Erosion

Chapter Three

Captain Liwei glared down at his would be victim. Normally a little struggling made it more fun, but she was pushing it to extremes. It was apparently time to remind this peasant and all those watching, what would happen when they forgot their places.

"Um, excuse me."

He lifted his gaze to see a tall young woman standing there.

"I'm not from around here and I realize that the local customs might be different, but… I don't think she wants to go with you."

Liwei grinned and gave silent thanks to the fire spirits for sending him such a perfect moron to make an example of.

"You do realize that you are violating the laws of common decency, don't you? Even Firelord Ozai frowns on rape. In fact, I believe that he disapproves of even consensual fraternization. Us being a lesser people and all, I think he considers it akin to beastiality."

Liwei let go of the girl's arm. Something was wrong here. This woman was being way too confident for a simple peasant. And her black hair was cut boyishly short, typical for a warrior, not a farmer. The villagers had probably pooled together their money and hired a mercenary or a pirate to take care of him. She was most likely an earthbender too. Well that was fine. What better to further crush the hopes of these people than to defeat one of their own kind? He smirked at her. "Around here I make the rules. What do you intend to do about it?"

Anko internally grinned as she saw the village girl move out of the way, running to the sheltering arms of her mother. As sick as it was, she was actually glad to run into a man like Liwei. He fanned the familiar flames of hatred inside of her. A fire that had become rather small since her first battle. A fire that had nearly gone out with her first kill. A fire of hatred that had been doused as that Fire Nation soldier's blood splattered across her face, as his last gasping breath wheezed from his lungs. King Bumi had been right; nothing could have prepared her for it. With her first kill she had realized that these weren't the faceless monsters that had killed her father and had committed thousands of atrocities. Suddenly they had faces, suddenly they were men, not really so different from the ones that followed her orders. With that realization, her blind hatred of all that was Fire Nation had diminished somewhat.

But people like Liwei, she could still hate. He was the very definition of a Fire Nation monster, the exact reason why she had come to the mainland. She allowed her grin to emerge. It was almost feral. "I'd challenge you to an honor duel," she taunted, "but you don't appear to have any."

The Fire Nation Captain returned her grin with a sneer. Starting to cautiously line the street were the villagers. They were about to get a quick lesson in humility. He didn't hesitate. With a swift forward jab he shot a fireball at the interloper. "Challenge accepted."

The fireball streaked between them; the woman was too close to dodge. She didn't even try. Stomping a foot hard on the ground, she raised an earthen barrier, the fiery blast colliding harmlessly with it. The barrier cracked, then shattered; the pieces hovering in the air for a moment before flying back towards him. He spun out of the way, ducking down at the same time, using his own momentum to launch an arc of fire towards the woman's legs. The ground trembled; a column of dirt rose high into the sky carrying the earthbender out of harm's way.

Then the base cracked and the structure fell, apparently trying to crush him. Again he dodged but the woman jumped off the top of the earthen column, her heel extended in a kick. He just barely had time to react, stopping short so she flew over his head. She twisted and tucked. As she flipped over top of him the earth followed the arc of her foot, rising up off the ground in a narrow thread to whip him on his chin. He staggered backwards as blood dribbled down his neck. She skidded across the ground, coiled like a spring and launched herself back at him. Desperately he raised a wall of fire between them. She stopped, but her attack didn't. A rock the size of a cantaloupe shot effortlessly through the blaze, impacting and dislocating his left shoulder.

Liwei gave a yelp of pain; his arm hung limply to his side. The fire wall flickered and went out. He stared at the woman. He saw no mercy in her black eyes. Why my left arm? Is she… playing with me? No, that couldn't be it. It had been a lucky blow, that was all. He could still win this. And if not, well, that's what his soldiers were for.

The earthbender stood in a relaxed stance. She raised an eyebrow at him. Enraged at her cocky attitude he snapped his right arm up, sending a fire whip at her. She rolled to her left, and then dodged right as a fireball streaked by her. She slammed both hands onto the ground. The earth rumbled and shook, a crack opening up and shooting towards his feet, widening as it neared him. He jumped to the side, pain searing through his body as another thrown rock impacted with his knee. Landing poorly, Liwei staggered, trying desperately to maintain his footing. The ground didn't give him the chance. It changed from hard packed clay to soft silty soil. He started to sink. No longer having the power in his legs to jump clear, he tried to grab for the edge of the sinkhole with his remaining good arm. He heard the crunching of feet as the earthbender casually strolled over.

"How does it feel… to be helpless? Are you enjoying it? Is this fun?" The words dripped with sarcastic malice. She crouched, bringing her face closer to his. "How does it feel to be a victim? To know that I could crush you like an insect if I wanted to." He took a breath but she clenched her fist; the earth around his midsection squeezed, preventing him from belching fire at her. Smirking, she rose. "How does it feel… to be impotent?"

