All That Was Left: Honor

by All That Was Left

The Fire Nation has been defeated at Ba Sing Se. Lu Ten is dead, General Iroh disgraced, Fire Lord Azulon passed, and Ozai inheriting his throne. As the Earth Kingdom aggressively regains its territory and the Fire Nation attempts to assert control, a group of Fire Nation deserters seek to protect those unable to defend themselves, and punish those who abuse their power.

35. Chapter 32: Arrival

Luke

Despite being presently universally hated at this moment in time by Zek and Ka'lira as well as Gordez, though whether it was because I had 'stood up' Ka'lira, or possibly because he suspected I was covering for her, I couldn't say, as well still holding the ire of Zare who I had stood up, it proved to be a rather pleasant hike that day.

I was the primary subject of the new group's jests and insults, and frankly, I'd be more offended if I didn't believe I deserved them, but whether the others save for Zare really knew the truth of what had transpired or not, my being the day's punching bag was more than warranted.

While I spent most of the 8-hour hike with an hour lunch break either out of conversation or a meat shield, I couldn't muster enough within me to actually be angry. Things were going well. She was getting along well with the others by the sound of it and I found some of my initial concerns slowly being cast aside.

She fits in well with the others? She's a good conversationalist and keeps up easily enough. It's almost like she just belongs. Odd.

"So," Zare had asked at one point, rather early on into the hike, speaking to Gordez. "You the leader?"

"Oh no," Zek said before Gordez even had the chance to speak, "Thought he certainly tries to be."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gordez asked with squinted eyes towards his accuser.

"Well, we all know you do have a certain affinity towards the Boss."

Ka'lira promptly sent an elbow into his side, cutting his accusations short, a look of strict disapproval on her face. What's that all about?

"Who's the Boss?" Zare asked.

"Boss," Zek answered, relying on the confusion generated to drive the conversation.

"Here we go," I barely heard Ka'lira mutter from Zek's side.

"Okay, but what's his name?"

"Boss."

"Yes. The Boss. What's his name?"

"Oh for spirits' sake!" Gordez exclaimed. "The Boss calls himself 'Boss.'"

"Oh," Zare responded, a noticeable embarrassment being felt while Zek contented himself to the confusion he had helped sew much to the disapproval of his significant other. "Why exactly?"

"Great question," Zek said. "Gordez, care to answer?"

"It's a long story."

"One that only you know apparently." Zek turned back to Zare. "He ain't very keen on sharing."

"So you don't know his real name?"

"Now that is a mystery to us all."

"Sounds kinda vain, no?"

"There's more to it than that," Gordez quickly interjected defensively, backing down upon realizing his raised voice. "It's complicated."

"It's complicated," Zek mimicked insultingly, prompting a chuckle from the new addition.

"So," Zare continued, her curiosity seemingly unsatiated. "Zek, Gordez, those are Fire Nation names."

"Mhmm," Zek answered perfectly on cue, all of us by nature ready for whenever that question would arise, proceeding with the same explanation that we'd given to everyone else. "Colonial."

"Which colonies?"

"Yu Dao's what I call home. Gordez's from Han Tui."

"And Ka'lira, that's an Earth Kingdom name. Luke's a street one. Odd mix."

"Bands of misfits you could say," said Ka'lira with a sense of pride in how she put it.

"Well," Zek added, "We all have interesting places to call home. Except Luke of course. He's just a scum rat."

"Scum rat who can kick your ass," I decided to say, realizing that giving the silent treatment would only make things worse for myself. I knew no ill will was meant by the insults. I figured it only in good fun then that I put up at least something of a fight.

"Oh, he can talk."

"That's not the only thing," I smirked, cracking my neck, quite audibly at that.

As insincere as the threats were, I found myself wondering if things would come to a brawl between us, and, if they did, how long I could last. I didn't bother deceive myself into thinking I could overtake him. At least, not without some special assistance, but I was by no means idiotic enough to do that in front of an outsider such as Zare.

Zek seemed to understand this, and welcomed my challenge in asking with a scoff, "Is that a threat?"

"You tell me."

"Alright," Gordez interrupted. "Break it up. You two can blow each other and get rid of the tension once we pitch camp. For now, keep your cocks in your pants and keep on walking."

The embarrassment as Zare and Ka'lira reveled in our suffering silenced us for a good while longer.

Things picked up from there once again, and a few more insults would be sent my way until the day started coming to a close as we were setting up camp and a rather important question was brought up by Ka'lira.

"So, Zare. You brought your own tent?"

"'fraid not, but I'm no stranger to roughing it. Don't worry about me."

"Oh no," Gordez said. "You're getting a tent."

"Hell, kick Luke out of his. Give it to her," Zek suggested.

"Why me?!" I exclaimed, the betrayal evident.

"Who else? You left her in the dirt, now it's only fitting she do the same to you."

"Nobody's sleeping in the dirt," Gordez said, quelling our argumentation. "Zare, you'll be sleeping with Ka'lira."

"Well…" Zek started, wondering, "Then where am I going to sleep?"

30 minutes later, I found myself with my head right beside Zek's feet, crammed into a one-person tent, no room for mobility as I was stuck in that den of sweat and discomfort.

"Well," Zek said. "This sucks."

"Oh yeah," I responded. "And I'm just loving every minute of this," I retorted sarcastically.

"Hey, it's easier for you. I went from sharing a tent with an attractive woman to now, being forced to share a tent with, well, no offense, but you."

"Aw, are you saying we won't cuddle tonight after all?"

"I hate you."

I chuckled, glad to finally see him being miserable rather than just me. Gordez's orders had left Zek immediately speaking up in his defense of why that was a terrible idea.

"Why do I have to share a tent with him of all people."

"Okay," I had said, "first of all, ouch, but second of all, yeah, why me?"

"Zek," Gordez answered, "As much as I would love to have your soft body to embrace lovingly in the middle of the night, I'm afraid my physical stature leaves little room for two within my tent."

"Nonsense!" Zek exclaimed. "You're in your prime. I'm sure I could fit comfortably right on in there!"

"In that case, let me provide an additional point. Boss put me in charge of this op, and I say you snuggle with Luke for warmth tonight and get over it."

And so here we'd found ourselves as Zare and Ka'lira shared Zek's old tent.

"I hate this," Zek complained again.

"Damn, and here I'd thought you'd grown to love it since the last time you complained a minute ago."

"Sorry, Luke, but you may be too young to realize this, but this is a severe downgrade from Ka'lira."

"Hell, I'd consider myself a downgrade from just about anyone."

Zek chuckled at my self-deprecatory quip, the lightness in the air from it at least doing some good in easing the situation. "So," I said, continuing on, seeing as how I wasn't tired enough to fall asleep just yet anyway. "How are things with you two anyway?"

"Why you asking? You looking for advice or something?"

"Pfft. No." I shrugged. "Just curious."

I could hear the movement of his head against the cloth as he raised his head to face me as though attempting to scan my face for any sign of ill intent. He stayed there for a few moments, eyeing me, before easing back down onto his bedroll, saying, "I mean, yeah, I guess. No complaints. He went quiet then and I expected him to leave it at that as around a minute or two went by and I shut my eyes in preparation for the night only for him to speak up again after a small while, saying, "Guess a part of me is still a bit worried."

"About what?"

"About everything, you know?"

"She already knows we were soldiers for the Fire Nation. What more is there?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Luke. What I did…before. The girl I-"

"Oh," I responded, suddenly remembering what I'd been told. Over the year, I've come to learn more than enough about the people I'd served beside. Whether it was Boss's past as a Southern Raider or Zek's in having raped a woman at the behest of his comrades early in his career, or my slaughtering an entire village, we all had pasts we wished to leave behind. I suppose it was only logical that I wasn't the only one who still had trouble completely escaping it.

"I just-," he continued. "I have no idea what to do about that."

"You care about her, right?"

"Yeah, of course I do."

"Then, I mean, you'll have to tell her eventually."

"Think I don't know that?! But how do I bring up something like that? You saw what happened to her. She spent years as a captive aboard an Earth Kingdom ship being used by them nonstop. How do I, after all of that, just go about telling her that I'm no different, that the people I killed when I, quote unquote, saved her, were no different than me."

"You are different."

"How?! We're not. I've done the same terrible shit that she tried to escape from. I'm no damn different!"

I considered his words. No damn different. Then what was I? I who had slaughtered the innocent and now claimed to protect them. I'd been over this before. That was who I was, back there, a long time ago, but that didn't mean it was still who I was, right?

