Kuei and I stayed up in the war balloon as General How read out the decree from the head of the army, addressing everyone who was gathered outside the front gates of Yu Dao. "Attention! Attention! By official decree of the Earth King Kuei, the Earth Kingdom reclaims the former Fire Nation colony of Yu Dao!" General How's voice boomed as Kuei trembled beside me, hunched down and hiding from sight as the nerves at being so far away from the palace began to get to him.
"Earth King Kuei! Why don't you come down here and announce your own decrees?!" Katara yelled up at him so I looked down to my right, arms folded as Kuei squeaked.
"General How is doing just fine on his own, thank you!" If we weren't about to go to war, I'd have laughed at the comical scene before me. Waiting a moment before continuing, General How cleared his throat in order to shout once more.
"Fire Nation colonials who remain in the city are hereby declared criminals, and shall be arrested on sight! The Harmony Restoration Movement will be completed on this day, with or without colonial cooperation." Well, it certainly got the message across. Down below the Earth Kingdom protestors all cheered, and I think I could even see a couple of people I was certain I'd seen before. It took a moment, but then I recalled Jet's freedom fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot. What a crazy small world. Aang seemed to be looking back and forth with uncertainty, until I turned when I heard Kori shout and point to find Zuko leading his own army of Fire Nation troops to face off with General How, making me smack a hand to my face. Honestly, I just want to clang their heads together and have done with it.
"Oh dear…are things going to get really violent and messy now?" Kuei whimpered so I shrugged with my hands.
"Hey, you were the one who wanted to enforce the departure of Fire Nation citizens and chose to come along, so make sure you take a good look at everything." Down below I saw a bunch of girls dressed up like Aang in Air Nomad robes move in to shield him but he sent them flying out of the way with a gust of air as I frowned. There's too many people getting involved, too many voices trying to be heard all at once. This was a disaster. I wasn't surprised when Toph and Sokka popped up out of one of the mecha-tanks, hearing Sokka say that Suki was there too. I mean, of course they'd be there to try and help, but how'd they get into a tank?
I could barely hear what was going on down there, so all I could do was watch as people interact with one another and occasionally grasp a snippet when the wind carried their voices up to us. The general basically told Aang that the Harmony Restoration Movement could be completed today and that his troops would treat the Fire Nation citizens fairly, but they couldn't do that with Zuko's army in the way resisting them. "We have a saying among the Council of Five, 'an army with no leader is a dragon with no head', you alone have the power to end this quickly." Alarm coursed through me as I looked towards Zuko, understanding what General How was asking.
"Can we try to solve this issue without resorting to bloodshed!?" I suddenly bellowed, getting angry as I slammed my hands down with so much force on the air balloon's rim it caused the entire thing to rock and Kuei squeaked in alarm as I then pointed down at the general. "Don't make me come down there General How, you'll be sorry if I have to come and knock some sense into your dunderhead brain!" From below Toph roared with laughter as the general shrank back slightly from my wrath. Jeez, it's like trying to separate squabbling children who were fighting over the same toy.
"General How, there has to be another way!" Aang agreed, reluctant to resort to fulfilling his promise to Zuko as Katara demanded to know how come Zuko's army still made it here if Sokka, Toph and Suki were so busy slowing it down.
"Keep your eyes on me, sugar queen, keep your eyes on me." Toph instructed proudly as Sokka grinned.
"She's following me plan, in case you're wondering." Springing up into the air Toph landed on the ground and made it crack, bending the earth beneath her feet to cause several tunnels of moving dirt to streak towards the mecha-tanks and made them jolt which caused something to litter all over the ground. It took me a moment to realise that they were the screws holding the wheels on, and after the screws came out, the wheels all fell off to make the tanks useless. Okay, that time I laughed, yelling to Toph that she was still the greatest earth bender in the world. "You better believe it sister." She pointed up at me and I felt a small degree of relief. At least the tanks can't be used to fight, though now we had a new problem.
"Quickly, Earth Kingdom troops, while the Fire Nation is in disarray! By royal decree, enter Yu Dao and arrest the colonials!" This only made Zuko react with his own command for his troops to advance, to protect the citizens of Yu Dao. Drawing back, I looked coldly at Kuei as he whimpered, hearing the clashing and sounds of battle below and being frightened by it all.
"Is this what you really wanted, your majesty? You have your army fighting the Fire Nation, and Yu Dao's residents fighting both of you. Does this look like peace to you?" I asked him and he stared at me, clearly thinking over my words before I suddenly ripped back, avoiding fire blast before I then launched myself forwards to lean over the rim. "Hey you morons! Watch where you're aiming, I'm up here too you know!"
