Thumping into the strangers shoulder, Sokka glared at him with most fury he could muster for someone who probably didn't deserve the berating he was about to get, "Oi!" he shouted pointing at the man. the man looked at him with slight confusion and offence, probably from the context of someone who looked like they belonged in the Lower Ring talking to him.
Such a presupposition made Sokka channel his anger in a genuine frustration he had been feeling,
"What was that for, huh?! Trying to fight me you rich prick?!"
"What?! How dare you- peasant! Is this what this damned city has come to, that drivel like you can just come up here and shout at me, an upstanding citizen?!" the man proclaimed, Sokka slightly smirking at his reaction- it was exactly what he wanted to see from the man.
"Drivel?! I'll make you fucking grovel!" Sokka shouted in a somewhat exaggerated fury- chuckling under his breath at his pun, aiming his fists out to brawl the man if need be- the bigger the nuisance, the more distracting, Sokka told himself in assuring that it was fine to just beat up this man because they needed the intelligence that the Dai Li was holding.
The man pulled out what seemed to be a decorative sword, something he would expect an Earth Kingdom noble to bear- a thin steel jian, with a golden hilt that made it look more like a fancy staff than an actual weapon, but he took up a sloppy stance all the same, "Well come on peasant- show me what you've got!" the nobleman shouted at Sokka, who drew no weapons- slightly intimidating the man for a moment before he started to dramatically scream and swing his sword 'valiantly' at him- which didn't achieve much when Sokka dodged the move with a sidestep before punching the man square in the face and clearly making out a cracking noise as Sokka's fist collided with the man's nose.
"Call me peasant- one- more- fucking- time." Sokka shouted furiously at the man, his wording broken up his rapid punches to the man's upper body in an attempt to knock him out without seriously injuring him.
The man pushed Sokka off of him, and wiped his nose with a slight cringe to his face- he obviously hadn't expected Sokka to hurt him as much as he did already, but his pride held over his rationale and he held the sword out again toward the Water Tribe warrior, "Y-you will not efface my honour." the man seriously stated, his face contorted into a frown before he begun what Sokka guessed to be trained set toward him.
"Honour comes from merit- you have none." Sokka jested at the man, withdrawing his boomerang from his back, suddenly hearing a voice from the estate gates.
"You two stop it now! Don't make me call the guards- violence is not tolerated here." the voice berated them, Sokka glancing at the supposed gardener with slight frustration, before the man's eyes opened in realisation- he obviously recognised Sokka's face- and that was all Sokka needed to go into overdrive.
The nobleman still looked at Sokka and grumbled at him, "I will show you my fury p-" being cut off by Sokka's foot kicking him square in the chest, in the same fluid motion as he threw the boomerang at the Dai Li agent- whose mask of being a gardener had fell to one of an earthbending master- he prepared a stance immediately to block but Sokka's reflexes had beat him to it- the agent was struck in the side of the head and flung to the ground unconscious, his straw hat flying into the wind as it was deflected from his scalp.
Sokka's motions weren't as well planned as he would have hoped and he stumbled into a somersault before raising himself to a crouched position, eyeing off the remaining agent who stood in the gardens in shock- the Dai Li were never found out, and if they were they wouldn't be so easily defeated by a non-bender- the man looked at Sokka in fear but raised himself to a stance to pull out his gloves of rock; his quick reaction was to simply pick up the downed nobleman's jian sword and use it to deflect the rock gloves flying toward him, which he did by holding the sword to shield his upper body from the attack. The agent retrieved his gloves with the swift motion of his hands- Sokka took the time he had to grab his boomerang from the ground beside the first agent, swinging the weapon to throw back at the agent who held his rock gloves in defence- the boomerang careened away from the agent as Sokka intended, holding out the sword to parry the man's expected attacks. The Dai Li agent smirked at Sokka's 'miss' and thrust his hands downward to liquify the stone bricks Sokka was standing out, forcing him to change his stance before the bender would solidify the stone at his feet- the Dai Li agent thrust his hands forward, the rock gloves extending out to knock out Sokka- but the bending motion was cut short by the boomerang striking the man right into the shoulder- wearing the outfit of a gardener had the useful side effect of lacking padding, meaning his weapon lodged itself right into the man's deltoid muscle.
