Chapter 11: The Resistance

Tong was slowly and carefully led around the lakeshore, eyes covered by the blindfold the rebels had put on him. He could hear the others walking along beside him and feel Chaiy's comforting hand on one arm, but otherwise he had little sense of his surroundings. He tried to feel into the earth with his bending as he had before, but nothing. After the long chase, he was simply too tired.

Finally they stopped, and Tong felt the familiar rumble of earthbending beneath his feet. He could hear soft whispering as the rebels conferred among themselves, and then he was lifted by a pair of strong arms and slung over someone's back. He wondered what was going on and was about to protest when he felt the person carrying him began to descend as if down a ladder. That would by why- Tong couldn't very well climb while blindfolded.

He didn't know how for certain long he was carried down the ladder, but after what felt like a very long time they reached bottom and he was set back on the ground. The rumble of earthbending sounded again- more distant this time- and then he felt a hand on his arm again. "It's all right," she said soothingly, "come with us."

Tong felt himself be led off again, and now he had the distinct feeling that he was in an enclosed space- probably underground. He revised that opinion as he heard the dripping of water and felt dampness on his feet. Not underground- under the lake!

Finally they halted and the former slave heard a door opening. He was led inside, and then he felt someone reach up and remove his blindfold. Tong blinked a couple of times to clear his eyes and saw Chaiy folding the strip of cloth up and putting it in a pouch that hung from her belt. "Stay here for now," she said. "I don't think you're a spy, but we do have rules about these things for our own safety. Someone will be coming in a few minutes to ask you some questions- answer whatever he says, and it would be easiest for everyone if you tell the truth."

"I will- thanks for the warning," Tong said. Chaiy turned and left, closing the door behind her.

The room in which Tong found himself was grey and bare, except for a stone table, two chairs, and a flickering torch on one wall. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, he tried to keep his exhaustion from overwhelming him. Whoever this interrogator who was coming was, he would need to tell his story clearly, concisely, and truly, and that would be difficult if he fell asleep halfway through it.

The door opened again, and an expressionless middle-aged man in a dark green tunic entered and seated himself in the chair across from Tong. "You are the young man Chaiy and her group rescued from Imperial soldiers earlier today?" he asked without preamble.

"Yes."

The man nodded. "What is your name?"

"Tong," the former slave answered.

"Tell me, Tong, why you came here when the soldiers were chasing you?"

"I didn't have any real idea where I was going," the young earthbender said. "I am- was- a slave, and I used my earthbending to accidentally kill my overseer earlier today. Well, it wasn't entirely an accident. I didn't mean to kill him, but I did mean to hurt him. He'd been cruel to us for a while, and finally this morning I just… snapped. Anyway, I knew that I had to run after that. The things they do to slaves who kill their overseers don't really bear thinking about. So I just ran, and I when I was finally exhausted and couldn't run any more I thought they were going to catch me. Then Chaiy and her people saved my life."

The man nodded. "I see. And did you know that there was a hidden rebel fortress in this area before you met them?"

Tong gave a bitter chuckle. "I didn't even know that there were rebels before I met them. The Fire Empire doesn't like to keep its slaves knowledgeable about things that could inspire them to rebel too."

"You say you killed your overseer. Describe it for me."

Tong lowered his eyes. "It's not something I'm proud of," he said. "I hated him, but still- he was a person, and I killed him. I'd rather not talk about it."

"I understand that you are reluctant to discuss this, but I still want you to answer my question- how did you kill him?" The man's eyes narrowed coldly.

"The wall we were working on collapsed," the former slave began, "and he was angry. He was beating us with a fire whip, and I was next. He knocked me to the ground, and suddenly I realized that I could feel the earth underneath me- where it held together, where it was unstable, and how I could use it to open up a crack beneath his feet. In that moment I hated him more than anything, so that's what I did- I didn't think, just reacted. He fell into the hole and it closed above him, crushing him. Then I realized what I'd done and released control, and it opened up again and spat him back out- very dead."

The interrogator paused. "You're certain of that?" he said.

"Certain that he's dead?" Tong asked. "I saw the body- it had been crushed and wasn't moving. Unless he's a spirit in disguise, he's dead."

"No, not that!" the man snapped. "Are you certain that you were able to use the vibrations in the earth to sense its state and enhance your earthbending?"

"I hadn't thought about it that way," Tong said. "I just know that I was able to feel the earth moving."

