Planned Executions
Two weeks had passed since Hong and his group of "solders" landed in the Fire Nation and begun their mission of revenge. Just a few days ago this detachment of the Army of Fuchou had attacked and destroyed the Fire Nation village of Wu Dow, leaving the once proud town in ruins and dozens dead in their wake. Among the dead was an Fire Nation admiral who was involved in the massacre of 700 civilians during the war. The Earth Kingdom had originally demanded that said admiral be handed over so that he could be tried of his crimes. But the Fire Nation had failed to do so and the admiral had managed to escape justice.
But his past finally caught up to the admiral when Hong and his men raided the village, caught hold of him and when they did, all the men there proceeded to do unspeakable horrors to the poor man before finally jabbing a healthy looking dagger into his heart and hoisting his lifeless and mutilated body in the town's center for all to see. When that was done Hong and his men took all the supplies that they could carry, while destroying what they could not before they headed off back into the thick forest that blanketed the country side .
Ever since then they had been on the move, sticking to the thick forest foliage for cover and avoiding any patrols they came across. But today that was not the case for as they arrived near a river, the saw that a group of about a hundred or so solders had set up camp at the rivers edge. Possibly these solders were out here looking for them. Normally Hong and his men would try to avoid contact with any and all patrols they would come across, but Hong thought it would be best to send another message that the Army of Fuchou was not a group to be taken lightly.
Silently, Hong motioned for some of the Dai Li that were with them to come to the front and aim there trade mark iron fists towards the men closest to to them. These former Dai Li agents were not the same ones that had betrayed the Earth King near the end of the war, they had in fact been members of the resistance movement that had fought against the Fire Nation when Ba Sing Se fell. They would have been treated has heroes when the war ended but thanks to the betrayal of there fellow agents, the Earth Kingdom now considered all Dai Li as traitors and enemies on the state. As a result, known members had been hunted down and either arrested or imprisoned even if they were not apart of the group that had switched sides to the Fire Nation.
Now this particular group of former Dai Li were about to gain there revenge once again on the Nation that caused their down fall. Each one of them leveled their fists and with one swift movement, launched their deadly projectiles at their unsuspecting targets.
Each fist found their targets, with devastating results. One fist struck a solder in his back and exited through his stomach, sending his internal organs exploding out of his body. Another solder had his right arm ripped off his shoulder, spraying blood every where and sending him screaming to the ground. A third man was fortunate as his head exploded as the fist struck . He never knew what hit him.
All over the camp scenes like these were repeated over and over, sending the normally fearless Fire Nation solders into a panic. They got into their fighting stances and prepared to face this unknown threat, but instead of being greeted by a group of men, a number of them saw what looked like disk coming towards them before every thing went black. Their fellow solders could only look on in horror as the "disks" covered their heads in a black cloth as the sharp blades that were located on the rim of the covering retracted and when they did, the coverings were pulled off by a chain. Leaving headless solders as a result.
The remaining solders, after seeing what had just happened to their friends, tried to run to safety and dive into the river. But all of them were struck down with more of the Dai Li's fists with predictable results, save for one who had managed to to dive in and be washed away by the powerful currents.
When it was all over, the once green grass was now stained with the blood of the slain solders, while the air was filled with the agonizing screams and groans of the survivors of the attack. But soon they were all silenced when the sound of a blade being removed from it's holster, followed by the sound of flesh being sliced. All was now silent.
"Two minutes" Hau mused, as he along with Hong and the rest of the group came out of the forest and admired their handy work, "Two minutes and we took out an entire patrol. Not bad."
" Then again it was a smaller patrol than what we have seen in the past few days." Hong added, as he bent down and looked at one of the bodies.
"True, we will have to move faster the next time around." Hau commented, "You think that letter we sent to the Fire Lord would work?"
"So far we have noticed that there as been a sizable increase in the number of patrols in the area and there is no reason to not to believe that Zuko has not increased the number of solders in each village and town that he thinks that we will attack." Hong answered.
"All the while leaving our real objective defenseless and ripe for the taking." Hau smiled.
"Not completely defenseless, Hau." Hong reminded his counterpart, "Only weakened. Zuko is not a fool, he will spread his forces thin, but he will not just send out all of his solders and leave one area unprotected just to defend another."
"True," Hau agreed, "But I am certain that we will be ready when we begin the final act in our plan."
