After Lin had informed Team Avatar of the unfortunate news, Lei immediately contacted her Aunt Izumi about their expected arrival in the Fire Nation. Izumi felt grateful and excited that her niece was coming to visit, she just wished it was under better circumstances. Lin prepared an interrogation room for Lei and Dr. Sheng. It was crucial that they dissect information from her to get a better understanding of what they were about to face. Lei entered the room, to see Dr. Sheng sitting down with her hands chained to the middle of the metal table. Lei closed the door behind her afterwards taking the empty seat in front of Dr. Sheng. Mako and Lin were watching closely from the other side of the room, behind a hidden glass pane window.

"I'm gonna make this easy and straight to the point so I certainly hope you do the same," Lei paused, Dr. Sheng narrowed her eyes, "Who's the buyer?"

"That is information I can't disclose, part of the deal with my customer," Dr. Sheng replied, Lei huffed.

"You sold one of the mind controlling machines then willingly testified everything you did?" Lei pointed out, strikingly sounding as intimidating as she could be. There was something off about the whole situation that she needed to uncover.

"I wanted to make a little money before I was arrested, what else is there to say?" Dr. Sheng said.

"The buyer. Why'd he tell you to testify?" Lei asked.

"What makes you think he did?" Dr. Sheng questioned.

"Because with the amount of money he gave you for that machine, you could've left Republic City in a second but you didn't, you chose to stay with Guan," Lei explained, Dr. Sheng thought the princess was more attentive than she thought.

"I chose to stay because I thought Guan's plan would work, the money was merely a backup plan," Dr. Sheng said flatly.

"I have an offer," Lei said, Dr. Sheng eyebrows rose showing Lei that her interest was peaked, "You tell me information about the buyer, I'll see what I can do about reducing your sentence in prison,"

Dr. Sheng thought to herself for a brief moment, "The buyer told me he wanted the shipment as soon as possible, he planned on using it on the Fire Nation as soon as he gets the chance. I never met him at the drop off point but when we conversed over the communicator, but he sounded young but he seemed firm with his intentions,"

"Thank you for your time," Lei said, feeling pride that she was able to get at least some information. She stood up from her chair and was walking towards the door.

"Oh, and one other thing," Dr. Sheng said, making Lei pause and turn to her, "He says he looks forward to meeting you,"

Lei furrowed her eyebrows in confusion wondering what she meant. She scurried out from the room and into the backroom where Mako and Lin had been listening in.

"Well, that wasn't much to get off with," Mako stated. Lei sighed.

"The buyer paid her good money for him to use it on the Fire Nation. It means he comes from wealth so we can start there at least," Lei breathed out. Mako noticed her sullen mood.

"Do you need your unit with you on this one?" Lin asked, as she was about to exit the room.

"We'll be okay, everyone is coming and I have a few friends at the Fire Nation that can help us out," Lei replied, Lin nodded before leaving the room to escort Dr. Sheng back to her cell.

Mako turned to Lei and pulled her into his arms, she hugged back without saying a word, he spoke, "What's wrong?"

"How can you tell?" Lei mumbled, as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"I've known you for a while, Lei. I can tell when something is wrong. What's the matter?" Mako asked, as he stroked her hair. Lei stepped back.

"I'm worried about this buyer, my family, and the people of my nation. Dr. Sheng barely gave us information and it feels like she knows something we don't," Lei explained, she paused, "Maybe you should stay behind on this one,"

"I'm not letting you go there on your own, we're partners remember?" Mako said, as he put his hands on her shoulders, "You got the whole Team Avatar with you too,"

Lei hugged Mako tightly, as it provided her comfort for the trip ahead of them. As the next day came, the Fire Nation ship had arrived just on schedule on Air Temple Island to transport Team Avatar. Tenzin, Lin, and Lei were discussing the situation as they made their way to the docks.

"Lord Zuko and Firelord Izumi have been made aware of the situation, they're taking the necessary precautions but they said nothing had happened in the one week period," Lin explained, as she walked down the ramp of the docks.

"It doesn't mean that he doesn't know plan on using it. I'll have to stay in the Fire Nation until we can figure out who the buyer is. I can't risk what happened in Gaoling, happening to my people," Lei replied, as she handed one of her luggages to the guards waiting. Kaya boarded the ship with Pabu riding on her back.