"You think I'm still the same person that killed those civilians in Ba Sing Se?"

"What?"

"You think I'm any different a person than I was when I killed those people in Stone's Edge?"

"I mean, yeah, of course, but what does-"

"You know exactly what it has to do with everything. That's not who you are anymore. Ka'lira will know that. I mean, hell, she may be pissed at first, might not talk to you for a while, spit in your face, something like that-"

"You're really making me feel great right now, you know."

"But, if you'd let me finish, I was going to say that she'd understand in time. Everyone has a past they're not proud of. I think that you've more than shown you're no longer the same person to her."

He didn't say anything after that, the quiet hanging in the night air, only the chirping of crickets and cackling of fire to be heard outside.

"Hey Zek?" I asked. "You asl-"

"No, I'm here. You really think so?"

"Yeah, I do."

The silence followed for a small bit longer, concluded eventually with, "Thanks. Sorry for, you know, giving you a lot of shit today."

"Oh don't worry," I laughed. "I deserved it."

"Yeah," Zek chuckled. "You did." He scoffed then, seemingly far more relieved and at ease than he'd been before, saying, "Look at us, gossiping and talking about our feelings in the middle of the night. I wonder if Ka'li and Zare are doing the same right now or if it's just us."

"Probably just us considering Ka'lira is on watch right now."

"Wait!" Zek said, shooting up from where he'd been lying down. "What?!"

I could only contain my laughter for so longer before my resolve broke and I collapsed into a ball of laughter, enjoying every bit of his momentary panic attack. "I'm just fucking with you," I managed between my guffaws. "It's just Gordez."

Zek was unconvinced, the panicked look in his eyes like that of a deer cat who'd been caught in a spotlight, eyes trained on the entrance of the tent right beside my head. "Gordez?" he asked hesitantly, eyes closed as though praying to hear his voice and not that of his potentially now estranged significant other.

"Yes?" came back a far more masculine voice to Zek's clear relief.

"You hear everything?"

"Yep."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Ohhhh."

I was still laughing silently to myself as Zek settled back down on his bedroll, myself still being able to feel his accelerated heart rate. "That's payback for earlier."

My victory was short lived as he promptly, given the angle at which we were lying down, shoved his foot into my face, provoking a disgusted gag from me, nearing the verge of puking as he resumed his onslaught until I surrendered with begs of "Alright alright! You've made your point!"

"Dick," Zek laughed, no malice in his words, only the combined relief of knowing that Ka'lira had heard nothing and the entertainment of having claimed victory over me. "You know, I almost really liked you there for a second."

"And we all know we can't have that," I joked, still attempting to rid myself of Zek's foot scent. "Call it even then?"

"Yeah," Zek said, the smile on his face just evident by the tone of his voice. "Even."

It was as pleasant a note to end the night on as any.

I had no doubt that the subject of my leaving Zare in the dust would be brought up again in the future, but the day had passed, and I doubted that come tomorrow, I would still find myself to be the communal target dummy. More likely than note, the role would shift to Zek, or potentially Gordez, or if Zek was feeling suicidal, Ka'lira. I smiled as I drifted off, comforted in knowing I was surrounded by family.

And what of Zare?

I couldn't consider her family. I knew what had made the others my family, the bond that was forged when death was around the corner, us putting our lives in the hands of one another. That's what had made the others family for me.

Maybe in time, the same would happen for Zare, but while she was a friend, somebody who I believed I could grow rather fond of, she wasn't family. Not yet.

A familiar voice accompanied me as I fell asleep that night. A voice I had thought I had gotten rid of long ago, but as I shut my eyes, and my reality slowly withered into numbed darkness, I heard the words, "I'm sorry," spoken in the voice of Raava, and that was the last there was before the night came over me.

Morning came with the shadow of an unpleasant memory of a dream, one that I had no clue as to the intentions of. Sorry? Sorry for what? I wondered just what the connotations of what I'd heard were. You coming back now? Decided I'm worth talking to again?

The questions of the spiritual realm were then replaced by the far more immediate reality of the physical as I picked up on an unfamiliar scent, though one that was strangely alluring, almost compelling me into a fully awake state far earlier than I normally would have.

I automatically sniffed to attempt to discern from just where it was originating, surmising easily enough that it wasn't Zek's feet that was the source. I pushed them aside upon noticing the sun was out, realizing with little difficulty that morning had already come, quite sooner than expected, the night having passed over me in record time.

Zek grunted in response to me casting his feet aside and I crawled out from the overly cramped tent, thankful to finally be able to stretch fully out, the morning air providing a welcoming introduction to the new day.

"Ah, you're up."

Zare was already awake it seemed, seated at the campfire, apparently in the process of cooking, or rather, brewing, myself now coming across the source of the strange aroma, and the woman who seemed to be responsible for it, a small smile on her face as she looked towards me emerging from my tent.

I looked around, expecting to have seen Ka'lira as the last watch was set to be hers, Zare, being new, naturally getting the night off.

"What are you doing up?" I asked. "I thought Ka'lira was on watch."

"I woke up early," she responded. "Told her she could get some more sleep if she wanted."

That was a bad move on Ka'lira's part, one that had, luckily, not blown up in our faces. Had Zare been somebody just looking to make a quick score, she could have easily taken whatever she wanted, potentially slit our-

"Surprised I didn't slit your throats in your sleep?"

I scoffed, mentally commending her uncanny deciphering of precisely what I'd been thinking, and proceeded to take a seat opposite her on a log by the fire. "Had a pretty good opportunity to do so."

"Yeah, well, not really sure if the nuns would take me back with open arms if I committed cold-blooded murder."

"And here I thought they emphasized new beginnings," I joked, unable to ignore, however, the ever-aromatic smell emerging from a small pan that Zare held above the fire.

"What's that smell?" I asked, looking to the pan and the brown liquid that lay within it.

The one-word answer she responded with was one that I'd never heard before, "Coffee."

"Hell's coffee?" I asked, eyes drawn to a small pile of brown shavings, dipping a finger inside to take a taste, immediately coughing out the grounds of, well, whatever the hell it was? "Hell is that?"

"Those are the grounds, dumbass. You need to make it a liquid." It was around now that she removed the pan from the fire, setting it aside, myself immediately making a grab for it out of curiosity before she slapped my hand aside. "Let it sit!" she scolded, prompting me to back down, still spitting out the remnants of the bitter taste in my mouth.

"Where'd you get this?" I asked.

"Were in the crates that the nuns are sending to the Earth Kingdom troops. Different donations from some of the places we've been to before."

"Ah," I said, an amused grin rising to my face at hearing upon her act. "So skimming off the top of what's supposed to go to our brave troops on the front?"

My sarcasm was poorly veiled, not that I had meant to hide it, and she noticed as such, responding with, "What they don't know won't hurt them."

It was shortly after that her smile faded into something more serious, and simply by the way the air shifted around us, I think I had a pretty good understanding of where the conversation was headed.

"Look," she started. "About yesterday. I know why you did what you did. I know you were trying to do when you left me at Heigou. I guess it was, I don't know, to keep me out of harm's way, something like that, or, hell, maybe I'm just being optimistic and you just didn't want to see my dumb face again, but, still, thank you, for covering for me at the end there. I doubt I'd be here if you didn't cover for me."

"I wasn't covering for you," I corrected her. "The others, Gordez at least, he knew you were lying. It doesn't matter. It wasn't about that. It was about unanimous agreement."

"Oh," she said, seemingly embarrassed at how easily her façade had been unraveled, but abandoned that sensation soon enough, returning to her original interest in asking, "So why'd you agree then? What changed?"

I shrugged, even myself not quite completely sure. I believed I knew, but as of late, I myself had begun asking just why I did what I did. "Around a year ago, I got a chance to find a new family, to find people who cared about me, who I could be a part of, and really know what it meant to have others. If I hadn't gotten that chance, I'm not sure where I'd be today, or what I'd be. I guess, I guess I just didn't want to take that same chance away from you. Hell, I think that's the reason, but fuck if I know anymore."

She was silent for a small moment, considering what I'd said before speaking up again to say, "Well, whatever your reasoning, thanks."

I nodded, my eyes drawn to her, still, after the last week, still at a loss as to who she was. Her eyes that insinuated she'd seen more of this world than she cared to admit, the scar across them that revealed she was no spring flower, and in addition to that, everything about the way she held herself together, something beneath her admittedly cute features that I just couldn't put my finger on.

