Erosion

Chapter Twenty-seven

The day was hot; the last vestiges of the summer giving them all something to remember it by. Annoyed, Anko waved a hand in front of her face, trying to dissuade a swarm of gnats that were darting about her head. Some were suicidally attempting to fly up her nose. She gave up the fight and look at the merchant who had waved down the 126th as they had been passing through town. "So… let me see if I've got this straight. A group of five firebenders on rhinos ride into town. They don't burn anything, they don't start any trouble; they just ride into town… and steal your tea cart?"

"Yes, Major, you've got it right."

"Just the tea cart; no money, no other food… just the tea?"

The irate little merchant wasn't getting any happier. "Yes, Major. They stole my tea. Our teas come from all over the Earth Kingdom. They contain the finest blends, carefully selected to meet our high standards of excellence and… and those ruffians made off with my entire collection. You must do something, Major. Who knows what nefarious deeds they will do with my tea! I'm very distraught about this entire situation."

Anko resisted the urge to break out in laughter at the melodramatic man's misuse of the word 'nefarious'. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Pyron duck his head, hiding his grin under the cover of his dome-shaped helmet. She cleared her throat as her emu shifted its weight underneath her. "Um, while I'm sure that your tea is very valuable to you, this kind of thing is sort of out of our jurisdiction. It's more of a problem for the local authorities."

"The local authorities!" the merchant squeaked out. "The local authorities had difficulty in securing farmer Lin's runaway hog-cow last year. This is Fire Nation activity and it is up to you, the Earth Kingdom army, to put a stop to it! Who is your superior? I'm going to report you for negligence of duty!"

Anko stared incredulously at the man, caught between anger and humor. There was no resisting the urge now; she pinched the bridge of her nose, her hand hiding her large grin. Several cases of coughing broke out as various members of the 126th hid their laughing fits. Some didn't bother with the coughing.

Sergeant Hachi pulled his emu even with Anko's. "If I may, Major?"

She gave him permission with a wave of her hand, not trusting herself to speak without breaking out in a fit of giggles at the merchant's earnest threat.

"Look pal," Hachi addressed the merchant. "What the Major has been trying to say, politely, is that we don't give a damn about your tea and good luck finding someone who does." He reined his emu around as the merchant gave an indignant "Oh!"

"Thank you, Sergeant. That was very… tactful."

Hachi gave her a wink. "Generally speaking, I try to get my point across effectively."

Anko sighed. Her new rank was supposed to be kept under wraps. That wasn't stopping Hachi from throwing the word 'general' in all its various forms at her as often as he could. Shaking her head slightly, she urged her emu into a walk, the rest of the 126th following her lead. The shrill voice of the sputtering merchant was soon behind them. Still, despite the ridiculousness of the man's request, Anko couldn't help but scan the ground for rhino tracks as they rode. The tea thieves had struck only a couple of hours before her unit had ridden into town and they were headed in the same direction as the 126th. The Fire Nation soldiers had made no effort to hide their tracks; when the road forked off into two different directions, it was clear that they had taken the fork to the left. The 126th, naturally, wanted the fork to the right.

Anko reined in her emu, staring down the left fork after the rhino tracks. She reached down, freeing one of her many map scrolls from its saddle bag. The path on the left headed towards a wide river, crossable via a ferry. The path on the right headed for the village of Suta, where, rumor had it, another group of around forty Fire Nation soldiers had set up camp. Anko frowned. Suta fit the profile of villages and towns that the Fire Nation had been conquering since Iroh's arrival; small and semi-secluded, the type of village that the Earth Kingdom didn't have enough personnel to secure. Rumors of its take over had been vague but persistent. Just about every village they had passed through mentioned its fall, but not a single one had any details to offer, a fact that Anko found odd. She also found it odd that so many villages knew of its fate, given its isolated location and the fact that the Fire Nation had been fairly well behaved in the other recently captured villages. Something was off, but the 126th was en route to investigate anyways.

Another emu pulled even with hers. "So," Lieutenant Pyron said casually, "Suta is to the right, huh?"

"Yep." Anko's black eyes stayed fixated on the path to the left. "What kind of nut-job do you suppose likes tea that much?"

Pyron scratched his head to the side of his helmet strap. "I don't know… maybe they're having a party or something."

"Without inviting us? I'm insulted."

"It's just tea," Pyron said, knowing instinctively that the decision had probably already been made.

