Erm... Really sorry, there, I know I said I'd get the one with Ozai up soon, but I couldn't, and this one kinda wrote itself. It was originally intended to be from Iroh's point of view, but I thought that it would be better seen through the eyes of a random soldier. He could be any Firebender we see throughout the series. Actually... you know, I think I'm going to like this story.
No offense meant to Earth Kingdom supporters, Than's just a Fire Nation guy, he can't help it that he was always taught that they stunk. I'm an Earth Element myself, so you can imagine how much writing that stunk.
Dedication: Because you complained, and obsessed, and grumbled, and whined. But you were still a friend I could never lose.
Than wished he had never been born.
Or had just stayed in the nice, warm, comfortable Fire Nation instead of going to the smelly old Earth Kingdom to rot. That would be nice too.
And why did it rain in the Earth Kingdom? It almost never rained in the Fire Nation, so when it did, it was a novelty. It was amazing, and everyone loved it. Something new. Almost every time it rained, you could see a small child experiencing the event for the first time. Than and his brothers and sisters always used to run outside, just to feel the strange sensation of water soaking through their clothes and smacking their skin. Water. From the sky. Amazing.
Than hated the rain now. It rained so much in the Earth Kingdom. His older brother Shen had told him that it was rainy season. He had said that as soon as they got into Ba Sing Se, things would get better. They'd be indoors, for one thing.
Unfortunately, there was the small problem that they weren't getting into Ba Sing Se. And the last time they had tried, Shen had been killed.
Than had tried to get through to the Earthbender who had done it, but he couldn't. So now Shen was dead, and he couldn't even be avenged in the traditional means of their people.
Sometimes, Than really hated his life.
And to make things better, he still hadn't gotten around to telling their parents. General Iroh would be sending an official letter any day now, and if Than wanted them to hear it from him first, he had better get out that quill and parchment.
But he didn't want to. He was tired, he was wet, and some part of him didn't want his parents getting a letter that smelled of Earth Kingdom. The Earth Kingdom was filthy.
Of course, the letter that the General sent would smell of Earth Kingdom just as much as his would. But that didn't make it any better.
Anyway, there was no way the General would be writing a letter any time soon. He and a select few elite Firebenders had snuck into the city and were attempting to take it from the inside.
Than, of course, wasn't an elite Firebender, so if he wanted to beat the General to writing the letter, then he should get on it now, while Iroh was away.
He just didn't want to.
"Well, they have to know somehow," his friends reminded him. "You should just write it and get it over with. It's not like you'll be able to tell them in person anytime soon, anyway."
That was true. But he didn't have to like it.
"What do you want, Than?" they asked him. "You don't want to tell them, but you don't want them to hear it from anyone else, either."
"I just want to go home," Than muttered.
"But then we wouldn't have Ba Sing Se!" they would exclaim. "We wouldn't have victory if we turned around and ran. We can't go home until we have victory. If we don't have victory, what do we have?"
"Nothing," Than would reply time and again. This was a well-known fact in the Fire Nation. Ever since he was old enough to talk, people had asked him that question, as it was with every child in the Fire Nation.
And the answer was always the same.
"I wish this was all over," he told them sometimes.
"It will be," they replied in what they thought was a comforting manner. "Soon, we will break the wall. It has been over five hundred days. They will fall soon. Soon we will have Ba Sing Se. Soon we will have victory."
Soon, Than told himself, we will be home.
Except he knew that wasn't going to happen. That was what they said when he had arrived. "We've been here for over a hundred days, now, Than, we'll be home soon."
That's what Shen had said when he had arrived. "They've been here for over two hundred days, now, Than, we'll be home soon."
The three hundredth day passed without comment, except for the everlasting "Soon there will be victory." By then, the sentiment that soon they would be home went unexpressed.
Four hundred days came and went without a problem. "We have to get home soon, right, Shen?" Than had asked pleadingly as they watched the five hundredth day dawn.
"Soon there will be victory, Than," was all that Shen could say.
It wasn't until weeks later that Than would notice that his brother had said nothing of home. Only victory. That was all there was. Without victory, there would be no home. There would be nothing.
And then, on the five hundred and eighty-ninth day, Shen died.
"Your brother's sacrifice will not be in vain," they told him. "Soon we will have victory."
By now, Than wasn't even expecting them to say anything of home. Victory. Break through the walls, and they would have Ba Sing Se. Take Ba Sing Se, and they would have victory. And as soon as they had victory, they would have something, something other than the endless round of 'soon's and fruitless promises marking the number of days they had been there.
After the five hundred and ninetieth day passed, Than stopped counting. There was no point in numbers. Numbers were not victory, numbers were not soon. Victory would get them home. Nothing else.
And then, one day, the elite team returned... without General Iroh or his son, Lu Ten. What had happened to the two royals was unknown.
There was no question of leaving without their leaders. But as the days passed, and the rain began to abate into a different season, everyone became a little restless. When will we go home? they wondered. And perhaps someone from another nation would have said that, but the Fire Nation was stronger.
"When will we achieve victory?" they asked.
But nobody had an answer.
And as the days continued to flow past them, their questions changed.
"When will we go home?" they asked.
But nobody had an answer.
Finally, one day, someone who did arrived. General Iroh had returned. The questions quickly changed, and all hint of weakness was erased.
But one brave man who Than didn't know asked the question.
"General Iroh?" he asked. "When will we go home?"
This question had been asked before, countless times. Everyone prepared to see the General straighten up as he always did and roar "When we achieve victory!"
But he didn't.
"Home..." he murmured. "I think it's time we went home..."
"But why?" someone asked, shocked. "We haven't achieved victory yet!"
"I am tired," General Iroh replied softly. "We are all tired." He paused for a moment, as everyone waited for him to finish. Tired was not an excuse. Weakness was no substitute for victory.
"There is nothing that can be gained from Ba Sing Se sufficient to replace what we have lost to these walls. Victory is nothing."
No ripple of whispers brushed through the gathering people as it should have. They couldn't say anything.
Victory was nothing? But there was nothing without victory...
Without victory, Than had spent years in a strange country he hated. He had lost his brother, and hadn't seen his surviving family since his departure.
And they still hadn't achieved victory. Maybe... just maybe... someday, something would make up for that. To replace what he had lost. If that was possible. But for now...
For now, they were going home.
