Shattered
Chapter Twenty-Three
Katara let out a surprised yell as a firebender grabbed her arm. Skillfully, he twisted it behind her back, immobilizing her. The water she had been bending fell uselessly to the ground. "Hey!" Sokka charged wielding his club, but the soldier turned, using Katara as a shield. The teenager halted.
"Surrender," the firebender advised. Sokka took a few side steps to his left, the man following suit to keep Katara between them. Sokka raised his hands over his head with a grin. "Guess you got us…" His previously thrown boomerang clanged off the back of the soldier's helmet, felling him instantly. "…Or maybe not."
Freed, Katara pointed to the upper field where there were columns of white rising into the sky. "Sokka look! The signal."
"About time," he grunted as he took a wild swing at the advancing troops. "Well if you had lit ours when I told you to, instead of being so pigheaded, we wouldn't be in this position!" Katara froze the ground beneath the feet of an advancing soldier, causing him to slip and fall. It gave her a great idea. Taking the rest of the water from her reservoir, she sent it down the backside of the hill, towards the earthen wall surrounding Anko's buildings. Then she froze it. "Sokka, come on!" Taking a few running steps, she dove head first down the icy chute.
"Just like home." Sokka swung his club low, sweeping the legs of a firebender before following after his sister. Once they reached the bottom, Katara turned. Seeing Fire Nation soldiers about to slide down her chute, she reverted it back to water, sending the men diving face-first into the sod. Grinning, Sokka grabbed her by the hand. "Let's go!"
They ran towards the opening in the wall. A flash of red caught the corner of Katara's eye. The firebenders on top of the hill had launched an assault. Another fireball streaked in from her right, intercepting the first attack. Sokka and Katara dove to the ground as the fireballs collided in an explosion of sparks. Katara raised her head. A solo figure in Fire Nation red was also running towards the opening in the wall. Zuko had saved them. "Come on!" Sokka pulled her to her feet. Racing, they reached the opening at the same time as the Prince.
"Close the door," Zuko panted as the three entered. Sokka smashed his club against the keystone. Once, twice, on the third blow it shattered and the arches and the load they beared came crashing down. The teens coughed as dust rose from the site. "Go close the other one," Zuko ordered Sokka.
"Hey, stop telling me what to do." But he complied; running towards the other opening, the one that faced the river. Zuko and Katara climbed up the still rough inside of the wall. Anko had formed a ledge that ran around the inside of the wall a few feet down from the top, which allowed the teens to stand and watch the approaching firebenders while providing a little bit of cover. Several of Zhao's troops were advancing from both positions. Katara glanced sideways at Zuko. He was smiling. She frowned. Their situation didn't seem all that promising to her. "Where's Anko? Did she go after Zhao?"
The Prince's smile widened. "She's with my Uncle and yes, they went after Zhao." Zuko's smile was infectious and in spite of the uneasy feeling this news gave her, Katara found herself smiling back. She realized with a start that this was perhaps the first time she had ever seen the Prince truly smile. A real smile, not haughty or superior, not tainted by other, darker emotions. It was a nice smile. But still… Katara wasn't sure that this news bode well for her and her brother. Even though thus far Zuko's uncle had stood benignly on the sidelines during the Prince's many attempts to capture Aang, there was no guarantee that he would do so now. If she and Sokka were truly wanted by the Fire Nation, didn't that almost obligate the Prince and his Uncle to try and capture them? Katara's smile faded into a frown. Zhao or Zuko, in the end the result would be the same.
A fireball collided with their wall, jarring her back to reality. Sokka came pounding up from the other end of their "fortress." Katara pushed her worries out of her mind. They would have to get through this ordeal with Zhao first, and then deal with whatever surprises that came their way afterwards. "We should spread out to better defend this wall," Zuko said, the words still sounding like an order even though he had tried to say it like a suggestion.
"Good idea," Katara cut off her brother before he could start sputtering.
"We only need to hold out until Anko and my Uncle get back. It shouldn't be long."
"For once, I hope you're right," Sokka muttered. Already Zhao's men were moving to encircle them. All three teens knew they didn't have long.
General Iroh held a small flame in one cupped hand. The tunnel they traversed was wide enough that he could walk abreast with General Anko. Still, he walked half a step behind, allowing her to guide them through the maze of passages. The tunnel they were in now was an old one. Little clouds of dust rose from the earthen floor with every footstep as they walked. Anko had probably made this as one of her bolt-holes when she had returned home from war. He couldn't blame her for being cautious. Generals were Generals, even after they left active service and capturing one, even a retired General such as himself, would be seen as a boon to the opposing side. Iroh cleared his throat, breaking the silence in which they walked. "I hope that my nephew didn't cause you too much trouble during his stay here."
