Shattered

Chapter Nineteen

Misha's purr was nearly silent, but the steady vibration was comforting. Zuko cracked open his heavy eyes to see that the foxcat was curled up next to him. It was light out. He gave the foxcat a sleepy pet as his eyes slid shut again. It was light out! Zuko's eyes popped back open, confirming his brain's delayed reaction. He had indeed slept in. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he rolled out of bed and got dressed. Disturbed, the foxcat followed suite, nails clicking against the flagstone floor as she meandered into the living area.

Zuko pushed his door open and entered the room, rolling his eyes skyward when he saw his part of breakfast laid out on the table. "I can't be traipsing about all night at my age," he mocked softly in a high pitched voice. "Yeah, right." With a disgusted snort he moved to the table. A new thought occurred to him. Maybe the farmer hadn't been able to sleep at all. Her ho-hum attitude last night was probably just an act; it almost had to be. After all, her farm was about to be invaded by the Fire Nation; who could sleep after finding that out? "Me," he muttered the answer while shaking his head. Snagging some food off the table, he made his breakfast "to go". He set off to find Anko. They had some things to discuss and he wasn't going to let her verbally evade him today.

Anko stood atop her earthen spire, a good eighty feet off the ground. The construct swayed slightly in the gentle breeze, but she was not afraid. This had been her first bend as a child. The first time she had consciously manipulated the earth had been when she was six. A platypus-bear had attacked her by the river while she was gathering berries. Not knowing what else to do, she desperately had mimicked some movements she had seen her father perform and had ended up on top of a twenty foot column made of earth. Of course, that hadn't been any better. She screamed her fool head off until her father and grandparents came to save her. Anko could remember her father tossing her in the air and tickling her face with his beard until her tears had dried and she was breathless with laughter. "My daughter's an earthbender," he had declared proudly. Anko smiled at the memory. She had come a long way since then, but this was still a very useful bend. From this vantage point she could see the entirety of her farm, all the hills and valleys, the paths the firebenders might take.

"Two days, maybe three," that was what Rikuo had said. That was how much time she had. She dropped to one knee, picking up a clod of dirt in her hand. It was good, fertile soil. And despite what the rest of Yopoko Island seemed to think, it hadn't always been that way. Anko knew her ancestors had worked very hard, most without the power of earthbending, to make the farmland the productive place it was today. It was such a shame to ruin that; to taint the soil with war, to allow the air to become fouled with soot and blood. Anko had believed that part of her life to be behind her, her last wish would be for it to follow her here. She sighed. Although she now believed the bison would make a full recovery, he still couldn't fly and two or three days weren't going to change that. Sorry Grandfather, I don't have much of a choice.

Finding Anko wasn't nearly the difficult chore Zuko had feared it to be. He rolled his head back, neck cracking as he stared straight upwards. There, on the top of a column of earth that looked far too narrow to be safe, was Anko. "I told you, she's nuttier than a lechi nut tree in the fall." That voice was Sokka's. Zuko didn't bother to turn his head as the Water Tribe siblings joined him at the base of Anko's spire. For a moment, all three teenagers simply stared silently upward. Then Katara broke the hush. "Zuko? What's going on? Is something wrong?"

Zuko lowered his gaze to regard the blue- clad siblings for a moment. They deserved the truth. "There's a bounty on your heads. The villagers turned you in. Zhao is coming." He answered before returning his gaze skyward.

"Admiral Zhao is coming… here?" Katara echoed. "…Good. We owe Zhao." Zuko felt the corner of his mouth twitch upward. He shouldn't be surprised, he supposed, not with the way the girl had fearlessly attacked him.

"There's a bounty on our heads? That's kind of …cool." Sokka declared; although a bit uncertainly. The three returned to silence, all looking skyward. Misha circled the spire restlessly before sitting at Zuko's feet. She whined softly. Zuko scratched the top of her head. "It's all right, Misha," he soothed. "Everything is going to be just fine."