"Just be careful, all of you," Tenzin said, before Lei hugged him farewell, she did the same to Lin, he continued, "Try and use some of the time to relax as well, you all deserve the vacation, even if it may be a working one,"

"We will, we'll be back in a couple of weeks," Lei said, before boarding the ship. Mako and Bolin had already boarded, admiring the architecture of the ship.

"Woah, this ship is so awesome!" Bolin said excitedly.

"Its one of the ships my grandmother owned from ages ago, but it was renovated into a more modern look. And if you look closely, you can still see scorch marks from the battles years ago," Lei said, peaking Bolin's interest. He kneeled down on the floor, examining it so close to his eye looking for the scorch marks. Lei chuckled at the sight of him.

"This is a really fancy ship, makes me excited to see the Fire Nation for the first time," Korra said, as she and Asami came out of the dormitory wing.

"I'm excited for this trip, should be a small vacation for all of us," Asami said, as she held Korra's hand.

"Yeah, but we also have to track the buyer that Dr. Sheng sold one of her machines to," Mako reminded, as he and Bolin joined the conversation.

"How are we supposed to find someone that we have no leads on?" Bolin asked, raising the obvious question. Lin hadn't given them much since the Tribunal.

"Dr. Sheng was paid off a good amount of money so it means the buyer is someone of wealth," Lei paused, "We need to observe the citizens carefully as well in case they're brainwashed, we don't know when the buyer plans on using it so we should scout the town every so often for anything or anyone suspicious,"

"I can check out the local mechanic shops, I can find some parts to create a portable mind frequency machine just in case the buyer uses it on anyone," Asami added, Kuvira had showed her what she and Baatar Jr. had worked on to help Mako and Bolin.

"Can you actually turn a big machine like that into a portable one?" Lei asked curiously, Asami nodded.

"It shouldn't be too hard to make it as small as a communicator but it'll take time, if you give me a place to work on it, I can finish it in a few days," Asami answered, Lei nodded.

"It's our vacation too, guys, while scouting we should check out the sceneries and tourist spots," Bolin said excitedly, as he put an arm around his brother, who only rolled his eyes.

"Speaking of visiting tourist spots, I had custom-made attire prepared so you guys are comfortable in the Fire Nation. It can get quite hot at this time of year so its the best I could do with the short time. They should be in your rooms," Lei smiled, Team Avatar grew excited for the special treatment they were receiving.

After a couple hours, the ship was nearing the land of the Fire Nation. The temperature gradually increased, getting hotter by each wave they pass. Team Avatar changed into the clothes that Lei had prepared for them.

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Bolin

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Asami & Korra

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Mako

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Lei

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The Fire Princess was coming home to her nation. It was something that scared Lei as she hadn't been there since the war between the water tribes. It was advised of her by the Firelord to wear the traditional royal clothing. She placed her Fire Pin on her neatly half-tied hair. The foghorn sounded, alarming everyone on the ship that they arrived at their destination. Lei made her way up to the top deck, letting the warm breeze touch her skin. She stopped at the edge of the boat, holding onto the railing as she saw the First Lord's Harbor ahead of the ship. From there, she could see the villages that she had marched through that lead up all the way to Hari Bulkan, the dormant crater that is home to the Fire Nation's wealthiest and most important nobles — Royal Caldera City. Mako and Bolin had joined her on the deck, the latter feeling ecstatic about their arrival.

"wOAH! It looks so much cooler than I thought! Can you believe that this is where Avatar Aang and Firelord Ozai fought," Bolin said excitedly.

"Well, most fights but the final battle was actually in the Wulong Forest," Lei corrected. She turned to Mako who had a sulky expression.

"Everything alright?" Lei asked, as she grabbed his hand. Mako turned to her and lightly smiled.

"This is where my mom grew up," Mako said softly, as he turned back to glance at the Fire Nation. Lei slightly frowned at the mention of his late mother.

"I'll show you everything there is to know about the culture here. I'm sure you'll love it just as your mother did," Lei smiled at him, Mako smiled back.

Korra and Asami had joined the rest of the team on the deck as the boat began to hold to a stop at the docks. A dozen royal soldiers were waiting for their arrival, as well as a few curious traders. As the gangway was lowered to the docks, Team Avatar walked their way down to the dock with Lei leading in front of them. Lei was greeted by one of the soldiers.

"Princess Lei," the soldier said, bowing in front of her with the soldiers behind him mimicking his moves, "The transport will be here shortly,"

"I'm surprised the Head Guard isn't here to greet me, where is she?" Lei asked, the soldier was left without words.

