A/N: Apologies for the delay, I know I said I'd be going a bit faster lately. But as always, things seem to interfere. The new job is quite time-consuming. Anyway, I do think I should be able to put up the next chapter pretty shortly. I wouldn't want to keep you in suspense. Thanks to Sylvacoer, particularly for advice on Iroh's character, and enjoy the show.
Siensao's day began with death. After waking up before dawn and snatching a quick – and hopefully poison-free – breakfast on the way through the palace kitchens, her first order of business was finding out what had happened to Kei Dao, who had failed to show up last night. Nothing about that was good. Sure enough, she was stopped soon after breakfast by a Dai Li agent, one she didn't know.
"Your spy is dead," he said bluntly. "And you're next if we catch another one. I'll be taking over from Agent Xin as your escort, to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again. You aren't here to pry into Dai Li affairs, you're here to keep order in the city. I trust you'll remember that from now on." Xin had no choice but to bow and agree to the order. Siensao kept her face blank and stood up straight, but inside she was hurting from the blow. It was a good one, all right. She had a certain fondness for the cheerful assassin, so far as such things went, but the bigger blow was to her plans, in which he had figured heavily. And if they had someone better than him…well, the thought made her uncomfortable. She knew one woman in particular who had promised they would meet again under lethal circumstances. When she felt able to speak normally, she answered her new minder.
"What makes you think this person was just my spy?" That ought to breed a little paranoia, if she was any judge. He didn't answer. Jomei looked worried and also said nothing. Zoukani wasn't smiling. And so the day went on.
To her surprise, an answer from the Fire Watch arrived for her around mid-morning, delivered by one of the servants. Feigning annoyance, she opened it and read swiftly, muttering to herself as if angry. It was the right cipher, but the calligraphy wasn't Kei Dao's. It was simpler and a bit sloppier. What it had to say, though, was anything but simple.
Dong Zhuo reporting, on orders from Kei Dao. Kyoshi Warriors Princess Azula and friends, Fire Nation. Plotting overthrow of city with Long Feng. Long Feng planning double-cross, but lacks popular support, unaware of danger. Earth King, Council of Five in danger. Will send additional information as I learn it, look for message from Heijin District Magistrate. End Report.
Siensao suppressed a triumphant smile. Got you! Finally, concrete information! Kei Dao, I'll put up a statue of you for this when I'm through! She should have been afraid. Azula's reputation, what little she had heard of it, was terrifying, just the fact that she'd managed to infiltrate Ba Sing Se proved it was justified. And she had the support of the Dai Li. But now Sienaso knew she was coming, and the merchant still had the resources of the Grand Secretariat at her disposal for another day or two, at least. Let's see just how good this princess really is.
Some said knowledge was power. But Xiahou Xin knew exactly how much trouble he was in when they brought him before Azula, and it didn't make him feel any more powerful. Quite the opposite, in fact. He dropped to one knee and bowed before her.
"Agent Xin reporting as ordered, ma'am."
"Tell me, Agent Xin," she said, "how is failure punished among the Dai Li? Being a newcomer here, I don't understand such things as well as I might, you see." He could hear the smirk in her voice, though he kept his eyes firmly on the ground. "
"That would depend on the degree of failure, milady," he said.
"Let's say, failure to carry out an order due to incompetence or lack of skill, shall we?"
"Such a failure would ordinarily be punished by a temporary demotion and reassignment, to be made permanent if the agent is unable to accomplish a punitive mission of some kind, but if said agent clearly didn't fail for lack of trying, some or all of this punishment may be waived at their superior's discretion."
"A very reasonable policy. So then, Agent Xin, convince me this is the case, and I'll permit you to retain your current rank and assign you a task better suited to your abilities. And look me in the eye when you do so."
Xin swallowed hard and looked up. Those penetrating gold eyes bored into him, searching for any sign of falsehood.
"I accompanied the Grand Secretariat during my assigned shift at all times. She wasn't out of my sight or hearing for a moment and I read all correspondence that she wrote or read herself. I saw nothing to indicate communication with a spy."
"In hindsight, how would you speculate she got past your watch?"
