Author's Notes: A little bit of a shorter chapter than the previous 3. This one revolves around the three travelers as they're "taking action" (the title for this fic is quite lame btw... I just can't seem to come up with anything better). A lot of planning and setting up here...hope it doesn't bore ya'll to death '. More characters will take part in the next chapter.
If you're reading, I'd love to know what compells you to do so...good, bad, or otherwise.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
At the word, 'plan', I have my two companions' full attention.
"See the carriage with the metal bed?"
I point toward the prisoner hold the troops travel with. The completely enclosed metal box is hitched to two ostrich horses.
"We're going to travel into Ba Sing Se in that carriage."
Suki looks at me like I've lost my marbles, "Wait...are you suggesting we let ourselves be taken captive?"
Toph looks equally reluctant, "I've gotta agree with Number One over there. Getting captured would look really bad for my rep."
I let out a dramatic sigh, "Look, I didn't ask for the title of 'Plan Guy', it was given to me against my will...so I'd appreciate it if my genius wasn't questioned."
Suki rolls her eyes, "Fine...say we didn't have a problem with your 'genius'," she mocks, "Mind explaining how we escape once we're in the city?"
Oh yeah...The Kyoshi leader didn't know about Toph's new talent. No wonder she's got an issue.
The earthbender smiles, "Snoozles here isn't worried about escaping because he knows mankind can't build a cage that can hold me."
Suki looks between me and Toph, still uncertain.
Toph crosses her arms, "You don't believe me?"
"The cage is made out of metal, Toph. I don't thi—"
Without asking my approval, the younger girl pick pockets my dagger from its sheath. She proceeds to flick it nonchalantly with her forefinger and thumb. Suki watches in wonder as the metal warbles back and forth like rubber. I stifle a yawn to show I'm not impressed with the antics.
"That's amazing!...But how?"
"Metal's just a refined form of stone and...well...I dunno...I guess I'm just that awesome," Toph buffs the dagger on her shirt before handing it back to me. I inspect the visibly warped surface.
"You know this is ruined, right?"
Toph whispers behind her hand to Suki, "I'm still learning."
"Anyway," I cut in, "There are several smaller prisons designated for petty criminals in the outer ring...that's where they'll be directed to take us. From there Toph can bend a tunnel into the underground caverns of Old Ba Sing Se...we already know they'll lead us to the palace."
I look toward Toph, "That is unless you think the Dai Li will be able to 'feel' you tunneling."
"You think any one of 'em is half the master I am?"
I smirk. Right...stupid question.
"Good. We should keep the element of surprise then. It'll take a bit of trial and error to find where Iroh's being kept in the palace. I assume he's in the dungeon, but there's no way to tell until we're directly beneath it and Toph can 'feel' for his form."
They're listening intently. Plan must be pretty good so far.
"Once Toph locates Iroh it'll be a piece of cake. We'll 'silence' the guards and bend the old geezer out, make our way back through Old Ba Sing Se, through our tunnel to the outer ring, and whistle for Appa to retrieve us...In and out, bing, bang, boom!"
Toph frowns, "But it could take awhile to get all the way back to the outer ring on foot...You know Iroh's absence won't be a secret for long. We'll be found out."
Unused to Toph's logical line of thinking, I raise an eyebrow.
"Don't act so surprised, Snoozles."
Suki interjects, "Why can't we call on Appa from the inner ring?"
I shake my head, "Too close to the lion's den...If Azula or any of her goons spot Appa, they'll try to engage us. The point of this mission isn't to pick a fight...ideally, we'll get in and out without being seen. It's like Guru Patik said, if anything happens that causes the mission to become too dangerous to complete, we'll have to turn back."
Both girls look equally unhappy about the last statement. I can understand why: going through all that work and then turning around for one mistake seems drastic, and normally I'd oppose it too...but this leading thing bears a lot of weight, and I just can't gamble with my friends' safety.
Toph finally nods her head at my words, "Okay...but without being seen? I'm pretty sure being captured qualifies as 'being seen'...but what would I know?"
She gestures at her milky orbs. Suki giggles behind her hand.
I answer her, "Well yeah...but these are just a few Fire Nation lackeys. Without Aang or Appa, they won't recognize us. To them we're just a few wandering refugees. It's the Dai Li and Azula's thugs we can't dance around in front of."
Toph is quick to point out the other flaw, "Fine, fine...but getting to the outer ring after we have Iroh is still a problem. Let's face it...who knows how much time we'll have? Probably not enough to get that far."
I pout. She's right.
Suki gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Like I said before, we'll just whistle for Appa from the inner ring..."
I open my mouth to protest but the Kyoshi warrior doesn't give me the chance.
