Kishi: All right, then. Onward and upward!

---

Kara No

Chapter 10

Familiar Face

---

"Couldn't sleep?" came the familiar voice over the shoulder. Aang turned to look up at Katara from where he lay on the bison's head.

"Nah," he said. "I just can't believe it's already been a month since the North Pole."

"Yeah," she said, leaning over the lip of the saddle and staring off into the distance. He stared up at her, watching the starlight play across her features.

"So..." she said after a few moments of their staring, "are you all right?"

"Hm?"

"It's been a month since the North Pole," she said. "A month since that day... and I was wondering if you're doing all right."

He smiled up at her. "Yeah. I think I'm gonna be okay. Thanks."

She nodded at him and resumed staring. The moon on the clouds was really a sight to see, offering quiet serenity to what was usually rushing wind and churning fog. Even with the wind rushing past, it was still quiet. Shin, Sokka, and Yuki were each involved in some pursuit of their own - Sokka talking with Yuki, Shin sitting in meditation.

Every one of them had been a help to him when he needed them. He wanted to be able to say that he'd pulled himself out of his depression on his own, to say that he'd pulled out of that black despair that'd taken him. He wanted to believe that he'd pulled himself from sitting up into the early morning hours, from crying bitterly as every face danced across his mind.

But he hadn't pulled himself. He'd been held, hauled bodily from the pit that had threatened to swallow him. All of his friends had been there for him, no matter how bad he'd gotten. But out of all of them, only one really stuck out.

When everyone else had gone and left him alone, it was Katara who'd stood by him. It had been those times when it would have been so easy to just disappear, just hop on Appa and fly away. But she'd anchored him there, held him together when he'd wanted to break down. And now, here they were, flying toward Be Cing Xe in the middle of the night and he was staring at her and finding himself at a loss for words.

Why? What reason could there be for this awkwardness? Why couldn't he bring himself to thank her? He opened his mouth to say something - what? What could he say that would let her know? Why did he even care how the words came out?

You care, he thought, because her opinion means more to you than anyone else's words. Because you know she doesn't owe you anything. She could break you so easily. And yet she's always there to help you, listen to you, keep your feet on the ground.

Since when does she mean so much to me?

The answer came upon him, and he felt as if the world dropped from beneath him.

"Hm? Aang, are you okay?"

"Yeah Katara. I'm fine..." She started to disappear back to the saddle, and he knew he had to say something. "Katara!"

Her head peeked back at him instantly. "What is it?"

"Well... ah," he fumbled. "Thanks... for being there."

She smiled at him. "Any time." And with that, she disappeared.

---

The city of Be Cing Xe was a huge city. Banners and pennants flew on the walls, fluttering in the strong breeze. The city itself was filled with temples and palaces, sandy stone and emerald tile and gardens of bonsai and rock. There were smaller homes, blocks of square apartments stacked one atop the other. Here in the night, light shone in all of them, and one could hear the dull reverberations as the gongs called for evening prayer. The streets were empty, but in more peaceful times they would be filled with merchants selling all manner of products. And at the center of the city would be the defining mound - a mountain, almost a solid lump of stone, riddled with holes and gates. And well that it should be, for at the very top of the mountain sat a pagoda. It was small - only three tiers, but its height above the city lent it an air of power and reverence.

The eye that peered at it blinked, focused on it before pulling away from the looking glass. The eye was hard amber, and belonged to the Lady Qiao, a General of the Fire Nation. The army that stretched out behind her and surrounded the city was hers as well.

She turned and stalked back to the long table that held all her maps. Be Cing Xe was the main map, and several others detailed routes and terrain features around the city.

"The hour is late," came a cold, clear voice. "I need to relay orders." The voice was not impatient, but merely speaking in terms of fact. The woman herself, Colonel Zhen, did not look the sort to be so stern. Short, brown-haired, amber-eyed, but there was a softness to her features. Only the cold gleam of her eye gave her away.

"Indeed," came the voice of another colonel, Zhu. Zhu's topknot shone dimly in the lamplight, and brown eyes reflected it. His solid frame was relaxing in the high-backed chair provided to him. "We're all pressed, my Lady. Why have we been summoned?"