"Exactly! It's not the tea; it's the tea drinker who has me curious. I mean, it seems like a lot of trouble and risk just for tea, well-blended or not. Look," she pointed to the map, "we're not too far behind them and after, we can follow the river north and head for Suta on this side trail here. It's not too far out of our way and I wasn't planning on approaching the village directly anyways."

The auburn-haired man gave a shrug and an amiable grin. "You're in command, Gen…, er, Major. If you want to take the left fork, then that's what we'll do."

Anko grinned back. "Well, I wouldn't want them doing anything 'nefarious' with the tea. Let's move out. If we travel swiftly, we might be able to pin them against the river. And if we don't manage that, they can have the bloody stuff!" She reined her emu left, the eager bird jumping into a mile eating sprint at the touch of her heels, the rest of the 126th following suite.

Regrettably, the five Fire Nation thieves were already on the ferry and half way across the river before the 126th caught up with them. "Damn it all," Anko swore as the distraught ferry man scurried in hand-wringing circles around her emu.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here. You must do something! Those bandits stole my ferry without paying me a toll!"

"Is it me," Lieutenant Pyron muttered as he leaned towards her, "or are the people in this region overly concerned about their material possessions?"

"Well, they're not Air Nomads, that's for sure," Anko muttered back. She dismounted, staring across the slowly flowing expanse of water towards the ferry. The firebenders, having noticed the green-clad unit standing on the shore, pulled harder on the guide rope, moving the ferry further towards the opposite shore.

"I'll give you anything you want, just please, stop them," the ferry man pleaded.

"You're willing to sacrifice anything? Are you sure?" At the man's eager nod, Anko shrugged. "Well, I guess we should do something, since we came all this way and all."

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General Iroh looked at the charcoal sketch the artist showed him. "Hm, no; the eyes should be more narrow and the cheekbones higher." As the artist moved to adjust his drawing, Iroh heard the sound of squelching footsteps approaching from behind. He turned and raised an eyebrow at the completely sodden man standing at attention before him. "What happened to you? You get caught in a downpour or something?"

The unhappy man shook his head. "No sir, it was at the ferry crossing, sir."

"Don't tell me it was the Fox unit."

The Corporal, apparently taking his sarcastic statement as an order, stood in silent misery. Iroh sighed at the literalness of the man. He looked over the sketch the artist showed him again. "Good, good. Now the hair is short, like so," he indicated a length with his hand, "and straight and black." The artist returned to work. Iroh looked back to the Corporal. "Now then, why don't you tell me what happened."

"Yes, sir. We took the tea as you instructed, sir, and moved to the ferry crossing. About half way across, the Omashu unit caught up to us and, well, they earthbent a spike underneath the ferry and capsized us, sir. We swam to the other side of the river but the tea, it, um, got washed away, sir."

Iroh shook his head in lament; such a waste of delicious tea. "Is it me, or does she seem to be in a particularly bad mood lately?" he asked absently. It was true. For some reason, since returning from the major offensive that Mito had launched, the Fox unit had taken the fight to the Fire Nation with a vengeance. The Corporal, not privy to knowledge of the 126th's movements, but grateful that he wasn't going to be blamed for the loss of the tea, just silently shrugged. The General's eyes narrowed in thought. "What direction did they head in after capsizing you?"

"North, sir. It appears that they are headed to Suta. Running into us was probably just a matter of bad timing, sir. But on the bright side, at least they've taken the bait."

"Hm." General Iroh rubbed his chin for a moment. The artist held up the final version of his drawing. The Dragon nodded his approval. "Perfect. Get the scribes busy copying that. I want a copy sent to every Fire Nation unit and outpost in this sector." The artist bowed and moved off to comply. Iroh gave his wet subordinate a half smile. "Dispatch a messenger hawk to Suta and warn them of the 126th's approach. We will hope for the best. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Fox unit, taking the bait and falling into the trap are probably two different things."

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The reluctant General, Anko, stared through her binoculars at the village of Suta. It looked peaceful enough. Located in a grassy clearing deep within a bamboo forest, Suta's huts were surrounded by a tall protective bamboo wall. Hidden within the forest that encircled the cleared area, the members of the 126th kept careful watch as the villagers went about their daily lives apparently without concern. Anko frowned. The rumors had been so persistent, yet there was nothing to indicate that the Fire Nation had been here at all. Her feeling that something was not right persisted.

Sergeant Hachi carefully made his way to her position. "Lieutenant Pyron signaled that there is no suspicious activity on his side. What do you want to do, Major? If we wait here too long, you'll miss your first you-know-what at Fortress Granitous."