And then there was the night before last night, that arrow that had saved my life, the one she'd denied all connection to, those same types of arrows however resting in the quiver directly beside the tree stump she sat on.

Who the hell are you?

By now her attention had once again drifted to the pan, the boil having settled to a simmer. "Brew should be 'bout ready now," she commented, lifting the pan, and pouring the black liquid contents within into a small ceramic cup I assumed she'd also skimmed off of the Earth Kingdom's supplies. Quite the self-indulger we have here.

"Want some?" she asked, looking to me.

"Sure, I guess. May as well see what all the hubbub is about."

She complied, pouring a fraction of the contents remaining in the pan into a separate cup, asking soon after, "Cream or sugar?"

"What?"

"In your coffee?"

"Uhh-I-don't know?"

"Straight black then."

"Was that the right answer?"

"Let's see," she grinned, handing the filled cup to me which I took hesitantly, my mind now dwelling on whether or not I had answered the question properly.

While she was quick to partake in the consumption of her concoction, I was more hesitant, admittedly even looking her way to ensure she did, in fact, consume the beverage, lest I find myself at the mercy of an early morning poisoning. She did, and so I cast that thought aside, considering that my cp may be poisoned, but decided against it, labelling these thoughts as sheer paranoia.

The black liquid had settled in the cup, still, unmoving, the closest thing I can remember to bearing this physical appearance that I'd ever drank before being the water from Citadel. I sniffed it once more to ensure that it didn't carry that same Citadel smell of rot, decay, and disease. It didn't. The smell was, in fact, intoxicating, seducing me to take that first sip. And so I did.

I remember spitting it out before the actual taste. "What the fuck?! It's bitter as shit!" I was spitting out the remaining contents of that mixture out when the realization of what I'd just done and said slowly washed over me, the embarrassment quicky settling in. "I-uh, I"

But where I'd expected anger from her in the form of glaring eyes, as I raised my head, I was only met with her drunkenly laughing to herself at my expense" Wait, so she did this on purpose.

"Oh ha ha." The embarrassment had subsided now that the realization of the situation had made itself clear to me. "Tampering with my drink, very funny."

"No, dumbass," she was still laughing her head off. "That's just what you get for ordering it dark." She was still chuckling as she reached forward for my cup, saying, "Here, I'll add some cream and sugar for you."

"Oh no," I said, holding it back behind me defensively. "I'm not falling for that again. Keep your 'coffee' or whatever it's called to yourself."

"Come on…" she singsonged. "It'll be better this time, I swear."

"No thank you," I said as I set the cup down, casting it away from myself, done with that betrayal. I reached for my bag behind me, pulling out my flask of water I had there. "I'll stick with good ol' water, thank you very much. Water has never betrayed me before unlike this 'coffee' of yours. Try and think of when water ever betrayed anyone."

"You mean like last week when a poisoned water supply nearly killed us all."

Well shit.

"Well…uh…shut up."

She smiled, returning to her drink, myself surprised both by her and myself in how quickly we seemed to have put Heigou behind us, mentally at least, able to joke about it now. I imagined it was due in part to how we'd left, the danger aside, the people safe, the town making a recovery. Had we left any earlier, I doubted we'd be joking about it as such. Some things I imagined though, would leave its marks. I wouldn't bring up Hana. Such was a surefire way of ruining the moment if there ever was one.

"Thought I heard some noise out here." Ka'lira was emerging from her tent in a similar ritual that I myself had performed, stretching and cracking her bones upon her exposure once again to open air. She sniffed, clearly noticing the smell in the air, and asked shortly after, "Is that coffee?"

Oh, so she knows what coffee is.

"Mhmm," Zare responded. "Want a cup?"

Ka'lira settled down on the same log as Zare, adjacent to her, nodding and saying, "Sure. 4 grams of sugar and 6 grams of cream."

Zare nodded, setting about executing these, at least to me, complex instructions. She looked up to me as she did so and stated, "See? That's how you do it."

I squinted my eyes at her in exaggerated sass as she chuckled to herself once again, clarifying the situation to Ka'lira in saying, "He asked for it dark."

"I don't even know what that means!" I exclaimed defensively, my feeble excuse falling on deaf ears as the two women joined in their laughing at my expense.

The laughter was interrupted by a loud yawn emerging from the tent where I'd spent the night as Zek came stumbling out, arms stretched while asking, "What's with all the noise out here?" He sniffed. "That coffee?"

The question only prompted the girls to laugh all the more, Ka'lira finding a break amidst their revelry to say, "Oh nothing. Just teasing Luke because he doesn't know what coffee is."

"I grew up only knowing what bread and water was, for Spirit's sake! Cut me some slack!"

"Got some to spare?" he asked Ka'lira, unfocused to my outburst.

Upon the question being asked, she turned to Zare, saying, "Ask her. It's her who made it."

Zare didn't wait for the question to be asked again, holding out the pan to him while saying, "Help yourself."

"Hmm. I think I'm beginning to like you." He poured himself a cup, eyed it carefully, then, at Ka'lira's outstretched hand, her seeming to know just where his mind was headed, took 4 grams of sugar and 3 of cream from her, pouring it into his drink. He proceeded to take a small sip, gauging the heat, before helping himself to a larger gulp, seemingly satisfied by the taste in his saying, "Damn. That's a flavor I've missed. Haven't had any coffee since the colonies."

I guess coffee wasn't among the rations at Ba Sing Se. Surprising, considering how much some people to like it. Or, he was just lying to cover for his being at Ba Sing Se.

Soon enough, Gordez himself was up, crawling out of his tent, but bypassing the morning ritual of stretching and cracking limbs that the rest of us had partaken in, seemingly even unfazed by the aroma of the universally loved beverage that Zare had prepared.

"Good," he said. "You're all up. Come on, let's get moving. We have a lot of ground to cover."

"Oh come on, big man. We haven't even had breakfast yet. Besides, there's no rush. We still have 3 days of walking ahead of us."

"All the more reason to get moving." He was already packing his things, more distant and quieter than he normally was.

It's Zare.

I remembered by own introduction to Squad Iron Fire back at the Earth Kingdom capital. It took a while for him to take to strangers. Zek, just as he had back in the army, took quickly to newbies as he had with me, and continued to do so with Zare here. Gordez had never quite been that way, and apparently, still wasn't. Such was more than apparent here and now.

"Won't even sit for some coffee? Zare prepared it."

Whether by guilt or by the mention of coffee, he turned his head, eyeing the pan that still contained some of the black liquid within. "Fine," he said, even him not able to turn down the drink, adding to my growing understanding of people's feelings towards this drink.

Well, to each their own.

"But after this," he continued, "We get moving."

And so we did. In an hour's time, we had grabbed quick bites of breakfast, packed camp, and headed out.

The days ahead proved to be much the same as one another. At some points in time, we would exchange conversation, attempt to pry information from one another with similar degrees of success, meaning none, and overall, just enjoying the scenery around us.

Zare in particular seemed as though stuck in a wanderlust finally realized, happy to be on the move.

"You seem rather happy," I commented on the side to her as we'd drifted behind the main group. "Almost like you hadn't already been with a band of travelling do-gooders."

She scoffed, turning to me with a shrug. "Don't know," she admitted. "Just feels different now."

"Thrill of knowing you're walking into a warzone?"

I saw a flash of emotion on her face. One I couldn't quite decipher. One that, from what I saw, told me that "thrill" was something she'd seen and felt before, and so I would have thought she was lying when she said, "Maybe" if she hadn't followed it with, "I don't know. I don't think so. I just…feel more free now."

"So," I changed the subject. "How did you end up joining along with the nuns?" I felt as though I was treading on familiar soil when I asked the question, but ever since the night before last, I'd found myself questioning a lot about her. Maybe it really was just a lucky shot. Maybe she really doesn't know that she'd hit somebody. She hadn't collected the arrow after all. Maybe it wasn't hers even. Though, I hadn't seen anyone else collect the arrow.

"Well, after my brother joined the army, dad didn't really have anyone left. I think he lost all hope for my brother right after he joined and kinda just broke down. I stayed around to help him, but he didn't last too long. Grief, stress, he gave up. Killed himself because he had nothing left in the world." There was bitterness in her voice as she said this.

"He had you."

Her face soured. I'd touched on a subject I likely shouldn't have. "Guess I wasn't enough." She sighed, wishing to change the subject, bur regardless, continued her story. "Was left orphaned in our small village then."

"No mom?"

