nothing more. With the city being comparable to an entire country in and of itself, Xisheng had no doubt that Ba Sing Se could have fielded an army equal or greater to the entire FN military if only it had wanted to.

Perhaps it was a combination of both those things. The disjointed nature of the nation, the uncaring military center of their might, the incompetence of their leadership, whatever it was, it should have been obvious to anyone that the Earth Kingdom was both corrupt and broken.

Did that justify the imperialistic conquest of another nation? Perhaps not, but right or wrong there was no denying that the people in that taken territory were having their ineffectual government replaced by one that actually worked. No one could deny that it was a good turn of events for them.

Ultimately, Xisheng found the Overlord exactly where they had parked it last, still hidden under all sorts of foliage and other forest type disguises. Even though it was deep within the forest and well-hidden, Xisheng decided there was no harm in putting it under a little more cover, just in case. Naturally, up close it looked quite unnatural and no one would have mistaken it for some natural part of the forest, but it would be easily overlooked if anyone was just walking by, if anyone had any reason to be out here in the first place.

Of course there was a subtle trail leading to the vehicle for the ones who had left it there in the first place, but the myriad array of easily missed notches carved into trees would be nothing but scratch marks to anyone but the Fire Nation natives that had left them. Truth be told Mai had to write down each turn for him before he left, but Xisheng knew he didn't have her apparently ridiculous memory, which even Azula had praised at the time of making the trail.

Either way, Xisheng finished his assigned task, and figured it was about time to head back to Gaoling. For a brief moment he wondered if maybe he should have booby trapped the immediate area just in case, but ultimately he decided against it. The garrison at Gaoling didn't even patrol their own city properly. The chances of a patrol coming this far out was almost infinitesimal.

The approach of cloud cover made the return to Gaoling a darker ordeal than the first time, and Xisheng figured that he should have brought a torch for both practicality and appearances. But at least it wasn't so dark that he couldn't see the walls of the city across the plains as moved towards it. Their chalky hue at least reflected moonlight well.

As he traipsed back to the city, it occurred to Xisheng that he had no idea where to go to reunite with his allies. When they had separated Azula had not settled on where they were going to spend the night yet, so it wasn't like he had been supplied with directions or the name of an inn.

Still, he figured that Azula had been well aware of that issue prior to telling him to check on the Overlord, so either one, she had a plan for solving it, or two, she would see it as amusing or a test of some sort. Either way, there was no way to be sure, so Xisheng figured he would just have to discover the truth of things when he got back.

That being the case, he eventually realized that he was getting close when he spotted the orange lanterns of the gate guards. Xisheng had of course heard of those green crystal lanterns that the Earth Kingdom was so famous for, but the truth was that those crystals only grew in Ba Sing Se, so they were pretty rare outside of that city. Sure, they were exported from time to time, and surely Gaoling could have afforded to procure a lot of them, but apparently they had no interest, at least not for the garrison's sake.

Xisheng showed his falsified papers to the guards when he arrived, and he was ushered in without any delay at all. Upon entering the city itself, Xisheng gave the immediate area a precursory glance, but he didn't spot anyone he could recognize, leading him to believe that Azula really was looking to get a kick out of him only making it back to them in the early hours of the morning.

He wondered if this was going to become a normal problem in his current group dynamic… truth be told he wasn't looking forward to such things. Was it a product of his station or was it the way she treated everyone? Azula did find a lot of amusement in getting the best of her actual friends, so maybe it was just her personality?

Before the undercover soldier could extrapolate on that line of thought, he felt something poke him gently in the lower spine. For a brief moment his entire body tensed against his will, but in the next every muscle went completely loose and relaxed beyond anything he had ever experienced. It was only a temporary physical respite, but there was no denying that it was an incredible sensation.

That said, he could only think of one person with enough knowledge on the human body to manipulate it so well, so he didn't even bother saying her name or anything.

"Is this the part where you say 'guess who?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure you could tell it was me."

Turning to face her, Xisheng decided to question whatever it was that Ty Lee had done to him. "It was pretty obvious. What was that anyway? It felt amazing..."

Ty Lee smiled at him as she wiggled the index finger she had poked him with. "Sorry, it's a secret. My master would be very angry if I was passing his techniques out to anyone that asks. And besides, I had to work hard to earn it, so I'd feel kind of slighted if someone else got it real easy."

Not sure if she was joking or not, Xisheng cocked an eyebrow at her. "How hard exactly?"

"Oh, y'know, just climbing a rocky mountain barefoot, balancing on my pinky finger for a whole morning, breaking my fingers intentionally so they'd grow back stronger, stuff like that. Hard work, yep."

Now even more confused than before, Xisheng decided to question Mai or Azula about whether or not he should put any stock in this later. Though to be fair, he was certain Ty Lee had trained with someone to learn all of her great skills, and considering how rare and useful they were, surely they were dispensed by some master somewhere.

All in all though, he decided that his sanity and peace of mind was more important than asking about that. "So uh, you got elected to wait up for me huh?"

Ty Lee continued to smile. "Nope. I volunteered. Azula was bummed that it would make it easy for you, but I insisted. After all, we really need to talk."

With that she began walking away, obviously expecting Xisheng to follow her. He did so without hesitation, though he was intrigued by the direction this encounter was taking. "Just so you know, those are words that no man ever wants to hear from a woman, regardless of the scenario."

"Don't worry, I'm not mad about anything. This is important, but not because you did anything wrong. Actually, I guess maybe you did…"

She frowned at that, leading Xisheng to do the same. "Well that's not very reassuring…"

The acrobatic wonder turned to walk backwards so she could make eye contact while moving. "Would it be reassuring if I said you did something wrong but I'm not really mad about it?"

"I think you might have to be more specific before I can say yes or no to that."

Stopping in her tracks so she could fold her arms and give him a mild glare, Ty Lee decided it was best to just be upfront about it. There was no need to beat around the bush anyway, since she already knew the issue.

"You think you're beneath me."

It wasn't a question, that much was obvious. That said, it was kind of unusual to hear Ty Lee speak so curtly and forcefully. It kind of reminded Xisheng of Azula for a brief moment.

Still, he wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to respond. After all, she hadn't asked anything of him, and he wasn't sure what her statement had to do with the situation.

"And that's what I did wrong? I don't get it."

Seemingly annoyed by his lack of understanding, Ty Lee's frown deepened by just a little bit. "That's what you did wrong because it is wrong! You didn't deny it, so that's how you feel right?"

Xisheng didn't feel like he was being attacked or anything, but he certainly didn't think too highly of this line of questioning. "Yeah, that's how I feel. I don't see what's wrong with that. You're a noble and I-"

"And you're just a commoner, right? Look, don't get me wrong, I like being and feeling special, but seriously, this nobility business? I never cared for it. I still don't. I want people to look at me and think I'm unique, but I don't want them to think that I'm better than them. How can you really be friends with someone if they feel like they're beneath you?"

Xisheng found it kind of amusing that this was one of those things that Ty Lee got really serious about. It was kind of endearing that she only put on her war face when talking about friendship and stuff.

"But my station is-"

"Don't care."

"And you're-"

"Irrelevant."

"The others probably-"

"Doesn't matter."

The two of them stared at each other in silence since there was nothing else to really say. After all, Ty Lee had rejected all of Xisheng's points on the matter.

After a moment, Ty Lee sharpened her hazel gaze on him even further. "So, you get it right?"

"Uh… I think?"

With a sigh of frustration, she leveled her finger at him. "Alright, I'll make this perfectly clear. You're a soldier."

"Uh-huh."

She then pointed at herself. "And I'm a circus performer."

"That's true."

Her hands went to her hips. "Neither of those sound like a job nobility has, so I guess it means neither of us is nobility."

Xisheng wanted to point out that unless she was actually disowned by her family, Ty Lee was still a noble, but he figured it would go against everything she was trying to do at the moment.

"I… suppose so."

Ty Lee then nodded affirmatively. "Well then, if you're a normal person and I'm a normal person, I see no reason we can't be good friends who treat each other as equals. Right?"

There was a brief moment where Xisheng's training as a soldier and the rules of his society demanded him to decline Ty Lee's offer of equal friendship. In regards to those two things, this just wasn't right. Societal norms demanded that he mind his place in regards to his betters.

But then again, Ty Lee obviously didn't care for that in the least. And Xisheng wasn't an outright moron. The pretty girl was making it perfectly, totally clear that she wanted to screw the rules and be friends at the least. With no room for confusion in regards to whether or not she was alright with it, why on earth would he still say no? He certainly didn't value whatever social norm his nation believed in over the possibility of a personal relationship with the amazing girl standing in front of him.

"I guess you're right. Though I hope you don't get offended if I still act a little overwhelmed by you sometimes. There's really a lot of amazing things you're capable of that I don't think I could ever do."

Finally getting his agreement put her usual smile on Ty Lee's face. "That's not true at all. Anyone could eventually get as good as me if they put the hours into it. It just takes a lot of practice and a good teacher."

Now satisfied that she had cleared up what she considered a heinous error, Ty Lee continued walking again, leading Xisheng to their inn of choice even though he walked abreast of her now.

"Is that so? Could I consider you a good teacher?"

She gave him a look of surprise. "For what in particular?"

Xisheng could only shrug. If he wanted to be honest he could have said 'everything.' Seemingly everything that Ty Lee was good at was certainly worth learning.

"I don't know. Anything you're willing to teach I suppose. You have a great many skills that I imagine anyone would be eager to learn."

Not being a total idiot, Ty Lee figured he was probably referring to her chi-blocking abilities above all, and truth be told she wasn't sure if she liked the idea. She knew that Xisheng was probably considering the combat applications of the style more than anything else, and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with that. She never used the style to kill anyone, but Xisheng had made it clear already that he had no such qualms with death in the first place.

It might have been unfair of her to judge that, but wasn't a soldier taught to use everything at their disposal to defeat the enemy? If she taught him her technique, it would obviously become part of his arsenal, and by extension it was very likely that he would end up killing someone with it. Ty Lee owed it to both herself and her own teacher to oppose that outcome if she could.

Still, she didn't want to ruin the nice moment the two of them had literally just had together, so she didn't outright tell him no.

"I'm glad you're interested. But you do already have your training with Azula…"

"That's true… but perhaps I could still make time for it. I suppose I'll just keep it in mind if you're open to it."

Ty Lee merely smiled, honestly hoping that Xisheng would just forget about it later on. Truth be told though, she felt kind of guilty for inwardly rejecting him just because of his profession, especially since she would have normally been ecstatic that someone wanted to learn from her of all people.

It was hard to swallow since she considered herself accepting of pretty much everyone, but maybe this was her crowning moment of realization: there was no such thing as being completely devoid of bias or judgment. It kind of stung though, to come to grips with that about herself.

Even so, the rest of their walk to the inner section of Gaoling went smoothly, with Xisheng having clearly reached a new understanding of their relationship thanks to the conversation the two of them had shared not that long ago.

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As expected, the inn that Azula had chosen for herself and her comrades was of a higher quality than anything Xisheng would have chosen in the name of subtlety. It wasn't exactly a locale for the rich alone, but it was definitely above the quality of what a commoner would be able to afford, adorned in the white stone and dark wood that set it apart from the less wealthy part of the city.

Xisheng briefly questioned how on earth Azula had paid for this, but he supposed that she could have easily stocked up on Earth Kingdom currency before leaving Omashu. Had she not been a Princess, she definitely could have been a great logistical officer in the military. She seemed to think of literally everything.

Of course Xisheng ended up getting his own (moderately lower quality) room apart from the girls, but he still found himself in their presence before the night was out. After all, he had to be clued in on the next step of their plan.

The room itself was quite large, and it did indeed sport three separate beds, which Xisheng found a little curious. Not that the room in itself was strange, but he figured that at least one of these teenage girls would have preferred to have a room to herself. He certainly couldn't imagine Ty Lee really caring for a solitary room, but he would have thought that both Azula and Mai would have preferred their own space.

Perhaps Azula was more frugal than she cared to admit.

Either way, Xisheng found himself leaning on the door to the mildly luxurious room. Aside from the silk sheets and nice furniture it was nothing special, but for the life of him Xisheng was honestly glad the room he had been afforded was more basic. He wasn't sure if he could sleep comfortably on anything too terribly soft at this point.

His three companions had situated themselves around the room, but Mai was the only one that looked like she wanted to be asleep already. She'd already shed the black top of her outfit, as well as any of the constricting pieces of gear that would have been uncomfortable to sleep in. Admittedly, she looked especially attractive in the remaining loose fitting attire. Most men preferred to see clothes that were a tight fit, but there was a certain appeal to this as well.

Doing his best to ignore those thoughts, Xisheng merely waited for Azula to enlighten them as to what she had figured out earlier that day while watching Earth Rumble VI. He assumed it would have something to do with that Blind Bandit girl all things considered, but he wasn't going to be presumptuous and speak first.

Thankfully, the heir to the Fire Nation throne wasn't the kind of person to waste time, even when there wasn't an extreme sense of urgency to actually consider.

"I think it's fairly obvious at this point that the Avatar is going to pursue 'The Blind Bandit' as his Earthbending teacher. That said, I also think it obvious that we need to get to her before he does. Our chances of turning her against his request increases exponentially if we can plant the seeds of doubt before he can earn her trust."

Already in a comfortable sleeping position, Mai kept her eyes closed as she weighed in on the situation. "How exactly? All we've got is what she looks like and her ridiculous stage name. And I doubt she'd be as easy to find as the Avatar was."

"The man who runs the tournament is clearly in a position of knowledge. While he might not know everything regarding our quarry, it's extremely likely that he has enough information to set us on the right path. After all, I doubt participation in this event of his is free, so he no doubt has records of some sort."

Still leaning on the door, Xisheng folded his arms. "We likely don't have a lot of time to act. If we want to make contact before the Avatar does, why didn't we speak to the ring leader today?"

Azula turned her amber gaze on him. "If we act too quickly we simply seem suspicious. If we provide a small window of time between then and now, it'll seem as though we merely realized a discrepancy on our own time. We'll let this night pass without issue, and begin to move first thing in the morning. Needless to say I'm certain we'll still be moving with more urgency than our prey."

Leaping onto her own bed with careless abandon, Ty Lee asked a question that Xisheng himself would have were it not for his position of deference to the Princess.

"Question; why didn't we just ambush the Avatar at the Earth Rumble tournament? We probably could have caught him in one of those narrow tunnels, it would have been perfect for fighting an Airbender."

Azula didn't even get a chance to answer, as Mai did it for her. The only questions she ever answered seemed to be the ones she deemed as obvious. "Too many witnesses. Even if we somehow caught their group in the tunnels without anyone else around, the sound of battle would have drawn others to the conflict. And between the Avatar and two Firebenders, who do you think all of those Earthbenders would have sided with?"

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Ty Lee looked put out, since her suggestion was seemingly stupid, but Xisheng sided with her. "I'd like to point out that we could probably kill the Avatar with ease if we caught him unaware. There's no need to go all out with bending or anything. Mai has good enough aim to end the hunt quietly and efficiently."

Xisheng could barely see Mai's expression from their differing angles, but he could see the slight crease of a frown even from his position. Still, the talented marksman didn't say anything for or against the idea, instead allowing Azula to retort.

"I'll admit that I'm not completely against simply eliminating the Avatar, but as things stand we're better off taking him alive if we can manage it. If we kill him now we'll simply have another one to deal with in another decade or so. Even being in control of the Northern Water Tribe, there's no guarantee we would be able to locate a new Avatar before they were whisked away to be used against us."

Xisheng countered with the proper level of respect. "Maybe so, but by then we will have won the war for certain. And ten years is plenty of time to solidify our position. It just seems to me that the current Avatar is more of a threat to our cause than his theoretical replacement would be in ten years."

At this point Azula merely shrugged. "Our ultimate goal, as I'm sure you're aware, is to permanently remove the Avatar as a deciding force for the world. In order to do that we can't just kill the Avatar at every opportunity. There's obviously some sort of secret to his reincarnation; until we figure it out, the Avatar will always be a threat to what we're trying to achieve."

It was obvious that Azula was speaking only to him here, as it was unlikely that Mai or Ty Lee had any knowledge whatsoever about the war's underlying revolutionary goal. That said, Mai didn't seem to care anyway, and Ty Lee just seemed bothered by the talk of killing more than confused on any of the other things.

Of course, Xisheng knew that Azula had a point. The Avatar had always been a major obstacle for global unity, because the Avatar had never ceased to exist. However that damned reincarnation cycle worked, it ensured that there was always an Avatar to hold society back. Truly, getting rid of the Avatar once and for all was probably the most important thing the Fire Nation could do for the world. As long as there was some all-powerful being dictating the freedom of human will, the world could never really be free.

Still, couldn't they just focus on smiting the Avatar ten years from now, once everything else was in order? Sure, Azula was the kind of person to do whatever she could as soon as she could, but from Xisheng's point of view it just seemed safer to kill the Avatar now, cement their hold over the Earth Kingdom, and fortify their hold before the next Avatar was old enough to be a problem.

Heck, if the Fire Nation took control, would there even be a need to get rid of the Avatar? Once they were in control every new Avatar could be raised according to proper doctrine.

Of course, you could tell people with nigh unlimited power not to abuse it a hundred times, but when you were the most powerful bender in the history of the world, what was stopping you from doing what you wanted?

Xisheng could remember a time when he questioned the crusade against the Avatar, earlier in life when his retired father had told him about the secret Fire Nation agenda. At the time, Xisheng couldn't see the difference between the Avatar using his power to control other people versus the Fire Lord doing the same thing.

By now the difference was plain as day. One ruler was a man that had been brought to power by the will of his own people. He was the leader of the Fire Nation because the people allowed him to be. Should he become a criminal tyrant, the people of the Fire Nation could revolt and overthrow him. The Fire Lord, like all legitimate rulers in all countries, was part of the social contract, only truly possessing as much power as the people that followed him were willing to tolerate.

The Avatar on the other hand, was beyond such intangibles. The Avatar's position had not been condoned or agreed to by everyone he supervised. Indeed, when the Fire Nation attempted to defy the will of the Avatar, they had been forcibly suppressed by his inhuman power.

Regardless of whether or not the Avatar was trying to do something good or ill, the fact remained that he had no right to demand obedience from others. He simply had power, granted to him by some spirit, that he used to force the world to align with his personal beliefs.

It was not a matter of right and wrong so much as one of free will, and that was something Xisheng understood by now. Humans deserved the right to choose between right and wrong. After all, if you took away that free will, humans were no different from animals.

Merely shrugging, Xisheng decided that it was not his place to question what Azula wanted to do. If she felt that it was preferable to try and take the Avatar alive, so be it.

"So then, we speak to this Xin Fu, and assuming he has enough information for us to act on, we find the Blind Bandit before the Avatar. But what do we do with her?"

Azula smirked at him. "Well naturally it depends on her situation. We don't really know her standing in Gaoling. Obviously it would be ideal to turn her completely against any offer made by the Avatar, but how we do that will vary. Needless to say we'll have to improvise as things unfold. Of course, by extension there isn't actually much to discuss right now… but I feel at this point that these little strategy sessions are practically obligatory."

Sensing that their discussion was at an end, Mai rolled over on her side so she could face away from all of them. "Someone please let me know when that changes."

Picking up on the cue as well, Xisheng finally got off the door and prepared to make his exit. "Very well… when shall you need me awake Princess?"

"The crack of dawn."

"As you will."

He bowed one last time, making his exit at roughly the same time Ty Lee bade him goodnight.

Now left in the presence of only her two female friends, Ty Lee felt comfortable dropping the smile she had more or less plastered on after Xisheng had made her uneasy with his request to learn from her. She did feel well and truly deplorable for holding something against him that wasn't really his fault, but nevertheless she couldn't change what she felt at the drop of a hat.

It really struck her as wrong since she was the one that had insisted they could be good friends, yet now she was uncomfortable with something that a friend should have been alright with. He'd only asked, very sweetly at that, if she would be willing to teach him some of her unique skills. The fact that he had to perform a soldier's duties at some point in the past wasn't really his fault, and it wasn't like she had ever actually seen him kill someone. For all she knew he had simply been bluffing when Azula asked and he didn't really have the heart to kill anyone.

Either way, Ty Lee briefly contemplated asking the Princess if she really intended to have anyone killed for any reason during their mission, but ultimately she figured that asking about her modus operandi would only cause irritation and trouble.

Yet acknowledging that didn't help her sleep any better that night.

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As commanded by Princess, Xisheng was awake at the first sign of light the next morning, having actually slept quite comfortably on a bed that was decent, but still in possession of the solidity he needed to be in a familiar environment. Yet despite his relatively successful period of rest, the young soldier was still awake far earlier than he would have liked, and he was forced to move with urgency once out of bed.

As Azula and Xisheng had both more or less stated the night before, time was of the essence, as they needed to reach their immediate goal before the Avatar did. That said Azula was rushing him without remorse first thing in the morning, though it turned out to just be them. Ty Lee had been sent to do something else of supposedly grave importance, and Mai had more or less told them to fuck off that early in the morning for trying to wake her up.

To be honest Xisheng was surprised that Azula didn't have an issue with that level of defiance, but perhaps she figured that it was pointless to bother with Mai's hatred for any hour before noon. After all, she cooperated when it really mattered, and it wasn't like Azula actually needed her for anything right now. They would simply round her up on the return trip.

In short, Azula and Xisheng were on their way back to the place the Earth Rumble tournament had been held before the sun was even completely past the horizon. Xisheng couldn't help but wonder if the person they were going to talk to would even be there that early, or if he would be at the arena at all, but Azula believed it to be his most likely location, on the basis that he probably had some loose ends to tie up so soon after the tournament.

Moving throughout the city so ridiculously early in the morning was a different experience than doing so during the day. The crowds of people were practically nonexistent, replaced only with soldiers on early morning rounds or store and stall owners that needed some time to set up before the aforementioned crowds made their appearance.

Xisheng worried that the lack of crowds to blend in to would draw attention to him and his head shorter charge, but ironically no one gave them a second glance. Granted, perhaps it was because Azula was moving without her usual regal air (which Xisheng would have thought impossible for her to do intentionally), or maybe everyone was just too tired to bother picking out any one person that was still clothed in green, the quality of that green notwithstanding.

It took the duo the better part of an hour to reach their destination, a trip that was carried almost entirely in silence. Normally Xisheng would have considered such a long silence between himself and the Princess to be troubling, but she wasn't giving off that usual displeased air that was normally present in such situations. It seemed more likely that she was just deep in thought, and he was too tired to initiate a conversation himself.

Either way, entering the Earth Rumble arena this second time was free, unlike the first, since there was no one standing guard. It was only natural, considering that there was no money to be made with no competition occurring.

Yet the seemingly abandoned and eerily quiet tunnels made Xisheng anxious. Truth be told he didn't like being at half strength in such a situation. While Azula was without a doubt the strongest member of their group, Xisheng would readily admit to anyone that he would have felt safer with both Mai and Ty Lee there as well. The truth was he just really didn't like any large amount of earth when potentially surrounded by Earthbenders.

At one time, Xisheng had hated the steel plating of Fire Nation outposts and bases. They had seemed to simply stain the countryside with hideous blots.

And then he had experienced his first ambush while at a temporary camp on the Defensive Line. There was nothing quite like seeing a man burst out of solid ground to launch a spike of earth into a fellow soldier. The brief encounter had lasted no more than a few minutes, but that short battle had been one of the most terrifying that Xisheng had ever experienced.

Enemies continued to erupt from the ground when they were least expected. Some Firebenders found themselves grabbed by the ankles and dragged underground to be killed. The air became a hurricane of earthen spikes and boulders, smashing steel and bone or ripping holes in flesh and blood. Even now, Xisheng sometimes remembered the screams of terror and pain from his fellow ambushed comrades.

Xisheng had never again frowned upon the protective steel of more permanent bases. And while he was not necessarily scared of dirt or anything, being in the very midst of the Earth Kingdom, and in the darkest depth of a mountain at that, Xisheng was more than a little wary. He knew it was paranoia, as no one could possibly know who they were and therefore have a reason to ambush them, but he could not stop imagining the possibility.

If Azula noticed his unease as they progressed, she made no comment on it, having not said a word to him since leaving the inn earlier. While Xisheng had rationalized her silence before, he had to admit that it was a bit disconcerting by now. He felt as though nothing good could ever come from Azula being silent for more than a few minutes, if that.

Perhaps that was unfair of him, but such was the persona the young Princess had erected around herself thus far.

When the duo stepped into the arena they had visited last night, it was completely devoid of anyone at all. The empty chamber was almost eerie, with the insane amount of space it provided and none of the people it was supposed to house present. The fact that any word spoken by Xisheng or Azula would have echoed throughout the entire arena was an intense juxtaposition to how their voices had been drowned out the night before.

However, due to this all-encompassing quiet, it was not difficult to hear the not so faint footsteps reverberating throughout the cavern in the next few moments. It was difficult to pinpoint their origin all things considered, but a glance around the arena itself at least pointed to the most likely location.

On the far right side of the arena was a set of stairs dug into the wall, leading up to some sort of stone box that overlooked the area itself. It seemed to have a doorway and windows, so the likely conclusion was that it served some purpose, and with that purpose, a population of at least one.

Azula wasted no time in proceeding in that direction, with Xisheng hot on her heels as usual. It was unlikely that anyone was here this early other than the ringmaster himself, and Xisheng was mildly concerned with whether or not this Xin Fu was a sharp man. If he was as well informed as he was supposed to be, it wouldn't have been any stretch of the imagination for him to at least be somewhat knowledgeable on foreign cultures as well.

Of course, if, by some astronomical luck, he managed to identify Azula (even recognizing her as a Fire Nation native would be enough, the regal title notwithstanding), Xisheng was positive that she could take him herself, never mind with him by her side.

Somewhat assuaged with that level of faith in Azula's ability, Xisheng concluded that they would be fine, and moreover, the long haired Xin Fu didn't seem anything other than confused when the two of them stepped into his little observatory box. He just seemed curious as to why anyone was here at all, and he assumed right off the bat that their presence had something to do with his business.

"There are no fights today. Get lost."

Xisheng could almost see the slightest of twitches in Azula's expression, likely because she was entirely unused to being spoken down to. Technically this was the very first time she had ever been in a position where her title was not common knowledge, or in a position where that title didn't mean anything other than painting a target on her back.

But she was an excellent actress if nothing else, and anything that may have given her away was wiped from her performance completely.

"We aren't here for that. In fact, we were going to bring up something from last night's tournament."

Xisheng could see that their target was wary of them, perhaps believing them to be guards or something trying to shut down his operation. He moved slightly towards the one desk in the room, the only furniture that was present besides a few bookcases holding ledgers and scrolls. What may have been in that desk was anyone's guess, but if it ended up being dangerous the tight quarters here would be his down fall.

Still, his attempt at evasion was rather transparent.

"I've got no idea what you're talking about."

It seemed to Xisheng that the Princess had to enact a massive force of will to avoid rolling her eyes, mostly because she could not imagine a more pathetic attempt at lying. Still, she managed.

"Oh? I'm sure there was a tournament last night. One in which the reigning champion was defeated by some unidentified, nameless child, costing you a great deal of gold. Or am I mistaken?"

The mention of specific events didn't necessarily mean anything. Considering that the Blind Bandit's defeat was by far the most noteworthy aspect of Earth Rumble VI, it was entirely possible that rumors of the incident had simply circulated well enough for law enforcement to catch wind of it.

However, considering that barely half a day had passed since the tournament itself, and the fact that most of the people who cared to watch it had been present, it seemed very unlikely that anyone bored enough to put an end to Xin Fu's profitable venture had actually heard of it.

"Alright, so you were here last night. Yeah, the Blind Bandit lost. Yeah, I lost pretty much all of the night's profit. What's your point?"

Xisheng determined at this point that he was getting very good at reading the Princess, even though she was so good at controlling her expression. He could just see it in her eyes when she was judging someone. Something along the lines of 'can't this fool put two and two together' he imagined.

"My friend and I were entirely enraptured by the battle last night. After watching the Boulder decimate all of his competition only to be so easily defeated by the champion, it just didn't seem possible for her to be bested so easily by some random member of the audience. In fact, what struck us the most last night was that the boy who challenged the Blind Bandit didn't use any Earthbending move we had ever seen. There was no projectile, no quake; the Blind Bandit seemed to be ejected from the ring without any impact whatsoever."

Xin Fu was halfway to saying that he had no idea what she was getting at, that the boy who had challenged the champion had obviously used Earthbending or else he wouldn't have won, but now that someone had explicitly brought the fight to his attention he realized that something did seem a little off.

He had organized a lot of Earthbending fights in his lifetime. He had also been a participant in a fair number of battles himself. And even beyond those two things he just knew how Earthbending worked, and analyzing the fight more closely now that someone had brought it to his attention, Xin Fu could say with certainty that there was something wrong with the way in which the Blind Bandit had been defeated. The manner in which her attack had been negated, the way she had been launched from the ring without the resounding thud of a solid impact, it all just seemed wrong somehow. And due to this love of money, he knew how to do the math.

"That little… she threw the match? To split the money with that kid?"

Azula merely shrugged. "That seems like the logical conclusion."

While she was not mistaken in that, it still didn't add up for Xin Fu. The Blind Bandit's identity was a mystery to most everyone in Gaoling, but not to him. He had certainly not let a twelve year old girl he knew nothing about enter an illegal fighting circuit, for no other reason than because the charges leveled against him would have been much more severe if someone of that age was trounced by grown men.

Yet she had proven herself to be a more than capable fighter, and she had provided more than enough money to cover all of her entrance fees for each of the tournaments she participated in.

Point being that Xin Fu knew that Toph Beifong had money. The Beifongs were one of the wealthiest families in the southern Earth Kingdom, so there was no chance in hell that the Bandit would throw away her title and her pride for the relatively measly amount of gold she would have gotten from this scam.

So what was it then? Charity? The silly puppy love of a child? Ultimately, did it really matter? Xin Fu had been conned out of his money. No one got away with that.

His course set, the admittedly imposing man pounded his fist into his palm. "She'll regret that. No one steals from me!"

Azula smirked, pleased at how easy it was to manipulate the greedy. "You have a plan in mind?"

"Why would I tell you?"

"Well, it is I who brought this to your attention. Moreover, if you plan on making any offensive action towards this girl, you'll need assistance."

"From civilians? Why bother?"

"Mercenaries, actually. I lead a small band. It seems to me that you could use some experienced aid."

Xin Fu didn't consider it for a moment. "In case you haven't noticed, I have plenty of Earthbenders willing to get back at the Blind Bandit and make some coin while doing it. Why spend whatever sum your troop is asking for when I have them?"

Azula had never specifically said that she was supposed to do all the talking, so Xisheng felt alright weighing in here. "You mean the Earthbenders that were all easily defeated by the Boulder, who was then completely obliterated by the very girl you're going after? I think it's obvious that those odds are against you."

Unfortunately, Xin Fu couldn't quite refute that. He had seen enough of the Blind Bandit in action to know that she was far superior to any of the other fighters under his wing. Even with superior numbers he wasn't overly confident in the average rabble he could assail her with. But then again, at least he knew the capabilities of his own flock. He didn't know anything about the skill of this supposed mercenary group.

"Say I accept your offer. How much is your fee? And what exactly am I getting for it?"

For a moment it almost looked like Azula was genuinely enjoying the charade. "Assuming we succeed, a mere fifteen percent of your profit will suffice. As for what you're getting, a master hand-to-hand martial artist, an extraordinary marksman, an elite ex-army commando and an expert Earthbender."

Up front it sounded like a good deal. After all, fifteen percent of the gold he planned on getting back was less than Xin Fu would have had to pay all of his flunkies. But again, the only evidence he had of the ability of these mercenaries was their word.

"Assuming you succeed. And what if you fail?"

"Then you pay us nothing, obviously."

"You expect me to believe that you'll keep your word on that?"

The Crown Princess in disguise folded her hands behind her back. "We're with the guild. If you submit a legitimate contract we'll have no choice but to agree to the terms."

Truth be told Xisheng did not know much about the 'guild' in the Earth Kingdom. The fact of the matter was that the Earth Kingdom was massive, and in comparison the governing forces that policed the land rarely managed to do so very effectively. So bounty hunters and mercenaries were an extremely popular means of hunting down wanted individuals or completing underhanded work.

Still, getting off the ground solo was rather difficult, so the majority of mercenaries had more or less grouped together into a guild of sorts to increase their own availability and workflow. Technically there were dozens of guilds, but since each and every one of them functioned in the same manner they were all collectively referred to as 'the guild.'

Ironically, the very existence of the guild was contradictory. For example, this theoretical capture of an Earth Kingdom citizen was illegal. And yet, the existence of the guild itself was perfectly legal, as the authorities never bothered to shut down the system that did so much of their work for them. Honestly many mercenaries did honest work and hunted down criminals or fugitives, but there were just as many that took underhanded and illicit contracts like the one Azula and Xin Fu were discussing now.

Still, Xin Fu seemed glad to learn that his mysterious conversational partners were supposedly legitimate mercenaries, because it gave him all sorts of advantages. For one, he could get them on contract through the guild, and then they'd have to abide by the set terms without complaint, which included not paying them anything at all if they failed. Secondly, if they were part of the guild he could actually investigate just how good they were supposed to be.

"Very well. Let's go to the guild now then. I want this done as soon as possible."

"In that case we'll need to go ahead and gather the rest of our members. Just leave the contract for us and we'll take it from there."

"What's the name of your group?"