Taking advantage of the Dai Li agents injury, Sokka quickly pulled himself from half-solid bricks and ran forth with his club now armed to knock the man out- despite the pain, the earthbender was able to motion a portion of the brick wall to swing toward him, barely hitting him but forcing Sokka to the ground- he expected to be incapacitated or worse by the agent, but he simply grimaced in pain and ran for the manor, leaving the entrance wide open for Sokka- he chuckled at the thought it had only taken him to beat the two gardeners himself to actually be able to get into the manor- plus the uppity nobleman who was lying nearby in a daze, although he hardly considered him a challenge. Getting back to his feet, Sokka saw that the agent had blocked the entrance to the manor with a sheer face of earth- annoying for a non-bender like himself, but Sokka withdrew one of the makeshift bombs he had made earlier that morning; he thought it wouldn't hurt him to test the weapon on an actual target. Sokka grabbed a bomb from his belt and ran himself up toward the sheer stone face, using his club to strike a hole into the wall- it wouldn't break through entirely, but he needed to lodge the bomb in if he wanted a chance of the wall itself collapsing. As he lit the bomb's cord with a pair of spark rocks, Sokka could make out a thundering sound from inside the building- Azula had decided to cut any pretence of stealth it seemed; Sokka raced away to the side of the manor to hide himself from the explosion- moments later dust filled the air as the entire stone wall exploded in all directions- Sokka grabbed his cloak and garbed it over his mouth to prevent breathing in what he assumed would be harmful dust. Sokka could make out a number of grunts and shouts before he saw a man running out of the dust right toward him- his eyes in shock and further fearful, coming to a halt at seeing Sokka, who bared both his boomerang and club in hand; the man shouted at him in frustration.
"You damn penguin-fucker!" the man mocked Sokka- any veil of what Sokka would expect of calm Dai Li agent was gone; Sokka dodged the man's quick attempts at attacking him with his rock gloves which flew past him.
Sokka looked back at him with slight offence, "Come on man- that's just mean." he non-seriously complained, throwing his boomerang at the man, only for the man to dodge it by sliding with earthbending, using the same motion to push the ground underneath Sokka upward- careening the warrior into the air.
Being flung into the air, Sokka couldn't do much but try and avoid ramming into something, blocking his head colliding with the room before falling back down onto the manor's floor flat on his face; he reeled in pain as his opponent practically ignored him, running out of the manor behind him. Glancing back in front of him Sokka spotted her figure standing in a field of flames surrounded by incapacitated Dai Li agents- Azula had already beaten up the cell of agents, bar the one that had just thrown him around; she paced into the entrance where Sokka's dazed and somewhat pained form was lying on the floor.
"Get your arse into gear savage!" she demanded of Sokka- kicking his boomerang across the floor into his hand, forcing him to acknowledged her with a grunt and a nod; Sokka pulled himself off the floor and try to shake off the dust that now covered his body- he glanced at her with slight frustration before deciding to keep on task- taking one of the Dai Li prisoner, he presumed.
The two companions raced toward the fleeing Dai Li agent who was barely able to run away from them at the moment- Sokka guessed Azula had already given him a roughing up; he smirked knowing that'd only make the interrogation easier. The agent was running across from the main road into an adjacent garden- they realised that the man's bending would make it a lot easier for him to hide, and Sokka adeptly threw his boomerang at the man before he could sink himself into the soil to practically dissipate out of thin air- the boomerang clipped the man's head and forced him to face-plant into the ground. The agent turned to face them with his rock gloves bared but was cut short by Azula jumping into the air and striking him with a barrage of flames that he could only roll around in the dirt to avoid being struck by the blue bolts of fire. Before any more movements could be made on anyone's behalf, Azula raised her hand to signal the fighting to stop, Sokka begrudgingly dropping his club which he was preparing to hit the man with.
"Now Sokka- we don't want to kill this man do we?" Azula somewhat rhetorically asked Sokka, who smirked at the man in a slight of somewhat sadistic humour.
"Well that'd be too unfair- what was it the Dai Li wanted to do with me? I guess it involved torture; it'd be only fitting to give them what they give to others." Sokka nonchalantly explained, cracking his knuckles audibly toward the agent, who remained on his back lying in the dirt nearly gasping in fear.
"I'd prefer to use this man for his information; I bet he knows a lot about his little organisation and all their little code-words." Azula told Sokka, although she was clearly directing the statement toward the Dai Li agent.
The man gulped in a slight of fear, looking at Azula's flame covered hand with suspicion- he probably had no idea whether Azula would actually be merciful or not, and Sokka assumed she wouldn't be for practicalities sake- no one could know they knew anything, otherwise the Dai Li might strike out preeminently against the Fire Nation.
The agent coughed before trying to look Azula in the face, "What do you want- Princess Azula?" he asked, her eyebrows raising his recognition of her title.
"Congratulations- you've recognised that I am the Crown Princess, heir to the Fire Lord." she jested at the man, as if to mock the intelligence of his organisation as a whole, before she looked at him with serious eyes, "Now, seeing that we're relatively short on time here- I want to know one thing and one thing only- who leads your organisation?" she asked him, his eyes opening in even greater fear- and this time it wasn't of Azula or her fire.
"Oh- you're afraid of what he'll do to you- if you give me the right name, he'll be dead and you won't have to worry about getting purged for snitching- if that of course, is what you're getting all tense about." she explained to the agent.
