Chapter Twenty-One: Mutatio Motus.
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The Assassin.
The Dai Li. Everything in this city comes back to them. If someone vanishes, you can bet it's the Dai Li dragging him off. If someone doesn't want to talk about something, it's because the Dai Li are waiting to silence them. And I will bet anything that they're behind Joo Dee's constant blockading of our attempts to meet the Five.
It's time we did something about that, frankly. And by 'we', I really mean 'me'. Or "I", if I want to be grammatically correct. What I plan to do is stupid, reckless, and if I found out that any of the others was planning anything like this, I would probably have yelled at them for a very long time.
So I won't tell them about this.
I have to say, after all this tiptoeing around, being very careful not to attract too much attention, it's very refreshing.
Let's break some rules.
--
The Guardian.
"Fweeeeeeee"
Ty Lee started, and Azula span around.
"What was that?"
I looked around, and shrugged.
"Maybe a bird of some kind?" Ty Lee suggested. Azula narrowed her eyes and looked around.
"Fweeeeeeee"
"There it is again!" Azula span around, automatically assuming a firebending stance.
"...I don't see anything. Mai, any ideas?"
"Perhaps it's a signal of some kind. You know, like a kind of guerilla force?" I suggested.
That was enough to crank the princess's paranoia up to eleven, and she began glaring at the long grass. I took a deep breath.
"Fweeeeeeee"
"Right. That's it. Mai, go left, Ty Lee, go right. We're going to get to the bottom of this."
Azula stormed off, and Ty Lee headed in the direction she had been told to go. Shaking my head, I started back to camp, dropping the blades of grass as I went.
That really wasn't as fun as I had expected. Oh well.
--
The Assassin.
The headquarters of the Dai Li are right by the palace, some way away from our house. Accordingly, I got up long before the sun (luckily, Toph had slept well that night, making it easier for me to escape unnoticed, although, to be safe, I still left via the window), and made my way through the upper ring. I made my way to the low, wide tunnel that was the entrance to their headquarters without incident, and stepped back, examining the building for any suitable entrances.
I wasn't entirely sure what I was looking for- something incriminating, ideally; I was fairly sure that an organisation like the Dai Li would have more than a few skeletons hidden somewhere- perhaps something that I could use as leverage, or take to the Earth King. But mostly, I simply wanted to shake things up, at least a bit. This city was dangerously complacent, and the Dai Li were committed to keeping it like that. They were an obstacle, and was going to remove them, one way or another. I hoped I could do it through at least semi-legal means, breaking and entering notwithstanding. Cutting every Dai Li throat would take too long, and would be impractical.
Frankly, I was really, really listless. The upper ring was so stuffy. And it was about time things started to move again.
After a little deliberation, I decided that I might as well take the front door route. There weren't any visible guards- not entirely unexpected, since it was about four in the morning, but I kept my guard up anyway. Better to be jumping at shadows than to actually get caught.
The tunnel led to a wide courtyard, which looked like it was used as a training area, with several doors leading off it, all plain and small. I picked one at random, and tried it. Locked.
Well duh.
A few moments with my lock picks took care of that, and I tried it again. This time it yielded, which was good, if slightly unexpected. I had anticipated tighter security.
The corridors were plain stone, with torches at infrequent intervals. Very oppressive, with the added bonus that none of the Dai Li were ever far from their element. I approved, or would have, had it not meant that every corridor looked exactly the same, and I quickly got hopelessly lost. I had made it to the second floor at some point, since I had climbed a stairway, but apart from that I had absolutely no idea where I was.
As I rounded another corridor, and fought the feeling that this had been an extraordinarily bad idea, I heard feet.
Shit. Where were they coming from? Somewhere in front of me, that was for sure. Should I go on, hoping to find a fork in the corridors? No. Bad idea. Turn back, find a door. Now.
I turned, and ran as lightly as I could, hoping against hope that none of the Dai Li were as adept at seeing with their feet as Toph was.