Anko glanced down. She had apparently attracted quite an audience. A flock of green and gold crows circled her tower, diving in at the exposed worms and bugs. And below them were her three young guests, looking up at her. She looked back out over her beloved farm, casually picking apart another clod of dirt with her hands. They were good kids, all of them. They had all been exposed to the war, but had not yet become tainted by it. They still had their confidence, pride and hope. Even Zuko, who had seemed so lost when he had first come here. In a way, he had more hope than even the Watertribers. Enough to pull himself up out of his depression and continue on, one day at a time.

Anko smirked at herself as she traced her left hand's scar. She had lost touch with that feeling a long time ago. Her experiences with the war, her dealings with the people of the world, had made her cynical and jaded. More worldly, she supposed, than the three teens, but not necessarily better off. But, it was hard to maintain her indifference in the face of such optimism. It was hard not to be hopeful when Katara went on and on about her friend, the Avatar. Anko stood. The three below her all believed, each in their own way, that they could make a difference. Anko had felt that way once, when she was that age. They were good kids; they deserved their chance in the sun. After all, isn't it a farmer's job to help young things grow? Her eyes narrowed. She had fought a lot of stupid, pointless battles in her day; this would be anything but that. Let Zhao come. This was something worth fighting for, worth defending. The Admiral had no idea what he was getting himself into.

The earthbender carefully schooled her predatory expression into something more neutral. If the teens below her were anything like her past self, convincing them to stay on the sidelines was going to be hard if not impossible. Anko looked back down. And with them standing around the base of the earth-bent tower, getting down would be difficult. She considered, then shrugged. Dropping into a stance, she shifted her weight forward, pushing out away from her audience.

Sokka, his neck tired from looking up, was the first to notice the crack. "Um, guys? Maybe we should step back." The crack widened. "Like now!"

Anko felt the tower move beneath her. She kept her weight forward until it passed the fulcrum. As the tower started to lean, she spun and jumped off the top, her feet connecting with the side of the construct. Anko skidded bare foot down the nearly vertical make-shift ramp as the tower started to topple. It was a race to the ground. As her spire fell, Anko's momentum slowed. She slid off the side, hooking the tower with a hand to swing herself directly underneath the falling construct. She spun as she fell, using her earthbending to raise a platform up from the ground beneath her. Feet connecting with solid earth, she threw her arms upward "catching" the falling column seconds before it impacted with the top of her head. Now in complete control, she gently lowered the massive thing off to the side and to the ground; the construct crumbling back into the earth from which it came.

Still a good twenty feet in the air, but now safely away from the teenagers, Anko stomped her foot on the platform and lowered her center of gravity. It dissolved around her, lowering her slowly to the ground. Anko shook her head ruefully as her three watchers came running over. "Why is everything more difficult when there are teenagers around?"

"Good morning," she greeted them calmly.

"Wha…what do you mean "good morning"? What the heck was all that about?" Sokka demanded.

Anko shrugged. "Just getting some fresh air."

"Anko," Katara's serious voice cut off her brother's sputter, "Zuko told us everything. What can we do to help?"

"Ah," the earthbender's dark eyes lit upon the Fire Nation youth. "That was…kind of him." Zuko shrugged and smirked a little. Anko redirected her attention back to Katara. "What can you do? Well, if I had my druthers, you and your brother would go hide in the mountains while I take care of this Admiral Zhao." As anticipated, that proclamation brought three simultaneous voices of protest.

"You can't seriously expect us to run off and hide!"

"You can't fight Zhao by yourself."

I'm not leaving Appa!"

Anko held up a hand until they fell silent. "I said that's what I wanted, not what I expected. You three are old enough to make your own choice in the matter, but consider carefully before you do." She paused, catching Zuko's eye before continuing. "Don't just think about what you want; think about what is best for you to do. Think about the consequences." It didn't surprise her in the least when no one changed their minds. "All right," she said with a sigh, "just one rule. You stay and fight, then you do so under my command. That means you do what I say, when I say it. No backtalk, no argument, and definitely no fighting amongst yourselves. Understand?"

