Ch 12

Zuko approached Aang's tent and stopped, almost apprehensive. Sucking it up, he walked inside and saw Aang putting his armor on.

"For a second, I anticipated walking in on you and mom." Zuko said.

"We're saving it for another occasion. For now, we're heading to Rome. Is everyone ready?" Aang asked.

"Everyone's ready. Aang, I hope you know what you're doing." Zuko says.

"I know what I'm doing. Don't worry, Zuko. This will work out." Aang said.

The now-stronger army marched south towards Rome, its soldiers renewed by the rest and reinforcements.

Senate Building

Rome

"The Avatar is marching on Rome!" a senator exclaimed.

"We know he's marching on Rome. We've been preparing for the past few months for an attack. But no attack has occurred just yet." Another senator said.

"My contacts say he's gathered a large army, in the thousands."

"That's a lie! He's incapable of such a deed. Hundreds, yes. Thousands, no. Any attack on the city, will fail!"

Sozin and Long Feng retired from the squabbling politicians into another room.

"You know, maybe Aang should attack so we don't have to go thru this over and over." Sozin said.

"I know how we can get him to attack." Long Feng said.

"How?" Sozin asked.

"Leave that to me." Long Feng said, and headed to a secret room in the complex.

Long Feng opened the door and walked inside.

"Joo Dee, the Roman Republic has invited you to lake laogi." Long Feng said.

"I am honored to accept their request." The woman said, in a slightly cheerful tone.

Somewhere in the Roman Republic

Tents were being set up, and troops were searching for food and water. The spot they camped at was a luscious forest, with plenty of wild life and fruit. Ursa approached a deer, armed with a bow and several arrows. Taking aim, she released the tight string and the arrow struck the deer in the heart, killing it.

"Good shot. Lets take it back to camp." Aang said, appearing out of nowhere.

"How the hell did you sneak up on me?" Ursa asked, quickly turning on Aang.

"Stealth is a skill I have. And like any other skills, it must be practiced to be maintained." Aang said, approaching the deer.

Ursa grabbed Aang and held him still, putting her finger to her lips. Aang quickly got the message and unsheathed his Shamshir. The two observed the dense forest, waiting for anything to attack.

"Nothing. Lets hurry with this corpse." Aang said, putting the sword away. Entering the camp, Aang and Ursa dumped the corpse for the cooks to cut and serve. They entered the tent, and Aang once again, looked over the maps of Rome. Ursa looked over Aang's shoulder, when she realized something.

"There's no need to storm the city." Ursa said.

"You have something in mind?" Aang asked.

"Yes. We can use the underground tunnels, and smuggle the army in." Ursa said.

"I thought you said you couldn't smuggle the army in." Aang replied.

"I just remembered about the underground tunnels. It shouldn't be too hard to smuggle the entire army." Ursa said.

Aang sighed in relief.

"Thank the gods. Ursa, I owe you one." Aang said.

"You can repay me tonight." Ursa winked.

"Maybe. First, I need to take a bath." Aang said, grabbing a towel and soap.

Aang approached a pool of water and went into the water, washing himself.

"I've never seen you this calm before." Ty Lee said, as she also went into the water, sitting next to Aang.

"You can thank Ursa for that. She told me we can have the entire army moved in the underground tunnels of Rome. That takes care of one big problem. And said problem has been plaguing my mind for the past few months." Aang said.

"Man, hope you can repay her." Ty Lee said.

"I'll make sure it's worth it. You have any ideas?" Aang asked.

"You could marry her. And me." Ty Lee said.

"I've been giving it some thought." Aang said.

Ty Lee smiled and hugged Aang.

"Glad to see you're planning ahead." Ty Lee said.

"Not that far ahead. I still need to take the city, quell resistance, crucify the senate, and make sure the republic doesn't collapse into civil war, or worse." Aang said.

"Sounds like a lot on your hands." Ty Lee said.

"One problem at a time. That's why I'm still alive, and those who were sent to assassinate me are dead." Aang said.

Ty Lee's face was in concentration, when she remembered something.

"When we first me Ursa, you said that some prisoner was after you. Did you kill him?" Ty Lee asked.

"Lets head back." Aang curtly said, climbing out of the water, and put his clothes and armor on.

"Aang, you didn't answer my question." Ty Lee said, climbing out of the water as well.

"He's following us, I'm sure of it. Which is why we need to head back to camp, right now. Strength in numbers." Aang said.

The two made a quick dash back to the camp, when they heard the crunching of tree branches. Aang pulled out his sword, ready for a fight.

"Ty, how good is your chi-blocking?" Aang asked.

"It's good. Why?" Ty Lee asked.

"We're about to have company." Aang said.

Aang slowly walked forward, his heart beating fast, pumping blood to his brain and lungs. He approached a wall of tree branches. Leaning forward, he waited for something to attack. Suddenly, a hand swiped forward and almost grabbed Aang's throat.

"Shit, he's here!" Aang exclaimed, backing away as the assassin came after him.

"Oh my god." Ty Lee said, as 'combustion man' stood to his full height. He reached back and unsheathed his sword, which was monstrous, considering the size of the owner.

Aang foolishly ran forward, only for 'combustion man' to backhand him and send him flying into a tree. With Aang out of the way, the towering assassin walked towards Ty Lee. Ty Lee ran to his flank, dodging his swipes thanks to her nimbleness. She quickly punched and jabbed her fingers at his pressure points, but the assassin didn't collapse, like anyone else would.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked.

Ty Lee backed away, knowing that she couldn't stand a head-on fight with the Roman assassin. Seeing Ty Lee walk away, he turned around to kill Aang. Ty Lee pulled out her dagger, prepared to strike at combustion man.

Mai, I wish you were here. Ty Lee thought, knowing her knife wielding friend could figure a way to stop him.

"AAGHHH!" the assassin screamed, as multiple arrows found themselves embedded in his back.

"You and Aang were gone far too long. So, we decided to come and look." Piandao said.

"Thanks. You saved our asses." Ty Lee said.

Piandao walked towards the assassin, raised his sword up and brought it down, severing the head from the body.

"Sir, we found Aang." A fellow Roman said.

"Take him back to camp. The sooner we leave these woods, the better." Piandao replied.

Entering Aang's tent, they found Ursa talking with another woman.

"Who are you?" Ty Lee asked.

"I'm Joo Dee." The woman said.

Ursa stood up and took Aang from Piandao.

"What happened?" Ursa asked.

"We'll talk later." Piandao said, leaving the tent.

Ursa carried Aang to his bed, and closed the curtains to his room. She approached Ty Lee and gave her a sword.

"If Joo Dee walks past those curtains, kill her." Ursa said.