"You should not speak thus to your commanding officer, Zhu," said Qiao. Her voice was soft in the way that a sword is when it leaves the sheath. "You do not question me."

Zhu seemed about to protest, to protect himself, but the hard golden glare killed his response, and he lowered his eyes. Feh. "Forgiveness, Lady."

She said nothing more, only changing her gaze to meet them both. "We've received," she said at last, "a missive from the Fire Lord, back in Lei Yang. The news of the Avatar's progress has caused some distress back at home, and our Lord is pushing for haste."

They remained silent. They had not been called to speak. The rules of conduct forbid speech, now that she spoke.

"He says, in no uncertain terms, that we are to crush the city, regardless of cost in lives."

"Ours or theirs?" asked Zhu. This question could pass. He wasn't attacking authority, only asking information.

"Regardless of the cost in lives," she said, her voice carrying a fatal finality.

"It will be difficult," mused Zhen. "The fighters of this place are a harder lot than we thought."

"Indeed. And so the Fire Lord has given us a gift," said Qiao. "Along with this message there came a shipment of weapons - new weapons unlike anything we've ever seen." She gazed at them, but both were quiet. "These new weapons - these Bursting Stars - were perfected in the recent Arctic Campaign. They are fired, with a bomb and a load of 'shot' - sharp blades, nails and the like. The explosion heats them and flings them at exceptional velocity into enemy ranks. They were key in our victory there."

"A fierce weapon," Zhen murmured. Her lips curled upwards. "It suits us."

"Perhaps," said Zhu. "But how can we be sure we're not going to kill peasants?"

Zhen looked at him consideringly. "We've been throwing rocks at the city for more than a year now. Their deaths mean very little at this point."

"I'm assuming that these Bursting Stars are limited," said Zhu with a shrug. "Best not to waste them on innocents."

"You mean peasants," said Zhen. Her voice had suddenly grown very hard. Frankly, Qiao couldn't blame her. This wasn't the first time Zhu had voiced sympathy for the enemy. That did not do... but then again, it wasn't entirely his fault. Marriage had softened the man. A shame, really.

"Innocents," Zhu repeated. "Peasants. Call them what you will, but they don't have anything to do with the fighting. Take their soldiers from them, and they will crumble." At least he hadn't said fathers and sons. The man wasn't a total dolt.

"There are no innocents in that city," Qiao said. They both bit down their words and looked her way. "War leaves no innocents," she said. "If a soldier falls, another will take his armor and his sword and his stead. Only by utterly breaking them can we end this."

It was a hard philosophy. Had she been able to sit down outside of her current position, she might have judged it cruel. But the time for that had passed a long time ago, and for her it was the truth now.

"We will distribute these Bursting Stars," she said. "Our targets have not changed. You have your orders."

The two bowed and went to stand. "Zhu," said Qiao. "Stay a moment."

Zhu sat, his features still. Good. He was off-balance. Time to push just a bit more.

"Your wife just recently wrote to you, correct?"

He blinked. "Yes, my Lady."

"Is she well?"

"Yes, my Lady."

"And your daughter?"

"As healthy as ever. She talks about going off and studying Fire Bending, but I don't think the spark is in her."

Qiao nodded. "I see."

"Forgive me if I speak out of turn, my Lady," said Zhu, "but why do you ask of me?"

"Because," said Qiao, "if you ever speak out of turn again, you will be flogged. With a bian gan." That caused him to wince. "And after that, you will be placed at the very forefront of the fighting, to prove your loyalty." That was the real problem - she simply could not be sure of his loyalty to the Fire Nation, not if he spoke and contradicted her. Little arguments in the war room led to massive mistakes on the battlefield. There was no room for error.

"I understand, my Lady," he said, bowing.

"I don't want to write the note to your family," she said. "I don't want to tell them that you died here. But cross me, and I can almost guarantee it. I suggest you offer your iniquities to the Flame tonight."

He bowed again and stood, walking out. Qiao knew that he would definitely think twice - she had linked her own prosperity with his. His family, which had made him soft, would reforge him into a weapon once again.

It had been that way when she had taken over the shattered remnants of the 41st Division. Inspiring the loyalty of one man was not so difficult.