Xin couldn't shake the feeling that she knew all the answers to these questions already and any false move would mean his death. He felt sweat trickle down his neck.
"There are hundreds if not thousands of private ciphers in use in Ba Sing Se, milady. In the time I had, I was not able to screen each individual message for signs of one. It's possible a verbal cipher was in use as well during her conversations. Again, I didn't have the ability to record them all."
Azula favored him with a terrifying smile.
"Very clever. It sounds like something you should have anticipated from the beginning, you came up with it so quickly. Why didn't you?"
He was sure she could see him sweating by now, hopefully she would think it was just due to all the stress. Is she just toying with me before handing me over to Smiley or is she trying to make me confess in some idiot plea for mercy?
"It would have been impossible to halt all written communication to and from the Grand Secretariat's office without raising suspicion, milady. The Dai Li has many ciphers on file and a random selection of messages was checked for all of them, including those we know are used by the Zhang Ai syndicate. We found nothing. I was aware of the risk, but I felt that secrecy was imperative."
"I see." A deathly silence fell, and those eyes kept burning into him. He was close to cracking, to admitting everything and begging to be spared. The sense that she just knew was overpowering. But eventually, she relented.
"Well, it does sound like you made the best possible decision under the circumstances, so I shall be lenient. Your assignment will be changed from monitoring the Grand Secretariat to assisting in the seizure of the palace. You'll work with Agent Zhuo's group. I understand the two of you know each other."
And hate each other, Xin added, knowing perfectly well that she knew it, too. It was going to be ten times as hard to do anything to help Siensao with him hanging around, just waiting for Xin to screw up. With other agents watching him as well, most of whom probably worked under Smiley, his situation was…less than ideal. But there was one spot of hope in the mess: she suspected, and she was taking precautions, but she didn't know. Not yet, anyway. This did nothing to ease his mind.
"Yes, milady," he said.
"Dismissed."
He rose and left as quickly as he could without hurrying. On his way out, he passed a frightened-looking young woman in servant's clothes. Probably an informant the Dai Li had a hold on. Azula really was making use of every resource.
The assassin shed the mannerisms of fear as the door shut behind her.
"The groundwork is laid, Princess. I am ready to begin at any time."
"Begin now," Azula said sharply. "Your target is proving to be troublesome, so we're going to accelerate the timetable. I want blood in the streets by the end of today, the palace situation taken care of by morning tomorrow, and her eliminated by midday tomorrow. Her usefulness is at an end."
Yukari nodded.
"It will be done, Princess."
Shortly after the assassin left, Azula called in the Dai Li agent who carried her orders to the rest of the organization.
"Isolate the Grand Secretariat from all written communication," she said. "Inform anyone who asks that she's exhausted from all the extra work in the wake of Long Feng's betrayal and needs a day or two to rest. Put her under…unofficial house arrest. If she escapes, I will not be…what is it?"
The agent had a definite worried look.
"I received the report not five minute ago, ma'am," he said. "The Grand Secretariat has left the palace on a tour of inspection for the garrisons on the palace wall."
"And her escort did nothing to stop this?" Azula asked, her voice dangerously soft.
"He could do nothing openly without compromising our plans in public and she ordered him off in front of two hundred soldiers who remain loyal to the Earth King."
"So she is walking the streets of Ba Sing Se, unwatched, with the full authority of her office?!"
The agent winced.
"Yes, ma'am."
Azula laughed, sending a chill down his spine.
"She is scared, isn't she? Good. She'll spend her time building support with the soldiers and gathering troops around her for the strike she thinks is coming. Having her out of the palace will make our activities there much easier. The Earth King is as good as ours. Have the palace division of the Dai Li assemble here tomorrow morning, I wish to address them before we make our move."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Oh, and one more thing. These orders must be carried out to the letter…"
Reki opened Siensao's message and read. It was brief and to the point.
Cancel the plans to ambush the Kyoshi Warriors. In fact, don't engage them if at all possible. Instead, I need you to get the Earth King's cousin Xuan to safety, bring him to the barracks of the 2nd Palace Guard regiment's 3rd company, that's where I've set up a temporary headquarters. Tell him I suspect his life is in danger and don't take no for an answer, tie him up and throw him over your shoulder if you have to. Once you're all safe, I'll explain everything. I'm sending a company of soldiers up to meet you at the palace entrance, just get him there and the Dai Li won't be able to get to you without starting things too early. Go now!