"You don't know him." the agent muttered back at Azula, who only could return a cold eyed response,
"You don't know me. I am going to find your master- if it takes me killing every one of your people in this city, so be it."
The man looked at her in a slight of shock- he was afraid more of her threats than any flame she could muster at this point, "L-Long Feng- Grand Secretariat of the Cultra-" his naming being cut off by Azula's hand to his mouth, almost as if to hush him.
"Now snitch- where is he?" she asked the agent.
He looked at her with a slight tilt to his head, "But you said only one question." making Azula chuckle at the man.
"Ah- an observant one- I'll let you live, only for you to spread the word- I am the law, and my justice- it'll come for you no matter how hard you hide." Azula threatened the man, before she was cut off by Sokka kicking him the head and knocking him out cold, making Azula reel in fright.
"You certainly do seem to have a propensity for kicking your enemies in the head." she commented on Sokka's behaviour- he only could turn to her and chuckle.
"It's making up for the beating you gave me on the ship- it was the most emasculating experience of my life." Sokka told her, making Azula genuinely laugh at him.
"Oh- you're still all caught up in the crisis of being bested by a woman of all things- here I'd thought you'd be worrying about betraying your people!" she mocked Sokka.
"That's a good one- but eh, the Dai Li attacked me first- this isn't what I'd call betrayal." Sokka admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, "Should we take this guy in for further questioning or were you being serious about letting him go?"
"We'll wait for his friends to wake up from their beating- when they realise what's happened, they'll go straight for their master, Long Feng- if we're lucky, we'll be able to catch the man in the act." Azula strategised, Sokka nodding back in agreement.
Sokka and Azula resigned themselves to walking back to the manor, somewhat tired from their short but intense battle with the Dai Li- hopefully they would provide them with the location of their enigmatic leader 'Grand Secretariat Long Feng'- from the way that the agent had described their leader, they could only wonder how such fear of his damnation could have come about- Sokka knew enough about the Dai Li now to know that they were a scary bunch of people- it wasn't being killed that they had to worry about, but being brainwashed into doing their dirty work- this only exacerbated the threat the Dai Li posed in their conspiracy- for all they knew, the entire Fire Nation high command of the city could be brainwashed stooges that would attack the pair at a moments notice.
The tint of green flames covered the office of the last remaining leader of the Earth Kingdom, as he liked to call himself; Long Feng was a prideful man, but he was not stupid- he knew of the Princesses arrival in the city, and assumed the worst- the Fire Lord had found that his soldiers had not captured the Dai Li when they attacked the city, and that the Grand Secretariat remained in power in the city, despite the Fire Nation military presence and the undeniable authority that had been vested into the new leadership. His authority might be behind closed doors and for the most part invisible to prying eyes, but the Dai Li had organised support- funding from the local elites, the support of a number of loyalists who desired to see the return of the Earth King- all Long Feng needed was the opportune time to strike; from what he had been hearing through the numerous channels of information he had at his disposal, that time was fast approaching- without need of any intervention of his own behalf.
Long Feng had set out two years prior at the passing of the comet that he would not be defeated by the Fire Nation and that his image of Ba Sing Se would prevail- if only the world knew what he did, of the carnage that was likely to unfold with the upcoming conflict between the Fire Lord and his banished son, all at the behest of his own rivals, the Order of the White Lotus. The Order had posed a threat to Long Feng's policies with their own desire to overthrow Fire Nation rule, but he doubted they would have much effect once he was able to show the Crown Princess and her supporters of the threat that lies in the city- by a slight distraction Long Feng would ensure he kept his head, not by cowardice- that was what lost any ruler his power and authority. A rumble could be heard behind him, and Long Feng immediately turned to see the stone wall drop with the revelation of young Dai Li agent dressed as a gardener looking at his leader with fearful eyes.
"Master Long Feng! The Crown Princess has compromised one of our safe-houses in the Upper Ring- I believe it is only a matter of time before she will find her way here to you- she is more dangerous than any bender I have ever seen." the agent explained in a flurry, his face flustered from the running he had done on his way to the Grand Secretariats hidden office.
"Well isn't that interesting- maybe we can take two with one stone, quite literally in this case." Long Feng smirked deviously at the agent, who looked on fearfully, "We simply enact the operation ahead of time- we have the numbers, don't we- and the Arrows- they're doing their part, are they not?" Long Feng asked the agent, who nodded in understanding.
"Yes sir- we are more than prepared to strike- only say the word and it will be done- I can have the men ready at a moments notice." the agent returned to form, his voice and tone stoic and calm, reassuring his leader of his capability, Long Feng nodding at him before glancing at him with slight disgust.
"Please put on your right uniform- we are the Dai Li- not a band of refugees." Long Feng remarked, the agent noticing his downtrodden attire and bowing.