The seconds seemed to drag as I ran as quickly as I could without making too much noise, and found a door. Quickly as I could, I fished out my picks and got to work on the door, trying to work steadily against the backdrop of steadily advancing footsteps.
With a click, the door yielded, and I fell inside, leaning heavily on the door.
Oh my.
I was in what appeared to be an enormous library, with tall shelves stuffed with scrolls. I glanced at the nearest one to me.
It was labelled Zuko, Prince (FN). There was one scroll in it.
Residing in the Upper Ring with his uncle (see Iroh). No suspicious activity since surveillance began. Threat level- Moderate. Extra notes- unlikely to be useful as a hostage, Fire Lord having disowned him.
Well. Someone struck gold.
I made my way to the other side of the room, where, sure enough, there was a slot marked "Avatar (and party)". Well. Might as well see what they have to say about us.
The Avatar ("Aang"). Residing in Upper Ring with party. As of yet, has not attempted to destabilise city, but must be kept under close surveillance. Threat Level- Unprecedented. Under no circumstances must he be allowed near political or military leaders. Should be encouraged to leave city if he does not do so soon. Associated with:
Waterbender ("Katara"). Threat Level- Unknown (presumed Moderate to High). Water tribes, presumably Northern. Has been seen searching the Lower Ring, reasons unknown.
Toph Bei Fong. Threat Level- High. Daughter of Lao and Poppy Bei Fong (Gaoling). Has been seen training with Palace Guard and Sokka (see below). Perceived as low intelligence, but should under no circumstances be engaged directly.
Swordsman ("Sokka"). Threat Level- Moderate to High. Non-bender of unknown origin. Has been seen searching Lower Ring, and has consorted with General Sung, Zuko and Iroh (see separate files), reasons unknown. May attempt to disrupt order. Must be dealt with delicately- investigate possibility of rehabilitation.
Well, that was enlightening. I grabbed the scroll, as well as the other that was resting with it, and turned to leave. However, as I headed towards the door, something caught my eye. An entire shelf entitled "The War."
Hello.
I grabbed the nearest one, under the date of last week, and glanced through.
Report for the Council of Five regarding the movements of the Southern Water Tribe fleet led by Chief Hakoda. For the last two moons, the boats have been moored at Chameleon Bay, from which they have launched raids on the Fire Nation Navy
led by Chief Hakoda.
Hak- no. Not now. Plenty of time to think about that once I'm back at the house. For now, it's time to leave.
"Hey! You shouldn't be here."
Damn. Damn damn damn. Who figured that anyone wearing stone shoes could be so sneaky? I forced an easy grin, and turned around. Sure enough, there was a Dai Li agent, looking surly as hell.
Well, at least there's only one of them.
"I'm sorry, isn't this the poetry club?"
He raised his eyebrow, and I waved my hands expansively, masking a slight step towards him.
"Nice setup you got here. I mean, this is a lot of paperwork. I imagine it must have taken a lot of work to get this much."
"Stop. Just... just who are you? What are you doing here?"
I glanced sidelong. He's younger than most Dai Li I've seen, and he doesn't sound so sure of himself. This, combined with the lateness (earliness) of the hour, gives me a chance.
"Sorry, but you only get one question. So which is it gonna be?" Another step, masquerading as a theatrical twirl.
"What?"
"I said, you only get one question. And I'm sorry to say, you just used it up. Now I get a go." I lunged, pointing at his nose. The sudden arm movement drew his eyes to my hand, and away from my feet, which took the opportunity to move closer, and take a stance. "What is the average flight speed of an unladen sky bison?"
"What? I don't know, I thought they were extinct! Look, what's-"
Close enough.
Bam, knee to the groin. Bam, fist to the nose. Bam, kick him in the gut while he's down.
Okay, time to leave. Door?
You must be joking. Window it is.
I ran over to the window, and heaved the frame open. Damnit, it's the upper ring, no other buildings within grabbing distance. Oh, this is going to hurt.