"And when we do, both Ember island and Wu Dow will pale compared to what we have planned." Hong declared, as her walk toward the river bank and watch the water as it flowed by. "Get rid of the bodies, leave no trace that we were ever here."
All the men answered in agreement and proceeded to to dispose of the bodies by using their earth bending to bury the bodies, as well as any signs that a patrol ever there or attacked. Every thing from the dismembered bodies to their equipment were all swallowed up by the earth, never to see daylight again. Then when all the evidence was disposed of Hau, Hong and the rest of their men melted back into the forest. Leaving no sign that they or the patrol were ever there at all.
((( )))
News about the attack on Wu Dow village spread like wild fire through out the Fire Nation and it was not long before Zuko began to feel the heat, as messenger hawks came in from all the regional governors, demanding that more solders be sent to their areas to prevent any more attacks. Not to mention Zuko was now being besieged by his critics in the royal court, saying that his cuts in the military budget that he made had left the Fire Nation weak and as a result, open to these attacks. Saying that Zuko had blood of his own people and that he should be removed from the throne because of his actions.
And if that were not enough, Zuko had yet still to respond to this groups demands that the Fire Nation hands over all war criminals to to the Earth Kingdom for trial, or be faced with more attacks and deaths. But the Fire Lord could not just hand these men over and be done with the whole mess, a number of them still had the loyalty of their men and if Zuko were to make a move towards them, he could have a possible uprising and civil war to worry about.
The strain of all these events had begun to take its toll on the young Fire Lord and it was starting to show. Ever since he had been informed about the attack on Wu Dow village, Zuko had been going into marathon meetings and think tanks with top military and political advisers to deal with the situation at hand. Which seemed to be getting grimmer and grimmer as the days passed and no new reports came in, his armies had not been able to track down or locate the troublesome group. While the avatar had yet to contact him and it had been days since he had left the palace.
But what was worse, a number of Zuko's opponents and critics had begun to take advantage of the embattled Fire Lord. They had even begun to organize rallies in the streets of the capital, demanding that he step down as Fire Lord. Needless to say, Zuko had suffered many sleepless nights and his marathon sessions with his advisers had begun to take its toll on the young royal. A fact that had a certain young woman very worried indeed.
Even though Mai had full confidence in her loves ability to deal with this current crisis, she was starting to worry about his health. He had not have more than 3 hours of sleep in the last two weeks and he had hardly been at the table for breakfast with her as well.
As she quietly looked at Zuko from her vantage point at the door, Mai could only wonder just what was going through Zuko's head at that very moment. With the meetings, the rallies and the fact that there was still a militant group on the loose, his mind was possibly a flood of emotions.
"Zuko?" Mai said softly, as she cautiously entered her lover's study, "Zuko, are you alright?"
"Wha...? oh Mai." Zuko said quickly, slightly startled by his girlfriend's voice.
"Zuko," Mai began, "you have been in here for hours and it is almost time for dinner."
"I will have the servants bring it in here for me." Zuko replied, as he resumed looking at the documents that were spread out on the table before him.
"Zuko, don't you think it would be better if you had dinner with me in the dinning room instead of alone in your study?" Mai asked, as she came up to his desk and leaned on it.
"I am sorry, but I have important things to tend to right now and I just can not leave." Zuko replied, as he continued to look at the documents.
Mai bean to scowl a bit, "Zuko, I know you have a lot on your mind but working yourself into the ground is not the answer." she reasoned.
"Mai, if you have not noticed there is a militant group roaming around the country, a group of generals and officers that can have me removed as Fire Lord if I moved against them and a group of politicians that want me removed as Fire Lord. So if I am too busy to join you for dinner then that can't be helped" Zuko replied, his voice sounding a bit annoyed.
"Now listen here, Fire Lord Zuko!" Mai snapped, causing Zuko to jump a bit, "I know that you have a lot to worry about and that there are many that want to see you gone. But that is no excuse to shut your self in you study and act like a hermit frog! Now unless you want me to drag you out of here, I suggest that you tear yourself away from your work and have dinner with me. Do I make my self clear?" Mai leaned in and glared at him.
Zuko was in a stunned silence as he stared into the eyes of his lover. Mai was giving him the look, the look that said that she was truly angry at him and despite being the Fire Lord, a position that demanded respect from all and exuded power, Zuko was defenseless against his lover's glare.