"We can do it Sokka! After we find Iroh, we'll tunnel our way to a back alley outside the palace and whistle for Appa! No one's expecting us...even if they spot him, it'll be too late. He can fly us out in no time."
I'm skeptical. I doubt insane firebenders need as much time to prepare as Suki's implying: site target and let flames loose. What's so hard about that?
Nothing...It was easy: way too easy. Life was way too easy for firebenders to snuff out.
But Toph is nodding her head with enthusiasm, and I know I've been outvoted for the second time today.
"Sounds like we have a plan. Just one question," the small girl sports a mischievous smile, "What do ya'll wanna get arrested for?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We had to hurry after the plan was laid out. The Earth Kingdom imposters had been preparing to move out when we left to find Appa. Big and Furry was right where we left him, playfully sniffing a butterfly in and out of his nostrils.
Some changes had to be made. You become somewhat notorious when you've traveled with the Avatar, and while none of those soldiers would know our faces, our stories had undoubtedly spread.
Toph, for example. The exploits of the Avatar's earthbending sifu -'The Blind Bandit'- had spread far within the Earth Kingdom and across enemy lines by word of mouth. If a twelve year old blind girl went in there smashing heads, those soldiers would probably be able to put two and two together. I told Toph that this meant she couldn't be her normal badass self, which she took surprisingly well. I guess when you've spent most of your life acting like you have a debilitating handicap one more day of pretend doesn't make a difference.
As for me, I quickly set about changing into an outfit with less of a Water Tribe affiliation, taking off my shell necklace and replacing my shirt to one of an earthier, brownish hue. I even took my hair out of it's 'wolf's tail', earning a laugh or two from Suki before she composed herself.
Suki was just Suki. The Fire Nation wouldn't know anything about her...making her a natural wildcard.
We were a couple hours from Ba Sing Se by bison, so I estimated we'd find ourselves in the outer ring sometime after nightfall by foot and ferry. This meant we could plan Iroh's breakout to occur sometime in the early morning: while the city's invaders slept. It was at that time that Appa needed to be hovering over the inner circle, high above human sight, waiting for our call.
I relayed this information to Appa, ignoring the logical part of my mind that argued that animals can't understand human language. I just had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't a typical flying bison. As Aang's spirit guide, Appa is a sentient creature, able to comprehend many things.
If only the same could be said of that dumb lemur.
I directed the big and furry to rest in one of the nearby ravines during the day and to begin his flight to Ba Sing Se as the sun set, placing him over the inner ring with plenty of downtime before we needed him. He needed to fly as high as possible to avoid detection, and keep his hearing sharp.
Everything was in place. We looked like a group of young refugees. We had a free ride into Ba Sing Se. Appa would be ready for our cue.
All that was left was to piss off a few Fire Nation soldiers.
Something tells me we can handle that.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
An hour later and the three of us are cramped inside the small prison hold, rocking rhythmically as the ostrich-horses lead us down the rocky path. Another couple of carriages pull up the rear, one carrying the troops' tents and supplies –and our weapons-, and the second covered with a cloth canvas, effectively hiding its contents. About twenty troops march in front of and behind us.
As predicted, it hadn't been very difficult to tempt the imposters into arresting us: Fire Nation soldiers, disguised or not, have very short tempers...it was simply a matter of pushing their buttons. When my companions and I had first approached them, throwing insults, the men had been somewhat passive, choosing not to waste their time with what I'm sure they thought were simply misguided Earth Kingdom youths. An attempted theft, some thrown fruit, and a couple vandalized carriages later, and they had no choice but to cage us, or else never cover any ground.
I guess there was the possibility they could have fought us, though I didn't get the feeling they would. Throwing fire at a few aggravating youths wasn't worth facing a merciless –and deadly- princess later on if their cover was blown, risking every other posing troop in route to the city.
I can barely make out Suki's expression in the darkness, "That was...fun."
She sounds like a child in wonder, and I don't find it all that surprising. Growing up a Kyoshi warrior probably wasn't a typical childhood. Her job has always been to uphold order, a duty magnified by her position as leader.
She's never known the joy of throwing fruit...how very sad.
Toph on the other hand...
"Yeeeah...it really was, wasn't it?" the earthbender sighs in content despite her crouched position.
I turn my head to the smaller girl, "What'd you say about that guy's mother?"
"Nothing your virgin ears can handle."
Where she comes up with these phrases is beyond me.
I blush, "A simple 'nothing' would've sufficed."
A minute later and my cheeks are still red. I shift uncomfortably in the mess of entwining limbs crammed inside our cage.
"Does it feel warm to anyone else?"
We continue to rock as we're led down the beaten path...the sun merrily beaming down on our metal prison.