Chapter 9: Infiltration
After walking a distance away from Lee's farm, they realized a serious problem—neither of them knew where they were going. Zuko had always lived in urban areas as a farmer, and Katara being a nomad and all, never really lived the city life.
"Well," noted Katara. "We're definitely somewhere in the Earth Kingdom."
"Yes, but I heard the Earth Kingdom is huge," he remarked, shaking his head. "How are we going to find the ship?" Katara simply shrugged and walked into a small store. She seemed awfully carefree for having her brother taken by soldiers for unknown reasons.
"Welcome," a weak voice from the back called out to them. Katara smiled and walked towards the man. He looked aged and fragile. Smile lines creased his mouth and the corners of his eyes. But the man looked kind and smiled warmly at Katara.
"Are you looking for anything in particular today, miss?" he asked. She shook her head again and stepped in front of the counter.
"Actually, I was wondering about the fire nation soldiers that came through town in the last two weeks." The old man looked up in surprise. He seemed hesitant to say anything, so Zuko decided to step in.
"Please, sir," he asked. "Do you happen to know anything about them? We're looking for someone." The man sighed through his nose and his mouth pressed into a firm line.
"Well," he began. "They suddenly appeared about two weeks ago, saying that they only came for business purposes, and that they won't harm anyone. But every morning, dozens of soldiers are dispatched into the all the nearby towns, causing a ruckus, and stealing our things." He looked sadly around his store and commented, "Just look at my store." Indeed, shelves were broken, grain spilled out from punctured bags, and the door stood crookedly against the frame.
"Zuko," Katara spoke up. "We have to get them." He nodded at her words when the old man looked at him with a wide-eyes expression.
"Zuko?" he murmured. "Ah, then you must be the young lad that helped Lee the other day."
"Yeah…" Zuko said, equally surprised. "How did you know?" The senior smiled at him. "I'm Ted. Lee and his father always shop at my store for grains. He came by this morning and told me what happened yesterday."
Zuko remembered. 'They were bothering old man Ted at his store! I couldn't just stand there and do nothing!' Lee had said something about it. "Ah!" he realized. "Then you're …" The old man seemed to lower his head in shame, and sighed.
"Yes," he stated. "Lee got into big trouble because of me, so I thank you for helping him." He gave Zuko a small bow, and Katara turned to him with a smile. "Also, I'm not sure if this will help you…" he paused before continuing. "Two soldiers came in a moment before you two, and he took more food than usual. They said that they now have another mouth to feed." Katara looked taken aback, but didn't say anything to Zuko. "Lastly, one of them said they'd be departing today."
Zuko stepped closer to the man and asked, "Do you know where they docked their ship?"
"I believe they are at Plain's Pier. It is near the outskirts of town; just ask the local fishermen if you get lost. They'll be able to guide you."
"Thank you," said Zuko. Katara also thanked the man, and walked out of the shop.
"Let's hurry," muttered Katara. She adjusted her bow and started to walk faster.
Zuko should have never underestimated the word 'ship' as something small. The closer he got to the mass of black metal, the more nervous he got. The ship was enormous, taking up well over half the dock's space. The ship was a lot thinner compared to its length, but the intimidating sharp point in the front didn't make anything better. Small puffs of smoke began to emit from the colossal black ring at the center.
"So…" said Zuko. "What should we do now? It looks like they're about to leave any moment." The two hid near an alley, watching the ship.
"We have to get inside," stated Katara as a-matter-of-factly. Zuko considered sneaking in and about the ship when two masked soldiers stepped out with a large crate.
"Dump it out and return to the deck," a voice said. Katara and Zuko both looked at each other and nodded. He felt a smile spread across his face with the quiet coordination. As the two soldiers came closer, they sprang out quickly and attacked the soldiers. Zuko ran up against the one to the left, swinging his arm over the soldier's neck, and sent a crushing jab to the back of head, swiftly knocking the guy out. He looked over at Katara who was finishing up a similar maneuver, and the soldier crumbled to his knees.
"Impressive," he noted. Katara simply smiled back at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Let's do this quickly," she said, dragging one of the unconscious soldiers into the alleyway. Zuko followed her in, taking the other trooper and hauled the crate too. It was unbelievably heavy. And it smelled funny.
"What's in there?" asked Katara, looking over her shoulder. "It—" she suddenly paused. She frowned at the large container, looked alarmed and gulped. "Zuko, don't open it!"
Too late. Zuko had lifted the lid and almost yelped. There were bodies. Dead bodies. It looked like the soldiers in the same uniform they saw in the mountains. They were horribly disfigured and black. The armor was half melted and completely ruined. They were burned to death. Zuko promptly shut the lid and closed his eyes. What in the world happened to them? How did they end up like this? He concentrated on his breathing and tried not to think about what he just saw. Katara had looked away the moment he opened the cover.
