Hello and welcome back! After a long break, Walking a Wire returns with a brand new chapter! This is the second part of my "Day of Black Sun" mini-saga, and boy has it been hard to write! There's the Wolves, Mina, Aang, the prison...you get the idea. And it all has to be timed around the eclipse and around each other.
My difficulties aside, there's actually another reason this chapter has been a month in production, and if you want to know who's to blame, head over and check out my new fic Sonic the Hedgehog: Dashing Through Twin Worlds. It's good, I promise.
Now just remember that Mike, Brian, and Nick own everything but my OC's, and enjoy the show!
Chapter XXIV: Day of Black Sun--The Invasion/Let the Games Begin
"Very well, White Unit. You have been cleared to proceed, although I expect a full report on exactly why Private Sakomo has been unable to return to barracks in the entire time you've been here."
"Don't worry, you'll see the full report tomorrow morning. Alright, everyone, pack up and let's get moving!" The Wolves left the organizing station behind as they started on the path up the crater wall around the city. Mina found herself bringing up the rear of the column, although she honestly didn't mind.
"So, how ya doing back there, kit?" The man in front of her spoke up, revealing Yarin's voice.
"Why do you keep calling me that? My name's Mina. Would you rather I call you pup?"
Yarin laughed, "Well, guess you got a point there. Anyway, I was just wondering how you were holding up."
"Well, if you ignore the fact that my best friend is in prison for made-up crimes against the Fire Nation, and the only reason I'm not in prison is the fact that I'm staying with you guys, I'm completely fine."
"Good to hear, kit!"
"Whatever, pup." They had almost reached the top of the wall when there was a commotion from up ahead. A wave of groans passed down the line, and it soon became apparent that a Komodo Rhino had been spooked by an inept handler, spilling the contents of its wagon all across the path and bringing the entire line to a halt.
"Alright, packs down! We're in no hurry!" Akira's voice carried backward, and Mina unslung her bow and quiver before slumping against the rocks bordering the trail. She absently picked at the leather and metal sheath covering her left arm, as well as the other seemingly random pieces of armor thrown at her by the Guardsmen during their visit to the armory. She had been made to swap out her vest for a lamellar cuirass covered by a short grey tunic, although she had put her foot down on the pants, insisting that the somewhat loose material wouldn't be a problem.
"Blast it, this stupid armor doesn't fit!" Jerking the tunic off, she immediately began working at the lacings binding the leather strips together. Tighten there, loosen a bit over here, fix the fittings there and there...She was so focused on the armor that she didn't notice Yarin in front of her until he cleared his throat rather loudly. Finally looking up, she saw him jerk his head toward the group of soldiers surrounding them, almost all frozen where they stood or sat.
"What, never seen an archer before?" Mina snapped at them, then returned to her work, only to be interrupted by Yarin again.
"Actually, most of these men haven't seen a girl in months. Besides White Unit, we're surrounded by men from the 302nd Infantry, who've been out fighting in the Earth Kingdom for nearly the past full year."
"And this relates how to me getting my armor to fit right?"
"You're torturing the poor idiots is what you're doing, especially since you apparently prefer that armor to fit tightly. I understand, not wanting it to slip around while you're moving, but you really shouldn't be doing it now. I'd get that tunic back on if I were you, unless you really want an excuse to use that hunting knife you're keeping in your boot." Despite his words, Yarin's voice was coming through his helmet as clearly amused.
"You--how did you--?"
"Akira claims to keep four knives on him at all times, as well as his sword and a jutta he's fond of--I'd recognize that bulge in the side of a boot anywhere. Now if only I could figure out where he keeps that fourth knife..." Yarin trailed off as he turned back toward the other Guards, leaving Mina to hurriedly finish one last adjustment and pull the tunic back on. Twisting and stretching, she was glad to feel the armor follow her movements much more closely, and she mentally congratulated herself on figuring out the lacing system quickly. Maybe if I'd had more than five minutes at the armory, I could have fitted it there.
