Chapter 45: Civil War
"A Nation in turmoil! Azula has returned to the Fire Nation intending to reclaim the throne for herself! With a small army of her own Avatars to help her, victory for the former princess seems assured! Meanwhile, Zuko has gone to the Northern Water Tribe hoping to stop Zaheer and his fellows from liberating P'li. And in Republic City, Mako is on the hunt for Hiroshi Sato! What will befall all of the players on this grand stage in this act, and for which ones will the final curtain fall?
-X-
"We're here." Fire Lady Tianshang said as at last she, Korra, and Bolin came upon a massive, cavernous room that was already filled with people shuffling about and being tightly packed together like fish for sale. Crude tents, shelters, and other make-shift dwellings dotted the area, and crates and barrels of supplies could also be seen. But it was clear from the way people moved about and the noise that permeated the area, not to mention the air of panic and uncertainty that hung over everyone's heads in such a way that Korra, Bolin, and Tianshang could all feel it, that no one was at all happy or content with the situation.
But then, as everyone turned to see the newest arrivals and saw that their Fire Lady was among them, many in the crowd broke out into jubilant cries and applause before Fire Lady Tianshang raised a hand to quiet them down.
"Peace, my people. And my most sincere apologies. I have failed in my solemn duty to protect you all and keep you safe. But I promise you that I will set things right. I will not allow our nation to remain in the hands of that sociopathic monster who now sits on my throne. A throne she took by force. But to do that I need you all to never lose faith in me. I need you all at my side. Simply put, I need your continued loyalty. So I ask now: do I have that?"
What Fire Lady Tianshang got in response was a resounding series of "ayes!" that served to confirm to her that she did indeed retain the loyalty of her people, or at least those who stood before her now.
Descending into the main hub in full, Fire Lady Tianshang was greeted by her husband, who ran up to her and embraced her tightly.
"I was worried you might not have made it." Ying admitted. "Forgive me for doubting you."
"You feared for the safety of your wife. There is no shame in that." Tianshang said before turning to her daughters and hugging them both. As she finished embracing them she turned to face Korra and Bolin.
"Avatar, meet my two daughters; Ursa my eldest and Tianshi, my younger."
The latter girl smiled warmly upon seeing the two. She wore mostly black clothes with a red top and elaborate red sleeves decorated with gold embroidery and jewelry. She wore golden yellow slippers over her feet and her dark black hair was worn in a braid that went down on her left side. She had piercing green eyes as well, and also a pale complexion that was common among people of the Fire Nation. Perhaps most eye-catching of all though was the long black scabbard she wore at her side. And coming out of it was a black sword hilt with a golden pommel.
Tianshi bowed respectfully to both Korra and Bolin. "It's an honor to get to meet the Avatar." She said happily, her tone filled with warmth and exuberance despite the dire setting.
Ursa bowed next. She was a tall woman like her mother, and in fact was not much shorter than her mother. Her black hair was longer than her sister's and interestingly a bit more unkempt as well. Gold earrings hung from her ear-lobes, and she covered herself with a burgundy dress with a black sash with gold embroidery worn over her waist. Red sandles covered her feet.
"Will you be able to help us take back our Nation?" Ursa asked, to which Korra nodded. "I'll do what I can."
"What is our plan of attack, anyway?" Ying asked, as always playing the role of general.
"Right now bunker down, take stock of our resources, and from there figure something out. With any luck Azula and whatever thugs she's employing won't find these tunnels for a while. That gives us some time to prepare at least."
"We cannot linger." Ying pointed out. "Any firebender can open the gates to the tunnels, so if and when Azula finds them…"
"That's why she won't find them anytime soon." Tianshang said sternly. She turned to face Korra: "Avatar, I have a special request to make of you."
"Which would be…?"
"I need you to find a way out of the Fire Nation and go get help for us. With reinforcements from the other nations backing us we can take back the Fire Nation easily."
"The Southern Water Tribe can't help you and the North's too busy helping the South. As for the URN, the President already sent reinforcements to the South not too long ago to help them. I don't think he'd want to send in more reinforcements so soon after the war with the Steel Empire."
"Then I suppose it is in the Earth Kingdom that we must place our hopes for salvation. Go there and get us the help we need."
"You want me to just leave you here?"
"If you stay, Azula will stop at nothing until you're dead. But if you go to the Earth Kingdom, you can get us reinforcements. The edge that will tip the scale in our favor."
"What if I can't get the Earth Kingdom's help?" Korra asked.
"Then you come back with whatever help you have gotten. Anything is better than nothing."
Korra turned to General Ying. "Do you think this is a good idea?"
"If my wife and Fire Lady says it is best, then I believe her. We are of one mind she and I."
"I would make another request of you." Fire Lady Tianshang said, continuing: "…I wish for you to take my daughters with you."
"What?" Ursa said, disbelieving.
"Mother no! We can fight! We don't have to leave!"
"Tianshi, nothing would destroy me more utterly than seeing you or your sister killed by your grand-aunt and her hounds. And so long as the situation here remains the way it is that is a risk. You will be safe with the Avatar, and if worst comes to worst I will go to my grave with the knowledge that you two will be alive. And so long as you and your brother live, so does the Fire Nation. I am adamant on this matter."
"But we can't just leave you and dad!" Tianshi protested.
Tianshang took her younger daughter in her arms and looked at her hard. "Tianshi, please. I'm asking this of you and your sister from the bottom of my heart. Do not stay here. Leave with the Avatar and I will rest easy."
Tianshi bit her lip and looked over at her older sister for encouragement. It was clear from the look on Ursa's face however that she was sympathizing with her mother's words. And her own only confirmed it.
"Tianshi…mother is right. She and father know what they're doing. We need to respect their wishes and trust the Avatar to protect us."
Tianshi turned to look at Korra as Ursa said this. A look of worry was clearly present in her green eyes, and seeing it Korra tried to reassure her: "Don't worry. I'll keep you and your sister safe. I promise."
"Yeah, we've got your back." Bolin said, encouragement in his tone. "The Avatar and 'Nuk-Tuk, Hero of the South', at your service."
Tianshi smiled at this, a gesture Bolin returned. Tianshi looked back at her mother and nodded. "Alright, mom. I'll go. But…be careful okay?"