---

They'd travelled for roughly a day on the main road. Now that the front had shifted so radically, they had no need to fear patrols. The road had led them through woods, across wide deserted plateaus, through mountains and by waterfalls, and now here they were. One more day, and they would see the sculpted city of Be Cing Xe. One more day and the war would be caught up with them again. Only one more day.

"And so, having already burned the fiscal report for the city," Airoh chuckled, "he turns to the Finance Minister with this innocent look on his face. The Minister picks him up to hand him to somebody else - and little baby Zuko sneezes soot all over him!" He cracked up, and Reiko joined him.

Zuko sighed. It was going to be a long, long day.

They were sitting around a campfire, and the night was dry, peaceful. And without any tea to distract him, Airoh had fallen back on his one and only recourse - telling stories. Tonight's session happened to be embarassing baby stories. It was always about him. Always. Why couldn't it be about somebody else for once, why always him?

"If you're quite satisfied, Uncle," Zuko growled, "perhaps we should consider our plans for getting past the Fire Army tomorrow? Following the Avatar is getting ready to look like a tricky proposition."

"Oh, but nephew, you already know it!" he said with a grin. "We already know that trying to get by the army is basically impossible. It would be best just to walk up and be honest about who we are. It will definitely confuse whoever's in charge."

"But what if they kick us out?" asked Zuko. "What if they decide the army's camp counts as Fire National Property and that I am unwelcome? That puts us right back here!"

"It is a bridge to cross when we arrive at that point," said the retired general with a dismissive air. "You shouldn't worry so much, Zuko."

They turned to stare at the flames, and it seemed as if Airoh was working up another story. But just as he opened his mouth, Zuko said, "I'd like to hear a story, Uncle."

Airoh looked at him oddly. "But you haven't wanted a story in a long, long time."

"I know... but I want to hear one now."

"And what would you like to hear?"

"About Be Cing Xe."

He couldn't have blamed his uncle for being angry, or flustered, or ashamed. It would have been normal for anybody else. He got none of these, however; instead, his Uncle calmly sat there and merely said, "Ask."

"What is it like?"

"Oh, it's beautiful. Everything seems so clean and well-kept, even in war times. Sunlight will glisten off of the roofs, and you'll hear children playing some times..."

"The defenses must be very strong to permit people that sort of freedom."

"Oh, not terribly. Nothing that couldn't be broken down with time and effort."

"They must have had gardens to grow food, and places to stockpile it."

"They did, but they ran out some time before they defeated us."

"But how then, Uncle?" asked Zuko. "How did they beat you? They held out for 600 days! Most cities break in two to three months!"

Reiko shifted forward attentively as Airoh looked at them both. "Because," he said, "Be Cing Xe is the spiritual capitol of the Kingdom. The Temple of the Mountain, at the city's core, is a fortress as well as a spiritual refuge. The people of that city are zealots of an exceptional degree. Their faith gives them confidence, and they are able to fight when we can not, survive when we cannot. When we came for them, they had faith that the Heavens would rule on their side."

"But Uncle, no such thing happened," said Zuko. "There was no great miracle to save them, no judgement from the sky to say you were wrong!"

"Didn't it?" Airoh countered. "We gave up before they did, didn't we?"

Zuko didn't have a good answer for that. As he mulled over the answer, Airoh began another tale - a riproaring adventure involving, of all things, flatulence. Zuko tried to stop him, but by the time he realized what was going on, it was too late.

---

"Shin, there's something I don't get about you," said Sokka. Day had broken on the horizon, and the time to descend on Be Cing Xe was at hand. Sokka had Appa's reins, while Aang, Katara and Shin were preparing to defend. Yuki wasn't technically doing anything, but her eyes were live with excitement.

"What is it?" asked Shin.

"Whenever you do your magic trick-"

"Bending."

"Whatever... but when you do it, you always get this really distant look on your face. Like a trance or something."

"Anybody who can Bend does that."

"But it just seems weird for you."

