Zuko tightened the hood of his new Earth Kingdom coat over his head, shielding his face from view. "Everyone keep your heads down and don't draw attention to yourselves."
Ever since arriving in Ba Sing Se earlier that afternoon, they had taken special precautions to remain unnoticed. Druk had dropped them off several miles outside the Outer Wall, and Toph had tunneled them into the Lower Ring. Once inside the city, they had 'borrowed' some traditional Earth Kingdom clothing from a local boutique in order to blend in, taking heavier attire with hoods to further disguise themselves. Given the winter cold, no one would think twice about them bundling up.
"Looks like the world's creepiest police force really is back," Anraq muttered, glancing towards a nearby alley. Two Dai Li agents stood there, stiff as boards with their hands clasped behind their backs and the brims of their hats set low over their eyes. "I've seen Dai Li agents stationed on every damn block."
"No doubt to keep the people in order," Toph said. "I'll bet my swamp that anyone who causes problems mysteriously disappears in the middle of the night."
"Well, if these Dai Li are anything like the ones I controlled when I staged my coup on this city years ago, they're not that tough." Azula held her hands together beneath the wide sleeves of her earth-green jacket. She kept her chi flowing, warming the interior of the garment to combat the growing winter chill. "At least, not once you have them figured out. If you don't know what you're doing, I imagine they'd be quite formidable."
Toph scoffed, turning her attention away from the agents stationed near the alley. "Please, the Dai Li are children compared to me."
"I don't care how much either of you think you can handle them," Zuko said, "let's not give them reason to pay attention to us. Just keep to yourselves."
Azula rolled her eyes, and gave her brother a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Yes, Zuzu, don't you worry. This isn't the first time I've infiltrated Ba Sing Se. Or even the second time."
Zuko offered a grumble of acknowledgment, and shifted his attention to the old earthbender. "Toph, can you see anything yet?"
"There are tunnels that run beneath the entirety of this city," she replied, concentrating on the vibrations in the ground. The fact that she wasn't wearing shoes didn't seem to bother her much, despite the cold. "A lot of them. All I'm seeing right now are empty caverns, though. No sign of any prisoners or the like."
"We'd better keep moving, then." Zuko gave one more glance towards the Dai Li agents, and continued down the street. "Ba Sing Se is enormous. That means we could have a lot of searching ahead of us."
A hefty understatement, if there ever was one. Ba Sing Se was large enough to be its own separate nation. Millions of people lived here. One might have an easier time locating a single strand of hay in a sea of needles than trying to locate a single individual within this city's walls.
"That's assuming she's even still here," Anraq said. "Who's to say they didn't move her somewhere else? She could be in Omashu for all we know. Or even out in the Agrarian Zone somewhere."
Zuko hummed softly, narrowing his gaze. "Let's focus on Ba Sing Se first. We'll worry about other possibilities if we can't find her here."
They wandered the streets for hours, allowing Toph to expand her sensory range the farther they traveled. A fruitless search, all things considered. Nothing but empty tunnels, as far as the master earthbender could see. Occasionally, she'd point out passing Dai Li patrols moving within the tunnels, but nothing to indicate they were guarding any prisoners. None of the above-ground prisons held Izumi, either. Only standard criminal thugs. By the end of their search, they had only managed to cover a small fraction of the city. Plenty hidden areas left to investigate.
When night descended over Ba Sing Se, they decided to turn in for the day. Only a handful of people continued to roam the streets after dark, as most of the Lower Ring citizens returned to their homes. Whether that was due to typical Ba Sing Se social norms, or due to some unknown curfew that had been instated, they'd be far more noticeable right now to any patrolling Dai Li. Best to resume their search in the morning. For now, they located a local inn and rented out a couple of rooms to stay the night.
"Well, I think we covered about, what, a tenth of the Lower Ring today?" Anraq said, as he followed the others through the inn. "That's... good, I guess?"