The swordswoman tucked the message into a pocket, having nothing to burn it with, and turned to Karida and Spike.
"We have new orders," she said. "Come with me and I'll explain on the way."
It was the late afternoon when Siensao first received word that it had begun. Her day was ending with death as well as beginning. This message was from her father.
The Lower and Middle Rings are at war. Someone talked their way into a gathering of the northern syndicate's leadership disguised as you and killed them all. They attacked us in retaliation and the east and south syndicates have joined the fight as well. I don't know how long the fighting will last, but a few months is the average, as you know, so we won't be able to assist you as we have been doing for that time. Whatever's going on in the palace, I trust you to handle it.
Siensao knew fear in that moment. Yukari. It has to be. She's here and working with Azula to destabilize the city. They only let me fix things for a few days so they could have chaos at the right moment. Damn!They'll go after the nobility and royal family next – elimination, coercion, or bribery to shut them up or get them out of the way. Good thing I got word to Reki, that should let me salvage something out of this mess. So long as I have a member of the royal family, it doesn't matter what happens to the Earth King. No one besides the Avatar and his friends cares that much what happens to that idiot in a crisis like this. I wish I could have gotten word to Katara, but they're watching her like a sparrow-hawk. I'm ready for their coup. Let her try and get to me among thousands of soldiers. I'm even ready to snatch one of the Council of Five away from them to give me full military authority. Of course…it'll still be quite a fight. There will be troops loyal to Long Feng as well, I'm out of ways to fend off Yukari, and if she gathers all the Dai Li together from across Ba Sing Se…well, tomorrow is going to be interesting.
Xiahou Xin's day began with fear. He knew that as soon as Siensao made her move, Azula would know someone within the Dai Li was an informant, and he would be the first person to come to mind. He still felt afraid just thinking about that little speech she gave to them earlier in the morning. She still suspected him. If he was going to get out, it had to be today. There were a couple problems with this. The first was that he couldn't run to Siensao or they'd send someone after him. And sooner or later, they'd find him. The Dai Li were legendary for being able to find people. The second was Smiley, who was always hovering around, looking for the slightest hint of something wrong. No, it was finally time to use the plan he'd come up with all those years ago, when he first joined the Dai Li.
He began by calling in a favor from the palace staff, whom he had helped on several occasions. This involved buying a snack from a specific person and paying with a defaced coin. Defaced, as in it had the character for 'favor' scratched into one side. He would receive hidden passage out of the palace grounds as soon as he found a way to elude his supervisors.
Next, he called in a favor from one of the palace guard. The man would provide a distraction at a certain place and a certain time.
Finally, he made certain the preparations he'd made to the palace itself were still in place and ready. They were. So all that remained was a long, nerve-wracking wait. He was relieved when it ended.
He, Smiley, and two other agents were moving towards the part of the palace where the royal family lived. It was time for those closest in line to inherit to be dealt with, fatally. But as they walked down a certain hallway, they heard the noise of a scuffle nearby and went to investigate.
They found three of the palace guard having a fistfight in one of the storerooms and began forcibly separating them. Xin was the last one left inside. Then he made his move. He stamped a foot and the ceiling and floor of the room collapsed in an avalanche of wood, stone, and choking dust, pulling down everything above it and even breaking through to part of the old city below.
About a half hour after that, Xin was outside the palace and just another Dai Li agent moving through the city streets. Even with earthbenders, they'd spend an hour or so more digging out the rubble before they found no body under it. He had that long to go to ground. He headed for Siensao's temporary headquarters. He'd make his report first, then hide.
"Glad to see you alive, Xin," Siensao said. She had commandeered the commanding officer's room at the barracks, a map of Ba Sing Se laid out on the table in front of her. Soldiers came and went, bringing news about the dire state of affairs. Riots were breaking out in the Lower Ring as the city watch proved utterly unable to halt the syndicate war and the economy was taking a sharp dive as profits fell because of the fighting and the spreading confirmation of a war with the Fire Nation. The Avatar had seen to that.