"Well, there's a reason," Shin shrugged as they descended through the clouds. "When a person Bends, they feel their element. It's kind of like looking at something out of the corner of your eye - you know it's there, but you just can't see it. So, when you Bend, it's like you're bringing it into focus." Shin raised a hand, and the air began to shimmer. Sokka looked at him and noticed that his eyes had gone rather distant suddenly. "The problem with our element, though," he said, "is control. We lose ourselves in all the little bits of emptiness, following connections and severing them at will. If you're not careful, you find you can destroy anything, regardless of whether you meant to or not."

Sokka paled slightly, but managed to shrug it off. "Whatever. So I guess you're all pretty powerful then, huh?"

"I suppose," said Shin as the spheroid nothing disappeared. "Power over the void is measured in terms of how many connections can be broken at any given time. One or two is considered weak, while hundreds of thousands is strong."

"Fascinating," Sokka intoned in a bored voice. But the sight when they reached below cloud level snapped his attention back to the present. "Heads up!" Below them, red uniforms surged in activity, a bleeding wound upon the Earth. As the giant beast raced toward the city, the army below let loose their response.

Flaming arrows arced up at them, but any that got even close were snapped back by a watery lash. Those that slipped by were suddenly embraced by tumultuous breeze. Gouts of flame tried to lick the beast's underside, but suddenly they seemed to stifle and die.

Sokka stuck his tongue between his teeth as the sandy walls loomed before him. He gently began to pull up on the reins, causing the giant to rise. Arrows flew all over the outside of his field of vision as the others worked to break or deflect the projectiles, until suddenly--

"Rocks!" Sokka heard Yuki call. "They're launching rocks at us!" Just a little further, just a little further... Crashes echoed as the rocks impacted on the wall. There were grunts of strain behind him, and he heard other crashes behind him. And they were almost there, so very close, just another two seconds, please-

The giant soared over the lip of the wall, to the astonishment of the jade troops stationed there. Appa glided to a graceful halt - or, at least, as graceful as a beast of his size and girth could manage. Sokka heaved a sigh - they had made it.

"Look out!" came the shout from the wall. Flaming stones were sailing through the air, coming to crashes inside the city walls. Buildings caved in under the bombardment, collapsing to the ground in dusty heaps.

The three Benders leapt from the saddle, eyes scanning the skies. A massive boulder traced a fiery arc and fell down toward them. Before any one could do anything, a shadow leapt and intercepted it. The shadow was vaguely human shaped, and seemed to be kicking the thing in mid-air. The boulder shattered in mid-air.

The shadow landed and threw up its hands. Rocks and stones that would have fallen stopped in mid-air. The figure lowered his stance and whirled, hands tensed as if clasping something. The projectiles swung in the air and - when he let them go - sailed back into the enemy camp. Other Earthbenders arrived, stopping boulders and shooting them back at the enemy. The crash of the weapons echoed for moments stretching on, but everything quieted down soon enough.

"Whoah," was all Aang said.

"Yeah," said Yuki. "Who the hell is that?"

"Why not find out?" asked Shin. The group walked forward to the figure. No longer shadowed, they could tell he had long hair. His frame announced great strength, every movement as he rolled his joints speaking of a careful restraint.

"Um... 'scuse me!" said Aang.

The figure turned around and they all gasped. "You..." whispered Katara.

----

Kishi: This is probably the most predictable character EVAR. But that won't stop me.

Anyway, a couple things I believe were left out last time:

Whipping Branch - this is a term for a deflection in which the arm whips down and the body shifts aside.

Bian Gan - Hard Whip. You remember that weapon from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? The one Shu Lien uses in the fight against Jen? Looks like a stick, but shatters stone? You know the one.

And now, we present:

... cricket... cricket...

DIRECTOR: Where's the Omake sign?

PROPS: Don't look at us! It was Kishi's job to make it!

DIRECTOR: Well why hasn't he? Get him up!

SHIN: Good luck with that. We've been trying to get him up for a while now, but he hasn't said a word.

DIRECTOR: Oh, he did not go to sleep!

SHIN: I think he did.

DIRECTOR: DAMNIT! He's going to pay for this!

Avatar: The Last Air Bender is copyrighted to people who aren't me. I don't know who they are, otherwise, I'd give 'em credit.

The only things I own in this story are those things that I perceive as being original, and thusly are mine. If you recognize something that you came up with first, all credit goes to you.

I have no clue where you can contact me. I think the address is in my profile…