She shook her head, not deigning to assign her mother any words even. There was something deep seeded there. A resentment I figured best to leave there. For now. "Anyway, one day, those nuns came by figuring they could do some good, my town starving and dying as it was, anybody spry enough to work the fields wearing a uniform dying for spirits know what. I just wanted to get out of town, leave it behind, so I asked if I could join them. They told me the path of becoming a nun was a righteous one, but one with much strife." She chuckled. "Didn't matter to me. I just planned on using them to get from point A to point B. Time went by though, and I guess, I don't know, they'd sold me on the idea of helping others. Stuck by them for a good while, believing I was doing real good, not realizing that we were only the afterthought. The ones that came in once things had already gone to shit. Finally clicked when you all came to Heigou."

I pitied her then. I doubted she wanted it, and just the look in her eyes when she finished stated that she'd kick me in the balls if I so much as showed the slightest degree of feeling sorry for her, of looking down on her. Despite this however, I still did, and, even worse than that, at least the way I saw it, a part of me still didn't completely believe her. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I so suspicious of her? If anyone's the liar here, it's me, and I have the gall to question her. I let the paranoia fade for the moment, choosing to, at least in this moment, ignore it, and try to manage a real conversation.

"Oh great," I joked. "So it's our fault you left."

"Yep," she smiled. "All your fault."

"Well, I don't want to sell you a false bill of goods. We're not heroes like the Avatar. We don't bring peace and safety wherever we step. We try to do what we can, but that doesn't guarantee success."

"I know. A chance is all I'm asking for."

"Well," I said, considering it once again, considering the idea of 'chance' and how I'd almost stripped it from her. "Then you're in the right place."

The days went by as expected following that, no obstacles on our path, keeping constant watch, ensuring nothing waiting around a corner ready to lash out at us and end our expedition prematurely.

On the morning of the 4th day, we found it waiting ahead, right where it was meant to be, resting atop a hill by the coast, dock housing Earth Kingdom warships, artillery guns facing the sea and the plains it overlooked, the King's banner raising over its stone fortifications.

Xiahu.

I knew the first instinct of at least 2 of the people by my side, the corner of my eye catching the ever so subtle twitch of the hand towards their sheaths, this base no different from the many Earth Kingdom camps we'd fought tooth and nail to take between Ba Sing Se's walls, the memories still etched into my mind, the soldiers I'd killed, the people I'd burned, and now I was going to be working alongside them.

They weren't the only ones at unease, and as we reluctantly approached, nearing those stone walls, I found myself wondering just where the end of this road lay, just where this path led.

And as we announced our presence, and the great stone gates opened to welcome us, I decided that, maybe, some questions were best left unasked.

Boss

There was something humiliating about this all. I know that the people still gathered here today, 3 days after my initial failure, were only here by Kiu's direct orders.

I don't know if I'd approached the matter properly when talking to Kiu. Perhaps I shouldn't have talked to him as though he were a friend, ranting about the different students rather than taking accountability for my own failures, but nonetheless, I had. I'd exploded in a manner of speaking, wasting no time in expressing just how frustrated the day'd left me. It was only when I was done raving that I'd realized just what I'd done, the embarrassment hitting me in the face like a 4 ostrich horse carriage.

The awkwardness had hung in the words still bounced around the closed room, echoing back into my ears, myself becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second for what felt like minutes until he simply asked, "Are you done?"

I responded in the affirmative, and he simply asked, straight faced, his already weathered face having no more space for stress and drama, "You still plan on continuing with the training?"

I responded likewise once again.

"Good. You're dismissed."

As I faced the same crowd I'd failed 3 days ago, and then some, even the Patriot's crew stopping by to witness what may just turn out to be a repeat of my same failure from before, I found myself desperately raking my mind for any semblance of an idea on how not to make an ass of myself. Of some idea how to actually, more importantly, find a way to teach these children how to survive.

I found myself wishing that Kiu had said something more than "You're dismissed" to me then. I'd considered, in these last 3 days, making time to see him, but I think that, somehow, embarrassment had prevented me from doing so.

For spirits' sake. I'm 20 years old, I've served in the army for over a quarter of my life, I've been a part of one of the Fire Nation's most feared units, fought at the Battle of Ba Sing Se, and led a highly efficient armored squadron. I've deserted the world's most powerful army, lived to tell the tale, gone on to help lead a band of freedom fighters, and somehow, I'm scared of Kiu.

There was something about him though, something about the weariness that he wore as a badge of honor that told me that, next to him, I was nothing.

One of these days, I'll grow the balls to ask him his story.

Thinking back on it, I considered then if, maybe, what Kiu had done in simply refusing to hear me out had been the best thing he could have done for me. Letting myself get worked up, acting like a child, upset because I wasn't being properly respected, it would get me nowhere. Maybe that's what he'd been trying to tell me.

I thought back too on what Jadoh had said, funnily enough. Few months ago, he would have been one of the last people I'd want to talk to, but here he was now, off on the sidelines, having volunteered his services in helping train the others if I wanted.

"Just pretend they're me," he'd suggested before the others have arrived.

I grinned to myself. Just pretend they're all the old Jadoh.

"Alright!" I yelled out as long as I could manage. As I had managed to do last time, leaving my throat raw, I caught the attention of those before me, even startling a few of them in the process. So far so good. "We're not going to be wasting any time today." I wasn't going to give them another lecture. They'd heard enough of that last time. Today was about getting down to brass tacks. "I see you've all brought your own weapons here today. We won't be practicing with those today. I'll ask you now once to discard your weapons so we can proceed!"

I heard the scattered clanging of a few weapons being thrown to the ground, but they stood out in the relative silence of the rest of the field. There was clear reluctance among the crowd, nobody quite willing to part with their weapons. Your own fault for bringing them here in the first place. The silence continued, and I noticed a number of people even reaching down to retrieve the weapons they'd discarded earlier, pressured by their peers.

"And if we don't?" A voice asked. Keerick again. Of course. He'd proved a pain in my ass last time, right as he was. Why was I surprised he was doing so again?"

I was already sizing him up, thinking. I can take him. He's not too much younger than me, but I could easily take him on.

I gave him the chance to back down, simply eyeing him, asking him one last time to lay down his weapons. He said nothing, standing there, and I was in the middle of taking the first step towards him before a body stepped in, interrupting me, saying, "Just put down your weapons, Keerick. The sooner we do what he asks, the sooner we can go home. Besides, we might just learn something. Jet. Jet turned to the crowd, intent on removing the last semblance of resistance for the moment. "Toss your weapons everyone. Let's not be so stubborn here. There's always more we can learn."

It was at his word that people began to listen, the clanging of weapons being dropped being heard from throughout the crowd. So they'll listen to him, eh? As the noise began to dim, the kid looked at me with a nod of his head, granting me permission o continue. He has some nerve however.

It was apparent how they saw me. Age had stopped mattering to them once they took up arms as children to fight against a near unstoppable army of adults. I was just one more of them, the only adult they'd sworn loyalty to being Kiu. They'd seen no evidence of what I was capable of. My loyalty had already been spoken for, but I hadn't earned their respect. I had to earn that, so long as Jet didn't stand in the way again.

I nodded to him in return, and he walked back to his previous position in the crowd, next to Kai and a freedom fighter I recognized less, but knew to be a girl named Ora.

From there, the others became more willing to follow along, Jet's occasional prodding from time to time doing the extra trick.

As the freedom fighters went about their forms, sparring with one another, trading partners from time to time, Jet took on the role of something as a mentor despite me and Jadoh already doing so, commenting on the techniques of others, ensuring they were acting properly, the works. I would have been more upset if I hadn't noticed that his comments were in the right. He seemed to have a rather solid understanding of what he was talking about. Those he counselled instantly improved, their improvement under his words even better than under mine, but that likely was in some part due to their initial reception of him. The way they saw me, however, it wasn't kind. They saw my words as criticisms, unwarranted for me to give, no proof having ever been given that I knew what I was talking about. They had faith in their abilities. Too much.

Such was especially evident with the ruckus that had emerged from a growing group near the center of the clearing in the forest.

Jadoh and I approached the gathering crowd, curious as to what was transpiring, witnessing, in the center of it, a rather intense duel between Kai and other freedom fighter who I didn't recognize.

The two had abandoned their weapons, instead relying on hand-to-hand combat.

Kai's opponent, a boy who's name I learned to be Shen by the occasional cheer for him, attempted a grabble around Kai's waist.