Tianshang smiled. "I'll try, daughter." She hugged Tianshi tightly before turning back to Korra and Bolin. "Thank you, Avatar."
Korra nodded. "Don't mention it. Any idea of when you want us to leave?"
"You can stay here for the night. We'll work out a plan for getting you and my daughters out of the capital tomorrow."
"Alright."
As Fire Lady Tianshang then departed with Ying to discuss plans of resistance with her husband, Ursa walked up to Korra and Bolin, a sheepish, awkward smile on her face and a hopeful look in her eyes. "Uh, Avatar, I was just wondering…I've heard how you've fought alongside the URN military…do you know a Commander Bumi?"
Both Korra and Bolin smiled at this and nodded, with the latter answering: "We sure do. He's one of the coolest (and funniest), guys I know."
"You've talked to him?" Ursa said, her eyes widening as she said this. "Did he…did he ever mention me?"
Bolin made a knowing smile before answering: "Sure did. Told us that if we ever saw you to tell you that he's still sorry about your getting married not working out."
"He did?" Ursa's smile widened and she blushed as she looked away in embarrassment. "I miss him. Is he well?"
"Yeah, I'd say he's doing pretty good considering he's an airbender now."
Ursa's eyes widened in surprise again at this news as she turned to look at Korra. "Really? Well that's a surprise."
"Yeah, that's what we were thinking too. He's still in Republic City training under Tenzin now."
"What is Republic City like?" asked Tianshi. "I've heard stories of course, but my sister and I have never actually seen the place. Is it true that you and our brother defeated Amon's last revolution there?"
Korra nodded. "Yeah, we did. Unfortunately ever since Amon came back the remaining Equalists over there have decided to go another round. Last I checked Bolin's brother Mako was leading the efforts against them."
"I bet he's doing a great job with that." Bolin said confidently. "My brother's probably got all of the Equalists over there rounded up by now!"
-X-
"Well, it looks like Hiroshi was here." Mako noted as he oversaw the group of captured equalists. "…but he's long gone now." Mako shook his head. Twice now the older Sato had evaded his grasp, and after the promise he'd made to Asami too.
One of the other officers turned to Mako: "We'll get to work interrogating these Equalists. See if we can't get any of them to tell us where Hiroshi went."
"Don't bother." Came a voice that had lost none of it's strength or resolve since the last time the metalbending police had heard it. Turning around, Mako and the other officers saw Lin Bei-Fong stride forward confidently. "Equalists almost never talk. Least of all to benders. I could probably get one to talk, but I suspect it'd be a waste of time."
"Lin Bei-Fong? But I thought—"
"I'm back and I'm here to stay." Lin said sharply, cutting the man off. "I may not be police chief anymore, but I can bend again."
"You can?" Mako asked.
Lin nodded. "You want a demonstration?"
"No, I'll just take your word for it."
"Good. Now as to where Hiroshi Sato went, I think I can guess easily enough. He's no good to the Equalists except as a resource with which to make them weapons. He'll be trying to get his hands on some of his old tech I'd imagine."
"We already stopped him from doing that, and we've got a police force standing guard over all of the factories in Republic City." Mako pointed out.
"Maybe, but I doubt he's going to give up so easily. He may not try and attack the main factory again, but he will go after one of the smaller ones. We need to be ready for when that happens, if it hasn't already. Contact all of the guards standing watch over the other factories. Tell them to expect company."
"I thought you said you weren't chief anymore?" Mako asked with a smile. Lin frowned.
"You have a better plan, hotshot?" Mako held up his hands. "Alright, alright I'll do it. But after that what are you and I supposed to do?"
Lin allowed herself a slight smile. "You and I are going to go to one of the factories I think Hiroshi will try to infiltrate."
-X-
"I'm pleased to see you walking unaided again." Zuko greeted as his grandsom walked up to him to shake his head. "I just wish my reason for being here was to visit you."
"I understand, grandfather. I'm no stranger to knowing when duty calls."
"You're confident that you can fight again?"
Iroh nodded. "Yes I believe so. The healers here in the North are the very best I've ever seen. I and men under me have been treated by healers from the North that are a part of the army, but I feel there's something about the ones who stay in their homeland that makes them even better. I for one feel as though I was never even shot. Of course, the bit of water from the oasis I convinced them to give me may have also had something to do with it…"
"I'm just glad to see you back at your best." Zuko said with a smile. "It's been too long since you and I spoke."
"It has, grandfather." Iroh said with a nod. "Perhaps once this crisis is abated we can spend some more time together. I'm certain I can convince the URN's powers that be to let me take a leave of absence."
"One thing at a time." Zuko said, "We still have to resolve the matter at hand." He turned to Unalaq as he approached them. "Did you see Zaheer?"
Unalaq shook his head. "No. The only thing I saw was a snowstorm heading our way."
"I think that may be him." Zuko noted, he, Iroh, and Unalaq turning to look at the snowstorm. Sure enough, as it drew closer, Ming Hua and Yao burst forth out of the snow and wind, confirming that the whole thing was being conjured up by Zaheer.
Ming Hua and Yao ran towards Zuko, Iroh, Unalaq, and his children, the masked swordsman's speed such that it outpaced Ming Hua's and left her struggling to keep up. Drawing his Jian, Yao dodged the waterbending attacks that came his way. Zuko shot out fireballs at him, but Yao rolled to one side to avoid these attacks before speeding towards Zuko again. Zuko began backpedaling, shooting out fireball after fireball to try and bring Yao down, but the masked swordsman dodged every attack. Soon Yao had closed the distance enough that he was close enough to strike, his sword coming at the former Fire Lord hard and fast. Zuko moved out of the way enough that the first cut was merely a grazing blow, and sent out a torrent of fire to keep Yao off-balance. Quickly drawing his own swords as Yao recovered, Zuko held them at the ready. Yao darted forward again, and Zuko barely had the time to react to him. Metal met metal with several clangs as Zuko traded blows with Yao's Jian. The masked man's enhanced strength was such that Zuko struggled to keep back his blows, each one that was blocked causing his arms to ripple and his body to shake.