"Of course Master Long Feng- will you accompany the men in our operation?" the agent asked his master, wanting to ascertain their plans.
"I will come when I am needed, I expect my men to be able to handle a few stupid and unprepared ash-makers." he replied simply, turning back to his desk and signalling the agent to leave with a motion of his hand.
As the wall moved back into it's expected position, Long Feng resigned himself to sit by his desk for the meantime- he knew that the Arrows- as they had dubbed them for their most deadly member- were a threat that they sought to use against the Fire Nation- if they knew of the Dai Li's underhanded takeover, they would likely oppose them and be an enemy all the same- by using them to incite revolt, they would prove themselves a valuable tool in defeating the local garrisons and ensuring that the Dai Li could reassert control in one foul swoop. He smirked at the thought of the Crown Princesses reaction when she realised that she had no idea about the massive crisis that was likely to unfold- if she was unfortunately lost in the fighting, that would prove itself to be an even more strategic attack- without the Crown Princess, the Fire Nation had no heir to the Fire Lord other than the banished and disgraced Prince, from which he had heard was stirring chaos in the heart of their empire- when the beast lost it's head, the Dai Li will have won the city with little resistance and they would be in a prime position to reap the rewards of a reinvigorated Earth Kingdom- Long Feng would not just be the ruler of the city of Ba Sing Se, he would command the entire nation to his will, shape it like any earthbender could a rock.
The midday sun gleamed over the courtyard of the palace- it was filled with the entire suite of the Princesses personal guard- they lined up in pairs throwing flames at each other to test their resistance, the Captain standing at the end of the two lines presiding over the training.
"Again!" he commanded, the men proceeding to follow their sets, throwing volleys of flames at each other, the guards all defensively blocking their opponents flames with their own.
"Take your strength from the sun, and direct it into your fire- I want to see you all show your inner flame!" he shouted at the men with some enthusiasm, his men raising their fists toward the sky and letting out beams of fire that looked akin to a Fire Festival act- their flames all paralleled into the air to form arches of fire.
"Good- now give me twenty!" he shouted back again, the men falling to the ground and beginning sets of push-ups, which he nodded to in approval- his men were more than eager in the days training session- with little for them to do in the palace, most of them found it more enjoyable than just lazing around.
The Captain glanced across the courtyard to see his Princess returning after what he assumed was an eventful morning- although she seemed to be perfectly content, her companion however seemed a little worse for wear with scrapes and bruises on his visible skin, as well as his attire being quite dirty- he momentarily exactly fit the titular expectations of a peasant, bringing a smirk to his face. Stepping away from the training session for a moment, he walked up to greet Princess Azula with a bow, not attempting to acknowledge her Water Tribe companion at all, much to his chagrin.
"Your Highness, I hope that you and the Water Tribesman had a productive morning." he begun, Azula curtly nodding while Sokka contorted his face into one of disgrace.
"I have a name you know." he grumbled, the Princess silencing him with a raise of her hand, much to the Captain's own enjoyment.
"To my approval Captain, we most certainly did- we have new intelligence that tells us without reasonable doubt who the leader of the Dai Li is- and from my friend here's tracking skills we were able to conclude to where their hideout likely lies." she explained, the Captain nodding at her before giving Sokka a slightly insincere smile.
"Good job... Sokka." he mumbled his name, the Water Tribesman raising his chin in approval of the slight amount of respect he had been afforded.
"See- I told you the hunting skills would come in handy." he told Azula, who rolled her eyes at Sokka, who she knew was getting slightly consumed by his own ego at the moment.
"Now, now- don't get too uppity, we still have work to do- but seeing that we're here now, I'll let you have your break." she told Sokka, who raised a fist in sign of victory.
"Yes! Fighting makes me real hungry!" he shouted in approval, racing toward the mess hall with quick feet, the Captain able to still make his rambled and clearly ecstatic shouting as he ran away from them.
The Captain turned back to the Princess with a raised eyebrow, "He really does like food, doesn't he?"
"Of course- he comes from a place where you are excited for every next meal- the South Pole sounds like a terrible place to live." Azula told him, the Captain chuckling in response before glancing at Azula with a more serious face.
"Sorry your highness- I should act more seriously while on duty." the Captain apologised before stepping closer to Azula, "What news do we have? How far deep does the stain run?" he asked her, his eyes cold and stoic, with Azula returning the same face.
"I would love to say that I knew exactly who was involved in the conspiracy, but I have no idea- you covered me and Sokka to the governor, did you not?" Azula asked him in realisation, knowing that the Captain would have had to pull a story out of his arse.
"That you were going on high-class shopping and Sokka was accompanying you to carry your purchases- I hope that suffices." he explained to her, Azula scratching her chin in thought before replying.