"Lady Kayo! Lady Kayo is up there!" I heard and saw some of the soldiers point at me, recognising me from where I'd spent a great deal of time helping reform the army and even worked on their training methods with Jeong-Jeong before he retired. Damn it, this isn't working at all. Aang got angry with Zuko then, leaping over his men then started to slip into the Avatar state in his rage, demanding why Zuko couldn't just follow through with the Harmony Restoration Movement but then Katara skated past and caught him, dragging him away before he could make a horrible mistake.
I oversaw the battle, seeing the troops from both nations attacking each other with all the ferocity they possessed, letting their anger run away with them. "I'm going down there, your majesty. If you want to stay safe, then don't leave this balloon."
"Uh…sure…okay." Uncapping my water pouch I leaped over the side and twisted, pulling all the water free in order to make an ice slide that I could ride down to the ground but kept going, pulling the water to follow me all the way up to the wall in order to join Katara and the others, calling out to them.
"Kayo! Thank goodness you're okay." Katara hugged me quickly as we all grouped together. "Things are getting out of hand, we need to do something." She said as Sokka scratched his head in confusion.
"Let me see if I got this right. The protestors and the Earth Kingdom army want the colonials to go, the Fire Nation wants the colonials to stay, and the people of Yu Dao just want to be left alone?" He listed and his sister confirmed that everything was true. "So, where's Aang flying off to then?"
"He needs a place to be calm to figure things out." He'll probably talk to one of his past lives, but I don't think that's going to help him much. From what I understand based off what Aang's told me before when I asked him out of curiosity, Avatar Roku especially seemed to be quite single minded about how the war was supposed to end and how to make peace. It was like he could see no other route but the most direct one, and nothing else.
"What is there to figure out? If he wants harmony…"
"Look! I trust him, and after all we've been through, you ought to as well! So for now, we need to keep all those people down there from killing each other." Katara informed us all strongly, taking the lead so that we had a clear path to follow. "Kind of like what Aang's fan club are trying to do."
"You mean the girls with the arrowhead tattoos?" I pointed, tilting my head to the side. "Dang, they seem a lot more devoted than the ones in Ba Sing Se." I was impressed, they were actually using air bending styled fighting with staffs, kind of like how Aang fights.
"We need to split up. Toph and Suki, you disarm as many Fire Nation troops as you can. I'll work on the Earth Nation soldiers with Kayo…"
"And I'll take care of the protestors." Sokka finished before wondering how he was going to get down, so Toph made him an earth slide. Now that looked pretty fun, it feels like a long time since I did something childish just for the sake of a laugh. "Ah, not another one!"
"I'll go! Thanks Toph!" I jumped over and slid down on my feet like I were surfing, laughing at the thrill before I jumped off the end and flipped through the air, tucking my arms in tight and rotating my body as I pulled the water from my pouch and landed with a roll, rising up onto one knee with a wide swing of both arms to lash out the water like a whip and struck several Earth Kingdom soldiers against their armour to swing them back before bringing the whip around, hitting a group of fire benders to knock them off their feet too. "You kids just sit down and play nice for a while, or I'm gonna get mad." Cracking my knuckles, I continued to try and separate the two armies, pushing them back further and further as much as I was able, gradually making my way over to Zuko and General How who were now engaged in battle.
Jumping over an earth bender's head, I pulled all the water I had available up before sending it forwards and freezing it, allowing me to follow the slope with a skid to quickly move between the general and Zuko, whereby the ice dropped to the ground as water and I held out both my hands between them. "Enough!" Fire and earth came flying towards me, but just before either hit my palms they froze then drew back, Zuko staring at me with wide eyes as the general yelled.
"Foolish girl! Never jump in the middle of a battle like that unless you want to die!"
"I'm just about sick with all this violence. I hate it! Everybody just STOP!" My voice came out with such a thunderous sound that all who heard me actually turned to look, pausing their battles as I stood between the general and Fire Lord. "This has gone far enough. Violence never solves anything, just creates more hurt."
"Get out the way Kayo, you chose your side when you left Yu Dao." Zuko warned me, taking up a new stance ready to strike, suggesting that he was willing to let me stand in the crossfire if I didn't move so I just glared at him.
"I'm on the same side I've always been on. My own. I don't have to choose anything, except what I feel to be right."