Anko didn't pause, but she glanced at the shorter man with the corner of her eyes. Her mouth tweaked up. "And I suppose it was mere coincidence that brought him to my doorstep?" Before Iroh could protest his innocence in the matter, Anko continued. "I really have no experience with teenagers so I can't give a fair answer to that. However… I find it poses an interesting conundrum; how will the world deal with a Firelord actually worthy of respect?"
Iroh felt a wellspring of pride swell up in him. It meant a lot, knowing that Anko thought so highly of his nephew. And yet Iroh knew Zuko had a long treacherous path to navigate before he could even begin to hope for that outcome. "Speaking of conundrums," Anko continued, "how exactly did you get up here? Obviously you took the river path, but that route is only known to a few people. It's not even on a map."
"Ah," Iroh rubbed his beard. "Your friend the Innkeeper was most helpful in that regard, General Anko."
Anko led them down a side path, one that was constructed far more recently. "Charmed the information out of poor Saki, did you? Incorrigible old man." She paused, placing a hand upon the ceiling of the tunnel. "And it's just "Anko" now." There was no mistaking the hint of bitterness in her tone. She continued walking down the passageway, fingertips trailing along the earthen ceiling. Tree roots were beginning to protrude from the tunnel's roof.
Iroh followed after. "You'll forgive me, perhaps, if I choose to show respect to an honorable adversary."
Anko paused again, partially turning to regard the older man with a slightly tilted head. She sighed. "You haven't changed much, General Iroh," she said a bit ruefully. "Do as you wish; at any rate, we are here. Unless I miss my guess, Admiral Zhao is thirty feet in that direction." Anko jerked her hand down off the ceiling; the soil beyond them followed the gesture, falling in a controlled fashion to form earthen steps that led to the bright surface.
Iroh extinguished the fire in his hand. He patted his rather rotund middle. "I haven't changed? Oh, if only that were true," he lamented with enough mock regret to make the younger General roll her eyes skyward and snort. "Thank you for escorting me here, General Anko," he said with far more sincerity. "I will rejoin you at your farm as soon as I settle matters with Admiral Zhao."
"The pleasure was all mine, General Iroh," Anko responded, falling easily back into the routine of politeness that had once ruled her life. She sealed her tunnel back up after the older man left. Wasting no time, she whirled and sprinted back towards her house and barn, needing only her sense of the earth around her to guide her.
Admiral Zhao put down his binoculars with a growl. He couldn't see a thing with this blasted haze hanging over the field. Things had seemed to be going well. His men had finally forced the earthbender to drop her golem, ridding the battleground of the opposition's one true asset. True, much damage had already been done. Zhao had lost over half his men between the golem and the pits that booby trapped the field. One of his Yu-yan was M.I.A. too. But that was alright, he still had plenty of men and Captain Lee should have numbers too. Then, just as he was about to regroup and advance, the earthbender had done something to cover the field with this thick, white haze. He smirked. Clearly this was a desperate move by a desperate bender. Victory would soon be his.
"Lieutenant Lang, signal a muster. We'll crush them all at once."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a calm, familiar voice interjected from behind. Eyes widening with surprise, Admiral Zhao whirled around. "General Iroh!"
Sokka smashed the fingers of a climbing Fire Nation soldier. The man fell with a curse. The limestone haze from the upper field was slowly blowing into the lower valley, making the advancing troops hard to see. Not that any of them had time to form a strategy anyways. For now, it was all they could do to repel the invaders off the wall. Zhao's troops were circling the wall, spreading the teens thin. Sokka knew they wouldn't last much longer.
Katara water-whipped a climbing soldier. She then streamed the water back into her canteen. It took longer to do it that way, but she couldn't afford to waste any of her supply. She ducked as a fireball smashed against the wall, sparks and bits of super-heated stone showering around her. She panted. She was exhausted; this was far too much extended combat for her, but what choice did she have but to go on? The waterbender risked a glance to her right. Prince Zuko was holding up better, but she could see his movements had slowed. He sent a volley of fireballs down on the advancing troops before ducking back behind the wall. Zhao's men returned fire, most of the blasts slammed ineffectively against the stone wall, but one arced up and over. Katara watched in horror as it hit the thatch roof of Anko's barn.
Zuko also saw where the blast hit. A thin tendril of black smoke started to rise from the barn's roof. Quickly it grew larger. He looked over at Katara. "Go!" he ordered.
"But…" Katara grimaced. There was no way Zuko could hold that much of the wall by himself.
"Go!" he insisted. Katara hesitated just a second more before climbing down the wall and running towards the well. Zuko closed his eyes for a second, allowing himself to feel the exhaustion that, thus far, adrenaline had kept at bay.