Despite the distraction of the duel, Anko had maintained her awareness of her surroundings. The combat had attracted another, far larger group of firebenders. They all stared at her and the sight of their Captain half buried in earth. One of them tensed for action, then froze; the sharp point of a blade suddenly poked his side. "I wouldn't," a baritone voice warned. The soldier risked glancing backwards. He and his group were flanked by a smaller number of men, all in plain clothes, some with weapons, and some in earthbending stances. Uncertain as to what to do, he looked down the street to the group of four firebenders, who were apparently still free to act. The earthbender in the street also looked that way. She raised a questioning brow at the one with the eyepatch and scar.

Anko knew that Hachi had the larger group under control; this smaller group was her problem. The scarred firebender met her eyes, and then looked at his Captain, the man who had burned him. He frowned, and then straightened. "Stand down," he ordered. "This was a duel. Captain Liwei accepted her challenge and was honorably defeated. We have no right to interfere."

"Treacherous dog! Have you forgotten that you no longer have any rank? Arrest this woman. That's an order!" Captain Liwei shouted from his semi-sunken position. Once again the earth tightened around him, forcing him to gasp for breath.

Anko's gaze remained fixed on the group of four firebenders and their burned leader but she spoke loud enough for the entire audience to hear. "I am Captain Anko of the Omashu 126th. Who is in command here?"

Silence. Then one of the smaller group pushed the scarred one forward. "I am former Lieutenant Shu. I guess I qualify."

Anko gave the man a ghost of a smile. "Further combat will gain you nothing but corpses Lieutenant. Surrender now."

There was a loud explosion from the hills, the reverberation vibrating through the bodies of the people in the village. The earth trembled as more explosions followed. A cloud of smoke and dust could be seen rising above the trees. Wide-eyed, everyone looked towards the mine area, all except the members of the 126th.

"Gee, there's the signal," Hachi grumbled sarcastically. "I guess we should move against the firebenders now."

Anko ignored him. Her original plan had called for Pyron's men to act first; blowing up the mines with explosives to make it appear to be an accident instead of an attack. When the soldiers in town moved to respond, Anko and her group of plain clothed troops would ambush them, using distraction and surprise to make up for their lack of numbers. It had been a good plan. Still, what did Hachi expect? For her to allow the girl to be assaulted while they awaited Pyron's signal?

"That was the sound of the mines being caved in. Surrender and you will be allowed to return to your ship so that you can report to your superiors that the coal in this town is now beyond Fire Nation reach."

Lieutenant Shu hesitated. He looked at the larger group of firebenders which constituted the majority of Fire Nation troops stationed in the town. The earthbenders surrounding them were in plain clothes; there was no telling how many other soldiers were about. And if the Earth Kingdom forces had indeed blown up the mines, that meant the Fire Nation troops stationed there also had been captured. Then there was the fact that this woman had defeated Captain Liwei, with apparent ease. She was right; fighting would probably gain him nothing. Slowly he raised his hands over his head. One by one, the rest of the firebenders followed suit.

"Sergeant, dispatch some men to round up the remaining Fire Nation soldiers."

"Already been done."

Anko nodded approvingly at the man.

"And what of Captain Liwei?" Shu asked.

Anko looked down at her captive, who had sunken up to his armpits in her trap. "He has committed crimes beyond the boundaries of tolerable war behavior upon these people. It only seems fitting that they decide his fate." Anko gestured; one of her men brought forth a set of chains and shackles. With a sweeping motion of her arms, she used the earth surrounding the firebender to lift him up and hold him in place as he was bound.

"Shu, you traitor, how dare you betray me like this. It's just a couple of dirt pushing grubs! Fight men; that's an order!" His angry tirade was cut off in a painful cry as his dislocated left shoulder was pulled and cuffed behind him. The young earthbender followed it up with a gag. The larger group of firebenders stirred but didn't act on their Captain's orders. Shu hadn't been the only one disgusted by the man's behavior; he had simply been the only one brave enough to challenge it.

Another rumble shook the earth. Anko had ordered Pyron to make sure the mines were utterly unsalvageable. It was the only way to discourage the Fire Nation's return. Leaving Captain Liwei under earthbender guard, she and the rest of her plain clothes men rounded up and escorted their prisoners to the harbor, watching as the smaller landing boats ferried the firebending soldiers back to the larger ship anchored in the bay. Lieutenant Pyron and his group soon joined them, using mine carts hauled by rhinos to bring the defeated Fire Nation soldiers that had been guarding the mines down to the bay. Anko did a quick count to make sure all of her men were accounted for. The village men who had been forced into working the mines trailed behind the rhinos on foot. They all seemed to be unharmed, albeit very filthy. Joyous cries filled the air as their families swept them up in heartfelt hugs. Anko smiled a little; moments like these made it all worthwhile.

"Er, Captain? The village headman wants to see you." She nodded and moved away from the bay, following the soldier back towards the center of town. Standing in the middle of the street, very near the location in which she had defeated Captain Liwei, was an older man. His clothes were fine, far finer than those worn by his people and his grey hair was pulled up into a topknot, bound by a gold ring. He was leaning against a similarly topped cane. The dark-haired woman frowned slightly as she approached; something here didn't seem right. For one, the headman was clearly far better off than the citizens of his town. For two, instead of an expression of happiness, he was wearing an expression of rage.