"I'm surprised you made it out, but I'm guessing you need someplace to hide," she continued, and Xin nodded. His fear bled into his voice and showed on his face. After having to hide it for so long, he was struggling to hold himself together.
"Yes, I faked my own death, it should hold them for maybe an hour more. After that, they'll be hunting me all through the city. Azula is moving fast, most of the noble houses are neutralized one way or another and the royal family is considerably thinned out. It's good you were able to get Xuan out of there. Is he somewhere safe?"
"I don't know where he is, but my father assures me that he asked for a safe place, though he doesn't know where it is either. It's safer that way. But the soldiers here saw him and can vouch for the fact that I do have him. Go on."
"Katara has been taken prisoner, of course, and I know the coup is planned for today. The Earth King and the Council of Five will be taken out simultaneously. With the Earth King in custody, the Dai Li under her command, and everyone else too busy or hesitant to do anything, Azula can stall them until the Fire Army moves in. There's no chance of Long Feng pulling a double-cross at this point, she has a way of making victory seem…inevitable. And she isn't going to leave him alive like the Avatar did with him. It's still a couple days before the Avatar is expected back. That's all I know."
"I need to know if they plan to ambush any of Council of Five in or near this facility," Siensao said, after only the briefest pause to process the slew of information.
"As a matter of fact, General Sima Yi will be traveling between the palace and the southwest barracks, they'll hit him by one of the sewer grates there. If you can save him, you'll have all the military authority you need to storm the palace, the soldiers will believe him when he says the Dai Li are trying to overthrow the Earth King."
"Then we will. You'd better get going. Head to Jiang Fei's shop, I've been letting him stew about his part in the plot against me for a while now, so he should be ready to do just about any favor to get back in my good graces. Besides, he's your cousin, he'll hide you."
"Just what I was thinking," Xin agreed. "Thank you for everything."
He was about to leave when in walked someone Siensao hadn't expected to see.
"Excuse me," said Iroh, looking rather serious and a little out of breath, "but I must speak with you. I think we have a mutual problem."
"Where's your nephew?" Siensao asked, instantly identifying the missing factor in the equation and already suspecting the answer.
"Imprisoned somewhere inside the palace." Iroh's gaze moved to Xin, who flinched back from its intensity. "Where would they be keeping him?"
"Probably the Crystal Catacombs in Old Ba Sing Se," Xin said, his voice getting a little high with nervousness. "If you were to start at the bottom of the western staircase and tunnel downwards at about a forty-five degree angle towards the east, you should hit them soon enough. I really can't help you, I need to go."
"You can help me," Iroh said. For the first time since Siensao had first seen him, he looked like a general. "And you will. I'm going to seek out the Avatar's help and he may not be inclined to take my word for what I say without positive proof, such as your own testimony. I understand you are afraid. But I ask you to help me save my nephew and this city from the Fire Nation. Will you do that?"
"No." Xin was calm again, the calm of a man who'd looked Death in the face one too many times in the past twenty-four hours.
Siensao blinked, honestly surprised by the Dai Li agent's refusal. Shit, he was holding it together too well before. Should've realized...
"I'm leaving now." Xin turned away.
Zoukani, stationed near the room's only door, shifted; Siensao shook her head, once, decisively. "Xin…" she began, straining for the right words.
"Please," Iroh said, old gold eyes fixed on Xin.
"You are the Dragon of the West," the Dai li agent observed quietly. "As a Grand Master, you can certainly order me, a lower-ranked acolyte of our order, to assist you in order to retrieve your nephew from… that…" He stopped, shuddering as he restrained a riot of fear, panic, and rage. "You are a Grand Master. You sought refuge in this city, but only now, now when your kin is in danger, do you move, and demand that we pawns obey your whim-"
"Yes, I do." Iroh's face was hard. He'd ordered thousands of men to march to their deaths in the decades he'd served as the Fire Nation's highest general; to order one more man to do so for the sake of his nephew was not something he'd balk at, Siensao realized.
"Xin, it's wrong for us to ask you do this, but," she said, "we have to. Azula needs to be stopped. If she's not, if we fail… everything you've done for the Order, all the people you've tried to protect, they'll be at the Fire Nation's mercy. For everything we've done, everything we've tried to do, you have to…!"