The duel didn't last long. A few attacks from Yao were sufficient to bring Zuko to his knees, and another swing of the sword knocked one of Zuko's swords out of his hands. He ducked under Yao's Jian as it came back around for another slash going in the opposite direction. Zuko then rolled backwards, holding out his remaining sword as Yao sped towards him. A few more traded blows later and the force of Yao's sword slashes knocked Zuko's other sword out of his hands. Thinking quickly, Zuko shot out a torrent of fire that forced Yao backwards.
Elsewhere, Zaheer had entered the battle, engaging Unalaq. The Northern Water Tribe chieftain shot out globs of water and ice shards both as Zaheer deftly avoided every attack and retaliated with complex airbending moves that sent up snow and kept Unalaq back.
"I put you away once Zaheer, and I'm going to do it again!"
Zaheer said nothing, instead letting out another gale-force that succeeded in tripping Unalaq up. Eska and Desna engaged Ming Hua in a deadly dance of waterbending, water, snow, and ice flying everywhere as both the abundance of snow on the ground and the moon shining in the sky ensured that all waterbenders present were able to unleash a far more powerful payload of their chosen element than they otherwise would be. Nowhere was this more apparent than when Eska and Desna created a field of iceberg spikes, the massive stalagmites shooting out of the snow and sending a fair bit of it flying in all directions. But these ultimately did very little to deter the armless waterbender, who maneuvered through them via her water arms.
As Ming Hua closed in on the siblings though, Iroh moved in, unleashing blast after blast of firebending attacks. Ming Hua doused the flames before they could reach her, but Eska and Desna took advantage of this to take the time to freeze Ming Hua's legs, immobilizing her. Ming Hua turned the ice back into water that she then sent the twin's way.
"Keep them out of the prison!" Zuko called out, as he did trying desperately to keep Yao at bay and his sword from eviscerating him, periodically shooting out more blasts of red, orange, and blue fire at Yao to keep him back. But Yao evaded every blast of fire as it came, and only the large torrents of fire could keep him back to any degree.
Soon though the masked man seemed to lose interest in his fight with the former Fire Lord and took off in the direction of the prison.
"No! Stop him! He's going after P'li!"
But Yao avoided Eska and Desna's waterbending attacks with the same ease he did Zuko's firebending, and after closing the distance between them, Yao grabbed each of the twins in one hand, hoisted them up, and slammed their heads into each-other, knocking them out instantly. Throwing their bodies to the ground while simultaneously dodging Iroh's firebending attacks, Yao continued his run to the prison where P'li was kept, with Ming Hua following him. Iroh gave chase, but he could not keep up with Yao. Soon the masked man had reached P'li's cell. A White Lotus sentry standing guard firebended at him, but Yao avoided him easily. Closing the distance between himself and the Sentry, Yao felled him with a single slash from his Jian before performing a backwards thrust, running another White Lotus sentry through before he could attack him from behind.
With his foes dealt with, Yao waited for Ming Hua to catch up with him, whereupon the armless waterbender froze the door to P'li's cell. It fell off it's hinges and collapsed, allowing Ming Hua and Yao entrance into P'li's cell. She looked up and regarded both of them with little besides a raised eyebrow.
"Yao. Ming Hua."
"Time to go." The masked man replied bluntly. P'li nodded in silent acknowledgement. With a single slash of his Jian, Yao severed the metal chains keeping P'li restrained. The tall woman stood up fully, and with her hands now free removed the cuff on her forehead. As the metal cuff was abandoned, P'li's third eye tattoo was now displayed proudly once more. P'li burst into a smile at this and then raced out of her cell with alarming speed. Yao and Ming Hua followed her out, with the former taking the elevator with P'li while the latter chose to exit via her waterbending arms that she turned into frozen hooks.
"Still a show-off, I see." P'li noted as she watched Ming Hua go.
When P'li and Yao reached the surface, they received a torrent of fire from Zuko and Iroh for their troubles. P'li however was ready for this and redirected the fire. Her smile became a massive grin that stretched from ear to ear as her eyes lit up with a brightness to match the fire.
"Thank you..." She said earnestly. "...I've waited thirteen years to feel this warm."
As P'li tamed the fire, her third eye began to grow brighter. Knowing what was coming, Zuko pushed his grandsom out of the way as P'li unleashed her combustion beam. The blast of compressed energy ripped through the air before colliding with the snow and sending large clumps of it flying in all directions in a fiery explosion.
Unalaq took notice of this and turned around to see that P'li had indeed been freed. This proved to be a poor moment to become distracted however, as Zaheer mercilessly exploited Unalaq's vulnerability, blasting him back via airbending. Ming Hua reached the surface at that very moment and began hitting him in the back with waterbending attacks as all the while Zaheer continued to pressure him with airbending. Between the two of them Unalaq went down in short order, collapsing into the snow.
By now, Yao and P'li were running up to Zaheer and Ming Hua. Zuko and Iroh tried to halt their retreat, but P'li's steady stream of combustion attacks went a long way towards keeping the two firebenders at bay. Each near-miss sent up more snow and kept Zuko and Iroh on their toes as they fought to keep from being blown away. Soon, all four had gotten back into the truck where Ghazan was waiting to drive them away. No sooner were they all back in, did Ghazan turn the car around. Zuko tried to shoot the truck down with lightning, but Zaheer conjured up another blizzard to provide the truck cover, preventing Zuko from getting a clear shot.
The former Fire Lord cursed under his breath as the criminals managed to slip away. He turned to both his grandson and Unalaq and helped them back up.
"They got away." He noted bitterly. "And that means things will only get worse from here."
"So what now?" Unalaq asked.
"My grandson and I are going back to the Fire Nation. If the Avatar is still there she must protected. Now that Zaheer's reformed his old gang in full, the Avatar will need all the help she can get."
Meanwhile in the truck, Zaheer and P'li were expressing their happiness at being reunited quite clearly to the other three criminals watching.
"I thought I'd never see you again." P'li said happily.
"I've never doubted it." Zaheer noted, before kissing P'li. As he did, Ming Hua scowled at Yao, who said nothing. Ghazan however, did.
"…really? Right now?"
-X-
She still remembered the moment. Down to the last little detail.
