Chapter 4
The sky shone very bright over the Earth Kingdom soil. The sky showed very few clouds and the sun revealed its warm gifts. The atmosphere would have been enjoyable had the newly Fire Nation controlled Omashu not been so visibly distracting.
Aang looked over to the city in pure disbelief. He had only been here a few months ago and Omashu was one of the most well protected cities in the Earth Kingdom. King Bumi, the current ruler of Omashu, is one of the most powerful earthbenders in the world. Aang wondered how could the city had fallen so quickly.
"I can't believe it." Aang said with shocked tone, "I know the War has spread far, but Omashu always seemed… untouchable."
"Up until now it was." Sokka finally pointed out, "Now Ba Sing Se is the only great Earth Kingdom stronghold left."
"This is horrible, but we have to move on." Katara said in a somber tone as she stands next to Aang. The airbender on the other hand did not agree with Katara's words.
"No. I'm going in to find Bumi." Aang stated.
"Aang, stop." Sokka said, "We don't even know if Bumi's still…"
"What? If he's still what?" Aang interrupted him in an angry voice.
"A-around." Sokka replied trying to dance around what he originally was going to say.
Sokka didn't see the reason as to why Aang was so determined to go in there. Sure Bumi was a powerful earthbender but they would be risking themselves by going into the conquered city. They were severely outnumbered. Of course he and Katara had no choice but to follow Aang into Omashu. He sent them to some sort of secret passageway. He would have berated Aang more for not using it earlier when they first came to Omashu but he decided against it when the stench crawled into his nose. While Katara and Aang traversed the sewers with ease through the use of waterbending, Sokka meanwhile was drenched in liquid waste. He hated every moment of it.
Eventually, they entered the city of Omashu but not without some resistance from the local authority. Some guards had interrogated them on why they were wandering around past the city's curfew. Thanks to Aang's friends in the form of pentapuses, the guards left them alone because they assumed Sokka was diseased.
Eventually they were attacked by some crazy girl with insane knife throwing skills. They were saved by some earthbenders who created a hole in the ground which leads them to a tunnel. They were briefed by a man called Yung, who was leader of the Omashu Resistance. According to Yung, Bumi had surrendered the city to the Fire Nation rather than fight for it. This of course made Yung very frustrated, causing him to fight for the freedom of his home.
"Actually there's another path to freedom. You could leave Omashu. You're directing all your energy to fight the Fire Nation." Aang argued, "But you're outnumbered. You can't win. Now's the time to retreat, so you can live to fight another day."
"You don't understand. They've taken our home, and we have to fight them at any cost!" Yung retorted by using a hand gesture to make his point more clear. Before anyone could respond to Yung, a voice called out to him, interrupting the conversation. It was another resistance soldier that acted as a spy. His task was to intercept Fire Nation messages.
"Yung! I have important news to share with you!" The soldier exclaimed.
"What is it soldier?" Yung inquired.
The soldier announced to everyone in the vicinity, "I know this may come to all of you as a shock but..." The soldier hesitated, trying to look for the right words to convey his message, "Apparently the Fire Nation as been conquered and the Fire Lord is dead."
Everyone was simply stunned. Of course they had thought that this was some sort of poor joke.
"Soldier, you do realize that we don't run a comedy stand around here right?" Yung glared at him.
"But it's true Yung! The Fire Nation was conquered by some sort of metal creatures. You can read it for yourself. I ain't kidding." The soldier said with conviction as he hands Yung a scroll detailing what happened to the Fire Nation. Yung took it and began reading over the scroll. After finishing it, Yung simply shook his head.
"This could very well be some sort of trap. To lower our guard so that they can sweep in and end our Resistance." Yung stated.
"I don't know," Sokka intervened, "It seems way too outlandish, even for the Fire Nation. If they wanted to bait us, they would have used a more practical way of doing so. I think there is some truth to this letter."
"I'm surprised you even believe in such a thing Sokka. You're usually the logic kind of guy." Katara said with a smirk, slightly mocking him.
"Very funny Katara." Sokka rolled his eyes, "Considering what we've been through in the past few months, we'd be stupid to ignore something like this."
"Please..." Yung waved his hand trying to dismiss this discussion.
"I think what Sokka is trying to say is that maybe we shouldn't dismiss it right away and that we should look more into it." Aang defended the warrior's point.
"Thank you Aang! Someone gets it!" Sokka exclaimed with joy.
Yung sighed in defeat, "Fine. We'll look more into it. Go check out more information from the local population and authorities."
"Yes Yung!" The soldier bowed and left to do his assignment.
"If the Fire Nation was conquered and the Fire Lord is dead, wouldn't that mean the war is over?" Aang asked in a tone of hopefulness.
"That depends." Yung said.
"On what exactly?" Katara inquired.
"This creature managed to take over the Fire Nation, which means his army is equal or greater in power and scope. Who's to say it would stop there?" Yung stated.
"You mean it might move on to take over the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water Tribe?" Katara questioned.
"Possibly. If it has the ability to take over the Fire Nation, then it's possible it may be preparing to strike us as we speak." Yung concluded.