"Well other than a single nobleman Sokka beat up as a distraction- uh- I'm going to assume the Dai Li wouldn't dare leak information to the Governor themselves." Azula thought aloud, unsure if there had been any number of observers of the fight, although she herself was only on the scene visibly for a minute, Sokka was surely to have been noticed by people in the area- Azula considered that the that nobleman might cause more trouble than she might have initially anticipated.
"Send the messenger hawks- personally- I want you do it, no one else can know." Azula commanded him, the Captain bowing in understanding of the direness of their situation- one slip up and the entire force of the Dai Li and whatever backing they had would be upon them.
"How many divisions?" he simply asked, Azula looking at him with a slight of fear.
"Every single one that can be spared- we cannot afford the loss of this city- my father would be beyond disgraced if his greatest victory was effaced by a bunch of uppity earthbenders." she commanded before turning around to head to the palace- she had a lunch to attend, and she would be sorely missed by the sycophants and bureaucrats who nested within.
The Captain returned to face his troops, and conceded that he would have to let them off his strict regime temporarily, "Okay boys- you're getting let off easy today- I want you all to remember to get up tomorrow morning for our next session- sunrise- got it?"
The guards raised from their push-ups and stood in form, all simultaneously shouting "Yes sir!" before breaking formation, the Captain nodded at the expected respect before pacing himself away from the courtyard to the communications tower; it was a distinctively Fire Nation designed structure that reminded him of the bridge that they had on most Fire Navy ships- metallic, dark and sticking out like a sore spot in the elegance of the former Earth King's palace. Coming up to the buildings entrance he was greeted by the stationed guards, who raised their eyebrows in confusion of a Royal Guard showing up to the communications tower.
"Sorry sir- you know protocol, state your business." one of the guards explained to the Captain who rubbed his mask with frustration.
"I have a direct- and private message- to be sent to Fire Lord Ozai himself, if you want to talk protocol, I'm sure the Princess would happy to tell you about the authorities of rank and file." the Captain berated the guard, who nodded in slight fear, his inability to see the masked guards face making him all the more intimidating- and the knowledge that all members of the royal guard were powerful benders.
"Uh- yes, go right through sir." the guard replied with a quick and high pitched voice, standing back to his position to let the Captain open the door himself.
Entering the building, the Captain looked around for the papers that they had stored and pulled out as many scrolls as he could find, placing them down on one of the desks; the Captain assorted out a pen and some ink for his use, as well as the royal stamp of the Princess which he had on his person at all times- she required it for much of her bureaucratic duties and today was a day her supreme authority would come of great use to their task.
He sat down beside the desk and begun to write the same message out over and over again: "To whomever this concerns, a state of emergency has been declared in the city of Ba Sing Se, thus you are being directly commanded by the order of Crown Princess Azula that if your division's duties are nonessential that you are to send as many forces as possible to assist in the defence of the Fire Nation's rightful control of the city."
The Captain knew that his message might be lying partially- there was no official state of emergency, as one could only be declared by the governor or highest ranking military official while he is not present- the Princess could order people around, but she could not make this action herself- and if she tried to- the conspiracy would likely turn out of control- this preemptive action might at least prevent the Dai Li from assuming total control in the case that the Fire Nation garrison was defeated. He sent out each of the messages one by one to the mapped positions of each of the Fire Nation divisions located in the Eastern Earth Kingdom, most of them working on suppressing potential rebellions and garrisoning towns for the sake of tariffs and taxation- the second group could likely spare some men, at least in the Captain's eyes. After sending out each of the messages he returned to the door and acknowledged the guards- who looked at him with a slight grimace of fear, nodding anyway to assure him of their respect.
"Have a good afternoon sir." one of the guards acknowledged him, the Captain nodding back before walking his way back toward the barracks, where he hoped to get a short break before he was certain the Princess would give him a proper briefing after the Governor's lunch.
As he walked along the courtyard in the direction of the barracks he was passed by a squadron of firebending soldiers, whose attire resembled his own except for the slight ornateness that his title afforded his own appearance- he nodded at the men who acknowledged him momentarily before walking up into the central complex of the palace itself. The Captain soon arrived at the barracks, quickly opening the steel doors before making his way down the short walk to his room, where he thought he would have a moment to relax, only to have that dream quashed by the sight of Sokka sitting by his own bedside.
"Oh- it's you." the Captain grumbled at the sight of the Water Tribesman, Sokka shrugging his shoulders at the guard as he tended to his light injuries, "Enjoy your lunch?" he asked, trying to make a bit of small talk while he sat down on his own bed- he took off his helmet and bore his face to the Water Tribesman.
"Delicious- the cooks here are really good at making appetising meals." Sokka admitted with a grin, the Captain raising his eyebrow in acknowledgement.
"This is one of the most prestigious places in the city, you'd expect them to have only the best when it comes to cooking." he explained, Sokka shrugging once more.
"Better than eating whatever drivel they suffice for food down in the Lower Ring- this is coming from the 'savage' Water Tribesman, not the uppity Princess, I might add." he jested.