The interrogator sat still for a moment, and then without a word he stood and swept from the room, slamming the door behind him. Tong sat in his chair, dumbfounded. Part of him considered getting up and going after the man, but he realized that that was an unwise course of action that would lead at best to him getting lost and at worst killed because the rebels had decided it was proof that he really was a spy. For now the best thing to do seemed to be to wait and hope that somebody came back.

Finally the door opened again, and rather than the interrogator it was Chaiy, accompanied by two archers who Tong was pretty certain had been with her when she'd rescued him. "Come on," she said, motioning with one hand. "My father wants to talk with you in person."

"Your father?" Tong asked as he stood and left the room with her.

"Shu Bei Fong, leader of the resistance- or at least the few hundred people living under a lake that make up the local resistance," Chaiy said.

"You're the leader's daughter? Then what are you doing wandering around with warriors outside of the fortress? Wouldn't he want to protect you better?"

Chaiy laughed. "It's not wandering- it's patrolling. And there are too few of us for anybody to just lie around without doing any work, and I'm pretty good with the bow. Dad doesn't always like it, but he knows better than to complain."

The corridors they were walking through were low, dark, and damp, lit only by torches along the walls. Finally they came to another door that looked no different from any of the others, and Chaiy stepped forward and knocked. "It's me," she said. "I've got him."

"Good girl," a male voice said from the other side. "Bring him in." Chaiy opened the door and ushered Tong inside before following herself.

The room was bare by most standards, but still more comfortable than any place Tong had been in for a long time. Several chairs stood around a roaring fireplace, and what appeared to be the weapons of Imperial officers hung on the wall. The only other decoration was a portrait of a young woman in warrior's clothing who held a large boulder lightly in one hand. Her eyes were a strange, cloudy color.

"My grandmother," the voice that had spoken to Chaiy said. Tong turned to see a man of medium height but dignified bearing standing there- he looked relatively young, despite the streaks of grey in his hair, and he resembled the rebel girl enough that he must be her father. "Toph Bei Fong, the greatest earthbender of her generation and one of the first leaders of the rebellion. They called her the Blind Bandit, because even though she was born without the ability to see, she made up for it in a unique way- she used her earthbending to perceive vibrations in the ground, and could use it to "see" not only the earth, but other objects as well. It made her a formidable opponent, because as long as both she and her enemy maintained contact with the ground, she could never be taken by surprise."

Tong lowered his eyes respectfully. "Why are you telling me this, milord?"

Shu Bei Fong smiled. "I'm not a lord, boy. My family had wealth and a title once, but that was a long time ago. You can call me Shu, like everyone else does."

This was a concept that Tong found almost incomprehensible. "So, even though you're the leader you don't use a rank or title?"

The older man shrugged. "Everyone knows I'm in charge- why should I bother putting on airs? It only gets in the way of getting things done. As to why I'm telling you about my grandmother, surely you can't help but noticing that you and she have something in common- the same innate ability to sense the motions of the earth, an ability most earthbenders have to train very hard to perfect. Some never do."

"So you're an earthbender, then?" Tong asked. He glanced over at Chaiy, who stood silently beside the door. "Her, too?"

"Yes," Shu said. "We both have the ability, though neither of us possesses the same raw aptitude that my grandmother had. We've always had earthbenders with our rebellion, in order to make use of this fortress. Only by earthbending can the secret passage be accessed. Even then, it took me years to find it for sure."

Anger flared uncontrollably in Tong. "I was told that all living earthbenders were slaves. But if you're benders too, why haven't you done anything to help your own people? Do you care at all that we're suffering?"

Tong saw his anger reflected in Shu Bei Fong's green eyes. "We do not have the resources to wage open war against the Fire Empire- a few hundred of us, against their legions? We would be slaughtered! But don't think we haven't been helping. We harass their supply lines, kill their soldiers, and we do try to free slaves if given the chance. But we can do little more than that. We just don't have the resources, and it pains me like an open wound every time I realize that I can't help my people more."

Tong hung his head. "I'm sorry."

"I understand how you feel, Tong- believe me. We all do. We've all suffered." He looked back at the portrait. "We need a rallying point. She was one of our great heroes, but since she died the rebellion has slowly crumbled. We haven't made any real gains, and that makes people think that maybe their better off living under Fire Nation rule than throwing away their lives in a hopeless cause."

"What happened to her?" Tong asked.