It had been a Turtle-Duck, looking over her eggs. Azula had been looking at the mother and those eggs for a few moments before deciding that she wanted those eggs for herself. Why she couldn't say. In the end it didn't matter. She wanted them and she would get them.
It was only ten minutes later when her mother found Azula and seen what she'd done.
Azula still remembered her mother staring at her in shock, a look of complete and utter disgust on her face as she looked down at Azula's small hands, both of which were dripping crimson.
"I wanted the eggs…." Azula had said. "I just wanted the eggs." She'd tried to sound innocent, almost like a victim instead of a perpetrator. But Ursa wasn't having any of it.
"You…" Ursa tried to finish but it was clear she was struggling to know what to say. Finally, she shook her head and whispered: "You monster."
Still Azula remembered that moment. That moment where she'd left her mother so repulsed, so appalled with how she had given birth to someone who had killed on a whim. The moment where Azula had it confirmed to her that she was not like anyone else. That her mother could not give her what she wanted, nor could anyone else. No one that is, save the father who's craving for power and lack of respect for life was such that it rivaled her own and was who she had likely gotten it from.
And that in turn was the beginning of her lifelong quest for power and domination over others. Now that she had these things at last, she was thinking she was going to have some "fun". It had, of course, been her idea to burn everything, and now she had the means to realize that goal. Clearly it paid to have friends in high places.
"Lord Azula." Came a male voice. Azula turned to it's source to see one of her new royal guards rush into the room. The man's attire was identical to that of the typical Royal Procession, save for one major difference: it was blue instead of red, a symbol of Azula's blue fire.
Then again perhaps I should have made it indigo in view of my fire's current color. Azula mused, but she quickly swept the thought aside. Azula turned back to the blue colored royal guard. "Is there something you want?" she asked in a tone that made it clear the man had best not be wasting her time.
The guardsman shook his head. "No Lord Azula, I'm simply here to inform you that we have still not located Tianshang or the Avatar. Or Amon and his Equalists. However, the whole of the city is now in your hands."
"Of course it is." Azula shot back in an acidic tone before adding in a more smug one: "Amazing, isn't it? It was only just yesterday that I returned home and already I've brought my homeland to it's knees and reclaimed it for myself." She turned to regard the blue guardsman again. "…and such happiness it seems to have brought, yes? I was pleased to see how many of my subjects retain loyalty to their rightful ruler."
The royal guard nodded vigorously. "Of course, Lord Azula. We all know you were just being brainwashed by your father and that you never meant any of those things you did. We all know you're really a wonderful ruler. The best we've ever had."
Azula smiled at that. It hadn't taken her long to discover that the passage of time had had an interesting effect on her reputation, namely that it had given rise to an (in her mind delightfully large) number of people who seemed to be under the impression that she could not be held accountable for any of the evil things she'd done. That it was all somehow her father's doing and that she was not accountable for any of her own sadism and cruelty. Many even took it as far as to argue that she did not even have any conception of right and wrong at the time. And so therefore when Azula made her return, not all of the Fire Nation's citizens were unhappy with it, with dozens of loyal followers ready to pledge fealty to her and fight and kill in her name.
Azula shook her head and kept up her smile as she thought this. "How I so love the simpleton mindset. But then what is a queen or king without pawns? A ruler without fools?"
-X-
"There it is." Hiroshi observed as he and Zhen at last came to the smaller factory.
"Guarded." Zhen noted as he looked out at the metalbending police standing watch before adding: "But nothing I can't handle. I was trained by the best."
Taking out a blowgun, Zhen pulled up enough of his purple mask to expose his mouth. Shooting out a few darts, he sent several flying into the exposed necks of the two metalbending police standing guard. The two men instinctively reached for their necks before then reeling, swaying, and at last collapsing.
Zhen and Hiroshi ran forward as the two policemen standing guard fell, ducking to one side behind one of the factory walls as more metalbending police appeared from around a corner.
"Not really sure what you hope to get from this place." Zhen remarked matter-of-factly.
"I don't need much." Hiroshi noted. "All of my factories have copies of my mecha-tank's schematics. Once I have those and a few raw materials, we'll be good. Fortunately for us, there are shipping trucks in the factory. We can commandeer one."
"If you say so."
Hiroshi turned to Zhen. "I need you to get in through this window and get the schematics. They'll be in the office building at the back of the factory's top floor. Then I need you to get to one of the trucks."
"On it." Zhen said laconically before throwing a grapple-claw that attached itself to the window-ledge. Zhen tugged on the line a few times before climbing up. Upon reaching the window ledge, Zhen opened it and went through, landing on the balcony overlooking the factory floor.
When will people learn to lock their windows? Zhen thought as he began making his way across the balcony. Fortunately, no one was coming his way, allowing him to cover a fair bit of distance. When one person did near his position, Zhen was able to duck to one side to avoid him in time, keeping out of his line of sight. Zhen waited for the man to pass him before then going to the door at the back of the floor that Hiroshi had directed him too. Predictably, it was locked, which in turn told Zhen that Hiroshi had been right about where the office was. He kept to the corner, waiting for the door to open. When it did, the door faced him, obscuring him from the view of the man who left it. As he turned to shut the door though, Zhen darted forwards and grabbed the man, placing a gloved hand over his mouth and pulling him into the shadows. With his free hand he drew his knife and silently disposed of the man before he could raise the alarm.
Getting up, Zhen made his way into the now opened office. He shut the door and locked it with the key he had lifted off of the other man. He rifled through the various clutter on the main table before then going through the drawers. He took the schematics he found and put them all in a bag that he then slung over his shoulder.
Now to the truck.
-X-
The dawn air was cold and the sky still dark when Korra, Bolin, Ursa, and Tianshi left the safety of the hub and made their way through the now mostly abandoned streets of the Fire Nation capital. Mercifully there was not a soul in sight as the four zipped from the cover of one building or alleyway to the next, though the streets being as abandoned as they were did send a chill up the Fire Nation daughter's spines. They were used to seeing their parent's kingdom densely populated, a sight of commerce and activity. To see the streets so devoid of life therefore was a most alien sight, and not one either of the young women liked. Bolin and Korra couldn't claim to love it either.