He stepped back from the crate and took let out a shaky breath. "Let's hurry," he muttered to Katara. She was already strapping on the stolen armor over her clothes. Thankfully, she was considerably tall for a girl, so the amour didn't seem to hang off her slender body. After fitting everything in place, they slid the skull shaped faceplate into their helmet. The armor was heavy, a lot more than Zuko had imagined. He wondered if Katara's condition had gotten better. She had tucked in her long hair, which made her appear as a male.
"What should we do with our things?" she asked. "Honestly, I don't want to leave them behind." Zuko agreed. He could never leave his swords behind.
"We'll figure something out when the situation arises," said Zuko. Katara nodded her head. After a deep breath, they both checked that everything was in place and walked out towards the ship.
As they approached the ramp, Katara stopped his advance. "Hold on," her voice seemed husky and ventilated by the mask, perfectly hiding her identity. She took a glance around and stepped towards the water. Katara bended some water out and hardened it into a sharp ice blade. Before Zuko could ask what she was doing, she swung the sharp edge over his white faceplate, creating a thin mark across his cheek. "So I can identify you," she spoke, while slicing a mark across her face as well. Zuko hadn't even thought about that before hand. He thanked the gods Katara was thinking ahead of him. She quickly melted the ice blade and bended the water back into the ocean.
"Sir!" someone shouted. "Order that we're departing!" A soldier walked down the ramp and beckoned them to hurry up. He appeared to be no more than a simple soldier, with lighter armor and clothing, and a spear in his right hand. His helmet held no mask, revealing his round face. The man gave a funny look to their things and pointed, "What are those for?" Zuko froze. He hadn't thought the moment would come so quickly. Before the silence could extend and seem suspicious, Katara stepped in front. "Captain's request." She simply stated. The soldier paused, and nodded, accepting her reason.
Zuko grumbled quietly to himself for being an incapable looser, and followed the man into the ship. The deck was enormous. Masked soldiers were placed in a line arcing the rim. He finally realized that none of them held weapons. And there were no weapons attached to the men they stole the armor from.
"Speaking of the captain, she's not in a good mood today," he said. "She wants you to report back to the deck immediately. Good luck." And with that, he ran ahead into a room. The ship suddenly lurched forward, making Zuko almost lose his balance. The ramp was slowly being pulled up, locking itself into the side of the ship. Ropes were thrown, untangling the ship from the dock. Finally, the ship was free and began to cruise towards the open waters.
Zuko leaned over to Katara and spoke quietly. "Let's put these down somewhere safe for now. We'll come back later." She nodded as the two of them quickly ran across the deck. They descended down a staircase and continued walking quickly through various rooms. No one had stopped them so far, but Zuko had no idea where he was going. Finally, they came across the bottom floor where large wooden crates were stacked up together. The room was completely dark, forcing Zuko to put forward a small flame in his palm. It looked deserted, no sense of anyone else on the floor. He looked at Katara again and almost shrieked. He had momentarily forgotten that she was suited in someone else's armor. The skull shaped plate partially covered her eyes, giving her a dark, mysterious feel.
"We have to hurry, Zuko," she said. He walked further back into the room and set his swords between two crates. Katara handed him her bow and quiver, and he swiftly placed them next to his swords. "Let's go," he said. They ran back out of the room, and tried to get back to the deck. Thankfully, it seemed that there was more than one way back, so after climbing several flights of stairs, the ocean was visible.
"All assemble!" a voice called out. Rows of masked soldiers filed onto the deck in perfect unison. About fifty soldiers lined up on the deck, yet there was still a lot of room to spare. Katara and Zuko stepped into the last row, furthest away from the man. He was dressed more lightly than anyone else, with barely any armor on. A large red curved hat sat on his head, and he stood up straight in sleek black boots. Zuko assumed this guy to be the captain. Behind him, were two large doors, elegantly crafted and marked with the fire nation's symbol.
"Soldiers," he spoke. "We are heading back to the fire nation, out home! Although we have lost our prey, we are not returning home empty handed. Many lives were sacrificed in this journey, but we have not entirely failed. We—"
"Enough." The twin doors swung open at the sound of someone's voice. A figure stepped out from the grand doors stood in front of the soldiers. It was a young lady. She had jet back hair that gracefully came down to her ribs, with a thick section of hair setting over the center of her face. She wore similar black and red armor, but with intricate gold linings that weaved evenly throughout her armor. She had glaring golden eyes that bore through the rows of soldiers. Zuko could immediately tell she was someone of authority. She slowly walked forward towards the man who stood in front of her. "Step back, captain." Her voice rang in Zuko's ears, the cold tone sent chills down his spine. The captain looked down, and slowly backed up, his body seemed to shake with every step. The dark haired girl finally shot her attention towards the soldiers. Her eyes were lifeless; no hint of emotion or mercy was evident in them.