For a brief moment, Xisheng questioned the kind of interesting names he could have come up with as a kid. After all, most young boys liked to imagine themselves as a member of some legendary company of heroes. Groups like the Rough Rhinos and the Storm Riders had inspired lots of young men to join the army in hopes of one day having cool stories of their own to tell.

To be fair, Xisheng was fairly certain his own division back on the Defensive Line had earned itself quite the reputation with all of the attacks they had fended off. Maybe he'd get back to the Fire Nation one day to find out he had been a part of The Impenetrable Wall or The Invincible Shield or something.

"We have no specific title. We're group number forty one on the roster."

Xin Fu simply folded his arms, nodding his confirmation. "Then get out of here. I'll have the contract written within the hour."

Azula said nothing, and she certainly made no sign of respect to the man as she turned to leave. Xisheng simply followed her out. Once they were far enough away that he was sure Xin Fu wouldn't hear him, Xisheng decided to break the silence. He had a lot of questions for one, but he opened up with a comment anyway.

"Couldn't even think of a name for us? That's bland."

The Crown Princess cocked an eyebrow at him. "You honestly thought I would make some silly gimmick name for this hoax we're pulling? Don't be ridiculous. Besides, considering our cover I couldn't have named us anything appropriate."

Xisheng smirked, wondering if Azula would have actually come up with 'some silly gimmick' name if she had been allowed to use 'dragon' or 'dawn' or something in it.

"Well, that aside, what's this about an 'elite ex-army commando' business? That was high praise."

"Don't let it go to your head, I just needed him to believe we are capable. That said you had best not relay what I said about Mai or Ty lee either."

"Come now Princess, there's nothing wrong with complimenting your friends…"

Azula merely scoffed, and by the time the duo made their exit from the mountain Xisheng moved onto the actual plan of action.

"I assume you've already set everything up for this mercenary cover of ours?"

"So long as Ty Lee has done her job properly, we should already be an 'established' mercenary troop working with the local guild."

"Not that I don't have faith in her, but what if she doesn't succeed?"

Azula didn't even seem to consider the possibility. "She's equipped with a lot of money and she knows how to flirt her way around any simplistic moron. It'll be fine."

Taking her word for it, Xisheng merely nodded. "So, we're going to use this contract as evidence of a hit on the Blind Bandit, and offer her our protection, correct?"

"I'm glad you caught on. By now I've deduced that our target is someone of at least moderate wealth. Even the garb she wore during the tournament was of a high enough quality to be above the common class here in Gaoling. And of course, she's but a child. If I'm right and she comes from money, then it seems extremely unlikely that her parents would be knowingly using her skill to make money in such a fashion."

"Meaning she's probably doing it under their noses."

"Most likely. If her parents don't know she's so competent in combat they'll likely welcome the idea of extra protection. And even if they are aware of her talents, success is still likely. We've acted quickly enough that we'll probably be at least moderately ingrained before the Avatar makes his appearance; and with the threat of hunters looming over their daughter's head, it's unlikely their parents will take him at face value."

Now entering the actual outskirts of Gaoling, Xisheng noted that they were vaguely heading back in the direction of the inn, probably to pick up Mai.

"Her parents might be easy to fool, but what about the girl herself? She's the one who's dangerous, and she's the one we have to try and alienate from the Avatar."

"True enough. Unfortunately that is something we can't account for until we're in the thick of it. If we're lucky, she's skilled, but not overly intuitive. If we're unlucky, she's as clever as someone of her combat aptitude implies. We can only change our approach as we learn more."

Xisheng had to admit that Azula was so quick with the plans that it kind of scared him. She had figured all of this out sometime between now and the end of Earth Rumble VI last night? Xisheng himself had a decent aptitude for strategic warfare and combat tactics, but this subterfuge business wasn't quite up his alley.

When they made it into view of the inn they had stayed at the night before, there was no need to go inside at all. Mai seemingly just materialized at their side once they were near. It wasn't right to say they were surprised though, as her silent arrival was perfectly fitting for her. She still looked tired and irritated, but she was fully prepared for whatever the day might bring, which included life or death combat.

All things considered there was no exchange of good mornings, since they all knew Mai didn't care for it. They simply proceeded towards their next destination, most likely to round up their last member. Naturally Azula didn't bother explaining anything to Mai, since it would just require her to explain everything a second time when they got Ty Lee around again.

Xisheng didn't know when or where Azula had learned the location of the local mercenary branch, but either way she led everyone right to the large cube building that was mostly unassuming and the same color and material as the rest of Gaoling. Perhaps the architects figured that it was better to remain as subtle as possible, since it invited less scrutiny.

Ty Lee was standing outside the building, obviously waiting for her companions to come find her. While not as quiet as Mai, she came to join them in the same manner when she laid eyes on them.

Naturally, the first thing Azula did was question whether or not the girl had found success. "So? Any difficultly?"

Her childhood friend folded her arms and frowned. "No, but I hope you really appreciate it. That guy at the front desk was a total sleaze. He came this close to touching me somewhere he shouldn't and I wasn't even allowed to paralyze him! Also, he was like, forty!"

If Azula felt bad for any of that it certainly didn't show on her face, and definitely not in her words. "I'm sure you escaped the situation relatively unscathed. Did you see the announcer from the tournament last night make an entrance yet?"

"About twenty minutes ago. He already left though."

"Guess he wasn't joking about wanting to get things underway as soon as possible. Well then, come with me, we have to actually get our hands on the contract now that it's been written."

She was speaking specifically to Ty Lee, so Xisheng figured he should ask, and for Mai while he was at it. "Do you require our presence as well?"

The Princess merely waved her hand in dismissal. "That won't be necessary. We should only be a few minutes."

He said nothing to that, instead turning to watch the city itself as his charge and his friend entered the building. You never knew when the enemy would become aware, so he was determined to at least keep an eye on anyone that decided to enter the guild.