Three determined nods met her query. Anko looked once more at Zuko. "Are you sure?" she asked him directly. His face was firm, not a hint of hesitation or doubt in his eyes. "I'm not leaving."

"Very well. I give up trying to reason with you. Let's go to the kitchen; we have much to do and little time in which to do it."

It was perhaps one of the oddest war councils held since the beginning of the war. Three teens and a nearly middle-aged woman. Three different elemental users and a warrior. Three peasants and a Prince. The corner of Anko's mouth twitched up as she put four cups of tea on her table. It was hard to believe that the teens were all at each other's throats yesterday. What was it her Grandfather used to say? Common enemies made for strange bedfellows. Anko hooked a chair with her foot and sat her lengthy frame down in it. "Well," she began, "perhaps you can tell me about this Admiral Zhao. What's he like? What kind of commander is he?"

"He's an arrogant, self-serving, glory seeking ass!" Zuko spat.

"He's a pompous monster and he doesn't care who gets hurt if it gets him what he wants," Katara added.

"He likes smirking at people." Sokka gave a fair impersonation of Zhao's sneer. "And what's up with those mutton chops? That look went out of style, like, back when my Grandfather was around." There was a chorus of agreement.

Anko quirked an eyebrow up as the three continued on and on. "Children, please," she interrupted. "I get the point. None of you like Admiral Zhao."

"Well, you asked." Sokka pointed out.

"Yes, I suppose I did. Perhaps if I phrased my questions far more specifically, we'll get somewhere. For example, you say he is arrogant. Is he so arrogant that he'll come here by himself and expect us all to surrender or will he make a show of force?"

"Show of force," Zuko answered after a moments thought. "Zhao likes clear cur victories and displays of power. He's a master firebender too, just so you know."

"Better," Anko approved. She rocked her chair back on two legs. "How about his ship? What size is it?"

"The largest cruiser the Fire Nation builds, of course. It carries maybe two hundred men."

Anko took a sip of her tea. She smiled a little. "The largest cruiser, huh? Good."

"It's good that he has all those men to crush us with?" Sokka asked.

"Yopoko has a rather shallow harbor. He'll have to ferry his troops over to shore. That means he's likely to bring less of them. We'll also have advance notice of his coming." Anko narrowed her eyes a little as she considered. "He's an Admiral. Has he always been a Navy man, or does he have some Army experience as well?" Zuko didn't know the answer to that one, only that Zhao had been in the Navy as far back as he could remember. The earthbender tapped a long finger against her cup. "Let's go outside," she said.

Anko rolled the grassy sod out of the way. She bent the exposed bare earth this way and that until there was a fairly accurate topographical map of her farm and the surrounding area.

"Cool," Sokka proclaimed. "I bet you never get lost."

"It happens on occasion," Anko replied. "Now then, there are actually two ways to get to my farm from town. This main wagon trail is wider and more direct," she pointed at the map with a stick, "but there is a side path here that would take them to the upper field. Zhao is dealing with the village headman, so he'll probably know about it. Is he likely to take advantage of it or does he prefer the direct approach?"

"He was pretty sneaky when he captured Aang," Katara answered. "He used his archers to wound Appa and distract us while his men surrounded us."

"Yes, but Zhao wouldn't have taken any chances when it came to the Avatar. He won't see us as that much of a threat," Zuko pointed out. "I think he'll just come up here directly."

"Hm." Anko cocked her head to one side as she studied her map and thought over their words. "Not a threat, huh? Well, we'll just have to convince him otherwise." Her black eyes sparked and she gave a grim smile. She drew a circle around the lumps representing her house and barn and made an arc that swung farther out. "Okay," she said. "Here's where we'll begin."

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A/N: Well, nineteen chapters down, and it looks like six more to go. So we're closing in on the finish here. Hopefully I've built a strong enough framework that the next series of events won't seem too implausible… (Nervous sweatdrop) But regardless if you like the ending or dislike it, thanks for reading!