The woman's frown turned into a scowl at the reminder. Like she cared about that! "Signal Pyron to hold his position and keep watch. We'll sleep in shifts and watch the village tonight too. If we don't see anything by tomorrow, half of us will investigate the town while half of us remain behind as back up. Something here isn't quite right. I could be wrong, but better safe than sorry."

Suta remained quiet throughout the evening. Inhibited by the necessity of remaining hidden, the members of the 126th could only watch as the cheerful glow of fires sprang up within the village. There was some grumbling that this was a waste of time, but the instances were few and far between. Even though some new blood was traveling with them, for the most part the Omashu unit consisted of now-hardened veterans, survivors of many past conflicts and countless nights without campfires and hot meals, like this one. Anko was a veteran now too. Although ridiculously young for her new rank of General, and perhaps too young also for the rank of Major, her being a Captain would raise no eyebrows now. How could time pass so quickly and so slowly all at once? She puzzled over the conundrum as the evening dragged on…

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Anko waited for the morning sun to burn off the persistent fog before mounting her emu. Behind her, ten members of the 126th, Hachi included, did the same. Anko tightened the strap on her dome-shaped helmet, causing her burly Sergeant to quirk an eyebrow at her. "This has got to be one of the most boring villages we've been to, and you hate your helmet. Do you know something that we don't?"

The dark-haired woman shrugged. Her intuition was telling her one thing, her eyes and ears, another. Plagued by the self doubt that her premature promotion caused, she had decided to play it safe this morning. Hachi eyed his grim faced, silent commander for a moment. Then, swearing softly under his breath, he tightened the strap on his own helmet. Surrounding the clearing in a semi-circle and hidden by the thick crop of bamboo, the remainder of the 126th kept careful watch as Anko's group of emu riders slowly approached the village from the main trail.

Eyes narrowed, she obliquely scrutinized the area as they approached the village, looking for sudden movements or tell-tale flashes of red. Nothing. And yet, the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise as they got closer to the outer wall. Sensing her nervousness, her emu chirred softly and shook its head, creating a sudden jangling sound in the morning stillness. Anko stiffened, then mentally berated herself for being so unsettled. They were close to the village entrance now. She never expected the ambush to come from the ground.

Emerging from beneath woven grass mats like earthbenders, Fire Nation archers to both sides of the trail loosed their arrows, catching the 126th in a crossfire. Anko's emu gave a shrill squawk and leapt high into the air as an arrow managed to penetrate its protective coverings and thick feathers. Another clanged off her helmet. She grabbed the arrow and pulled it out before jumping off the bird, her bare feet making solid contact with the ground as she moved to counterattack with her bending. Except something was wrong. Instead of the large boulder she was going for, all she lifted up was the top layer of sod. Arrows quickly perforated it, their pointed ends extending towards her threateningly. Anko dove behind the prone body of an emu that hadn't been as lucky as hers. The rest of the men in her group, some sporting injuries, joined her, using the bodies of dead emus and rolls of the top layer of sod as shields as all other manners of earthbending failed. The arrows ceased flying.

"Fox Major of the Omashu 126th, surrender now and we will spare your lives."

Anko grimaced as she peaked over the emu's still, feathery side. She bent back a layer of sod and stared at the wire mesh hidden beneath. That's why the earthbending was failing. The Fire Nation had apparently rolled back the sod, laid down and anchored wire mesh into the harder substructure and then rolled the sod back into place, hiding their activities. She felt a flash of admiration at the well planned trap. "Luring us here, emerging from the ground like earthbenders, cutting off our access to the earth; someone certainly is brilliant," she muttered softly.

Hachi, who had wiggled himself into a position next to her, stared at her in disbelief. "Well, it's of great comfort to know that we're not going to be killed by ordinary, run of the mill jackasses, because that would really be a downer," he muttered sarcastically.

"Omashu Fox, what is your answer?"

Anko rested her hand flat against the surface of the wire, feeling the earth underneath. "Spread the word; on my signal, we raise a cloud of dust and then retreat to the forest."

"Cut and run? That's not like you." Hachi commented.

"Exactly." She slowly stood up, hands raised above her head. "You want my answer? Well here it is: Pyron!" she shouted, while simultaneously sending a roll of sod towards the archers' dug in position. From the outskirts of the clearing, bamboo came crashing down as large chunks of earth flew into the air, targeting the archers' ambush positions. A thick cloud of dust rose from the ground as Anko's group pulled minute particles of dirt into the air from between the strands of wire mesh. The natural breeze through the clearing helped distribute it; soon nothing could be seen.