The grapple was weak however, evident alone in the footwork of the boy, easily exploited by Kai who proceeded to sweep him off his feet, throwing him to the ground.

The boy didn't stop there, however, rolling just in time out of the way at Kai's foot stomping on the ground. He wasn't holding back. He wants to hurt him.

The boy rose back to his feet, feet planted, arms raised, ready just in time for Kai's swing, desperate, wild, missing, a jab from Shen catching him in the stomach, sending him reeling backwards, a scowl on his face.

"Boss," I heard a voice. It was Jet. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I tried getting them to stop but-"

"Don't be."

"You're going to stop them?"

"Of course."

"So why aren't you moving?"

"I want to see who wins."

"What?" He turned to face the brawl that was growing in intensity. "Why?!"

"So I know which one to kick the shit out of."

My answer elicited a chuckle from Jadoh who was at my side, but Jet was less amused. These were his friends kicking the shit out of each other after all. He was less capable of my disconnect that I here demonstrated as I watched the two fight it out.

Shen had gained an edge, locking one of Kai's arms in place. His grasp on it was sloppy, weak, prone to being easily discarded, but Kai was too focused on landing a hit with his free arm to even notice his ability to free himself.

The cries in the crowd evidently favored Kai, him being the favorite as shouts of "Come on! Hit him" and "Kill that fucker!" shot out of the crowd.

I really hope nobody kills somebody here. That'll be tough to explain to Kiu.

I wanted to think that it was only rhetoric, the cries of blood, but when Kai's arm reached behind his back, and the glint of the sun against the steel of the knife that he unsheathed reached my eyes, I realized that it'd gone too far.

One slash, wild, no target in mind, merely desperate, was all it took for Shen to back off, horror in his eyes, a gash across his right cheek, hands held up in surrender as the audience cheered Kai's "victory" if it could even be called that.

The crowd didn't seem to mind as congratulatory remarks of "Way too go!" and "You really showed him" could be heard.

"Very impressive," I said as I pushed my way through the audience to gain access to him, the others parting to let me through, less out of respect or fear of me, but more out of curiosity to see where this was going.

They'd see soon enough.

"You certainly showed him, drawing your knife on him like that."

"His fault he didn't bring his own," he scoffed, wiping sweat from his brow until he turned to see me, now understanding who it was talking to him. "Why?" he asked, his voice suddenly hardening. "Got a problem?"

"Quite a few. Your close quarters combat is sloppy. He had the edge on you, but he had a weakness you failed to notice, instead relying on an advantage you'll never have in the field. If you have a weapon, you damn well bet your enemy has one too."

"I won, didn't I?"

"Here you did, but you try something like this on anybody else, on anybody who knows a thing or two about how to fight, and you won't have that same luck."

"Oh, and by anybody else, I bet you think that means you?"

I grinned. Good. "Anybody else in the world that's not a defenseless infant, sure. And that includes me. Your style of fighting , against an opponent evenly matched with you, the fight will be over before you even realize it."

It was around now that the audience began to come to their champion's defense. "He's all talk", "Show him what your made of!", "Fuck him. Kill 'im too!"

He had the pressure. Good. I shrugged. "But hey? What do I know? I guess we'll just find out on the field."

I turned to leave. He wouldn't wait for the field. The crowd was calling for blood once again, and to turn it down, he'd humiliate himself.

I didn't even need to hear Jet calling out, "Don't!" for me to feel him coming. The sudden shift in the air, the crunch of the grass beneath his feet, he signaled his charge before the moment he'd even considered it in his head.

I applauded him, he didn't say a word. He didn't yell in his charge, he didn't announce his presence verbally. He wanted the element of surprise, but all's the pity that he failed so miserably. I turned, sidestepping out of the way, avoiding the knife held directly in front of him. He hadn't accounted on missing, and his grip on the blade was weakened, his mental imagery of how everything would play out suddenly spun on its head.

I disarmed him, a solid grip on his wrist, catching his knife as it fell to the ground with my left hand, my right still on his wrist. All it took then was the clever placement of my foot behind his heel, pushing him forward, my weight against his, the knife to his throat drawing him backwards all the more until he tripped and fell to the ground, me directly on top of him, knife to his throat.

"Sloppy."

He growled. He wasn't done. He swung with his left hand, missing, me realizing then just how he'd even gained the advantage against Shen in the first place, the brass knuckles now in plain view as I spun him over, left hand holding the knife to his throat, the other on his arm, holding it up behind his back me and all others to see.

"Ah. Now it makes sense. You had every advantage: surprise, arms, and initiative, but you still managed to screw it up. You're sloppy, Kai. I told you that next time you tried this on somebody, it wouldn't work. That it would cost you your life."

He gruntled, struggling against my weight, making every effort he could to free himself. It wouldn't work. He's lost.

"However, it's my job to teach you. Not kill you. Sometimes though, you need to learn the hard way."

The inhuman shriek that accompanied the crack of the bones in his arm sent a shiver through me. Arm broken behind his back, I decided he was no longer a threat, and rose, standing above the screaming and thrashing Kai that lay on the forest floor.

The others were silent. There were no longer any shouts applauding his name. Their eyes were on me. Jet's especially. I don't know if it was approval or fear, but I'd earned his respect. And the others, they weren't so different. They looked on in horror and I had the feeling, especially as I reached down and confiscated Kai's knife for myself, that they wouldn't doubt my abilities again.

But I needed to prove it.

"Now!" I spoke. "It seems one of you is down a partner. You'll be sparring with me instead. Any volunteers?"

Yeah, I realized amidst the silence of those who no longer even considered going up against me a possibility. I'd made myself loud and clear.

Luke

"Open the gate!" came a gruff voice from somewhere atop the wall, though I couldn't see from who.

All I knew was that, shortly after, a divide in the seemingly whole stone wall emerged, and the pieces began to move apart deeper into the wall, a gate revealing itself for us to enter.

Such came as a sigh of relief for us all, half expecting to have found ourselves crushed or riddled with arrows. Luckily enough, Gordez had managed to convince them that we were, in fact, on their side, now finding ourselves being ushered in rather than still breathing rather than hauled out in body bags.

On the other side of gate stood an entourage of soldiers, earthen disks at the ready, sending back a number of images through my mind that I would have much rather have avoided.

The all-purpose weapons, capable of wiping out infantry as well as armored vehicles had us in their shadows where they rested above us, the earthbenders wielded them eyeing us suspiciously as their commander approached, small in stature compared to his subordinates, eyeing us all in the order in which we stood before asking, "So you're the Nip Sea Separatists, I take it?"

His voice betrayed his stature, authoritative and deep, asked us, "So you're the Nip Sea Separatists, I take it?"

Gordez responded in the affirmative as the man continued to eye us, the occasional pebble from the stones above us falling atop our heads, reminding us that we stood on death's door, the knocker just a few finger hairs away.

"Who're the women?" he asked, focused on Zare and Ka'lira alike."

"They're with us."

"I see. Lower your weapons, men."

In perfect unison as though trained for parades, they lowered their rock disks, the synchronous clashing against the ground shaking the castle around us, parting ways at the indication of their commander's dismissive wave.

The commander turned, indicating for us to follow, and so we did.

"I am Hanief, commander of Xiahu and military governor of the Weicheng region. You'll forgive my suspicion, but it's hard to know just who we can trust nowadays. We've been receiving reports of Fire Nation activity in the area. We hear that Heigou may have been infiltrated by hostile forces."

Looks were exchanged between our party, realizing just how out of date this man's information must have been. Zek spoke, much to Gordez's initial annoyance, asking, "Just when did you last hear from Heigou?"

"Around 3 weeks ago for their monthly donation of food to our fortress. They told us that they had suspicions of Fire Nation activity and I sent some men to investigate. They found nothing, but I raised a town militia to keep an eye out. We'll hear if something happens there."

Yeah, unless it's the militia that betrays the town in the first place.

A roll of Zek's eyes towards me was enough to get the ire of Gordez whose eyes alone told us both to be quiet.

"We're afraid to tell you," Gordez said, putting clear strain in managing his tone and just what he said, "But Heigou has been destroyed."

The commander turned, his interest apparent, but his sympathy next to nothing. "Really?" he asked. "How would you know this?"

"We passed through the area. It seemed that the Rough Rhinos had bribed the town militia into opening the gates. The Rhinos slaughtered the entire town. Left hardly any survivors."

"The Rhinos? That can't be. Our intelligence placed them at the Serpent's Pass harassing caravans only a fortnight ago.