"This place is giving me a real case of the willies right now." Bolin noted as he looked around for any sign of anyone else and saw not a soul. Only buildings that were as empty the streets. Some of them showed clear signs of being damaged or ransacked, and signs hung limply from posts or else were smashed to pieces along with windows and doors, with many of the latter being torn off their hinges.
"Where is everybody?" Korra wondered aloud. "I mean I know a lot of people are hiding, but not everyone in the Fire Nation were in the hub…"
"Who knows what Azula's done with everyone else?" Tianshi asked rhetorically before adding: "She probably banished them all. She did that last time."
"Somehow, I think she might have done something a bit worse this time…"
"Maybe everyone's still sleeping." Bolin suggested hopefully. "I mean it is still pretty early…"
"You are ever the optimist." Ursa noted in a deadpan.
Tianshi smiled. "I think it's kind of nice, personally. Can't just lay down and die right? Sometimes you need to hold out hope."
"Well, I've got one fan at least…"
"Everyone get down and be quiet!" Korra ordered, pulling Bolin and the Fire Nation princesses behind cover. Peering out from behind it, the four could see several rows of men clad in red and burgundy clothes with black boots and gloves marching through the streets, the pants flaring out dramatically and a wide belt worn over the coat, with large pockets on the left and right sides of the breast. Finally, each of them wore a hat over their heads and an armband bearing the symbol of the Fire Nation over one upper arm.
"Looks like Azula's already gotten some firebenders back on her side." Korra noted grimly.
"I'm not surprised." Ursa noted bitterly. "For years there's been this insane cult in her name that our parents were always having to deal with. A bunch of people who worshipped our grand-aunt and acted as though she were the greatest person to ever live, and was just 'misunderstood' or something like that."
"…wow. And I thought the Equalists were crazy."
"And now that Azula's back her followers have gone back to her like loyal hounds." Ursa sound, voice filled with disgust and disapproval.
"Then let's try not to get bitten." Bolin quipped.
"Come on, there's another route we can take. Hopefully there won't be more of Azula's soldiers there."
And so the four went in a direction opposite the one Azula's men were going in, circling around several buildings and then criss-crossing through a couple alleyways. From there, they briefly hid to avoid another patrol before then continuing, weaving through more alleyways and narrow passes until at last the harbor was in sight. And incredibly, no guards seemed to stand watch over it.
"Guess Azula's not expecting help to come any time soon." Korra reasoned.
"That won't be the case forever. Our grandaunt may be evil but she's not stupid. She'll have all of the harbors and piers blocked off before long. We must make haste then. We won't get another chance to escape."
Korra nodded. "I agree. Good thing there's no guards, since it means we have a clear run to the sh—"
But as Korra said this, the four's path to the boats was interrupted when they saw two of Yanwu's Avatars walk by. The gold-masked men stopped and turned to stare blankly at Korra, Bolin, Ursa, and Tianshi.
"…oh great. Me and my big mouth."
Yanwu's two Avatars zipped towards the four, and Korra shouted at the Fire Nation princesses and Bolin to run to the boat while she held her ground against the masked men.
The docks soon erupted into an intense exchange of multiple elements. Fire, water, earth, and wind all went flying in equal amounts as Korra did her best to keep back the barrage of attacks sent her way, and replying in kind with every bending move and trick she knew. Switching rapidly between elements was one particular one that seemed to work quite often. Korra's opponents were slower to switch elements and also telegraphed it more, and Korra was able to keep them on their toes by unleashing a waterbending assault to only then suddenly switch to air or firebending. She made a smile of grim satisfaction as her attacks collided with her pretenders, but their retaliatory barrage of elemental attacks did well to keep Korra on her toes.
Meanwhile, Bolin, Tianshi, and Ursa had reached one of the boats, only to find as they ran up the ramp several of Azula's men waiting for them, some in firebending stances and others with swords drawn.
"You think our ruler is a fool? She anticipated that you and the Avatar might try and flee."
"Traitors!" Ursa roared, shooting out a jet of fire as she did. The men saw it coming in time to dodge and disperse it. Undeterred, Ursa unleashed more firebending attacks, focusing on the firebenders in the group while Tianshi drew her longsword from her scabbard and took to slashing and thrusting in every direction, the weapon flashing in steel blurs as she deftly traded blows with the sword-toting thugs under Azula's command. Bolin, knowing he was useless on a metal boat with no nearby earth, kept back and let the Fire Nation Princesses do their thing.
Back down below, Korra continued her fight with Yanwu's Avatars. One of them seemed to be moving a little slower courtesy of the many hits from fireballs, water-whips, and chunks of rubble he'd received, but the other remained as tenacious as ever, shooting water to counter Korra's fire, and air to toss away the chunks of earth Korra sprinkled into her attack strategy. Deciding to beat the man at his own game, Korra began launching her own gusts of wind and water attacks. The pretender dodged all of these attacks, but when he landed Korra hit on a new idea. It was a trick she didn't use often and knew that here it would only work once.
But it was a good trick.
Conjuring up more water, Korra held her ground before waiting for the two fake Avatars to dart forward again. Korra dodged the firebending of one and then launched her water at the other, slower one. She managed to freeze him to the ground as she converted the water to ice. Several rapid-fire chunks of earth were sent his way, each one smashing into him from a different angle, before finally bringing the masked man down.
That just left the other Avatar to deal with. Round and round the two went, sending out elemental attacks of all kinds. But with his partner down the other Avatar seemed to be less confident, his attacks coming with less frequency and being more easily dodged or blocked. A gust of wind from Korra knocked him back, and fireballs kept him at bay. Turning to see that a battle had erupted on the boat, Korra ran up the ramp. The other Avatar pursued, but Korra managed to knock him off the ramp with a waterbending attack, drawing on the water of the bay to give it an extra oomph. When she made her way onto the boat in full, Korra could see that most of the Fire Nation soldiers were already down for the count, either courtesy of Ursa's firebending or on the ground bleeding with cuts all over their arms and legs from Tianshi's swordplay.
"Leave some for me." Korra remarked in a deadpan, as she did sending out a blast of fire into the path of one of the remaining firebenders. He dispersed the flames but in doing so left himself open to an attack from Ursa, this one a jet of fire so powerful it knocked him right off the edge of the boat. As this was happening, Tianshi finally disarmed her final opponent of his sword and then brought him down with a quick strike to the leg. After throwing the downed soldiers overboard, Korra and Bolin turned to look at the two princesses.