Xin glanced back at her. "Clever girl," he muttered. "You'd have been called a witch, centuries ago…"
Siensao shrugged. "If that's what I have to be to win."
He chuckled. "Well, we'll see." He bowed deeply to Iroh. "Grand Master, this unworthy disciple is at your disposal."
"Thank you, Master Xin."
"Grand Master Iroh, he's helping you out of obligation to the Order," Siensao stated, making it plain the honorific was only said as a matter of form. "He has served for many years and at great risk to himself for our sake. You will release him safely after you're done."
Iroh regarded her much as he would an opponent across the Pai Sho table. "As it is in my power to do so, it will be done."
Things were moving too fast for Jomei's liking. One minute they were working with a crime syndicate to fight a secret faction within a secret organization. It confused him, but he was used to it. The next minute they were on the highest level of authority in the Earth Kingdom, trying to stop its capital city from tearing itself apart. And now they were fighting people on same the level as them who were working for the Princess of the Fire Nation. Well, I did want to get back to fighting the Fire Nation, and this is about as tough as that gets. He focused on what was in front of him. What was here, now, and that he could deal with. Right now that was saving this general guy.
He and the rest of their group, Siensao included, were waiting at the outskirts of a barracks complex near the south palace wall. He never had gotten around to asking Reki what exactly she had been talking about with learning sandbending a few days ago, and it was nagging at him, particularly so since she was right next to him. But this really wasn't the time to ask and they needed to keep quiet.
The waiting dragged on, of course, but sooner than he expected, Spike spoke up.
"There he is," she said, pointing to an armor-clad man that had just turned the corner and was walking through the narrow street between two buildings. They were standing on stop of one of those buildings, about twenty feet up, with Spike peering over the edge.
Jomei unlimbered his warhammer and of course, his grandfather started talking again.
There's a choice coming up, a big one. I remember something…don't try and put out the blue fire. You'll get burned. I have no idea what it means, which is very comforting.
Well, thanks for the useless advice, I'm sure it'll make sense a split second too late, Jomei grumbled. Nothing else was forthcoming from his ancestor, so he turned his attention back to the task at hand.
The ambush was planned out perfectly, of course. As the general walked over the sewer grate, a barrage of metal cuffs, trailing chains behind them, burst up through the gaps in the grate and yanked him down onto it, tightening swiftly and pinning him in place. A few seconds later, the grate itself popped up out of the ground, followed by six Dai Li agents. Some of them maintained their hold while others began circling around to properly cuff him.
"What's the meaning of this?!" the general was shouting at them. "This is treason!"
"Go!" Siensao said, and they leapt down off the rooftop.
Jomei punctuated his landing with a blow from his hammer, sending a line of shattering stone furrowing towards one agent. Kyuzo preceded his jump by throwing firebombs, Spike hers with an ice spike. Siensao, Reki, and Zoukani landed well, weapons out, and charged into the fight.
Jomei hit his target, but the man took the blow well, letting go his grip on the general and rolling back to his feet, chains rattling as they retracted into his sleeves. Kyuzo's bombs went off, one in front of and one behind his target and that agent was knocked to the ground. His groan of pain meant he was alive, but he didn't get up. Spike's attack connected squarely, piercing her target through the head and dropping him instantly. With his restraints slackening, Sima Yi planted his feet on the ground and made another effort to free himself.
The remaining four agents reacted with the ruthless organization and discipline that made the Dai Li deadly. Two of them took over restraining Sima Yi, from behind rather than from the wrong side of the grate, and the other two let the grate fall, throwing up a high stone wall between them and their attackers. Doubtless they meant to get the general away at top speed.
In the past, Jomei might have just charged through the wall, but not now. Now he bent the earth under his feet, catapulting himself to the top of the wall. Just as he'd thought, the two agents were clinging to the stone at either end, waiting to ambush him as he came through. Jomei flung the weapon at one of them and the other man had to jump down to avoid it. The blow also broke an opening for his friends. The other agent dropped down onto the ground, firing off both stone gloves as he moved. Jomei was caught on both arms and knew in an instant that he wasn't strong enough to break free.