"Well, either they moved quickly, or your intelligence is faulty, because they slaughtered nearly that entire town just about that same amount of time ago.

"Hmm. I see. So you aided the survivors, I take it?"

"Yes sir, along with some nuns who had come to the town to give food, water, and medical aid to them."

"Hmm, I heard they were in the region. Figured it was only a matter of time before they reared their heads."

The negative light in which he painted them caught me off guard, and by the look on her face, Zare as well. Enough so that she felt the need to speak up in their defense in asking, "You have a problem with the nuns?"

"I wouldn't if they had any loyalty, but when they tend to the enemy just as much as my men if not more, they make themselves a hindrance. Not an ally."

Zare made no effort to hide her disdain at his comment, but luckily for all of our sakes, he was only focused ahead of himself as he walked us through the fortress, the earthen gates rumbling to a close behind us.

The base was well-staffed by the looks of it, but despite its seemingly full contingent of men, none of them seemed particularly busy, rather, idling, as though waiting for orders and savoring whatever moment they could to be avoiding responsibility. Despite that sense of sloth, everything seemed well maintained. The ostrich horse stables were clean, the catapults in working order, the structural integrity of the fortress itself seemingly sturdy.

These soldiers are just waiting for action. They're just waiting here, and they don't even know that a town that's supposed to be under their protection just got annihilated.

"So these nuns that were helping this town. They send you our way?"

"No, sir. We'd been heading to Xiahu anyway, but they did ask us to deliver a message. They're in desperate need of medical supplies and troops to help move the wounded. They were wondering if they could bring them here to protect them in case of an additional Fire Nation attack."

"'fraid we can't afford to do so. Neither the supplies, troops, nor housing."

Gordez stopped for a moment, dead in his tracks, the refusal of all three seemingly something he hadn't expected, though just in how this officer had carried himself for the last few minutes, seemed as though it was inevitable. "Wh-wait. Why?"

"This is a military outpost, wait, what was your name again?"

"Gordez, sir."

"Gordez. Hmm. Colonial. Well, this is a military outpost, Gordez. We're acting as a hardline against Fire Nation movements against the coast. We need our supplies, we need our men, and we sure as hell need to avoid being distracted by sick and dying refugees. The nuns are free to move their wounded wherever they please, but military installations are off limits."

Gordez was shaking, Zek was drawing his hands to his side, Zare seemed about ready to kill the man, but it was Ka'lira who spoke up, calling out, "These people are dying because you failed your job at keeping them safe and now, you're refusing to help them?!"

Commander Hanief stopped in his steps, and turned, head cocked as though listening for a bird call, and then just eyed Ka'lira who he identified as the source of the noise. He wasn't the only one eyeing her. Heads across the fortress had turned towards her, toe to toe with Hanief. Gordez was frozen, Zek even closer than ever to drawing his sword, ready, I was sure, to stab the man through the throat if he so much as inched towards her.

Instead of doing anything to elicit a response from Zek however, he merely sighed, and said, "Look. What happened it Heigou, it's a travesty. I take responsibility for not doing more to safeguard them, but my responsibility is this coastline. We may be the nearest fortress to Heigou, but that does not make them our protectorate. My men and I are here to ensure the Fire Nation doesn't gain a foothold on the coast, so that's what we're going to do. Look," he said, putting a hand to his forehead, now appearing to realize the heartlessness of what he'd said. "I can send a messenger to them to let them know that, if they stop by here, we'll provide medical supplies and relief, but I can't spare any men or the castle for them. An attack is coming soon, and we need to ensure we're ready for it."

Ka'lira didn't have time to respond before Gordez interjected, afraid of anything more possibly being done to intensify the situation. "Anything you can provide is appreciated, and naturally, it is our job here to do what we can to assist in defending Earth Kingdom territory against the coming assault."

"Naturally," the commander echoed. "Which reminds me, where are the rest of your men. Last I'd heard from the Separatists, your numbers were nearly 2 hundred. Don't tell me you've been hit this hard."

"No, sir," Gordez chuckled. "Our numbers are still strong at 2 hundred, but we were sent ahead to attempt to restore communications."

"Seems the Water Tribe did that for us. Shame that fog of theirs didn't reach this far. But still, we'll take any help we can get. Should I assume you had something to do with that?"

"We bargained for their assistance, yes."

"Well, it's high time they joined the fight in truth. We'll welcome what support they can give. And what of your Separatists."

"The plan was to begin sending them south to the coast once access over the Nip became an option again, so I want to think we'll begin seeing reinforcements soon."

"Hmm, that's good. We'll reinforce our coastline, and with the Water Tribe, perhaps we can do some good in repelling any Naval Assaults they may attempt to launch."

"What about a ground attack?" I asked, recalling the same fate that Heigou had suffered."

"There's no concentrated Fire Nation presence to our south. We'll be fine."

"But the Rhinos? They managed to take out Heigou."

"To tell you the truth, the odds were that wasn't the Rhinos. I have no doubt that my militia, those filthy traitors, betrayed their hometown to the enemy, but the perpetrators were likely just a standard Fire Nation cavalry unit disguising themselves as the Rhinos to spread fear. It's a common tactic. Our main rival is their fleet."

"Do you have any way of countering a naval attack aside from the Water Tribe?"

"Matter of fact, I do. I can show you, but first, we'll get you settled in. Do your women cook?" he asked, questioning the girls.

I turn to see as Ka'lira looked to Zare who shrugged confusingly, then responded, "Yes, we can, but we're better as-"

"Good. My men haven't eaten a proper meal in months. The kitchen is in that building there across from the barracks. You may have to do some cleaning. I'll have my men prepare some separate accommodations for you for the night.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I heard Zare mumble to my side. "I can't cook?"

"Well whatever do you mean?" I whispered back sarcastically. "You're a woman. What else do you do?"

"I'm going to stab you in your sleep." She whispered through gritted teeth as Ka'lira began pulling her away towards the troops awaiting them.

"I like mine medium rare by the way."

I was only met by her middle finger being raised towards me before Ka'lira reigned her in and proceeded to drag her along.

"I'm surprised you let them carry weapons," the commander admitted as he beckoned us along further, closer to the coastline. I was unsurprised by his stance. Out here in the deep Earth Kingdom, values akin to his were far more commonplace than in the Fire Nation or in groups desperate enough such as the Nip Sea Terrorists.

"They've proven their worth," Gordez said in defense of them. "They're great fighters."

"I notice they both wield bows. I see that, at the very least, you're keeping them out of harm's way."

"They're more than capable of close quarters combat. They're just playing to their strengths."

He chuckled, "Oh, I'm sure."

By now, we had approached the rear of the castle and were led out a similar gate as the one at the front, though this one opening wider to reveal the beach head, and the rows upon rows of trenches and battlements that lined it, lines of catapults at the ready, and in the center of the formation, an artillery gun, the size of which I hadn't seen since Ba Sing Se. It was a siege gun.

"I know it ain't much. Old tech after all, but we're proud of it.

Gordez's whistle signaled his interest quite clearly. "Where'd you get your hands on this?"

Fire Nation was besieging our little castle here at the same time as Ba Sing Se. When the Fire Nation lost its prized pony up there and the Dragon of the West went running back home with his tail between his legs, we took advantage of the Fire Nation's continent-wide retreat and picked up a few goodies along the way. This was one of them."

The look Zek and I had exchanged at his mention of Lu Ten and Iroh spoke clearly enough to our final assessments of the character that was guiding us. I imagined Gordez would have been none too pleased himself if he hadn't still been ogling the artillery gun.

"It's a mighty fine weapon, but these are siege guns. Imprecise as hell. You'd have to be extremely lucky to land a straight hit against a target as precise as a Fire Nation ship."

"Hmph." He scoffed, turning his head away from us, towards the rear wall, yelling, "Cholla! Launch a decoy!"

My eyes followed Hanief's up the wall in time to glance the silhouette of the man I assumed to be Cholla vanish behind it.

"Firing crew! At the ready! We have some visitors to impress!"

A pair of Earth Kingdom soldiers I hadn't noticed lounging by the wall suddenly shot into attention, seemingly excited at the mere thought of something to do.

"Shouldn't we let the fortress know we're practicing?" I asked. "The gun may spook 'em."

"Eh, let it spook them. They'll be happy for the momentary distraction.

They dashed into position, 2 by the gun, 2 adjacent to it, one with a binocular, one with a firing grid, and the last, the gunnery sergeant by the looks of him, overseeing it all.