Mai clearly did not care to do the same, choosing to lean on the building itself and close her eyes for a few moments of rest. Xisheng could not imagine that she was feeling very energetic all things considered, so he didn't bother saying anything to her. He for one knew that he didn't like being bothered with conversation in the early hours of the morning.

Nothing of note happened for the few minutes the two of them stood out there alone, and soon enough Azula was back with a scroll in her hands. Xisheng could only assume that this was the contract in question, though Mai, having been relatively left out of the loop, questioned the situation.

"So? What's the deal?"

The Crown Princess unrolled the parchment she was holding so she could share the details in full. "On a technicality, our forty-first mercenary company of the local Gaoling branch has been hired to capture a certain Toph Beifong for fifteen percent commission on an undisclosed amount of profit. Ironically this Toph person is apparently a nonexistent individual, but Xin Fu privately identified her as the Blind Bandit, so this is indeed the girl we're looking for."

Mai cocked an eyebrow. "Beifong as in the richest noble family of the southern Earth Kingdom?"

"The same."

"Uh-huh. So what's the actual plan?"

Azula rolled the scroll back into shape so she could keep it pristine. "Well, thanks to a hefty portion of the funds I brought from Omashu, as well as Ty Lee's influential charisma, we're technically already well-established as a reliable and experienced mercenary group that's been working in the Gaoling branch for months. All we have to do now is approach the Beifong family of this irrefutable evidence of danger to their mysterious daughter, and offer our protection. We become the girl's personal guards and we're without a doubt ahead of the Avatar."

Mai kept her arms folded. "I guess bribery works all the same no matter where you are… Still, the plan might work out in theory, but there's all sorts of things that could come up or go wrong. What then?"

Unfortunately, the knife thrower didn't get an answer that she found personally assuring, though the tone was tinged with Azula's usual amusement.

"Come now Mai, all plans only work in theory. There has never been a successful plan of action that did not require some degree of adaptability to the unknown."

Needless to say this true yet irritating answer simply earned a sigh from Mai, and Azula dropped the topic in order to begin leading the group to their final destination. While they had been in Gaoling for less than twenty four hours, it seemed that Azula already knew where everything was. Though, to be fair, perhaps she had simply asked a lot more varied questions the day before during their search for information. It seemed very like her to gather a wider array of intelligence on everything even remotely relevant. Including the location of the very large Beifong estate apparently.

Said estate was completely walled off from the rest of the city, though it was mostly isolated from it in the first place being on the outskirts of Gaoling. It made it rather easy to spot at least, since it was roughly out in a wider area all by its lonesome, with tall walls and a large gate sectioning it off.

Said gate had a green emblem with a flying boar above it, and Xisheng for one couldn't imagine how an airborne pig could be seen as noble in any way or form. Strangely there were no guards outside the gate itself, and Azula took the opportunity to relay the last bit of information to her allies before they got started.

"Alright everyone, obviously this is a mission of subterfuge. The most important thing is selling who we are. Between you and myself Mai, there's no concealing our rather distinctive features in close and personal quarters, so the two of us fled from the Colonies a few years ago after the rebel movement was crushed. Ty Lee, you and the Lieutenant are from Omashu, no need to risk being Gaoling natives. We formed this mercenary troop a year ago, looking for work. If anyone asks we know very little about each other's lives before all of this, so we don't have to risk answering false personal questions. Also, I would hope this would be obvious Lieutenant, but no Firebending, no matter what. As far as our initial impression goes, let me do all the talking. Are we clear?"

Everyone nodded, since it was clear enough how things were going to proceed from here. Azula was the best orator anyway, so whenever verbal deception needed to be employed she was probably the best choice.

With all of that out of the way, Xisheng watched as Azula led them to the large stone doors of the Beifong residence, and he wondered if the relatively matching outfits of the girls would actually support their cover story now. In that light, maybe he should have been in uniform too, but apparently even Azula couldn't predict absolutely every outcome.

Either way, knocking on the large doors produced a much smaller sound than anyone was expecting in comparison. There was nearly a full minute before the gates actually creaked open by the slightest of inches, where a guard looked out to see who was daring to bother the residents of the estate.

Really, he didn't even open it enough for any of the Fire Nation infiltrators to see more than his face, but apparently he was being wary.

"This is private property. State your intentions."

Azula merely held out the scroll she had appropriated. "I believe your master will find this of critical importance."

The guard in the beige alternative to a typical Earth Kingdom uniform simply made to shut the door. "Mr. Beifong has no interest in whatever you're selling."

Deciding that the best way to proceed was to simply cut to the chase, Azula did just that. "This concerns the safety of his daughter."

Needless to say the door ceased its movement immediately, and the guard thrust it open as quickly as he could to level his grizzled old gaze on the quartet of young people before him. As an ex-soldier himself, he could feel on an almost instinctual level that they were more dangerous than they looked.

More than that though, the mention of his employer's daughter was most urgent. All of the guards here were sworn to secrecy, and no one in Gaoling should have known about her existence.

He warily took the rolled up parchment Azula was offering, opening it for his own viewing convenience. For obvious reasons his expression was all shock in mere moments, and he quickly turned it back on the strangers at the Beifong's door.

"Get in here. Now!"

No one in the current group liked being told what to do so brusquely, but for now they had to act subordinate, so they did what they were told, only to find that six guards were moving in to surround them once the gates were closed and they were locked within the estate grounds. Of course, such a thing was to be expected, since their own presence here was suspect.

The guard that had answered the door quickly ordered everyone to watch them while he sprinted for the mansion that rested across the estate gardens, and Azula did her best to refrain from smirking in success and celebration.

Everything had been set in motion, and the first stage of her trap for the Avatar was in place. All she had to do was weave an even more complex net.

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