The pinned down Earth Kingdom troops remained low to the ground, slowly working their way through the zero visibility back towards the safety and shelter of the forest. The high pitched sound of arrows could be heard as the archers attempted to target those they could no longer see. Blasts of flame provided brief illumination, but no aid in visibility. There were yells of pain as Pyron's group continually lobbed chunks of earth into the fray. Both groups of soldiers were holding back, realizing that the risk of accidentally hitting comrades was high.

Anko waited as the last of her men began the crawl to safety. She had torn one of her sleeves to cover her nose and mouth; she kept her eyes squinted nearly shut, trusting her other senses to tell her what she needed to know. Remaining tucked behind the emu's body, she scowled as another arrow whizzed by. This carefully laid trap seemed to be planned specifically for the 126th. Someone had played her well, and while she admired the person's ability, she really didn't appreciate it. An overthrown chunk of earth came crashing to the ground, missing her position by a hair. Something thwacked into her, her hands found a relatively small bamboo shoot, uprooted from the forest's edge. It was about the right size to be a staff.

A bugle sounded the fall back command; Anko silently commended Pyron for having sense enough to issue the order. She rested her hand on the surface of the soil. Vibrations of the Fire Nation archers could be felt as they began to cautiously emerge from their holes. Cracking her eyes open wider, Anko could see that the visibility was beginning to improve. If she wanted to make a run for it, now was the time…

"Damn it, where is she?" Lieutenant Pyron paced back and forth at the rendezvous point as the final stragglers of the 126th regrouped. All were accounted for, all save one.

"Eh, you worry too much." Hachi muttered as he held a clean rag tightly against a wounded soldier's arm. He bound the cloth in place with another strip, giving the injured man a confident smile as he did so. "That should do it until the Major gets back." Hachi rose and followed his best friend's gaze towards Suta. "Anko is just being Anko. She'll be here any time now." But although his words were confident, he too was worried. Anko hadn't truly been herself since King Yosho had sprung the surprise promotion on her.

"What are you guys doing standing around? Lieutenant Pyron, report. How are we as far as injuries go?" Anko's familiar voice brought relieved smiles to both her subordinates. Instead of coming from Suta, she had circled around and approached their position from the south. The tall woman looked basically unharmed. Blood slowly dribbled out of a split in her lower lip and one of her eyes appeared to be blackening, but she smiled triumphantly as she led an emu into view; a battered and bloody Fire Nation soldier bound tightly to its back. She had managed to capture the ambushing unit's commander, who oddly enough, wasn't even a bender.

Anko cocked her head slightly at her agape Lieutenant. "What?" she asked innocently. "I'm still waiting for that report."

"Yes, sir. No deaths to report, sir; however, half of your group sustained injuries, although none are too serious. We've bandaged the wounds, but you should probably check them out. We are also down five emus, sir."

"We were lucky. They obviously weren't going for the kill when they ambushed us. Alright, mount up and double up if you have to. We need to put some distance between us and them. Pyron, take the point. Let's head east for a while. Hachi, take the rear. I'm going to keep our friend here company. I want to know who exactly was behind that trap." Anko swung herself up into the emu's saddle. "Once we put some distance between us and Suta, we'll stop and properly tend to our wounded. Let's move out!"

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Bound hand and foot in ropes, the leader of the ambushing unit of Fire Nation soldiers glared defiantly at his Earth Kingdom captors. "I am Captain Ping of the 84th division."

The woman in the Major's uniform stared at him in exasperation. "Yes," she drawled, "I gathered that the first dozen times you said it." Anko suppressed a sigh as Ping pressed his lips tightly together. "Look, I'm not asking you to give away troop locations or future plans or anything important. All I want is the name of the person who planned that ambush."

"I am Captain Ping of the 84th division."

"Who is your commander?"

"I am Captain Ping of the 84th division."

"Why is the 126th being targeted?"

"I am Captain…"

Anko covered up his mouth before he could finish his sentence.

"Do you think maybe you captured a reptile-parrot by mistake?" Hachi asked with a half-smile.

Anko shot him a look. Keeping her hand firmly pressed against the man's mouth she said softly, "Perhaps I am not giving credit where credit is due. Tell me Captain; was it you who planned that assault?"

Ping's eyes narrowed. He hesitated, and then gave a small nod of his head. Anko removed her hand. "Yes… I was the one who planned it. I wanted recognition from my superiors and capturing the Foxes seemed like a good way of getting it."