The Captain frowned at his casual attitude toward Princess Azula, "Excuse me- but you ought to treat the Princess with respect."
Sokka chuckled, "Hey man, whatever I say about her I would say to her face."
The Captain jested at him with a smirk, "Ah yes- the great virtue of the lesser peoples, unbridled honesty."
Sokka looked at the Captain with a slight of offence and confusion, "You say that like being honest is a bad thing- not being wholly truthful ought to ruin peoples lives- look at what it did to this city." Sokka admitted, before jutting his head sideways in thought, "Fire Nation people really like their 'grand master plan of world domination' don't they- thinking we all should bow down to their superior element."
The Captain chaffed at his claims, pointing at Sokka accusingly, "So what then- you think that your element is superior?" making Sokka spit and cough upon that statement, looking back up at the Captain with offence.
"I don't bend an element- bending has only brought suffering in my life- so honestly, the elements aren't my greatest concerns- protecting my people however, that is one." Sokka explained to him, the Captain slightly smirking.
"Bender envy? Did somebody hit you as kid or something?" the Captain jested at him, Sokka blushing in realisation of his accurate judgement- not that he would want to discuss his childhood with someone he considered a complete stranger and his enemy.
Suddenly a thumping noise could be heard from outside- the door slammed open and the two of them raised themselves from their besides in curiosity.
"What was that?" Sokka asked, the Captain looking at him with a face of confusion- he had no idea- and he was hopeful it was just that they were needed around for help and not something actually serious.
The door opened before them and a firebending guard stood before them both and stood firm, almost as if he was ready to fight them both.
He pulled out a scroll and begun to read, "By order of the Governor of Ba Sing Se- the honourable Chang Xue, you are both under arrest for the charge of conspiracy against the Fire Nation."
Sokka's mouth fell agape, "Wait- what the fuck?" turning to the Captain with a face of fear, who glanced at the soldier before them with suspicion.
"I am loyal to the Crown Princess to the death- you will not efface my honour with such claims of treachery." the Captain exclaimed, drawing flames into his hands before thrusting them right at the solider before them who deflected the flames with some struggle before taking a stance to bend at both of them.
"Well if that's how it's going..." Sokka trailed off, grabbing his boomerang and throwing it at the man's head, knocking him into the hallway with one foul swoop, all to the Captain's dismay.
"I had him." the Captain complained, Sokka smirking back at him with a sense of pride.
"Better luck next time!" he exclaimed, running out the door to face their enemies; the Captain was certain today wasn't going to be as relaxing as he had hoped.
Standing by the railing of a steel cargo vessel stood the banished Prince of the Fire Nation- he looked out on the city he hadn't seen in five years; rather than a feeling of nostalgia, Zuko had a feeling of pain and determination- everything that was good in his life had been taken from him- his mother, his home, his title, his honour- now he was not Prince Zuko- he was just some lanky teen working as a ship-hand, much to his own disdain. Zuko stood holding a mop in his hands Zuko pushed it along the deck as he continued to race thoughts through his mind- his Uncle had been working in the kitchens and hadn't been by his side for a few hours, leaving Zuko's thoughts to begin to overflow in his mind- he didn't even know what emotion to feel.
Zuko truly desired to return to his home and be restored to his rightful position, he truly wanted to be respected, he had to regain his title- he had once wanted to return with the Avatar, a proud and righteous victory against an enemy of the Fire Nation- but now he returned empty handed with only a desire to face his father- the man he had come to not just disdain, but look down upon. He didn't understand how his father had truly justified his actions on that day, but he knew that the Fire Lord had no intention of letting his son return home- he probably doubted the Avatar's existence at this point; Zuko wanted to return to something- to have something, and with truly nothing in his possession, he could only help but sigh- Prince Zuko was no more- he had died when his father burnt half his face off- he was replaced by someone different, and after his experience with Zhao, Zuko knew for certain he was not the same person that he was all those years ago.
He heard the first mate of the ship call out to stop all deck work, and Zuko returned to the brig with his mop and bucket, having spent the early hours of the day cleaning the deck; he hadn't enjoyed the boring and repetitive work, but Zuko knew it was a necessity- he and his uncle had paid for passage with their labours. Zuko walked down into the quarters where he and Uncle had stored their meagre supplies- mostly clothing and some small bits of food Piandao had given them for their relatively short journey to the capital; he gathered their belongings into bags and slung them over his shoulders before leaving what he would have described as their home for a few short days. Zuko returned to the deck where he saw his uncle waiting for them, holding a kettle and cup of tea in his hand, sipping it as he awaited his nephew; Iroh smiled at him with warm eyes, glad that their journey was finally coming to an end.
"Ah nephew- how was your mornings work?" he asked, Zuko shrugging his shoulders before glancing at the port that was quickly approaching.