"Hey! Look out!" Zuko's eyes snapped open at Sokka's call. Arms surrounded him from behind, pulling him back and pinning him to the stone wall. He struggled, but the soldier was larger and had the advantage of surprise. The arms squeezed him, forcing his breath out of his lungs. Zuko gasped. There was a loud ringing sound as Sokka's boomerang connected with the man's helmet. The arms released as the man fell back down. Zuko coughed and sucked in lungfuls of life-giving air. He glanced at Sokka, who gave him a cocky grin and flashed him a "V" sign. Zuko snorted. "Idiot," he muttered, though he did it with a smile. Yet, there was no time to celebrate. Around the circular wall, in the area that Katara had been safeguarding, the familiar red and brown uniforms started to appear. They had been breached.
"General Iroh," Admiral Zhao recovered from his initial shock rather quickly. "I am honored to welcome the great hero of our nation to my battlefield. You've come at a rather opportune time. An Earth Kingdom soldier has taken Prince Zuko hostage; we are just about to liberate him."
"Very considerate of you," Iroh said dryly, "However, I bring news from Firelord Ozai and as you mentioned once before, my brother is not a patient man."
Zhao's eyes narrowed as he regarded the older man with a mixture of distrust and ire. Iroh merely smiled politely back at him. "Very well," Zhao extended a hand to accept the leather bound scroll from General Iroh, "although I'm not sure what could be more important than Prince Zuko's safety."
Iroh's golden eyes glittered as the Admiral broke the Firelord's wax seal. His only regret was that Prince Zuko himself wasn't there to witness the expression on Zhao's face. As Zhao read, his eyes widened comically as his face flushed purplish-red with rage. Just barely keeping himself under control, he raised his head to look at the carefully nonchalant General. "What nonsense is this!" he exploded. "How am I responsible for the Avatar's lemur! How!"
"Ah," Iroh responded calmly, "a very good question. As I understand it, it was you who brought the lemur with the Avatar to the fortress. And it was men under your command who were responsible for guarding both the lemur and the Avatar. A commander is responsible for the actions of his men, is he not?"
"Don't tell me my responsibilities!" the Admiral snarled before remembering to whom he was speaking. Iroh, however, simply gave him a calm smile.
"I'm sure the Firelord will be most understanding when you speak with him. Your orders are to report to him immediately, are they not?" Zhao glared at the older man, then back down at the scroll. Iroh could actually see heat waves radiating off the man. He waited patiently to see what Zhao would do.
Prince Zuko stood back to back with Sokka on the wall. They were surrounded. "Prince Zuko," a brown haired man addressed him from the ground outside the wall, "I am Captain Lee. Surrender now and no harm will come to you." Zuko glared down at the man. His mind raced. There had to be a way out of this, there just had to be.
"Let go of me you bast…" Katara's angry voice was cut off as the firebender holding her placed his hand over her mouth. She struggled futilely. Zuko could feel Sokka shift behind him. "Surrender, Prince Zuko. You have no choice."
"Excuse me; don't I have anything to say about this?" Captain Lee spun to face the approaching woman. His reaction was far too late. Anko drove her hoe into his midsection, driving the breath out of his lungs. Bent over and gasping, the Captain never saw the metal end of the hoe descend on his head. He collapsed to the ground. The men on the wall all opened fire on the woman, foolishly distracted from Zuko and Sokka. The boys didn't let the opportunity pass them by. Instantly they attacked the nearest firebenders, driving them back. The wall section Zhao's troops were standing on shuddered, then crumbled, the once solid stone transforming into loose soil. Only the section on which the teens stood remained erect. With a grim smile, Anko waded into the chaos, pausing only to take out the firebenders who were struggling to free themselves of the dirt with her hoe.
Sokka jumped down off the wall, running to his sister's aid, but it was unnecessary. Taking advantage of the distraction Anko had caused, Katara had freed herself, using the remains of her canteen water to freeze the firebender solid. Within an instant, the tide had turned. "Anko," Zuko called down from his still upright section of the wall, "where is my Uncle?" The earthbender ducked under a Fire Nation soldier's wild punch. She drove the hard metal end of her hoe into his nose plate, busting it backwards into his fragile nose. Not pausing, she swept his feet with her "weapon". A short mournful horn sounded off in the distance. Twice more it sounded. Anko grinned as Zhao's men began to retreat, taking their disabled comrades with them. She turned to look at Zuko as he jumped down from the top of the wall. "I'd say he's taken care of Admiral Zhao, wouldn't you?"
Not wanting to delay their departure, Anko freed the trapped firebenders from the collapsed sections of the wall. She stood, casually leaning against her hoe, watching as they retreated. Zuko joined her to her right, the Water Tribe siblings stood to her left. "Well…," she drawled, "that was fun."
Sokka snorted. "You really are insane, Anko." The earthbender's lazy smile grew larger. They were all smiling. After all, they had won.