"You all have heard what happened. I am in no mood to hold back," her icy voice pierced the air. "Come all out… or you will die." A moment after, she shot into the rows of soldiers, kicking an arc of fire to those near her. The fire was blue, with a melting white at its core. Zuko felt the heat even from standing furthest away. It was blazing. Hotter than anything he'd ever felt. He suddenly felt extremely sorry for the ones closest to her. Fire retaliated from the soldiers, filling the deck with an orange blaze.
Zuko looked to the soldier next to him and stared at the faceplate. There was no scratch. His heart hammered against his chest. Where did Katara go? The firebending girl was rapidly knocking down the other soldiers, and he absolutely didn't want to see Katara burned in front of him. The girl moved with precise steps and deadly strikes, bending streams of blue fire from her fists. The entire deck was a mess, soldiers were knocked down towards the edge of the boat and some were even thrown overboard. Out of the dozens of soldiers that stood in the beginning, only a few remained. None of them held the scratch on their faceplate. Had she already been hit? Zuko's thoughts were interrupted when a blast of fire roared in his direction. He quickly jumped out of the way and parried with his own fire, but the other two weren't lucky. They were thrown back and landed on the hard metal with a loud clank.
For a second, the young girl looked surprised at Zuko, but quickly masked it with a hard face. She punched balls of fire in rapid succession towards his face, and bended a stream of flame from her palm in a perfect offensive stance. He barely dodged the first few, and neutralized the rest with his fire. The blue fire grazed the tip of chest plate, but the air around him escaped from his lungs. Zuko staggered back, not accustomed to fighting on a moving ship, and the heavy armor that weighed him down. He breathed hard, already worn out from the fight. The girl spent no time giving Zuko rest; she bolted closer towards him, gracefully avoiding the blast of flame from his fist. He could feel a twinge of jealousy at her incredible skill. She was strong. Stronger than anyone Zuko had ever faced. But he wouldn't give up. He aligned himself again and prepared for her to come closer. In terms of hand-to-hand combat, he was sure his strength would be over hers. Suddenly, she erupted flames from underneath her feet, launching her body forward, approaching faster than Zuko could dodge. Blue fire flared from her palms, catching Zuko straight under his ribs. He grunted in pain and from the heat, and let the girl push him back. Instantly, the girl noticed, and tried to pull back. But it was too late. Her hands had melted through his armor, holding her stationary for a split second. It was all he needed. Zuko smiled underneath his helmet, and quickly grabbed her wrists, twisting them out. She let out a low growl as Zuko called fire to his palms. She reacted quickly, shifting her wrist so that a finger pointed towards his face. A jet of blue fire shot out from the tip of her finger and flew straight towards the opening to his eye. Alarmed, he jumped back, letting go of her wrists. He hadn't completely avoided the shot, the large red horn that protruded from his helmet had melted away. Zuko smiled, the girl didn't get off unscathed either. Her forearm guards were singed, and emitted a quiet hissing noise. And he had efficiently burned off the clothing near her elbow. She stood a couple meters back, and stared at Zuko.
"How d-dare you!" Zuko turned to see the captain stammering in the corner, pointing and screaming at him. "You dare try to harm the pri—"
"Stop," the girl said. Cutting the man off with a raised hand. The captain let out a small whimper, obviously frustrated, but kept his mouth shut. She looked at Zuko again, narrowing her eyes. Her face otherwise lacked emotion. "I did not realize there were soldiers with your level of skill in these ranks." Zuko gulped and wanted to climb into a hole. He had gotten completely carried away with the fight. She slightly lifted her chin, but watched him with calculating eyes. "State your name, soldier."
Before he could speak, the captain stepped in front of him with a glare. "Don't speak peasant." He quickly turned to the girl and pointed down ad Zuko. "You shouldn't associate with these low lives... Princess Azula."
A/N: Finally, another major character has been introduced to the story! Welcome, Azula.
So far, this has been the longest chapter I've written. Almost 3,000 words! This was also the first major fight scene I've written. (The spar between Katara and Zuko at the river was short, and didn't have a lot of action, so I consider this my first) Was it conveyed and written in a way that was easily understandable? Tell me your thoughts.
Lastly, as a forewarning to the future chapters, I am giving Azula a small personality makeover. Of course, she'll still be a prodigy, brilliant minded, calculating, and an overall badass. All I'll say for now, is that, a different past builds a different heart.
P.s. From now, I will try my best to write chapters during the week and upload them in the weekends. So see you guys next week! (: