Chapter Twenty-Six: A Series of Meetings.

–

The Assassin.

I was woken up by an incessant prodding in my side. I rolled over, and was surprised to see Aang, looking every bit a tired as I felt. I sat up, and a blanket I had not fallen to sleep with rolled off my shoulders and pooled on my lap. Glancing around told me that I was still in Old Ba Sing Se.

"Well, you fell asleep, and no one could figure out how to move you without waking you up," Aang offered by way of explanation.

"What time is it?" I yawned.

"About mid afternoon. The Earth King wants to speak to us about something, otherwise I'd still be asleep," he admitted.

"Yay." I swung off my makeshift bed, discovering that while I remained fully clothed, someone had thoughtfully removed my sword, knives and shoes. I picked them all up, and rearranged the blanket so it was draped around my shoulders.

"Lead on, I guess."

–

Aang and I made our way to the entrance to the throne room, where Toph, Katara, Zuko and General Iroh were waiting. I nodded warily at the General, and settled down to wait.

After a few minutes, a head poked around one of the doors, and spoke.

"The Earth King will see you now."

we all traipsed through, into the middle of what looked like a blazing, if rather one sided, row.

"Gone? What do you mean, 'gone'?" The Earth King could shout much more loudly than was immediately apparent.

The guard tried to keep his cool. "Exactly that, your Highness. Almost all their records, their men, everything. It's vanished."

The Earth King slumped. "Next you're going to tell me the Avatar has gone. Why not? Everything else has."

Aang took exception to this, and coughed. "Your Highness?"

The Earth King looked up. "Oh, you're still here. That's something." he drew his hands over his face. "I apologise. That was rude of me."

General Iroh spoke up. "If I may, your Highness, is there something we can help you with?"

The King shook his head. "I don't think so, not unless you can turn back time." Without waiting for us to unravel that ominous statement, he continued, and gave us what was quite possibly the worst news he could have at that moment. "Princess Azula has escaped."

Staring glumly at the tableau of shock before him, he continued. "And wait, it gets better. The Dai Li have vanished. Every last one. Long Feng has been found murdered and thrown into Azula's cell, and what's more it was an earthbender that did it- there are still shards of rock embedded in his neck. All their records have vanished, their headquarters in the palace is completely empty.

"All in all, it's not looking too good right now."

Understatement of the year.

Interrupting the silence, General Iroh spoke again. "Is it possible that they might have another base of operations within the city?"

The guard looked thoughtful. "If there is, I have never heard of it. But I suppose it is possible."

The Earth King sat up, and his eyes flashed. "Then the first thing we must do is ensure that they have not left the city. There are over five thousand Dai Li agents. They won't be easy to hide." He turned to the guard. "Send word to General Sung- he must be put on the lookout for them." He turned to us, with renewed purpose. "I believe that it's time we met with the Council of Five."

About time.

"This way, Avatar."

Oh. Damn.

–

"Don't see why you want to be in the meeting anyway," Toph said, from her cushion on the floor. I grit my teeth, and bit back the response I knew would be less than polite.

We were all (with the exception of Aang, of course) back at our house, waiting around. Zuko, of course, still looked as uncomfortable as ever, and I was sure he was wondering exactly what he was doing here.

I have plans for him. They hinge on General Iroh playing ball, of course, but then so do all my plans at this stage.

"I want to know what's going on in there," I said, "because in there is where they're deciding what exactly is going to happen next. It's going to be important, and they-"

Toph frowned. "They what?"

I sighed. "Nothing."

Now everyone was giving me looks. "It's not nothing. What were you going to say?" Even Zuko and General Iroh were looking sidelong.

"Okay, fine. They're not going to tell Aang what to do. They're going to ask him."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "And that's a problem... because?"

"Don't you get it? They're going to act as if Aang has the same level of expertise as they do. For all his talents, the guy is not tactically minded, and they're going to be asking him to make suggestions that will change the whole course of this war. It's going to be a disaster." I stood, seized by a sudden burst of energy, and walked over to the window.

"Sokka is right." Help came from an unlikely corner- General Iroh. I turned around.

"They are asking too much of the Avatar. It has been so long since there has been an Avatar that they have forgotten that he is still human. It is unfair of them to assume that he is an expert in matters of war, yet that is undoubtedly what they will do."

Nice. Very nice. He's twisted all the blame onto the Council, so Katara and Toph will more readily agree with my point. Cunning. Maybe he's on our side after all.