Katara took a peek at Aang and saw he had a somber look on his face.
"Aang?" Katara asked.
"It's just… I've been preparing to face off the Fire Lord before the comet arrives in the following year. Now the Fire Lord is dead and has been replaced with a threat that could be far more deadlier and powerful. I'm not even prepared to fight the Fire Lord yet these out of nowhere creatures comes and do my job for me." Aang rambled. Everyone looked at the Avatar curious as to what he was getting at. "What if I can't win this one? What if I die from this threat?" He finally asked.
"Then we all are doomed." Yung said.
"Aang," Katara began, "We know you're scared but trust that me and Sokka will always be by your side."
"Yeah Aang," Sokka assured as he grabbed the air nomad's shoulder, "We'll always have your back."
Aang smiled in return, "Thanks guys."
Azula walked towards the circus Ty Lee ran away to. Azula will never understand her friend's reasoning for running away. Sure it may have been difficult for her because she had to compete with six other sisters but competition breeds the best individuals. That was what her father always taught her.
Ty Lee lived a life of luxury being the daughter of a nobleman. Most people in the Fire Nation could only dream of having the riches that Ty Lee had. The fact that she wanted to throw it all away infuriated Azula to an extent. When she first heard about Ty Lee running away from home, she definitely was mad for a few days. Hopefully after this visit, Ty Lee would come to her senses.
Azula walked through the circus. The entire establishment seemed very dirty and very unfitting for a princess such as herself. She looked around trying to find her friend through the camp. She found a very similar figure in pink clothes standing on her index figures. Azula finally found her target.
"Ty Lee, could that possibly be you?" Azula inquired.
"Azula!" Ty Lee exclaimed with joy. In a show of her flexibility, she flipped from her stance and spun in a twirl, doing a graceful bow. She smiled and ran up to Azula and embraced her in a tight hug. "It is so good to see you!"
"Please, don't let me interrupt your… whatever it is you were doing." Azula raised her eyebrows. She actually did wonder what Ty Lee what doing with her fingers. Ty Lee continued to do her routine.
"Tell me, what is the daughter of a nobleman doing here?" Azula continued, "Certainly our parents didn't send us to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls to end up in… places like this."
Azula looked at the platypus bear in disgust as it laid an egg. Ty Lee on the other hand was grinning at the sight while laying on the ground.
"I have a proposition for you." Azula stated. This got Ty Lee's attention as she looked away from the egg. "I am hunting a traitor. You remember my old fuddy-duddy uncle, don't you?" Azula said while looking at her nails.
"Your uncle is a traitor? How come? He was a funny guy." Ty Lee inquired.
"He contributed to the Fire Nation's defeat at the North Pole. Zuko is also included in the hunt due to his constant string of failures. I would be very honored if you join me on my mission." Azula said.
"I don't know…" Ty Lee murmured, "I'm quite happy where I am. Besides, you're pretty strong on your own. It's not like the Fire Nation is in trouble or something like that."
Azula's mouth twitched slightly at her words. She needed Ty Lee to be by her side. Usually, she would intimidate Ty Lee into doing whatever she wanted. It would seem she would have to use other means. She pulled out the letter she had received and handed it over to Ty Lee. Ty Lee took the letter with confusion.
"The letter there claims that the Fire Nation has been conquered by some sort of other worldly creatures," Azula told her as she read through the letter. "If my father turns out to be… no longer with us, then I will be targeted because I am a part of the royal family. Now do you see why I need your help Ty Lee? I need someone who will have my back."
"Gee Azula, I…" Ty Lee stammered.
"Please?" Azula implored as she held Ty Lee hands with hers.
Ty Lee sighed, "I guess I can take a break from the circus."
"Thank you Ty Lee. I will surely repay you some day." Azula smiled.
"Anything for any friend of mine." Ty Lee smiled back, "So what's the plan?"
"We will be going to Omashu to reunite with Mai of course. Her skills with throwing knives will make a fine addition to our arsenal." Azula stated.
"Oh great! I haven't seen Mai in a while! This reunion will be awesome!" Ty Lee proclaimed with excitement.
"Yes. It will be nice to see her again. Come now Ty Lee, we leave for Omashu." Azula said as she turned to leave for her palanquin.
"Wait." Ty Lee said. Azula stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Ty Lee. "Are you sure that the Fire Nation was conquered? It could be propaganda."
"Omashu is now Fire Nation territory." Azula said, "If the reports do match with what the letter said…"
"Then what will you do?" Ty Lee inquired.
"Don't worry Ty Lee," Azula smiled at her. "I will construct a plan when we have enough information."
"I always do..." Azula mused.
Author's Note:
Sorry for the short chapter. The next one will be long. Azula and Ty Lee will hook up with Mai, Grievous learns more about the Avatarverse, Zuko and Iroh learn about Grievous, and our girls meet the Gaang for the first time.
Readers in the previous chapter were saying that Iroh might be force sensitive. I know it seemed that way but that's not the case. Iroh is highly spiritual and could sense events, like Azula lightningbending. Iroh probably could feel Grievous' presence and Ozai's death.
Till the next chapter!