It wasn't long before, out from the wall, a small, unmanned sailboat appeared, riding out into the center of the nip, slow but steady. It was a miniscule target. Did he really think his gun could hit a target this accurately?

"Ready weapon!" the gunnery crew sergeant yelled to his subordinates, followed by their immediate compliance.

"Load shell!" The shell was loaded.

By this point, the spotters had their mark, calling out, "5E, headed 4D."

"Copy," affirmed the gunner. "Shell ready!"

"Fire!" announced the team leader.

And the roar of the cannon firing shook the earth even more than the gates had, the gun's steel supports barely holding it in place as the barrel pushed back from the recoil, ejecting the still smokey shell casing.

Our eyes all turned to the horizon, waiting for the impact.

And so it inevitably came, the water splashing in a mighty display where the shell fell. It was a miss. I wasn't surprised. The first shot usually always missed. What surprised me, however, was just how close it came."

"Adjust" the sergeant called out. "20 degrees west, 10 north!"

They had a lot of faith that the shell would land precisely to their specifications. Siege guns such as these were rarely accurate. They certainly were putting a lot of faith in it.

"Adjusted!"

"Load shell!"

"Loaded!"

"Fire!"

And it fired again, shaking the boat as the shell landed not far from it, still missing, but, in fact, to the east and to the north, precisely how they'd adjusted the heading. You're kidding.

"Same heading! Load shell!"

"Loaded!"

"Fire!"

And it was in that last salvo that the small boat erupted in flames, hit head on by the cannon, nothing left of it save for charred bits of wood floating in the Nip.

The surprise we all felt was apparent, most noticeably by Gordez, who stood wide-eyed, looking back and forth between the target, or what was left of it, and the gun.

"H-how the hell?" he asked.

"We may have…made a few modifications," the commander stated proudly, slapping the side of the still hot barrel, stating to the firing crew, "Nice shooting, men. You're dismissed."

"What did you do?" Gordez asked, the awe in his voice akin to that of a toddler receiving a birthday gift for the first time in their life. "I see you lengthened the barrel, but that can't be it."

"Mhmm. Rifled it too. And shed some excess weight from the gun."

"Where'd you get the knowhow to do that?"

"Gun wasn't the only spoil we took. Caught the gunnery crew too. They lent us a hand, you could say."

It was easy enough to presume they were no longer among the living. Figures.

"Well then" he continued, clapping his hands together in front of him. "As you can see, the 325 men here are ready for when the Fire Nation decides to attack. When they come knocking, we'll be ready." He spoke with blatant confidence, clearly believing everything he said.

He cleared his throat, "But enough of that. Fire Nation hasn't attacked for months now, so why assume they'll attack tomorrow. With that supplies you all brought in, I'm thinking we have enough to enjoy ourselves tonight. We have some booze in the cellar and some guests to share it with. That's cause for celebration if I ever heard of it." He planted his hands on the shoulders of both me and Zek, ushering us along towards what I assumed were to be our quarters as he said, "Now let's show you where you'll be staying. By the time you're done settling it, methinks the ladies will be done cooking something up, and we'll let the festivities begin."

As he brought us along, I turned my head one last time to face the sea. In the midday clarity, I felt as though I could almost see the coast across. Or perhaps it was merely illusory. I figured it had to be, the coast being around 50 miles away. In that moment though, it felt closer than ever. Everything was drawing in. War was coming. That was unavoidable now. And we were about to find ourselves deadpan in the middle of it once again.

Zhao

How long hand it been since I'd last been on the Ajax? Around a month, no? A little less? I suppose it didn't matter. Everything around felt alien to me. The steel walls, the soldiers and crewmen at their tasks, nobody left idling, it felt like I was in a whole new world all over again. One of strict discipline in the place of relaxed idleness. One of military zeal in the place of complacent relaxation. I'd left as a shamed junior lieutenant, and now I was back, with information capable of ending the war.

It felt good to be back.

I wondered if Harzek felt the same. I looked to my side where he sat next to me on the bench in front of Shu's command deck. He'd been quiet nearly the whole way back. I think the one time he'd talked since we left the library was to rally his men together back at the Hami village.

He'd let me do all the lying, explaining to Gani how Shilo had been killed by the guardian spirit of the Library rather than by our own hands, convincing him that we didn't find much of note.

The trip back to the village hadn't been any easy one for anybody involved. It was a miracle that we didn't run into more difficulty on the way there, thankfully dodging any other rival tribes that would have viewed us as the easy pickings we were. The return in itself wasn't any easier. Newly made widows and vilomahs mourned the losses of their husbands or sons while those remaining of Harzek's squad let it sink in that they had lost half of their comrades. And for what? I was sure they all wondered.

I doubted they'd ever know until the time came.

And so I had to lie through my teeth as I was bombarded with questions of whether or not it was worth it, of it their comrades' deaths had had meaning. I could see the hatred in their eyes as I denied that anything had change, as I denied that we were closer to victory than we ever had been.

At the very least, I didn't find myself needing to lie when the slimmed down families of the village asked if their sons and husbands had died bravely. There, I could say that they did, Shilo being no exception, the fool that he was. He stood his ground until the end, fought for what he believed in, and died for it. A part of wanted to pity him, but he had made his choice. He chose to stand in the Fire Nation's way, my way, and he got what came of those who attempted to do so. I wouldn't pity him for the decisions he knowingly made, but I could still acknowledge that a good man had died in that Library, ally or otherwise.

Rallying cries among the Hami called for an expedition to the library, to recover the bodies of their fallen. We followed along us they did so, nearly the whole of the tribe travelling at once in what would have been near suicide. Harzek had insisted we provide protection. It was the least we could do after all.

It didn't take long for us to reach the same spot and, as I'd expected, the structure had disappeared. Wan Shi Tong had moved it. Again. Just as Shilo had suggested. We returned back to the village, none of the Hami's people in tow, the desert, unforgiving, having already consumed their remains.

I never came to learn from where the Hami conjured their good will, but after everything that had transpired, after it had been our operation that had slimmed down their village to feeble numbers, they still insisted on delivering us safely back to the Misty Springs Oasis.

From there, it had been a simple manner of a trek back to Shibi, signaling the blockade, and hitching a ride to the Ajax once again. And here we were, gone for at least 3 and a half weeks, now back, half of our contingent dead, but carrying with us the answers that could end all the pointless death, that could make me the hero our Nation needed.

The door to the command deck opened and a guard leaned out to say, "General Shu will see you now." I rose from where I was seated, headed towards the door only to realize I was headed there alone.

"You coming?" I turned to ask Harzek.

He shook his head where he sat, nothing about his expression saying that he just helped conduct the operation that would save his Nation. "I think I'll hang behind. Besides, this is your moment."

My moment. The stubbornness of this man. From the beginning, he'd called this my crusade, meaning it as an insult then, but now, after everything, after seeing our success, he still insisted on remain untied to it? What the hell was this? Humility? It was bullshit is what it was.

"Lieutenant. You just helped lead an operation that will end the fighting in the Nip, and the world. You weren't with me from the start, but I couldn't have done this without you."

"Or those men."

So that's what this is about. Of course it is, who am I kidding. "Or those men," I conceded. "But they would want you to get credit. They'd want to know that their sacrifice went acknowledged. If only I go in there, they'll have no closure."

"They're dead. What'll they know."

"Then think about those who survived. If you don't go in there with me, when this information is used, they won't know of the role they played. They won't know that you did what you had to do. They'll hate you."

"As they should."

"No. We're heroes of our Nation. Now stop being difficult and get up."

A few moments passed before he nodded his head and sighed. "Alright," he stated, standing up. "Let's get this over with."

You should be thanking me. I'd be happy to take the credit for myself. I earned it after all, but still, it wouldn't sit right.

We entered into the command deck together. It was only him. No guards, no other staff, not even the helmsman. Only him. I understood. What was said in here, stayed in here. He had yet to hear what we'd uncovered, no way or knowing just who could be at liberty to hear what, not until we'd said our part.

"I was beginning to wonder if the desert had swallowed you whole," just as soon as the steel door had shut and locked behind us. "I would be expecting a report, but seeing as how you called this meeting, I assume you found something."

We did, General. We believe we found-"

"Let's…not be so hasty. Start from the beginning."

"Yes sir," I coughed, clearing my throat, realizing I had gotten ahead of myself, failing to follow protocol. Traditionally, as the ranking officer, it would be Harzek giving the after-action report, but seeing as how this was my mission and he certainly did not appear in any state to give a full report, I took the lead, and Shu made no complaints.