Or maybe this is a ploy so that he can get close to the council, or at least into the Avatar's good graces. I have no idea what he wants out of all this, so the only safe thing to do is assume that he's got an ulterior motive, for now at least.

Katara sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Damn right I'm right.

–

It was late when Aang got back. Everyone was waiting up for him- General Iroh had brewed some tea for us, which had proved invaluable. Although the level of enthusiasm he seemed to have for the beverage bordered on the creepy.

Aang barged in, looking tired and irritated. His glower swept the room, and Katara leapt up, proffering a cup of tea. He took it, and smiled gratefully.

"Have fun?" Okay. So I'm a little mean.

He shook his head as if to clear it, looking at the ground. "It was horrible. They were nodding and bowing and all very polite and please, please, Avatar, will this help? It this the right thing to do? What do you think, Avatar? And I can't just say 'I don't know, you do what you think is best', 'cause you can just see it in their eyes, they're a group of terrible old men but they're all looking at me and they want me to do something but I don't know what."

I looked at Katara. Go on. I sure as hell aren't going to deal with this. But you can, and you should, otherwise he'll just flip out and break something.

Getting the hint, she stepped forward. "Aang..."

He exhaled. "I know. I should calm down. I'm okay, really. I think... I just needed to say that." He smiled, almost nervously.

Well, it's good to see that he's calmer now. But we've got to keep our focus. Aang brought up a good point, and now is the best time to talk it out, try and decide what to do.

Iroh sees it too, I can tell. He's about to say something, and Aang won't want to hear it.

Can't have that. We want Aang to have good relations with his future firebending master (if all goes according to the vague plan I've got in my head), and we don't want them to get off to a rocky start if we can avoid it.

Luckily, the resident bastard, i.e. me, is here to broach all unwelcome topics. Well, it's a job.

"Aang," I say, just as Iroh opens his mouth. He abruptly closes it. "We need to figure out what to do about that, and soon."

Instead of what I expected- more emotional displays- Aang simply gave me a cool look.

"I'll think of something. Now I think it's time to sleep. I know I need it."

–

The sun seeped weakly through the window, and I struggled out of bed.

Aang was up, in the main room. He looked up as I walked in.

"Sokka. I was hoping I'd catch you."

"What've I done?"

He chuckled a little. Well, it's a start, of sorts.

"Nothing. I just wanted to let you know what I've decided about the Council."

"Oh?"

He nodded.

"Sokka, I want you to be my official liaison with the Earth Kingdom military. I haven't got the head for this stuff, but ...well... you kind of do."

Well. That's... extraordinarily good. Unexpected, but good. I can coordinate the Avatar Group with the plans of the Council, and with a little care, I can influence their plans to take into account mine. Yes, this will be handy indeed.

But there's one thing I have to know.

"Why?" He knows exactly what I'll do with this power. He knows exactly.

"Because, Sokka, we're always going to disagree, but I think- I know you're a good person, and I want to be able to trust you."

Ah. So this is a test. "I see. I'll... try my best." There's not any more I can say, really.

Jury's still out on 'good person' though.

–

General How scowled, and peered at the map in front of him.

I wasn't proving too popular with the Council of Five. It might have had something to do with the fact that I was trying to get them to see victory in bigger terms than just the survival of the Earth Kingdom.

They had been polite enough at first, and Aang had gladly taken a back seat, sitting back looking regally bored, while I had begun to talk. But I had been annoyed, if not totally surprised, to discover that the Council wasn't thinking beyond keeping the Fire Nation at arm's length. It seemed that a hundred years of war had eroded any notion of fighting to win.

As of now, I was attempting to press upon the importance of securing a backup base, should Ba Sing Se fall. They agreed in theory, but hadn't been able to come up with anywhere suitable.

Suddenly, General How jabbed a finger onto the map.

"How about here?"

I peered over to where he was indicating.

"The Northern Air Temple? It's an idea, I guess. Out of the way, hard to get to. Aang?"

Aang frowned, and shook his head. "The Fire Nation are already there. We stopped there on our way to the North Pole, and found a group of refugees living there. They only stayed free as long as their … leader, I guess, invented weapons for the Fire Nation. He was the one who made those tanks, among other things. When I found out about this, I persuaded him to fight. We lost."

"Oh. Are they still there?"

Aang shrugged. "I guess. Katara and I had to hide when the Fire Nation broke through, and escaped as they were setting up a garrison."

How blinked. "We have to take it. If this is the source of the Fire Nation's technology, we cannot afford for it to be in their hands any longer." He moved his hands, and the map shifted, the earth twisting until it was a three dimensional model of the Northern Air Temple and surrounding countryside.

"Avatar, what would you say is the best route into the temple?"

"Sky bison."

"I see. And how many people can your sky bison carry?"

"Over long distances, about seven people with no trouble. Shorter, a few more, but the saddle only fits about ten or so."

How stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Hmm."

–

It took a week of long meetings, and several loud discussions, but we finally hammered out a plan. The bulk of the Earth Kingdom forces would be used to break the siege, and would turn their attention West, leaving the city to guard the South pass for now. This had given me free reign to do essentially whatever I wanted with regards to the Group. I think I did pretty well, all things considered.

There was one part of the plan, however, that Aang didn't like. I could tell he didn't like it, because he'd scowl every time it was mentioned, and I wasn't surprised. He hadn't said anything so far, though, and I hoped he'd let it pass. If he didn't... well, I'd have to argue my case the best I could.

–

I coughed, trying to get everyone's attention.

We had been allowed to use the meeting room, normally reserved for the Council, to outlay my plans for everyone. They had set up the map for my use, and left us in peace.

Okay. Here goes.

"Alright guys, here's the plan so far. We've got two main goals right now: within the city, we've got to locate the Dai Li. They're a dangerous force, and we need to know if they've left the city. Secondly, we need to prepare for Sozin's Comet."

Hey, this public speaking thing's easier than it looks.

"If we're going to manage this, we're going to have to split up. Toph, can I rely on you to assist in the search for the Dai Li?"

"Sure. What can I do, though?"

I shifted, feeling I should really be pulling out a scroll or something at this point. "The Dai Li are all trained in a particular style of earthbending that is distinct from the main forms. Someone with your talents should be able to locate them more easily than anyone else here." When she nodded, I continued. "You'll be working with General Xiaohong. General Iroh, I was hoping that we could use your tea shop as a relay point for messages."

The General nodded. "Of course. If there is anything you need, just ask." Beside him, Zuko stirred but didn't say anything.

"Thank you, General. I'm afraid that your role, and your too Zuko, are going to be kind of limited for now. We don't want your positions to be too public, not until the Comet arrives." The General nodded.

"Alright, so that's sorted out. General Sung, on the wall, will keep you posted via the Jasmine Dragon. Keep as low a profile as you can- we have no idea where the Dai Li are, or how many spies they have, so be careful." Toph nodded.

"Okay, while they're doing that, Katara, you and Aang need to head to the North Pole. We need them to send warriors to help clear the lakes with Dad, but before that our priority is to free the Northern Air Temple." Katara looked up at that. "General Sung is sending the Terra Team to assist, but if you and Aang can fly some waterbenders in, it'll really give you the edge. I understand it's quite snowy up there at this time of year."

Everyone was nodding, but Toph looked thoughtful.

"And what'll you be doing while everyone is running around?"

I glanced out of the window. The sun was almost setting. Alright, time to do this.

"I am going to leave. Now, more or less." I didn't give that time to settle. "I am going to stow away on a Fire Navy ship, and head for the capital. There are things that I need to do there."

There was a pause.

"Oh."

I clapped my hands. "So, everyone clear? Good. Well, you should all get some sleep, we've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

Katara waved her hands around. "Whoa, whoa, slow down. You're going to the Fire Nation? Are you mad? What are you going to do?"

Kill people. About twenty. "I'm going to slow up the Fire Nation at the source. Sabotage, misinformation," murder, "it's what I'm good at, and it's going to be necessary."

"Aang, please don't tell me you're letting him do this."

Aang shrugged. "He made a good argument for it. It'll make things easier at our end, that's for sure." He doesn't sound like he believes a word he's saying. Doesn't matter. The important thing is that he's saying it.

–

I've been given an ostrich-horse. I'm back in my Earth Kingdom Peasant disguise, even though it does smell a little swampy. My other clothes are in a saddlebag, along with all my Fire Nation money and most of my weapons.

There's a noise behind me, and the door swings open. It's Katara.

"Hey."

I nod. "Hey."

She looks up.

"When will you be back?"

"About midsummer. Look, don't worry. I'll be fine. You just take care of yourself."

As I tightened the straps on the saddle, I felt myself get pulled into a hug, and turned to meet it.

"Take care."

"You too."

--

Blurg. On holiday. Internet connection slow to the max. Will be back home soon-ish.