It was a perfectly plausible reason. The problem was that Ping was a horrible liar. Anko exchanged glances with Pyron and Hachi. The auburn-haired Lieutenant shrugged. "We can always take him back to Fortress Granitous. General Mito can get the truth from him."

Their captive paled at the suggestion. Apparently he had heard of Mito's torture methods. "I'm… I'm telling the truth! I'm the one responsible."

"I want to believe you," Anko said with a false smile, "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to put you to the test. I think it is time to employ the Omashu Stone of Truth." Pyron and Hachi exchanged glances. They had no idea what their commander was talking about. "Bring him outside," the Omashu Fox ordered with a sly grin.

Captain Ping's eyes widened with panic as he was tied spread-eagled to the large boulder that Anko had raised from the ground. "How this works is very simple," the tall Earth Kingdom commander started to explain in a calm voice. "We will throw this rock into that pond. If you drown, we know you were telling the truth. If you survive and come to the surface, we'll know you were lying and we'll take you to Fortress Granitous with us."

"But… but that's insane! I'll die either way."

"Yes, but I'll know whether or not you are lying and that's all that is important to me. Besides, we from Omashu are not known for our sanity. Now, care to change your story?"

The Fire Nation Captain struggled futilely against his bonds. When that didn't work, he stared at the woman before him. She watched him impassively. Ping gave one final struggle before his muscles fell slack and his head hung down. "You… you're right," he whispered softly to the ground. "I'm not the one who planned the ambush." He raised his head, squared his shoulders and met her black-eyed gaze straight on. "But I'll never betray my commander."

Anko smiled at him slightly. "Are you sure?" She stomped a foot against the ground and the boulder shot into the air, carrying Ping with it. It hovered there as she held out a taunt arm.

"I am Captain Ping of the 84th division."

General Anko's smile widened. "Yes, yes you are." She dropped her hand and the boulder fell with the motion. It fell sharply but came to a sudden stop inches above the ground before slowly lowering back to rest on the earth. Two melon sized rocks flew off the shore of the pond, striking the ropes that bound Ping to the boulder. The Fire Nation Captain stood bemused as he was freed. "If you see your commander, tell him or her that it was a nice try. But I won't fall for the same trick twice." Anko turned her back on the man, Hachi and Pyron falling in step with her as she started to walk away.

"Omashu Stone of Truth? What the heck was that all about?" Hachi questioned softly.

His lanky commander shrugged faintly. "That, Hachi, was what is commonly known as a bluff, and it worked; didn't it? In the end, he told us the truth."

"Yeah, but we still don't know who the mastermind was. Why did you let him go?" The Sergeant's tone was somewhat accusatory and more than a little exasperated.

Anko's eyes narrowed as she remained silent. If any of her own had been killed, if the village of Suta had appeared damaged, her reaction would have been completely different. But she knew what it felt like; to be bound and helpless in front of a unit of enemies, to have to face the reality of your own eminent demise. In the face of all that, the soldier had shown true courage and the idea of subjecting the brave and loyal man to Mito's methods of persuasion turned her stomach. And the trap had been brilliantly played. She could respect that.

"Omashu Fox!"

The three earthbenders turned back to see Captain Ping execute a respectful bow. "You are a lot alike, you and my commander, ma'am." Leaving it at that, the red-clad soldier departed at a trot.

"I don't know whether that was a compliment or an insult." Anko muttered, touching her black and swollen eye gingerly as she watched the retreating enemy.

"A Fire Nation commander like Anko; that's a scary thought." Hachi said with a slight grin.

"We should follow Ping's example and get out of here," Lieutenant Pyron suggested. "We have a counsel to get to."

"Oh yeah…" Anko's smile turned into a scowl. "Do you think it's too late for me to surrender to Captain Ping?"

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A/N: And so concludes this part of the story. I want to thank those readers who have journeyed this far. Sorry that this story is so long. From here on out it is going to be nothing but Ba Sing Sei. In light of that, I thought another warning was in order. As I mentioned before, this part of the story is AU with the Book of Earth. I wrote these chapters without an inkling about what the city looked like or where it was and so it is horribly wrong compared to the television show. I did manage to locate it in the correct spot, but what I visually interpreted as a circle of mountains was actually the outer wall. So my version of Ba Sing Sei is scaled down from the real thing. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, the city is located to the right side of the Earth Kingdom in the upper center of the country. You can see it during the intro to the show. Also you should be aware that the coming chapters are darker than the previous ones. The events at Ba Sing Sei are not happy ones. Thank you for reading!

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