"Boring- I hope you're ready to follow our plans- this requires, a little discretion." Zuko admitted to his Uncle, trying to keep his wording vague enough in public.
"Of course, I trust you to plan ahead- you're quite good at it, I might add." Iroh complimented his nephew, who looked away in a slight of embarrassment.
"U-uh yes- just follow my lead uncle." Zuko muttered, checking to see if the plank was being prepared- the crew shuffled around them in preparing to leave the ship- many of them would have to carry goods down into the port themselves, but a number of them would be going on break or leaving the ship's service, like the two disguised royals would be.
Zuko checked his appearance momentarily- he had drawn his phoenix tail hairstyle into half a top knot where his bangs fell out and covered much of his eyes, which was effective at masking his noticeable scar- not many people would bare such a striking wound, and the Prince himself was specifically known for his. His uncles disguise was a lot easier to achieve, his Uncle had simply dropped his bun into a braid and wore his beard longer than usual- he somehow looked less like a retired general and more like the wise old tea merchant persona he sought to achieve- although Zuko was starting to consider that the persona was more a reflection of his actual desired image. They walked down the gangplank following the other crew members, and nodded in respect to the first mate who thanked them for their services- they had played their part well; Iroh had enjoyed his work on the ship, though Zuko probably couldn't say the same about his. Walking along the seaside market that led into the Harbour City proper, Zuko noticed immediately that his Uncle had been looking at the numerous stalls and shops, much to his frustration.
Zuko walked up to his uncle standing around looking at baubles, slapping him on the shoulder, "Uncle! Stop bumbling around- you're procrastinating more than usual, and that's saying something."
Iroh smiled at him, "Well a man needs his rest- and he also needs to have some enjoyment." Zuko responding to his proverbial explanation with a face-palm.
"Urgh- we are here for a reason, and that isn't to fumble around in the market." Zuko explained to him, Iroh stroking his beard momentarily before conceding with a nod.
"You do have a point Pr-uh- my nephew." Iroh admitted, his nephews eyes opening wide at his uncle's close call- he had almost called him 'Prince Zuko' in public- he would usually love the deference, but at the moment Zuko was far too cautious in their relatively dire situation- if someone found their identities, it would be much harder for them to simply prance right into the palace undetected.
Moving on from the distracting trinkets of the market, Zuko and Iroh walked down through the expansive Royal Plaza to the through the relatively crowded streets of the Harbour City- although it was only early morning, the streets were packed with people heading to work and the likes- this made Zuko smile in realisation: he would find it a lot easier to blend in a crowd, making him acknowledge the challenge that awaited them.
Peering over to his uncle's shoulder, Zuko whispered "Uncle- how exactly are we going to get into the Caldera City? The guards will recognise you on the spot." Iroh returning him a thoughtful glance before scratching his chin.
"Hmm- you are right, we will need to take an alternate route- luckily I know all the ins-and-outs of the place- I lived there for a long-long time." Iroh reminisced in his reply, smiling at the reminder of what he saw in his own past at the palace- being father to his son Lu Ten, and then surrogate to his nephew before him- he didn't probably miss the place in the same way Zuko did, but he didn't think of it being too bad a place to call home.
"Okay- I guess you'd better lead the way." Zuko admitted, offering his uncle to walk in the lead, which he accepted with a nod and smile, as he had expected.
Zuko followed Iroh along through the cities streets, all the way to a rather densely packed neighbourhood away from the main thoroughfare that lead up to the Caldera City directly; they arrived at an edge of the city, which was bounded by two story tall stone walls. Iroh checked around the street they had come down, noting that there was no bystanders- the part of the city they had arrived in was probably only for housing, meaning that the street was quiet at the moment; the retired general used a swift firebending move to open a door in the wall, making Zuko's eyes open in shock.
"There's secret doors around the Harbour City? Don't you think it's a little dangerous having these around?" Zuko questioned his Uncle, who shrugged his shoulders in response.
"No one outside the Royal Family and our personal guards would have any knowledge of these doors- they're really only for emergency use- but right now they're a very effective way to hide ourselves from the peering authorities." Iroh explained as he walked through the door, obliging Zuko to follow him through.
Walking along a pathway that lead out from the walls, Zuko and Iroh made their way along the side of the caldera up to what Zuko assumed to be a stream, although the flow of water seemed to have dried up completely. Iroh pointed up along the stream toward the peaking rim of the caldera.
"This stream leads underground to an entrance of the palace- I assume that your father would have guards somewhere along it, so if you want the element of surprise, you must deal with them quietly." Iroh explained, Zuko nodding in response; he pulled out his water spirit mask, and showed it to his uncle.
"I can mask my identity with this- just in-case the guards get away- I don't want father to know that I'm trying to barge my way into the palace." he told Iroh, who nodded in agreement.