"The Lower Ring is the largest city ring, so that's something," Zuko said, halting outside the doors that led into the pair of rooms they'd rented. "We'll search more tomorrow. For now, we should get some rest."
Azula glanced to the door on the left and took one of the keys from her brother. "I suppose Annie and I will take this room. See you two in the morning."
Once they were inside the room, Anraq removed his coat and threw it on one of the two beds. He yawned, and lowered himself onto the edge of the mattress. Azula crossed the floor and stood in front of the window, peering out from behind the curtain.
"What are you looking at?" Anraq asked.
"Nothing," she insisted, as she maintained a careful gaze on the darkened streets beyond.
Anraq watched her a moment, and stood up to make his way behind her. Still, she stared out the window. "So, how are you doing? I mean, with Toph here and all."
"Perfectly fine. Why wouldn't I be? I don't need that old crone's approval to feel good about myself. I just try to ignore her for the most part."
"Well, I suppose that's easy enough. Since... she seems to be doing the same with you."
"Whatever." Azula shifted her gaze towards the other end of the street. Come on, where were they? "I really don't feel like talking about her, if it's all the same to you."
Anraq nodded, and returned to the bed. "Right, yeah, sure."
Azula tapped her fingers against the windowsill, fighting against her gradually dwindling patience. "The way we're searching for 'Zumi right now is inefficient. We can't keep wandering around aimlessly hoping the Blind Wonder sees something with her disgusting feet."
"Well, what else do you expect us to do?"
"We should go straight to the source."
Anraq squinted at her curiously. "What do you mean?"
Azula paused, squinting towards a darkened street corner. A flicker of movement caught her gaze, and she smirked. There they were. "I mean them."
She pulled aside the curtain and pointed out the window. Anraq stood up again and joined her. He looked to where she was pointing, noting the pair of Dai Li agents strolling out of the mouth of the alley in the opposite direction as the inn. By now, all but a few lingering citizens had disappeared, leaving the streets of Ba Sing Se empty and quiet.
Anraq turned a slow, puzzled stare towards his girlfriend. "You want to attack Dai Li agents?"
"And interrogate them, yes."
"We're supposed to be keeping a low profile," he said, narrowing his eyes. "You realize that, right?"
She merely sighed, and offered an impatient shrug. "Yes, well, I was never any good at following orders. I'm more inclined to give them."
Anraq watched her open the window, and uttered a disbelieving groan. "Do you have any idea how many things could go wrong here?"
"Do you realize how many things could go right?" she said, looking at him over her shoulder.
"One," he said, holding up a single finger. "One thing could go right."
"Oh quit being such a worrier." Azula was already halfway out the window. "Are you coming with me or not?"
Anraq sighed, and grabbed his coat off the bed. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"
A grin spread across Azula's face. "Not really, no."
They kept to the shadows as they tailed the Dai Li agents down the street. Every so often, the agents would turn to look behind themselves, forcing Azula to pull Anraq with her behind a fruit stand, or a parked satomobile. Stealth had never been Annie's strong suit, so he followed her lead. She knew what she was doing at least, able to remain out of sight at the exact right moments, all while drawing closer to their targets.
"So what's the plan?" he whispered, peering around the side of a car. The agents had stopped outside another alley, as though waiting for something. "We can't just attack them in the middle of the street."
"Hmm..." Azula rubbed a hand along her chin, thinking. Several moments later, she stood up from her hiding spot. "Wait two minutes, and then follow me. Have your water ready."
"Wait, what are you—" He never got a chance to finish his words, as Azula darted out from her hiding place and raced down the street, with her hood down and face exposed.
Azula quickened her pace when she neared the agents. By the time they turned to see who was sprinting at them, she was already shoving her way between them, nearly knocking them over on her way by. She entered the alley and glanced back at them over her shoulder, flashing a smirk. Recognition ignited across their faces. They gave chase, gliding across the ground on their earthen boots.