"The right thing to do is to have all these colonials leave!" General How yelled, pointing at Zuko as I continued to stand between them with my arms raised, ready to water bend if necessary. "They have no place here!"
"The colonies are home to both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizens. They deserve to be allowed to stay and continue living as they've always done!" Zuko argued.
"I agree." Zuko froze, staring at me as his stance wavered from shock.
"What? What do you mean you agree? Why are you fighting against us if you feel the same way?! You're betraying your people Kayo!"
"I'm not betraying anything Zuko, I already told you that I agreed that we shouldn't force people to leave if they're happy staying where they are." Now he just gaped at me.
"Then why didn't you say anything?!"
"I did you moron! Repeatedly! But you were so stuck up and stubborn that you didn't even pay attention to anything I said because you had convinced yourself that I was going to stand against you! The only thing I said in disagreement was how you went about withdrawing from the Harmony Restoration Movement, you flame brained jerk!" Yelling out of anger and frustration, I dropped my hands slightly in order to rub my face, wanting all of this to be over as Zuko continued to just stare at me. "Zuko, your decision is right, but your actions are wrong. Get it?"
"But…but you…you left."
"Because you drive me crazy!" There were a lot of people just watching now, listening to mine and Zuko's exchange before General How interrupted.
"If you're against the Harmony Restoration Movement, Miss Kayo, then I'm afraid that makes you my enemy." He announced and stomped down a foot, barring his arms as a large rock rose up out of the ground, ready to fight again. "I do not wish to harm you, so please step aside!"
"No, I'm not moving. I can be just as stubborn as a rock." Obstinately rooting myself down, I placed my hand on my hip and leaned into it as I looked at General How. "If you want to commit bloodshed, then I'm afraid you'll have to spill mine if you want to continue this fight. We're getting nowhere like this, and in the end after a battle, the leaders always end up talking, so how about we just skip this violent nonsense and talk?" General How paused for a moment, considering but before he could come to a decision, something slammed against my body.
The rock came at me from in front whilst I wasn't looking, causing me to lose all the air in my lungs and I felt a painful crack of my ribs, blood spurting from my mouth as my entire body buckled and I was set on a backwards collision course with the ground. Everything seemed to be happening at once. The protestor who attacked me yelled for the downfall of the Fire Nation only to be tackled to the ground and pinned by Sokka out of rage, General How ordering a complete ceasefire out of alarm as I hit the ground and felt like my entire world had become nothing more than the repetition of that impacting force as it played over and over in my mind.
Zuko screamed. Literally screamed, starting to race towards me as a bright light filled the sky and Aang returned from his meditation surrounded by all four elements, causing all remaining fighting to stop. I lay weakly on the ground, unable to move as I struggled to breathe but I was still able to look up at the sky and see Aang in the Avatar state in a sphere of air, surrounded by rings of fire, water and earth. Zuko called out to him, trying to explain but then fell silent, admitting that it was hopeless and that he was doing exactly what his father would have done. My body had gone into shock so at least I felt numb and was unaware of any pain, sensing tingling vibrations from the earth beneath me as Aang forced the ground to divide, creating a chasm as I began to sit myself up, gripping at my chest in order to see.
The ground crumbled beneath Zuko's feet, making him lose his balance and he fell into the chasm and immediately the terror and fear of loss struck me. "Zuko!" My hand reached towards him as if I could just snatch him up before he fell but of course, it was useless. I staggered to my feet, ignoring the agonising throbs of my chest and hips in order to stagger upright, holding my breath as Aang dove down in order to grab Zuko by his arm and bring him back up, setting him safely on the ground. Thank goodness, he was alright. Thank you…thank you Aang.
Everyone on this side of the divide rushed to Aang, Katara having brought the Earth King but was quick to race over to Aang as he put his feet on the ground and the glowing stopped. The two embraced before Aang then turned to face the king as we all stood before the gates of Yu Dao. "Earth King Kuei, look at who you're fighting." Standing beside Katara, Kori and an Earth Kingdom citizen stood with them, all of them facing the Earth King together. "Fire Nation, yes, but also Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, and now Air Nomad. This is who stands against your army.
"And the Fire Nation army too!" The guy next to Kori added as I halted, near enough now that Sokka worriedly put his arms around me, helping me to stand upright as Suki and Toph joined us, making me rest easy for a second.