Anko glanced about. Some of Liwei's errant fireballs had done some damage to the nearby wooden buildings, but it didn't appear to be too serious. Her own earthbending had also caused damage to the street, but again, it wasn't anything that couldn't be easily fixed. As she drew near the headman, his thick, furry eyebrows pulled downward. He gave her a good once over, his eyes lingering in places Anko didn't really appreciate.

"You?" he said finally in an incredulous tone. "You are the leader of this unit?"

Anko suppressed a sigh. She was often misjudged due to her relative youth and gender. She tried to keep her voice neutral. "I am Captain Anko. I'm in charge of the Omashu 126th. I was told that you wanted to speak with me."

The headman started to wag a stubby finger at her, an act that instantly made Anko dislike the man. With an effort, she reminded herself to keep a calm, cool head; just as her Grandfather and King Bumi had taught her. "Now look here young lady, I want to speak to the person in charge. The one who authorized you to destroy our mines."

"It's Captain Anko," she replied firmly, "And I am the one who authorized that action."

"You stupid child! By what right do you come into our town and ruin our only means of livelihood?"

"You call being ruled over by the Fire Nation a "livelihood?"

"How dare you judge us! When Ba Sing Sei asked for our young and strong earthbenders, we proudly sent them off to do their duty. But when we were taken over by the Fire Nation five years ago, no soldiers came to help. We held on to hope for years, but our town wasn't important enough to be rescued. Instead, we were isolated and cut off from the rest of the Kingdom, avoided by our own people!"

Anko glanced around. Some of the villagers were standing and watching them. It was true; even though they had just been liberated, they still had dead, hopeless eyes. She furrowed her brows down. It was a difficult situation, to be sure, but what did the old man want her to do, go back in time and then invade the town? "Better late than never," she murmured softly.

"Oh, you think so, so you?" He jabbed her in the chest with the tip of his cane. "Well, let me tell you something, young lady. When our Earth Kingdom brethren failed to come through for us, we came to have an understanding with the Fire Nation. Sure, they took our coal, but they also spent their money in our town. Look around you! This land isn't fertile enough for farming, the trading caravans and ships have long ago ceased to come… the only thing you have "liberated" us from is our only means of economic survival."

Anko stared at the man. The feeling of satisfaction she once had ebbed away under his angry glare. She straightened to her full height and allowed some steel into her tone. "I don't care how much money they spent here. No amount of money could possibly be enough to compensate for the young girls who got dragged screaming from their houses. You can't stand here and tell me that your economic survival was worth sacrificing your children for."

"Captain Liwei was… an unfortunate occurrence. But he would have gone away in time. What I want to know is what you intend to do about the mess you've made here, Captain."

"Father, please stop it." A female a little younger than Anko approached. Like her father, she too was dressed in clothes far and away better than those worn by the rest of the town.

"Liselle, go back to the house. This doesn't concern you."

"No, I've turned my back on the situation here for far too long. If Liwei had chosen me as a victim, would you be able to dismiss his behavior so easily? I've had to live with the shame of knowing that my friends lived in fear, while I was safe because of who my father is. This woman and her men have freed us from that fear. We should be grateful."

"You were getting kickbacks, weren't you?" This voice belonged to Pyron, who came to stand slightly behind his Captain. "The Fire Nation paid you extra so that you would insure the cooperation of your people." He snorted at the man, "You disgust me. And you dare stand there in self righteous indignation and try to blame us for your problems!"

Anko raised a hand and cut her Lieutenant off. She made a sweeping motion with her arms, raising herself up on a short column made of earth. She looked out over the gathered villagers, the headman and his daughter. Taking a deep breath and then letting it out slowly, she addressed them all. "I will not stand in judgment of you. You did what you felt was necessary in order to survive. But the reality is this: the Fire Nation is gone and most likely will not be back. What you do with your lives from this day on is up to you. You can sit here and sulk or you can pick yourselves up and move forward. It's up to you to decide."

A long howl split the air. The villagers in the street gasped and fled as a large, lanky wolfen form came trotting down the street. "Kip." Anko dissolved her column, returning to ground level to await the hybrid's arrival. Kip was a wolf-dog, a cross between a bloodhound and a wolf. Able to detect and track a specific scent for miles, strong enough to defend and deliver the messages they bore; these half-breeds were perfect for finding and delivering messages to mobile units like the 126th. Kip was their wolf-dog, trained to find and track Anko's unique scent and to deliver his message only to her. It wasn't a perfect system, but it worked well enough.

The large wolf like beast growled at the villagers, his bared white fangs sending even the bravest running for their homes. "By the way," Anko called after the fleeing headman, "I get my orders from him." If the man heard her, he gave no indication.

Pyron patted her on the shoulder. "Don't let jerks like him get you down, Captain. We did some real good here."

Anko just shrugged. She wanted to believe he was right but her satisfaction in their victory here was tainted. Stooping, she extended her hand to Kip, nervously allowing the wolf-dog to sniff it. Satisfied that he had the right human, Kip stopped growling and sat, wagging his long bushy tail as she removed the leather bound message tube from his back.

"New orders?" Pyron asked.

"New orders," Captain Anko confirmed.