Shu closed his eyes. "It was almost fifty years ago. I wasn't born yet, but my parents were and they told me the story. They'd just won a great victory against the Empire, using guerilla tactics to completely rout one of their land-based armies. Unfortunately, all that accomplished in the long run was to bring down the wrath of the Phoenix King on them. Ozai was an old man by then, sick and barely clinging to life, but if anything that just made his anger greater. So he sent a massive legion under the command of his daughter- the current Empress- and the female warriors she was already calling her Chosen to find the rebels and kill them.

"They managed to capture one of the rebels, and Azula convinced him- probably through torture, though we never were sure one way or another- to give up the location of what was then the rebellion's stronghold. The legion came in the night and blocked off all exits, or so they thought. There was one way out that the traitor hadn't divulged, and my grandmother ordered everyone out but herself and her best earthbenders. They faced the wrath of the Fire Empire alone.

"The last stand of the Blind Bandit is legend, though the kind of legend they wouldn't want slaves to know. Toph Bei Fong and her warriors withstood the assault until they fell, one by one, and she was left alone. But I said she was the greatest earthbender of her generation, and I wasn't exaggerating- her power was enormous, and the Imperial soldiers weren't able to lay a hand on her even as she struck them down with boulders and caused the ground beneath their feet to give way. Finally Azula pulled them back and sent elite firebenders ahead led by her Chosen, and though the battle was now more even in the end my grandmother vanquished them as well. For the only time in their history the proud Chosen were forced to retreat, half their number dead.

"In the end Toph and Azula faced each other alone. The duel was one of the fiercest seen in living memory, but the soon-to-be-empress was fresh while my grandmother had been fighting the whole night through. She died there that night buying the chance for the rebellion to escape, and for a time we thought that we could rally the people around her sacrifice and throw off the Fire Empire's rule. But without our best warriors the rebellion too was crippled, and we've barely managed to hold together ever since."

Tong didn't know what to say. "What do you want from me?" he finally asked.

Shu looked at him keenly. "I have earthbending training but only a moderate talent. You have the reverse- a tremendous raw talent with no formal training. I believe that we can help each other. I will help you learn how to harness your impressive gifts, and in return you will use them to help us in our war against the Empire."

"And you think I'll turn out to be a hero like your grandmother just because I have a similar talent?" Tong asked.

"Maybe," Shu said, and he smiled. "Even if you don't, you will still be a great asset to us. And you'll have the chance to help the other slaves who haven't yet managed to escape. Are you interested?"

Tong looked down at the floor, and then back up at Shu, eyes burning. "The Fire Empire has made my life miserable ever since I can remember. They took me from my family, forced me to build their buildings for them, and beat me whenever I didn't perform up to expectations. I watched them do the same to every other earthbender I ever met. Yes, Shu Bei Fong. I'm interested.

############

Gian knelt beside the dead officer and scowled. "Pathetic," he muttered under his breath. "Soldiers- hah! They haven't been good for anything but show for years. Should have put me on this job sooner."

"What was that?" the soldier who had led him out here said from nearby.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with," Gian said, standing. He paused for a moment, looking out over the lake and the nearby rocks where the archers had been, and then knelt again, looking for tracks. The rebels were sloppier than he'd expected- he could clearly see the trails left by several people's footsteps leading off around the lake. Something about that made him uneasy- if they were that clumsy they should have been found out a long time ago.

Slowly, carefully, the mercenary hunter followed the tracks along the beach, the soldier following behind him curiously. Gian ignored the man, focusing entirely on his quarry- but after following the trail for some distance he stopped and straightened, dumbfounded.

"What's wrong?" the soldier asked. "Did you lose the trail?"

"Apparently it lost itself," Gian said. "The footprints end- right here."

"Maybe they used earthbending to cover their tracks?"

Gian snorted. "Then why didn't they do that from the beginning? Maybe while they were at it they used airbending to fly away!" He paced back and forth for a moment, thinking. "But that's not the only possibility, you know- perhaps they did use earthbending, but for an entirely different purpose."

"What do you mean?" The soldier sounded as confused as he looked, which Gian had to admit was quite an accomplishment.

"There's an underground base here, fool- but the entrance is hidden. Only earthbenders can find and open it." He glared out over the lake. "No wonder they didn't care about hiding their tracks. Even if we know where they are, we can't get to them."

"What are we going to do?"

Gian smiled wolfishly. "We wait, my friend. They may be locked up tight in that hole of theirs, but sooner or later, they'll have to come out. Then we'll have exposed the rebels, and I'll get my bounty. Everyone wins."