The other two agents, swiftly sliding along the ground on stone shoes, abruptly plowed into a wide swath of sand and sank to their ankles, along with their prisoner. One of them was grasped by one foot and hauled down into it with a startled yell. Sima Yi yelled too, but his was one of pain as the arm that agent still had cuffed was yanked downwards. Karida, under the sand, stabbed with her sword and the sand turned red. Unlocking his partner's cuff, the remaining agent turned the ground to stone again, trapping Karida inside it, and tried to heave Sima Yi over his shoulder to continue on. Now that he had solid rock under his feet, though, and only had one arm restrained, the general wasn't going to go quietly.
Kyuzo blew through the wall in a second place with a fire blast and Jomei's friends charged through, only to encounter pits that hadn't been there a few seconds ago. Reki and Zoukani leapt them easily, Spike and Siensao caught themselves just in time, and Kyuzo missed the far edge and fell to the bottom of the one he tried to jump. Jomei saw the agent responsible get ready to crush the firebender into pulp.
The agent holding the miner raised one foot and kicked a stone shoe towards his face. With Jomei still securely held, the blow would probably kill him or at least stagger him enough that death would soon follow. Jomei tilted his head back, then jerked it forward, smashing the shoe with his forehead, buying himself a few seconds more. He took inspiration from the move, and, digging his toes into the rock underneath him, ripped free a large chunk of stone and kicked it towards the other man. The agent shattered it with a rising knee strike but in doing so loosened his grip on Jomei's cuffs just enough for the miner to gather all his strength and break out of one, then the other.
Before the second agent could crush Kyuzo, Zoukani threw his spear and the agent had to move aside, giving Siensao and Reki time to reach down and haul the firebender out of the pit, just before its sides slammed together. This, in turn, gave Spike time to move over to where the sewer grate had been torn out of the ground. A deluge of filthy brown water burst up from the wide hole, spiraling towards their enemy.
Sima Yi dug his feet into the ground and stayed put in the face of his captor's attempt at leverage, then went one better, taking hold of the chain with both hands and putting all his strength into hauling on it. Just as the agent was about to lose his contact with the ground, he admitted defeat and released the chain at his end and the general was free once more. The agent sought to end matters decisively, sliding towards Sima Yi as fast as he could go. Sima Yi took advantage of the terrain difficulties he'd seen a moment before and stomped down, dissolving the ground between him and the agent into sand.
Karida burst up out of the ground again, already gathering a sand blast. The agent used the very last bit of stone, just before he ran into sand, to fling himself across the remaining distance, one stone-gloved hand outstretched to crush the general's neck. Sima Yi moved as fast as he could, and somehow got his arm in the way. The sickening crack! of bones breaking split the air and the general let out an involuntary cry of pain. But with the ground under them still sand, that was as far as the agent got. Karida tried to sink him into the depths, but he leapt back from the sinkhole and turned the ground to stone again. Now he faced a two-on-one fight, and Sima Yi's broken arm hadn't diminished his resolve.
Jomei raised a hand and bent his hammer back into his grasp. Then he stepped off the wall, catching himself with his free hand, and used it to catapult himself straight at his enemy. The agent slid aside, crafting new stone gloves and one shoe even as he moved, but Jomei landed hard enough to send a violent tremor through the earth and unbalance him briefly. It was time enough for the miner to rise and bring his hammer around and this time his earth blast didn't miss, sending the other man flying back into the building behind him. He recovered, but his movements were visibly pained.
Spike's attack gave her target little pause, he vanished into the ground, tunneling away somewhere and leaving the rest of the group with nothing to attack.
"There!" Reki called out, pointing to a certain patch of stone. Sure enough, that was exactly where the agent burst upwards, thinking to catch them by surprise while they were rushing forward to Spike's aid, and he ran straight into a fire blast from Kyuzo. He took some of the attack on his gloves, which broke under the force, but it cost him. The fight was beginning to turn against the Dai Li and with a silent signal, both of them withdrew. One of them first slid over to where their fallen comrade was still struggling for breath and picked him up, then both of them catapulted themselves towards where their comrade was hard pressed. Jomei and his friends pursued as fast as they could go.
