Avatar; The Royal Firebender.

Breaking The Lie

Zuko slowly walks towards the main gates of the Earth King's palace dressed in his firenation attire but also the cloak he wore the previous night. The main gates on the outside are massive, standing over thirty feet tall with two armed guards standing at the front. Zuko lifts the cloak's hood over his head then lowers his head down so his face is unseen. On his hip are the twin swords he's carried since he left his crew. The wind blows his cloak up and past his body like a cape revealing his royal firenation armor to the guards. Upon seeing him, the two raise their weapons and bark orders but Zuko ignores them. Taking a deep breath, Zuko feels the air around him begin circling his body as he breathes. As the guards advance on him, Zuko squats down then jumps upwards into the air spinning his body and bending the winds around himself. A tornado of dust and sand forms around his waist, his cloak being blown violently behind him as he raises high into the air. Paying little mind to the guards on the ground, Zuko merely ascends over the wall and flies into the center of the courtyard.

Many of the earth king's guards had heard that the avatar had returned and now walks the streets of their city. However, none of them were prepared to see the avatar himself fly over the gates to the palace and land gently mere feet away from the grand staircase. Other patrols around the courtyard are frozen in place, not knowing how to address the situation but their hesitation stops when Zuko speaks. "I am here to have an audience with the earth king." He says calmly before removing the hood from over his head. "I believe he is expecting me." He continues, slowly walking towards the grand staircase. Without an answer, Zuko lifts his foot and places it on the first stair tensing slightly expecting the guards to attack him. But nothing happens. He walks forwards stepping up the large marble stairs one at a time before lunging upwards propelling himself with airbending as he clears half the staircase in a single jump. With a second gust of wind, Zuko ascends the second half of the stairs before pausing to allow his cloak to settle over his form again.

"Greetings, Avatar Zuko." The familiar voice of Dong Jou greets as Zuko gets to the door. "How has your earthbending progressed?" His former master asks, causing a slight smirk to grow on Zuko's face.

"Good. My teacher is Toph Beifong. The niece of my predecessor, another blind earthbender. She's just as stubborn as you are." Dong Jou almost chuckles when Zuko says this. "I take it you're going to escort me to the earth king?"

"Yes, but I also have a warning for you." The Dai Li agent replies before opening the door for Zuko. "The Dai Li has been ordered to keep watch over you and your allies. From what I understand is that you and Long Feng had a bit of a... disagreement at the party last night."

"He should have thought about that before he threatened my uncle." Zuko replies as he walks past Dong Jou and enters the palace. "Though, I suppose I may have gone a little overboard with that. But I'm not apologizing."

"I didn't expect you to." His former master replies. "I wanted to warn you, as your former mentor and friend. While I don't agree with the police state that Ba Sing Sei has become, I do know that keeping the war an unspoken topic keeps the people more at ease."

"I understand, however I am here purely to get the aid of the earth kingdom for a mission that will end this war. The only people I have discussed the topic with are General Sung and Long Feng, but I think that conversation with him would count more like a lecture." Pulling his attention away from the conversation for a moment, Zuko can sense nearly two dozen men in the room ahead of them. He can feel through the vibrations that they're preparing for an ambush. "If you're planning on leading me into a trap. It'll take a lot more than two dozen men to defeat me." Zuko says as he stops dead in his tracks. Dong Jou doesn't face him, but Zuko can sense the man's heart rate is accelerating rapidly.

"I'm sorry, Avatar Zuko." His master replies before turning to face him. "Long Feng wants you removed from Ba Sing Sei entirely." Zuko frowns when he hears this before locking eyes with his former master.