"We departed from Shibi on schedule approximately 3 and a half weeks ago. We lost track of time in the desert and am afraid that we will be unable to provide exact dates. From Shibi, we trekked to the Misty Palms Oasis where we contracted a caravan of Beetle-headed merchants to transport us to the village of the Hami Tribe.

"While en route, we were intercepted by the Maojiawa Tribe. We suffered 3 casualties but were assisted by the Hami Tribe. From there, we were escorted to their village and an arrangement was made for them to guide us into the Desert in search of the Library we sought."

"What arrangement was made. What did you promise them in return?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Nothing? They brought you there out of good will?"

"They said that, as we had drunk their tea and shared their meal, we were their guests, and they were contractually obligated to assist us."

"Hmm. Interesting. Very well. Continue."

"Half of our remaining force, 8 men, were accompanied by the sandbenders into the desert. While en route, we were once again attacked, but by the She'wani tribe. We suffered 5 casualties to the She'wani, and most of our sandbender escort was killed as well. The elder of the Hami tribe, Shilo, managed to aid us in escaping via directing us into a sandstorm he managed to shield us from. From there, our tail lost, we found the Library."

"This Library. It's the same one you saw in your vision?"

"Yes sir. The very same."

"What were its coordinates?"

"It wouldn't matter, sir. It's no longer there."

"What do you mean, 'no longer there?'"

"It disappeared, sir."

"That's not possible."

You haven't even heard the half of it yet.

"The library wasn't of our world, sir."

He looked up, perplexed. "And what do you mean by that, junior lieutenant?"

"It was overseen by an owl spirit called Wan Shi Tong. He said he'd built the Library to help spread knowledge to mankind."

"So a Spirit was overseeing the library. Did he question you as to your intentions?"

"Yes sir, and we deceived him into believing we only sought knowledge for knowledge's sake."

"Who accompanied you into the Library?"

"It was me, Lieutenant Harzek, Shilo, and Private Zaik. The latter two did not make it out alive."

"What occurred?"

"Zaik was killed by the owl spirit when he learned of our intentions. Shilo, upon learning as well, attempted to kill me to stop me, and we would have had Harzek not intervened and saved my life," I finished, motioning to the quiet superior behind me.

"Hmm. If they went through such lengths to stop you, should I assume you escaped with something worth knowing?"

"Yes sir." And in that moment, I considered just what to say, how to word it, and ended up figuring to put it as it was, and not overcomplicate anything. "We learned of an astrological phenomena that can take away a waterbender's bending. A Lunar Eclipse."

"Hmm. I see. We already know of this."

What? He noticed my surprise, but remained quiet until I asked, "What? How? Why weren't we ever told about this?"

"I mean no disrespect, but that information is above your paygrade. It does no good to teach just any soldier of something they would be unable to take advantage of. We train our officer corps to possess a fundamental understanding of this, but it's by no means hidden knowledge."

Of course, I thought. Above my paygrade. What had I been expecting? This war had been raging for almost 100 years, and before then there had been more than enough wars involving waterbenders. Somebody would have noticed sooner or later.

"Besides," he continued. It does us little good. It's impossible for us to predict when they will occur. I'm afraid this knowledge does us little good."

About that…

I smirked. "Then what if we told you that we knew when the next one would occur?"

That captured his interest. "What do you mean?"

"Within the library was a room dedicated to mapping out the heavens in relation to our Earth, simulating day, night, comets, and eclipses too. There is one coming, this coming full moon."

"How do you know this information to be accurate."

"It predicted last week's full moon."

"That can be predicted by anybody."

"But thousands of years in advance? This information is reliable, and we have to act on it. I was told on the way here of how the Revanchist tribe has blocked our access to the Eastern Nip. It's clear now beyond all doubt that they're getting involved in this conflict. With this knowledge, we can draw them out and finish them off. Then, there's be nearly nothing standing in the way of us ending this fight."

There was a pause as he considered this, thinking on what I'd said. "This planetarium. How far in advance did you look. What else does it contain?"

And I knew what he was alluding to. The Fire Nation's Darkest Day.

"Worried about a Solar Eclipse?" I asked.

And he froze. I guessed right, hadn't I. That's confidential information.

"Then consider yourself lucky that I burned away the last traces of it."

"This Library possessed information on it?"

"It did. Not anymore. We saw to that."

He breathed out a sigh of relief. "Then the Fire Nation owes you its thanks. So, an upcoming Lunar Eclipse. So we can finally end this fight. I can end this fight now."

I can end this fight.

"Was there anything else you learned?" he asked.

I can end this fight. His words echoed in my mind. No, He can end this fight. I saw what he was after. The same thing I was. That recognition, that responsibility, the mantle of carrying Nation forward. But he was also short sighted. Me? I can do something much more. There is something else. Something far more important. Not how to end this fight, not how to win a simple battle, but how to end this war and change the world forever.

"Zhao," he repeated. "Was there any more information you obtained from this Library?"

Tui and La. Push and Pull. The endgame. The end of this war. I scanned his face, saw his desperation. He saw a treasure trove of information already before him, but he wanted more. But this information, this wasn't for him. Sorry, General Shu, but this is above your paygrade.

"No, sir. Nothing more." I'd taken a gamble. It was entirely possible that Harzek would have spoken out, but as I prayed, he hadn't.

"I see. Then the two of you have done your Nation a great service. You have surpassed the call of duty and embarked on a venture that, despite the odds of failure, you persevered through and won a major victory for your Nation, one that could very well end this campaign. I am hereby promoting you both to the rank of Captain by way of field commission. You are at liberty to choose your assignments."

I breathed a sigh of relief. A part of me had been terrified I would only be returned to my own rank of Lieutenant, but Captain. Years in the making, and I was here. I suppressed the urge to don a grin from ear to ear. I'd done it. This was my accomplishment. I had earned this.

"I give you both leave to chose your assignments. Captain Zhao?"

Captain Zhao. The sound of the words alone was reward enough. But the offer. Any assignment I pleased. I already knew. It had been no question. To return to the sight of my failure, but now as a victor. "The FNS Zodiac, sir."

General Shu chuckled. "I figured as much. All's the better for me. We still haven't found a suitable Captain to replace the last. And you, Captain Harzek?"

"General, I want to see this campaign until the end, but after we are done here, I ask for a transfer to the Defense Fleet."

I couldn't stop myself from turning to him in shock. What are you doing?! I wanted to scream. You've been given the opportunity of the lifetime. Any ship of your choosing within the Western Armada, and this is what you opt for?

General Shu appeared just as surprised. "I'm…surprised," he admitted. And who wouldn't be? "Is that truly what you wish for?"

"It is sir. I've forgotten what I've been fighting for these last few months. I want to remember why I fight. I want to have something real to fight for. 'Home' seems as real to me as it gets."

"I see," General Shu responded. There was something in his voice. Was it…sadness? I could understand if it was. He had just lost a great candidate for a prized captain under his command. "That's respectable. Very well. For now, you will serve aboard the Ajax. When this campaign is over, hopefully in a month's time, I'll have you transferred to the Defense Fleet, and I'll see if I can pull enough strings to give you your own ship."

"That won't be necessary."

"I insist."

Harzek nodded. There was no point in arguing. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't mention it. Both of you are dismissed. I'll schedule a meeting for the Armada's command to be held tomorrow to discuss our strategy. Captain Zhao, I'll expect you to be there. Captain Harzek, I expect you to come as well. You're both dismissed. A courier will tell you when to arrive tomorrow. You're both dismissed."

"Yes sir!"

"Yes sir!"

We saluted and exited the command deck, the steel doors closing behind us. The two of us walked together past the refugees from the command deck who were now flooding back to their posts. It was when we were at the empty stairwell, heading back down, that Harzek asked, "Why didn't you tell the General? About the Water and Moon spirits?"

"Because," I scoffed, mocking Shu's words. "It's above his paygrade. I don't think he's fit to hear something as important as this."

"So what? You just plan on keeping this to yourself?"

"No." I considered whether or not I should even tell him all of this, but he had followed me this far, been alongside me throughout this entire hell. It seemed only fair to me that he hear what I had in store. Besides, I doubted that he cared enough to tell anyone so long as I wasn't plotting treason. "But," I continued. "I will need to send a letter."

"To whom?" he asked, genuinely curious and confused. You poor fool. This never was your game, was it? "To Fire Lord Ozai."