The agent that faced Karida and Sima Yi made one last effort to deny his prize to anyone, flipping a slab of stone behind the general up and over on top of him, crushing him to the ground. But still Sima Yi resisted with his fading strength, despite the blinding pain in his arm, and it was obvious he wouldn't die in time, not with Karida moving in for the kill. So the third agent reluctantly abandoned his own losing battle and at last, the fight was over.
After being helped up, and with his arm in a sling, General Yi proved very grateful.
"I suspected the Dai Li were going to try something," he said. "But a coup in broad daylight?! The city will tear them apart for this! They must have help, powerful help. Tell me what you know and I'll throw the whole damn palace guard against whoever's responsible for this!"
"Princess Azula of the Fire Nation has infiltrated the palace," Siensao told him bluntly. "She's probably captured the Earth King by now and has complete control over most of the government. However, we managed to extract the heir to the throne and he's somewhere safe. There are soldiers in the western barracks who can vouch for that. With your permission, general, I think it's high time we put a stop to this."
"Agreed. Give me ten minutes to rally the troops here and then we'll head for the western barracks to get the companies there on our side. That will give us two thousand men at least. It should be enough to take on whatever Dai Li are left in the palace and this upstart Fire Nation bitch. Come on, there's no time to waste!"
For the second time in less than a week, the massive doors of the throne room came crashing down and the men of the palace guard poured through in perfect formation, General Yi at the vanguard and Siensao right behind. They'd faced no opposition as they stormed up the palace steps and through the halls, which was very worrying. Coming to a halt, the general and the merchant confronted the person sitting nonchalantly on the Jade Throne. Two Dai Li agents stood behind it.
"Where's the Earth King?" General Yi demanded. "Tell me now and you won't be harmed."
Azula ignored him and instead spoke to Siensao.
"So nice to finally meet you," she said, with the sort of vicious politeness that mortal enemies sometimes affect. "I'm sorry we never had a chance to really talk. And now we never will." She stood up and stared down the room full of soldiers without a trace of fear. "I'm on a tight schedule, so let's sum things up. The Earth King is where I can get to him before you can, all three of the Avatar's friends are in custody, and the Avatar is next. One of them will die if you speak to me with such insolence again. The waterbender, I think. And if you so much as raise a finger against me, the Earth King will pay the penalty and I'll take this city down in flames around me."
"We have the heir to the throne and he's safe from you," Siensao said. "And our duty to the Earth Kingdom supersedes our duty to its king, as I'm sure General Yi will agree."
"Oh?" Azula said, gesturing to one of the Dai Li agents, who retrieved a small box from behind the throne. "Does he look anything like this?"
Siensao watched and time seemed to slow down as the agent opened the box and lifted out the lifeless head of Xuan, one and only clear heir to the Earth Kingdom. He'd died recently, judging from its condition, within the day. The assembled masses looked on in horror and Azula drank in their despair.
"…how?" Siensao finally whispered into the ghastly quiet. "Not even a Selfless Warrior could have tracked him down, I know it. I made sure he was safe…I was so sure he was all right."
"It turns out that the Dai Li had someone capable of imitating him well enough to fool someone like you, who'd never met him before," Azula said casually. "He was dead before you sent your little team to spirit him away. Now if you'd gone for a second cousin, then we would be having an entirely different discussion. I see why you went for him instead, you didn't want any contention over his claim to the throne, but it was an obvious move. Now then, General Yi, take this traitor and her accomplices into custody. Unless you'd rather your city burned down and the Fire Nation wins anyway. By now there are three divisions reaching the Inner Wall and Chameleon Bay will be overrun shortly. You'll never stem the tide."
Yi was a broken man, his resolve and determination brutally crushed in a matter of minutes. He stared into the face of annihilation and looked away. He couldn't meet Siensao's gaze either.
"I'm sorry," he said, and the soldiers began shifting, visibly reluctant but steeling themselves for the task ahead.
"Goodbye, Siensao," Azula said. "It could have gone the other way."
"…it really could have, couldn't it?" the merchant murmured.
Azula chuckled.
"No, it couldn't. But why speak ill of the dead?"