"I'm impressed." Korra admitted.
Tianshi smiled. "You didn't really think we spent all of our time going shopping and ordering servants around, did you? Mother and father made sure we were just as good at fighting as our brother Iroh."
Bolin shook his head. "No, no not surprised at all. But definitely impressed. You two ladies are awesome!"
Tianshi giggled, which was a sound that Bolin found quite pleasing to listen to. Her face was also a pleasing thing, for his eyes rather than his ears. Between that and her ability to kick a fair bit of butt, and without bending no less, Bolin suddenly found himself much more appreciative of just why Mako had fallen in love with Asami.
"We should leave as soon as we can. Azula will only send more goons after us."
Ursa nodded. "I agree. Fortunately, I know a thing or two about managing boats. My father and brother showed me how they work once or twice."
"Good." Korra turned to Tianshi. "We'll come back with reinforcements, Tianshi. I promise."
"I hope so. I don't know how much longer mom and dad can hold out on their own…"
Bolin placed a hand on Tianshi's shoulder encouragingly. "Hey, relax, Tianshi. Your parents aren't alone. They've still got a whole nation standing by them. They'll be fine."
Tianshi smiled warmly at Bolin, which made him break into a smile of his own. "Thanks, Bolin."
"Hey, that's what I'm here for, beautiful. Saving the day and bringing a smile to people's faces. All in a day's work for Nuk-Tuk Hero of the South!"
-X-
Lin and Mako's drive to one of Future Industries' factories got a most unexpected detour when one of the company's trucks went zooming past them with such speed and power that had Mako and Lin's satomobile been in their path at the time they'd have been pulverized instantly. As it was, the sight of it was enough that Lin and Mako knew they'd found Hiroshi Sato, and so gave chase.
Zhen saw the police car in the truck's mirror. "More cops." He noted before adding matter-of-factly: "The firebender too."
"The lad's tenacious, I'll grant him that." Hiroshi muttered before adding: "Can you shake them?"
"We'll find out soon enough." Zhen said matter-of-factly as he swerved the truck dramatically and sent it down a narrow street that it barely fit through. Pedestrians screamed and shoved at each-other to get out of the way. Mako and Lin's car pursued, with Lin undoing her seat-belt, standing upright, and then via a series of elaborate motions ripping the back of the truck off and holding it out as a platform. Lin leaped onto this platform and then from there leaped into the back of the truck, rolling as she landed. Standing up, Lin entered a metalbending stance and called out to Hiroshi and Zhen: "It's over, Hiroshi. Come quietly."
"Never!" Hiroshi shouted, before turning to Zhen: "Deal with her! I'll take the wheel!"
Zhen got out of the driver's seat, which Hiroshi then took as the purple masked man advanced towards Lin. The policewoman shot out some metal cables from her wrist gauntlets. Zhen avoided these attacks before zipping towards Lin. She side-stepped to dodge his charge, and then grabbed him. He spun around and tried to deliver a chop to her neck, but Lin grabbed his hand with her free arm and then slammed her head into his. Zhen's knees nearly buckled out from under him as this happened before Lin then lifted Zhen up and slammed him into the floor, pinning him down.
At that moment, Hiroshi swerved dramatically again, and this managed to send Lin flying backwards into the opposite wall. Now freed, Zhen ran at Lin again. She shot out a cable but he avoided it and then closed the distance. Lin kicked him back and got up.
"Can't chi-block me with this armor." She noted, a satisfied smirk forming as she did.
Another dramatic swerve of the truck, and this time Zhen went flying forwards towards Lin. He drew one of his knives and tried to plunge it into her neck or face, but she saw it coming in time to keep it back with her metalbending. Zhen grunted, before then with his other hand drawing another knife and stabbing upwards with it. Lin held out her hand to stop it but was left shocked when the knife simply went through her hand. She gasped and cried out in pain as a small puddle of blood began forming on the floor.
"Platinum knife." Zhen explained. "Not even you metalbenders can bend that."
Lin responded by kicking Zhen in the groin. He gasped and doubled over, and Lin kicked him in the face with enough force to knock him back. She pulled the knife out of her hand and tossed it away. Zhen ran forward and caught it by the handle before it could go flying out of the back of the truck. He held it menacingly at the ready, the silver blade now almost completely red. In his other hand he still held the non-platinum knife.
Hiroshi swerved the truck yet again, and this time was also the last. Unable to handle the dramatic, sudden shift, the truck lost control and fell on it's side as it slid forward dramatically, as it did destroying or knocking over everything in it's path. One Satomobile was hit so hard it's front was crushed and it went spiraling. Another Satomobile was knocked on it's side. And this was to say nothing for the crates, fire hydrant, and small stall the truck also managed to destroy, splinters and food reduced to pulp both going flying in all directions as a result of the last one.
Incredibly, Hiroshi retained consciousness. Also fortunate was that the front window had not been shattered. Hastily undoing his seat-belt, Hiroshi opened the door and clambered out of the truck. From his now elevated position on top of the truck's upward-facing side Hiroshi could see that Mako was still on to him, as were several other satomobiles at this point. Cursing under his breath, Hiroshi slid off the side of the truck and took off, not even waiting for Zhen to catch up or even checking to see if he was alright. At the moment the only concern of his was making sure he didn't end up in a prison cell again.
For Mako's part, when he saw what had happened to the truck, he ran over to see if Lin was alright. Coming up to the torn off rear, he only narrowly avoided a blade thrown his way by Zhen, who bolted out of the rear. Mako shot some fireballs at him but Zhen managed to narrowly evade the projectiles and limp off in the direction Hiroshi Sato had gone off to. Mako was tempted to pursue but wanted to make sure that Lin was okay. Turning to look for Lin, he saw her on the ground bruised and banged up, but clearly still alive. Simply put, her armor had done it's job.
"I'll be fine." Lin growled. "Don't let Hiroshi get away again!"
Mako nodded, and then turned around and exited the truck. Seeing neither Zhen nor Hiroshi in sight, Mako feared he'd lost them both, but then reasoned that with the former's injury and the latter's being far from a prime physical specimen, Mako was confident he could catch up with them. He need only pick a direction and hope it was the right one.