" Mai," Zuko began, "I am sorry for sounding the way I did. I guess I could use a break form all this."
"It's okay, Zuko. I can only imagine just what you are going through right now." Mai said, her tone softening as she came in and hugged him.
Zuko returned the hug and embraced the woman he loved saying, "It's just that... I really don't see just how am I going to get out of this one. I can't do one thing with out getting one or more groups to turn against me. If I hand over the wanted men to the Earth Kingdom I could have a civil war on my hands. But if I don't hand them over the attacks would continue and more people will be killed needlessly."
"You will come up with something," Mai reassured him, "You are one of the smartest persons I know. Now.. I want you to march out of here and strait to the dinning room so we can have a nice dinner together. Do I make my self clear?" a small but playful smile creeping across her face.
All Zuko could do was smile in return and obey his girlfriend, as he left his study and with Mai, made there way to dinner. Maybe a little break could help him clear his head, or ot least that was what Zuko hoped.
((( )))
As the world's last flying bison flew it's way over the Fire Nation landscape, its lone passenger and avatar was lost in deep thought. Ever since he left the capitol, Aang mind had been a flood of emotions since Zuko told him that a he had granted a number of Fire Nation war criminals amnesty from prosecution in the Earth Kingdom just to secure his position as Fire Lord, had the avatar crossed.
On one hand, Zuko needed to secure his place as Fire Lord so that he could rebuild his country. But on the other hand, Zuko had allowed a number of war criminals amnesty just to do so and as a result, cause friction between his nation and the Earth Kingdom at a time when he was trying to rebuild the ties that once existed before the war. At first Aang was angry with Zuko's decision to not have those men arrested and charged for what they had done. But as the days passed and Aang began to put some real thought into it, he soon realized that Zuko did not have really much of a choice.
He remembered what Zuko had told him that how many of these men stilled had the loyalty of their troops despite no longer being in the military. They had basically threatened to overthrow Zuko if he had tried to arrest them and if that were to happen, then a civil war could have possibly broken out in the Fire Nation and if that were to happen, then it would have been only a matter of time before the Earth Kingdom and quite possibly the Water Tribes were brought into it and it was more that likely that they would take full advantage of their former foe's situation.
It was not like Zuko wanted to lets those men go free, it was just that he was thinking about the well being of the Fire Nation and it's people and he doubted that who ever had replaced Zuko with would have the well being of the people in mind when they took power. But because of these men threats of a civil war, there was now a group in the Fire Nation hunting them down and did not care just who they killed in the process.
Aang was now on a mission the find these men and stop them before any one else was hurt, but he did not know just where to look nor did he know what to do once he found them. The last thing Aang wanted to do was confront these men in a fight, even though he could easily defeat them. But Aang did not even know what just to say once he met them, many of them had their own reasons for hating the Fire Nation as they did and Aang doubted that could be the one to convince them to lay down arms and surrender. Considering that many of them already thought of Aang as a traitor and Zuko's patsy. Aang truly did not know what to do, and it scared him. Just how do you convince a group of earth benders that had been victims of the Fire Nation that seeking vengeance against them is not the right way to go even though the same nation had destroyed their lives?
It was then Aang had an idea, maybe there was a way that the avatar could end this crisis without any more blood shed while at the same time seek justice for the crimes that were committed during the war and ensuring that Zuko set of power could not be threatened.
The generals had threatened Zuko if he had move to have them arrested. But if was the avatar to be the one who "arrested" these men and handed them over the Earth Kingdom, then said officers would not be able to carry out there threats against the Fire Lord. Seeing that he had on real affiliaton with any nation. When that was done, maybe the Army of Fuchou would decide to return to the Earth Kingdom considering that that they no longer had any targets to go after. From there, General Chao and his intelligence network could track down and locate the leaders of the militant group and deal with them as seen fit.
But first, Aang would have to return to the Fire Nation capitol to meet with Zuko and tell him what he had planned, as well as to get a list of all those who were wanted by the Earth Kingdom so that he could track them down himself and get to them before any one else did. It was a long shot at best, but Aang thought it was the only way he could end this. With a slight manipulation of Appa's harness, Aang changed course amd made his way back towards the Fire Nation capitol.
But as Aang began his long flight back to the palace, a large group of men stood on a mountain overlooking the Fire Nation capitol.
There next target.