"It took me a while, but I finally understand you're not just fighting a colony. You're fighting a whole new kind of world." As Aang said those words, I couldn't help but close my eyes and smile to myself. Finally, he finally understood. It was no good anyone telling Aang what he had been missing all this time, he had to figure it out himself his own way, otherwise there would have been no way he would come to accept such a huge change. From the other side of the divide, the protestors all yelled for harmony, but Kuei thrust out his hand to silence them.
"Quiet! Quiet, I need to see what I…what I…I just need to see." He finally decided as Zuko began to pick himself up, staring into space.
"So…I was right? All along, my decision…was right?" That seemed to be the finishing blow for Zuko, who collapsed face first into the dirt and I tried to run to him but my body collapsed too, my chest and waist unable to take it so Katara hurried towards me in order to heal me with her water bending, her eyes widening in alarm.
"Your arm has fractured again where it had broken, and you have several broken ribs, and a crack on your hip too. Kayo…"
"I'm fine. Go check on Zuko. Idiot probably fainted from shock." I insisted, taking over the water and healing myself as Sokka let me lean against his knee which he propped up for me, he, Suki and Toph all watching me with worry. "I'm fine, it takes more than a little dirt to finish me off." Freezing some ice in my clothes to help numb everything, I waited around until I knew Zuko was going to be okay before I announced to everyone that I was leaving.
"What do you mean you're leaving? You can't possibly go anywhere in your condition, you literally just got hit with a rock a few hours ago!" Katara lectured me as I just smiled, listening to her go on and on about how I needed to have more sense and that for a smart person, this was a pretty dumb idea.
"I don't want to be around when he wakes up, because otherwise I'll just end up staying and never leaving again. I can't face him, I don't want to, so I'm going to go and maybe travel for a while and think things through. I need to figure out what I want in life, what my calling is, if I have one." I explained to everyone who calmed down as I spoke honestly. "Zuko needs to figure out how to be a leader without always second guessing himself, and if I couldn't help him, then I doubt spending another year trying to knock some sense into him is going to help. I just…I want to be on my own for a while."
"We understand, Kayo, but with your injury, you should really rest for a while." Aang said to me as Toph nodded.
"Yeah, that rock that hit you must have been some lump of dirt if it broke your ribs like that. I'm just sorry you guys didn't let me pummel the guy who threw it whilst Kayo wasn't looking."
"Smellerbee and Longshot already took care of it, they also felt it was a cheap shot. They handed him over to General How and Mayor Morishita, and he's going to do some community service for attacking a civilian and the King's escort." Suki assured us all, giving me a smile. "If you ever want to come stop by Kyoshi Island in your travels, you'd be more than welcome to stay as long as you like. I know Ty Lee would be glad to see you again, she still talks about that dance battle you guys had last year after the coronation."
"That was epic, I must admit." I mused nostalgically before thanking Suki for her offer and promising to take her up on it soon. It was a good thing that she and the Kyoshi warriors were asked by Mai to help guard Zuko after she got my message to look in on him. Strangely, ever since the coronation, Mai and I were rather friendly with one another. Quite a few times when I was just fed up with the ministers and everything else around me, I'd hide at Mai's house where we'd sit and hate the world together. We'd talk occasionally, but mostly it was a friendship of company more than anything.
"I think we should take Zuko to his uncle in Ba Sing Se. The Earth King is staying here in order to properly inspect the city, so we can just go on Appa. It'll be faster too." Aang suggested, glancing my way at the mention of Zuko. "That way you can stay here and recuperate, then set out on your travels whenever you're ready."
"Thank you Aang, I really appreciate that." Toph cracked her knuckles as she grinned at me, jerking a thumb at her chest.
"You can stick around with me and I'll show you my metal bending school. My lily livered students are starting to show some improvement so you'll definitely be impressed with what a great teacher I am." Laughing, I agreed that it sounded like a good idea, so we all stayed together that night in order to enjoy one another's company, knowing that it could be the last time we're all together for some time. Katara healed me some more as we all ate our favourite foods, recounted our best times together and Sokka complained about Katara and Aang giving him the oogies, before he'd get all cuddly and cutesy with Suki, leaving just me and Toph. "If you ever start getting all weird and gross like that around me Kayo, I think I'd finally barf."
"You and me both, kiddo." It was a great night, and I couldn't help but feel happier being with my friends, though it was a sad goodbye when we all parted ways. They couldn't even hug me properly because of my ribs, but there was a light embrace all the same until Toph and I waved them off, seeing everyone go until only she and I remained, standing side by side as the rest of our friends disappeared from sight into the vast blue sky.