Remembering that Hiroshi had run off to the left, Mako went that way, running through the busy and now very much panicking crowd.
I've got you now, Hiroshi. You're not getting away a third time.
-X-
"The Fire Nation is mine again, master." Azula said to Yanwu as he remained imprisoned inside his tree.
"Good. I take it my newest servants have proven their worth?"
Azula smiled wickedly and nodded. "Oh yes, I'd say they have. With their each having the power of an Avatar, nothing can stand against them save the real Avatar, and even she struggles against their power."
"Don't get too presumptuous." Yanwu said. "My Avatars do not have the power of a full Avatar. They are each of them only possessed of a portion of the Avatar's powers, being adept in all elements but masters of none of them. I can only spread my power so far when still imprisoned like this. I cannot give countless people the level of power my sisters gave the Avatar, only a portion of that power."
"It hardly matters, though. Even with their being only adept in all of the elements that still makes them more than a match for most other benders, especially when there's so many of them. And while they did fail to capture and defeat the Avatar, they still sent her fleeing along with my grandnieces."
"She will return to challenge us again soon enough." Yanwu pointed out before adding: "I must say my sisters did manage to create a powerful force with this 'Avatar' of theirs. And I may have found a means of empowering servants with all of the elements, but it is not the same. As I've already noted, my army of Avatars lack the power, finesse, and experience of Raava's pet. To create a force truly powerful enough to combat her, I must do as my sisters did. I must become my more powerful form once more, and use it fuse with one, single human to create the ultimate manifestation of power: a Dark Avatar."
Azula felt herself growing very excited by this news indeed. Thoughts of suddenly becoming more powerful than ever before and what she would do with that power began to run rampant through her mind. A golden opportunity had just presented itself. But before she rushed recklessly into anything, Azula remarked: "Well…I must say I am rather surprised. I mean, given how much you despise humanity, I can't imagine you ever sharing your power with one so directly."
"It is little different from me giving my power to others the way I did with you, and the way I did with my Avatar Army. This is simply a more…'personal' passing of power. And while it is true I do loathe humans, as you yourself know, I am not above using them to fulfill my goals and further my agenda. Whomever becomes the Dark Avatar will be no different in that respect. He, or she, will simply be another means to an end."
"I figured as much." Azula noted before asking: "Any ideas for who would be receiving such power?"
"Actually, yes. The puppet I have already installed a portion of myself into will do quite nicely I think. I already have some direct control over him, it will be a simple matter once I am free to bond with him in full."
"Oh, rest assured master: when Harmonic Convergence comes, you will be free to bring the Dark Avatar to the world."
"Yes…and with the Dark Avatar will come the destruction of your world that I have long sought. The shadows will blanket the Earth's surface and blot out the sun. That which walks, crawls, flies, swims, or slithers will die. For those that remain, I will instill in their hearts and minds the one truth that will continue to hold any meaning in the last pitiful moments of their existence: that in this world of darkness, I am God."
-X-
It was quiet, he found. Not a pleasant quiet either. This was the kind of silence a graveyard possessed.
Everywhere Amon and his followers looked, the city streets lay deserted, houses abandoned. Not a soul anywhere in sight save for the groups of firebenders and armed soldiers who had run afoul of the Equalists and paid dearly for it. And this time, Amon wasn't taking prisoners. Not when Tarrlok's return showed quite clearly that his gift from Koh was not as permanent as the Spirit had claimed.
What has happened to honor in this world? Amon silently lamented. Even the Spirits cheat me. Can I trust no one but myself?
Amon's gaze turned to his son, who was busy ordering some Chi-Blockers around, telling them to dispose of the bodies of the Equalist's latest victims. Well, there is still my son at least.
Said son walked up to his father. "Where do you want to go to next? Keep looking for other civilians?"
Amon shook his head. "No. Clearly most of the people who have not embraced Azula are hiding somewhere. Someplace where Azula's thugs cannot easily find them."
"Should we try to find them?"
Again Amon shook his head. "I think it will be better if we cut off the problem at it's source. Behead the weasel-viper before it has a chance to bite again. A chance to poison more people with the venom that runs through it's fangs. We need to kill Azula."
"She'll be guarded."
"I'm aware. But we must still try. The key then is devising a plan that will successfully kill her. Poison is one possibility, but what poison to use and how to get it into her system is the key. Another possibility would be the mecha-tanks given to us by Hiroshi Sato, but he is still in Republic City. No, we must devise an alternate plan…" Amon's eyes widened behind his mask as he hit upon an idea. "The Avatar. If we can defeat her and leave her vulnerable, Azula will be unable to resist the temptation of finishing off her foe, and then we can move in and strike her while she's vulnerable."
"But the Avatar's left the Fire Nation."
"Yes, to get reinforcements. She'll be back soon enough. And when she comes back, we will be ready for her. We can destroy two of our greatest enemies with one plan."
"And what if the Avatar doesn't come back?"
Amon shrugged. "Then we will simply find a new plan. But somehow, I suspect the Avatar will come back in good time. And when she does, we will seize on the opportunity."
The Lieutenant nodded respectfully in silent consent to his father's plan. "Very well. But what will we do in the meantime?"
"Isn't it obvious? If not kill Azula, hurt her hold on the Fire Nation as much and as often as we can."
-X-
Hiroshi allowed himself a moment to stop and catch the breath he had become so very short of. Gasping and wheezing, Hiroshi closed his eyes tightly behind his spectacles (which themselves had been knocked askew) as sweat beaded down his forehead and face. Physical exertion of any kind was just about the very last thing he was good at it, and now he was suffering for having to do so much of it in one sitting. Truth be told he was surprised he hadn't dropped dead by this point.
"I can see now why you just build the weapons rather than wield them." Zhen noted in a deadpan as he came out of the shadows and approached Hiroshi, who clutched his heart as the surprise arrival on top of everything else threatened to give him a heart-attack.
"Oh, shut up." The older man snapped, his shortness of breath, burning lungs, sweaty face and clothes, and sore legs all contributing to make him decidedly unwilling to humor his counterpart's derision.