"That is a fair judgement- I assume you want to go now?" Iroh asked his nephew, well aware of his eager attitude.
Pulling his mask on, Zuko begun to pace up along the stream, keeping his eye ahead to make sure he could spot any guards that might be in the way; checking behind him, his uncle remained slow on his feet behind him, although he was understanding of the relatively intense slope they followed up the caldera's rim. Turning around a bend Zuko finally found what he was looking for- four Royal Guards stationed by what seemed to be the entrance of the tunnel system- the guards were probably stationed in case of this exact event, he wasn't unaware of his father's desire to plan around for any potential scenario. He nodded back to his Uncle, telling him to remain back while Zuko dealt with the guards.
He decided after a moment of consideration to climb up the side of an escarpment, as so to flank the guards when he decided to strike. Sneaking along the side of the escarpment, he noted the footing and awareness of the guards- he noted the one closest to him was focused on looking down the stream and not above him- making him a perfect target for 'the Blue Spirit'. Launching himself off of the escarpment, Zuko used his dual dao to incapacitate the unsuspecting guard, alerting the other three with the loud thumping of the guard hitting the ground.
"Intruder!" one of the guards shouted, the three men drawing flames and going into firebending stances, which to Zuko's luck, were one's he knew quite well.
Zuko muttered under his breath, "Thanks Uncle." knowing too well the old man's training sessions had afforded him wide knowledge of the common firebending forms that most firebenders would use.
The first strike came simultaneously from two of the guards, throwing two volleys of flames at him each, Zuko deflecting the flames simply with his dao before racing toward the closest guard- the third man threw a larger blast at Zuko, which he dodged by somersaulting in motion much to the man's distaste. The targeted guard realised that he was going be hit and took a defensive stance by raising a thin wall of flames to block Zuko's attack; he responded by dissipating the flames with his own bending, although he did it seamlessly in motion with his swords, as to disguise his own abilities. His sword's hilt pummelled the man in the jaw in an uppercut motion, before Zuko hit the guard down with his swords in a scissoring motion; the guard was flung onto the dirt and hit his head down on the ground hard- Zuko took him as down for the count and turned to face his two other opponents, who had drawn themselves into new stances. Facing his next opponents Zuko drew his swords to guard his torso as the guards threw volleys of fire at him, his swords deflecting the flames away from his body- he smirked under his mask as he raced toward the men who were defenceless from his swift motions; one of his dao spun into a guard's helmet, knocking him off his feet, while the other dao's hilt winded the other guard with a nigh invisible strike to the chest. Zuko heard one of the guards grumbling consciously, making him react by knocking the man's helmet again, this time with his fist, making the helmet audibly rattle as it struck the rocky surface they stood upon.
Zuko turned at the sound of a another guard awakening- the second guard he had struck down with an uppercut had regained some sense and was running up the path toward the entrance into the tunnel system- he was going to alert the other guards in the area with the horn, a basic response that Zuko would expect of any Fire Nation soldier guarding an important location. Zuko however was light on his feet, but not fast enough to make it to the man to strike him down- he just hoped that his next attack wouldn't compromise their entrance to the palace; he bent a powerful wave of flames to hit the man on the back of his thighs, setting them alike and forcing the guard to stagger to the ground as he flinched in pain- his face of shock upon realising that Zuko was a firebender made it all the more apparent the guard understood what was going on- the man started to shout back at him in fear and bewilderment.
"Y-you traitor! You will be damned by the spirits for your betrayal of our glorious nation!" he stammered, throwing volleys of flames at Zuko, who simply deflected them again with his swords- now with the guard aware of his bending abilities, he found it easier to return two slashes of flames through his swords that the guard could barely dodge still trying to get back on his feet, aching in pain from the attack Zuko had delivered.
Zuko raced up to the guard, preparing to knock him down with his blades drawn- the guard grabbed the horn and tried to blow it, but was cut short by the sword hilts hitting the man in the jaw once again, flinging the horn from his hands and knocking him back to the ground- before the man could stammer any more propaganda-filled hatred at him, he knocked him out with a sweeping kick to the side of his head. Turning back behind himself, Zuko glanced at the incapacitated guards, and smiled in relief; he coughed momentarily before calling out his companion.
"Uncle! The coast is clear!" he shouted, his stout uncle appearing from behind the rock-face with a face of relief.
"Zuko- you ought to be more careful when you try to fight- best not get overwhelmed and do things you'll regret." Iroh chastised him, Zuko scoffing in slight amusement.
"I made a calculated decision- either to bend at that guard or let him make the others aware of our presence- what's more dangerous?" Zuko questioned his Uncle's logic, who sighed and looked away from Zuko momentarily.
"I wasn't talking about the guards." he told him, Zuko gulping audibly in understanding- his Uncle did have a point- but there was no turning back now- he whatever ended up happening in that palace would be on his own accord.