The chase didn't last long. That was the whole point. Still, Azula made a spectacle of it. She leaped across the building walls, climbed over a chain fence, and dodged the rocky gloves the agents shot at her. When she'd had her fun, she purposefully dodged into one of the gloves, allowing its earthen fingers to snatch the hood of her jacket. The projectile immediately yanked her backwards across the ground, straight in the grasp of one of the Dai Li agents.
"Hey, let me go!" she said, tugging at her coat.
"Well, well, look at what we've found here," said the agent holding her hood. "Azula, fugitive of the Dragon Empire. What are you doing all the way in Ba Sing Se?
"That's none of your business. Unhand me at once!"
"I don't think so," he replied, as he placed a pair of earthen cuffs around her wrists. "You are hereby under arrest. I'm sure Empress Yula will love to see you."
"You can't arrest me!"
The man smirked. "What are you going to do about it? You can't even bend anymore, isn't that right?"
"Oh no, you're right." Azula huffed out a mock sigh, bowing her head. "Whatever will I do?"
On cue, Anraq's voice called out from behind the agents. "Hey."
Both Dai Li agents turned around, straight into the path of two flying ice bricks. The frozen projectiles pummeled their skulls, knocking them out cold. Azula stepped away and broke the cuffs from her wrists, glaring down at the fallen agents with a scoff.
"Well, that was easy," she stated. "Now, let's take them somewhere private."
Water splashed across the faces of the unconscious Dai Li agents. They coughed and sputtered awake, lurching with wide eyes. They didn't make it very far, both of them frozen in a block of ice up to their shoulders. Their eyes shifted frantically around the room, taking in the abandoned warehouse they now found themselves in.
"Oh look, the idiots are awake." Azula took a step forward, arms crossed over her chest. "Good. Now we can get started."
The agent with a thin mustache blinked up at her. "What is this?"
"This is the part where you give us information, or we hurt you," she said, lowering her brow into a heated glare. "I'm going to ask you this once, and once only: where is Earth Queen Izumi?"
The other agent, who sported a long braided ponytail, fired back with a scowl. "You won't get anything from us."
"Oh no?" Azula tapped her fingers against her lips in mock contemplation. A wicked grin slashed across her face moments later, as she ignited a blue flame from her knuckles in the shape of a dagger. "You must be quite the masochists."
The mustached agent stiffened, eyes widening. "I thought she couldn't firebend anymore!"
"Apparently our intel was wrong..." muttered the other agent.
"So," Azula stated, with a smirk, "who wants to have their flesh melt first?"
The braided agent retained a defiant glare. "You're bluffing."
"Hmm, you're probably right." Azula took a few steps forward and extinguished the flame from her grasp. She tapped her fingers against her lips again. "Although..."
Without warning, she lowered herself in front of the man and pressed her index finger against his forehead. Instantly, his skin began to sizzle and burn. The Dai Li agent opened his mouth to scream, but Azula pressed her other hand over his lips to silence him. All that came out was a muffled shriek of pain.
"I'd listen to her," Anraq said, as he stepped into view. He focused on the agent with the mustache, who watched in horror as Azula burned his partner's forehead. "She really doesn't bluff."
Azula removed her finger from the man's forehead, leaving behind a bright, red burn mark. With one agent whimpering in pain, she turned her attention towards the second man. "What about you? Where do you want your scar?"
"No, don't! Please!" He wriggled in his frozen prison, unable to back away from her. "I'll talk, I swear! Just don't burn me."
Azula grinned. "Now that's more like it."
A loud knock pounded against the inn door. "Hey, geezers, wake up!"
Zuko stumbled through the dark, throwing open the door before he was even fully awake. A thick fog of sleep glazed over his eyes, barely able to determine who was standing in the hallway with a careful squint. "Azula? What's going on?"
"Hey!" Toph appeared behind him, glaring at the open door with that signature blank stare of hers. "People are trying to sleep in here! Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Clearly past your bedtime," Azula muttered, shooting a glare towards the old woman. "But now's not the time to sleep. Wake up and let's move."