…Wait. What's that?
A street vendor, with a cart. Perfect. Give him a moment to get close enough... five...four...threetwoonego!
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
"My cabbages!"
Pain pain pain pain get up, roll around on the floor, get up again, fall over a loose cabbage, get up again, run like a madman.
Another flawless escape.
–
The Guardian.
He's back. The Great Secretary is finally back. Hooray.
"Grand Secretariat. Have you had any time to consider our... situation?"
He smirked, and nodded. "Certainly." He gestured, and two of his mute henchmen hefted forward a large, heavy looking box. "As a ...token of goodwill, may I present these uniforms, identical to those worn by the Royal Guard of the Earth King. There are ten." He smirked widely at that, for some reason. "And any representatives you wish to appoint are invited under my authority as Grand Secretariat to visit the Palace, and will be accommodated there. Just so they can learn their way around, to... smooth the process over."
Azula glanced up, suspicion in her eyes. Ty Lee, however, was more interested in the uniforms, and pulled out a black helmet.
...While I approve of the colour scheme, I really could lose the plumage.
His Grand Secretariness continued. "And, since we are being so friendly, allow me to present this piece of information as a gesture of goodwill. Recently, a figure has appeared in Ba Sing Se, and has quickly gained the reputation as the finest tea-maker in the city, no small feat. He is old, short, and fairly rotund."
Seriously. Why does he think this is relevant?
"He is accompanied by a young man, fairly tall, and would be quite handsome, if not for the quite tragic scar." At this, the snake quite deliberately placed his left hand over his eye.
Azula's eyes widened. "Well... that is... certainly interesting."
Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit.
Not content with killing Zuko, the smug snake continued. "Will you take me up on my offer?"
Azula was on her feet now, positively manic with energy. "I believe we could find the time." She turned her head. "Field Marshall, I want seven of your best men assembled. We're going to Ba Sing Se."
Oh, so there's one good thing about all this. I thought for half a second that Azula was going to leave me behind.
But that doesn't help much.
What am I going to do?
–
The Assassin.
The others were a little surprised when I pushed the door to our house open with much unnecessary aplomb.
...Sure. Like you've never wanted to announce your entrance by kicking the door open. I just had the guts to do it. Adrenaline may have helped, since I had essentially run across the city.
"Sokka! Where have you been? We were just about to start looking for you!" Katara chided.
"Hey guys! Did you know the Dai Li has been stopping our mail?"
Before anyone could answer, I dropped the scrolls I had collected onto the breakfast table, excluding the one about Zuko, which was in my bag. No sense dropping that one on them right now.
Katara and Aang began rooting through them, Aang finding the report on him and his potential to be a threat. As he read, his eyes widened, until his eyes finally jerked from the scroll to look at me.
"Sokka, where did you get these?" he asked, surprisingly quietly.
I shrugged. "I broke into the Dai Li headquarters, of course. They've got a whole room full of stuff like this."
"What do they say?" Toph asked.
"This one... is for you, Toph. It says it's from your Mom! She's in the city and wants to meet you!" Well, I guess the Bei Fongs have been displaced by the war too.
Toph was quiet at that, for a little while. To fill the silence, Katara grabbed the last scroll.
"This is... about Dad! He's at Chameleon Bay!" She looked up at me, excitement plain in her eyes. I nodded.
"One of us should go to him. Katara, you should try to persuade him to communicate directly with the Council of Five. We'll need the support of his fleet if we're going to-"
I was cut off by a hand on my shoulder.
"Sokka. You're going to see him. No argument." Her tone of voice brooked no disagreement.
I had anticipated this, and I have several arguments against it. But I can't remember any of them. The only thing that actually comes from my throat is some kind of choked noise that may or may not have been a thank you.
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The chapter title was used by Newton in his Second Law of Motion to describe momentum. Literally: "Change of Motion". Hopefully, my reasons for choosing it should be apparent. Little shorter than usual, and later, but you get what you pay for.