"I'm not quite sure, your highness. She had left before us so we assumed she already arrived," the soldier replied.

"I see, did she get my request regarding the information I'm seeking about a certain buyer?" Lei asked, the soldier nodded.

"We haven't been able to get much information since we've been dealing with a lot of bandits and thieves in the area. The crime rate has increased since you and General Iroh II left. They take it upon themselves to abuse that opportunity," the soldier answered.

Suddenly, the sound of an arrow being shot was heard and the arrow landed between Lei's feet. Mako saw the arrow and instinctively moved her behind him, igniting a fire orb in his hand. The soldiers alarmed, surrounded Lei in defensive positions. Lei bent down to pick up the arrow. She inspected it, it had a black and white feathered end which seemed all too familiar to her. She calmed down from the sight of the arrow and pushed forward, passing Mako and the soldiers.

"Lei, what are you doing?" Mako asked, scared thtat the arrows might fire again. Lei stopped in front of a settling of trees, where it appeared that they arrow may have come from.

"Is that the best you got?" Lei shouted. It was silent for a moment until another sound of an arrow was heard. Lei's reflexes grew quick and shot a fire comet, disintegrating into ash. Another arrow was shot, but this time, it was slow enough just for Lei to grab it by the shaft. Mako stood there feeling concerned and appalled at the same time. Lei turned back to the soldiers. "I'm surprised you don't know the arrows of your own Head Guard,"

The soldiers calmed down, as Lei turned back to the settling of trees, crossing her arms. "You can come out now, Juyin,"

After a few moments, sounds of rustling leaves and bushes. A fair woman with her midnight black hair tied-up neatly approached the group. She had equipped a black long bow with a quiver filled with black and white feathered ended arrows.

"Nice to know your reflexes are still the same, did you age at all?" Juyin laughed, Lei laughed with her.

"Not as much as you have by the looks of it," Lei chuckled, Juyin rolled her eyes as she set her bow at her back to hug her dear friend. The soldiers bowed in her presence but leaving the rest of Team Avatar to process what happened.

"Oh, right. Everyone, meet Juyin. Head Guard of the Royal Procession at the Fire Nation Palace," Lei said, as she gestured to her friend, "And also one of my good friends for years,"

"I'm Korra, and this is my girlfriend, Asami," Korra said, as she took a step towards Juyin. Asami shook hands with Juyin.

"It's truly an honor to meet the Avatar and the company owner of Sato Industries," Juyin said, as she bowed.

"That's Bolin and Opal," Lei said, as she pointed towards her friends. Bolin couldn't help but notice Juyin's weapon and stared in awe.

"I-Is that what I think it is?" Bolin asked in excitement, Juyin glanced to her bow realizing his implication. She smiled and lended her bow to him. Bolin squealed in excitement as he pretended to shoot fake arrows from the bow. 

"Yes, It's a Yuyan Archer bow. My father was a yuyan archer and he trained me. I never miss a shot," Juyin explained, as she lightly chuckled at Bolin. He handed her the bow back and laughed lightly in embarrassment.

"What was those arrows earlier then," Lei smirked, as she crossed her arms at her friend. Juyin scoffed and placed her bow back behind her.

"I meant to miss there because I was testing your skill, did you want me to hit you?" Juyin asked sarcastically. Lei rolled her eyes.

"I'm Mako, Lei's fiancé," Mako said, as he approached her to shake her hand. Juyin smiled cheekily at Lei to tease, who only rolled her eyes.

"You're the talk of the nation, Mako. Everyone is eager to see the man who stole the heart of our very own princess," Juyin added. Mako smiled.

"Should I be concerned of anything?" Mako asked, Juyin shook her head.

"Nothing except for Firelord Izumi's events and galas," Juyin chuckled. A set of Sato Mobiles arrived at the docks. Just like every other part of the world, transportation has gotten more modernized thanks to Sato Industries. "There are a three cars ready for you, we'll take you straight to the palace. The Firelord is eager to greet all of you,"

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I have no excuse for not posting for a year HDJDJDJSJSJS. IM JUST SORRY I FORGOT ABT POSTING. I just have a ton of saved drafts. I originally wanted to complete all of Book 5 and post it all together but I don't know what you guys would prefer? Regardless, I hope all of you are doing well~ I'll do my best to keep updating but writing a plot is hard work so be patient with me T^T

Give me suggestions on what you want to see in Book 5 and I can maybe incorporate it in my writing :))

~luna

PUBLISHED: January 16, 2023