Zuko blinked at her, wiping the sleep away from his eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"We know where Izumi is."
The tunnels beneath the city were dim. Dully glowing crystals along the walls offered small bubbles of green light as they went, barely enough to see where they were going. Beyond that, there was only darkness. Both Zuko and Azula refrained from using their firebending for any additional light. The goal here was stealth, and they ran the risk of giving away their position by lighting the way with their fire. For now, they dealt with what they had. Toph led the way, using her seismic sense to map out the tunnels ahead of them, while the others followed close behind.
Zuko eased out a soft breath, glancing towards his sister out the corner of his eyes. "So, when you say you 'interrogated' a couple of Dai Li agents..."
"She means she tortured them," Toph said, with a scoff. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Only a little," Azula insisted. "Really, it was just about intimidating them into coughing up the information, but I had to let them know I wasn't bluffing. Otherwise, it wouldn't have worked. Now we know where 'Zumi is and we can go straight to her. If we'd waited to do it your way, we'd have been wandering around this city for weeks hoping to catch a glimpse of her. I think that's worth a second degree burn on a single Dai Li agent, don't you?"
Zuko frowned at her, but he didn't dispute the claim. As questionable as her methods had been, she did have a point. "And where are they now?"
"Frozen in a block of ice," Anraq said. "They should thaw out in a few hours, plenty of time for us to get Izumi and get out of here. At least, that's the plan."
He nodded, and shifted his attention ahead of them. "Do you see anything, Toph?"
"These tunnels branch all throughout Ba Sing Se," the old earthbender explained, as she turned down another corridor. "According to our information, we need to find a sub-level beneath the royal palace. If we take this path, we should find our way there soon."
"Any guards?"
"Oh sure, this place is crawling with them. All Dai Li, from what I can tell. Fortunately, I can make sure we avoid most of them." An eager grin spread across her face, followed by a delighted chuckle. "We might have to knock a few heads in along the way, though."
Azula rolled her eyes. "Criticizes me for my enhanced interrogation techniques, then gets excited at the thought of beating up Dai Li agents. Honestly, the hypocrisy."
"I'm blind, not deaf," Toph shot back. "I can hear you."
"Yes, that was the point."
Toph guided them towards the underground prison, avoiding most of the patrolling guards along the way. Any Dai Li agents that they did come across, she took out with a few simple flicks of her wrist, leaving them unconscious in her wake. As incredible as ever, she'd barely lost a step in her old age. When the tunnel ended, they emptied out into a massive, rounded underground chamber, with a ceiling that stretched nearly a hundred feet into the air. Rows and rows of heavy metal doors lined the chamber walls. Prison cells, no doubt. No walkways or ladders in front of the doors, either. Only sheer drops into open air.
"I take it this is the prison." Anraq wandered into the center of the chamber, gazing upward at the cell doors. "There's so many..."
Zuko looked to Toph. "Which one has Izumi?"
The old earthbender didn't say anything. Rather, she shifted the ground beneath her feet and pulled the four of them close together. The earth beneath them lifted high into the air, near the fifth row of cell doors. She guided them across the row to one of the far cells near the back of the chamber and pointed at it. "This one."
"How do we get in?" Anraq asked, giving the door a gentle tap. "Looks like it's made of platinum."
"All these cells are solid platinum boxes," Toph replied, as she pushed him aside. "Fortunately, I've been practicing."
A smug grin spread across her face. She linked her fingers together, cracked her knuckles, and rolled her neck from side to side. With a deep breath, she thrust her hands forward and grabbed the metal door. The platinum gave way and cracked open, ripping apart at her touch.
Zuko's eyes widened. "Toph... you're bending platinum?"
The old woman cackled, as she yanked a gaping hole through the door. "You're darn straight I am! I have Kuvira to thank for that. Took me a while, but I finally got the hang of it."
As soon as Toph pulled the hole open wide enough, Zuko ran into the cell. A woman wearing ragged prison attire huddled near the back, her graying hair hanging loose and disheveled around her shoulders. His heart lifted at the sight of her. "Izumi!"