"Looks like your plan to get to one of the smaller factories was no more successful than our assault on the main one." Zhen continued. Hiroshi couldn't help but get the feeling that the purple masked man enjoyed testing him.
"I'm aware of that!" Hiroshi barked, and then cursing at how even this took energy he did not have. He just continued to pant and heave, even though it hurt to breath. Finally, as he felt some of his lost energy begin to return, he said weakly but matter-of-factly: "They'll be on to us now more than ever. They probably have police guarding every factory at this point, and every officer in the city looking for us after that fiasco in the street. We have no choice but to fall back to our headquarters. In fact, we may need to flee Republic City altogether. I still have the schematics and can cobble together the resources I need from other parts of the world. I'd recommend starting in the Fire Nation, since Amon's already crusading there and there is an abundance of resources I could use there."
"Actually, I have a better idea…"
Hiroshi gasped as he felt the sharp, hot sting of a knife go into his back, followed by another. He felt the blood seep out of his body before collapsing. Turning around, he saw Zhen standing over him, both knives in hand and dripping crimson.
"…I kill you right here, right now, and deal the Equalists a loss they can't afford."
"W-what? But why?" Hiroshi asked weakly as his injuries left him unable to force himself up.
"Benders aren't the only ones who can't be trusted, old man. Hail Zhan Zeng."
And then without pause or mercy, Zhen stabbed Hiroshi Sato again and again, the older man gasping in pain with every stab as blood began to trickle out of his mouth in addition to the wounds the knives were making. And all the while the sleeper agent in service to Yanwu said not a word.
Murder wasn't a talkative thing.
-X-
Mako stopped. He knew he shouldn't. He'd tracked Hiroshi down to this part of the city, and he was now so close to catching him. And after the older man's slipping his grasp twice before, he was definitely eager to finally catch him and put him away. Back where he couldn't hurt anyone else again, least of all Asami.
But he also knew that Hiroshi would not have been able to have gotten far, and likely would have stopped to catch his breath by this point. Mako could afford to do the same for at least a brief moment…
"Mako!"
Heart racing, Mako whipped around to see none other than Asami standing there, back in her biker outfit and with her pilfered Equalist shock gauntlet over one of her brown gloved hands.
"Asami! What are you doing here?"
"I came to help you find my father." She said resolutely. "And before you say anything, I'm well enough to stand and walk. I don't need to lie in bed for another couple hours. I can help."
Mako shook his head. "You shouldn't ha—" Mako stopped short. He realized as he looked at Asami that she really did seem to be in well enough shape. There was no look of pain on her face, no grimace. Her bruises and cuts were gone by this point courtesy of the waterbending healers, and she did not even seem to stagger or stand with any kind of difficulty. In the end he was forced to concede that she really had recovered, or at least enough that she could bear witness to her father's recapture.
Mako nodded. "Alright, fine. You're here, and I'm going to accept that." He cocked his head to one side. "Your father's not far from here."
"Then let's go get him. Together."
"Ladies first." Mako said, to which Asami smiled and took off, with Mako following. They went down a few more streets and through a few more alleyways before at last they reached the place Hiroshi Sato had gone to.
But what they saw shocked them both.
Lying there, in a large puddle of his own blood was Hiroshi Sato, having been stabbed repeatedly by knife.
Mako's jaw hung open and he found himself unable to say a word. He turned to look at Asami only to see that she was already running to where her father lay.
"Dad? Dad!?" Asami called out. Incredibly, Hiroshi turned his head slightly to look up at her. He made a weak smile.
"Asami…"
"Daddy, what happened? Who did this!?" Asami demanded, falling to her knees and analyzing her father's injuries. One look told her immediately that they were too extensive for anything save the most powerful healer, and no such healer could ever come in time. The pool of red beneath Hiroshi's body seemed to only spread out further and further.
"Asami…" Hiroshi repeated weakly. "Know this…you…you are my greatest invention. The greatest thing any parent can bring into this world is their…their…"
Hiroshi never finished his sentence, but Asami finished it for him: "…child." She said softly. She could already feel tears well up in her eyes and then slide down her cheeks.
And with one last gasp, Hiroshi Sato expired. As Asami heard it and saw him close his eyes, her own filled up with yet more tears, and she found herself weeping before then outright sobbing. She angrily wiped as many of the tears away as she could but they would not stop. The pain she had felt for Korra when her father had died suddenly came back, only now augmented a hundred-fold as it was her own father who lay dead. Her own hated, villainous father who had caused her and others so much pain. The father she had all but disowned. And now that she lay there kneeling in her father's blood and seeing how like her mother before him he'd been murdered, all Asami could do was scream in utter agony, sobbing as she finished. Her eyes were now red and the pain she'd felt when her mother had died was now back in full, the same wound in her heart being torn wide-open again.
Mako wrapped his arms around her. Asami angrily shoved those arms away. She couldn't do it. She couldn't let anyone in. But Mako refused to let her go, refused to let her bear the pain by herself. He grabbed her again. She forced him off again, but he just put his arms around her a third time. She struggled against his grip before then shrinking in it, burying her face into his chest and making it wet with her tears. Her whole body was shaking violently, but Mako still held her tightly.
"I've got you." Mako reassured her, refusing to let go of the woman he loved. "I've got you. I've got you…"
Author's Note: And so with another supporting character dead, several more in a dire place, and the whole Fire Nation in an even more dire place, this super long chapter ends on a rather somber note. But I do recognize the need to break up the darkness with moments of levity and humor, and so the next chapter will have some of that. Among other things a certain someone will be getting introduced in that chapter, and he tends to lend himself to more light-hearted moments and tales. So long story short, take heart that the immediate future isn't all darkness, tragedy, and gloom.
You know, in respects to the flashback to Azula's childhood, I had actually meant there to be more than one flashback, but in the end it wound up being just the one. I personally think it serves it's purpose well enough. My own little take on the moment where Ursa apparently called her daughter a monster. I figured it had to be something fairly messed up to warrant that reaction, and animal cruelty was what I came up with. It is also a symptom of real life child sociopaths, so I thought it fit.
And yes, Ursa is also the name of one of Zuko's granddaughters. I figured that made sense too, since Katara named one of her daughters after her mother. Same idea really.