The woman groaned, easing her eyes open. When she saw him, she forced herself to sit upright, dawning relief washing into her gaze. "Father?"
"I'm here for you, sweetheart." Zuko knelt in front of his daughter and wrapped his arms tight around her. "Are you alright?"
"Been better," she muttered, returning a weak, one-armed hug. A tired expression sank across her face, as her body wavered in exhaustion. "The Dai Li ambushed me before I even knew they had been reinstated. I'd only just found out that Yula had deposed Azula. They captured Yira, too. No idea where they took her."
Zuko frowned. "Evidently, she wasn't going to take any chances about you resisting her orders and opposing her."
"Well, she was right," Izumi replied, with a soft laugh. "I would have."
"Would you hurry up in there already?" Azula poked her head into the cell. "We should be leaving now."
Izumi stiffened, lifting her eyebrows. "You brought her with you?"
"Yes..." Zuko glanced back at his sister momentarily, before returning his focus to Izumi. "A lot has happened since you've been in here. We can explain later when there's more time, but for now just trust me. She's on our side."
"Yes, yes, I'm completely reformed," Azula sighed, with a roll of her eyes. "Can we go now? There's no telling when more guards might show up."
Zuko assisted his daughter to her feet, holding her arm around his shoulders. When she was steady, they exited the cell, and Toph lowered the slab of earth back down to the floor of the chamber below.
"I've been meaning to ask about that, actually," Anraq said, as they reached ground level. He shifted a curious gaze around the empty chamber. "Nobody else finds it a little odd that there were only a handful of guards stationed outside the prison holding the former Earth Queen? You'd think there would have been heavier security, even if the prison is hidden."
"Let's not worry about it," Zuko said. "We need to get out of here and out into the open so I can call Druk. We have to get out of Ba Sing Se as soon as possible."
"Hold on." Toph's blind eyes flashed with alarm. "We have company!"
The ground ruptured all around them. Holes opened in the earth, allowing tunneling figures to burst into the chamber. Dozens of them, each wearing the same green uniform. Dai Li. The agents surrounded the group, cutting off all means of escape. Azula, Anraq, and Toph took defensive stances, ready to defend. Zuko tightened his hold around his daughter's shoulders to keep her supported, while igniting a flaming dagger in one hand.
"Well, well..." A deep, gravelly voice echoed through the chamber, as one of the Dai Li agents stepped forward. He lifted his head, tilting his hat just enough to reveal a chillingly familiar face. Avan. "I thought I sensed a bunch of elephant rats crawling about. Stand down, all of you."
Anraq bent a spiraling sphere of water around the group and hardened it into a wall of ice. "Yeah, that's not going to happen."
"Let us go, and we won't be forced to hurt you," Azula added. "Although to be honest, I'd love to burn that grin off your face."
"I see your bravado is as strong as ever," Avan replied, deepening his glare. "If you haven't noticed, you're not in any position to resist us."
"Actually, I don't think you realize the position you're in." Toph twitched her fingers and curled her lips into a knowing smirk. "I'm counting thirty-two Dai Li agents around us, and I have to say..."
For an old woman, she struck with blinding speed. A few flicks of her wrists sent half a dozen Dai Li agents catapulting through the air. Another shift of her feet exploded blunt crags of stone from the ground, pummeling another handful of agents in the face. The remaining agents skated around her for a counter attack, but Toph tracked them with a simple shift of her body. She slid one of her feet back, and gave two sharp chops with her hands. The ground beneath the agents' feet exploded, launching them violently into the walls of the chamber. By the time the dust settled, only Avan remained standing, unfazed by the assault on his men.
Toph turned her head and spit. "...that's not nearly enough."
"Toph Beifong..." Avan's eyes sharpened. "What an honor it is that we meet again."
"Hello, Avan." Toph grinned, cracking her neck from side to side. "Ready for our rematch?"