"They've cleared the mess, we're moving again! Let's go!" Shrugging her bow and quiver back on, Mina joined the Wolves again as they continued their slow march up the side of the crater wall. Finally cresting the walls, they looked out on the fortress plaza, with the sea sparkling beyond in the bright sunlight. On either side the jungle reigned, a heavily fortified path marking its way in from the sea to the wall. Breaking from the main route, they wandered down a side path that branched to several positions along the slope.
"Alright, you all know your assignments, if all goes well we'll meet after the invasion for debriefing and medals all around. If not, well, it's been an honor, and I hope the spirits give us safe passage."
"Come on, Pack Leader, nothing's going to happen!" Yarin's shout nearly made Mina jump, as he turned out to be standing right next to her. How do they tell each other apart? I can tell rank, but that's it. The thought annoyed her more than she would like to admit, and she vowed to find some way to differentiate between the soldiers.
"Believe it or not, Yarin, we're not invincible. Unfortunately, I had to recently learn that the hard way. From all reports, this is the biggest push the other nations have made against us in generations, and they have the Avatar on their side to boot. We're going to have a long, hard fight today, and I'm thinking we're going to be tested on our hand-to-hand skills very soon. Private Sakomo?" Mina looked up from where she was adjusting the wrist strap on her arm to see the Captain standing on a rock, a lance planted into the ground for balance, "If it's possible, save your arrows for the eclipse--use whatever those exploding things are tied to your belt." Mina nodded, fingering the bags of fragmented spark rocks she'd learned to use as deadly mid-range projectiles.
Akira turned his attention back to his men, "Okay, as I said, you know your assignments, so let's--" A thundering explosion from the harbor cut him off, and everyone looked to see the geysers shooting from the docks.
"Wolves! Change of plans--Dasi, Private Sakomo, you're going with Kojima, the rest of you, stay sharp." Pulling the lance from the ground, he dropped from the rock as another Guard began waving Mina away from the group. She saw the First Lieutenant's mark on his gauntlet and noted that Kojima had removed his helmet, hiding his chestplate behind a heavy cloak. Wondering why he would be hiding his High Guard armor as much as possible, she joined another cloaked man--Dasi, she assumed--as Kojima began leading them back down the main path, shoving soldiers out of the way as they passed.
"Wait, where are we going?"
"Ling gave us some unofficial orders yesterday--we're heading off to carry them out. You ever run escort for a non-combatent?"
"No, we never drilled for that."
"No time for learning like the present then." Kojima gave one of the shorter soldiers a healthy shove to clear the path, as more explosions could be heard from the harbor and men rushed past them, order forgotten as they scrambled for their posts. Mina looked up as they reached the bottom of the slope, noting that it was just past noon. This afternoon promised to be very interesting.
"Healer! I need a healer over here!"
"Earthbenders, down those towers, we're getting torn apart down here!"
"Artillery incoming!"
"Healer!"
"Aang, we need to neutralize those towers or we'll all be slaughtered right here!" Hakkoda's voice cut through the din of battle as Aang ducked a heavy iron bolt aiming for his head. Looking over at the Water Tribe leader, he just shook his head--Sokka was the guy with the battle plans, he was just a twelve-year-old kid trying not to get killed!
Fortunately, Sokka had the answer once again, "We'll use Appa, he can get up to their level! Come on, Aang, we need those things gone now!"
Mina continued following the two Guardsmen as they rushed around or through knots of men taking up positions along the corridor between the harbor fortress and the crater wall. Explosions puntured a low continuous roar coming from the harbor, and Mina gritted her teeth and pushed onward. Avatar or no Avatar, these people were not invading her home, and she was going to stop them. So caught up was she in these thoughts that she stumbled on loose gravel along the path and nearly went sliding face-first into the dirt.
"Careful, kit. Lose our footing here, it's still a long way down." Dasi hauled her back up and she kept running, although she spared him a glare as she went in response to the name.
More explosions sounded, "They're in the plaza!" Kojima skidded to a stop as they reached the beginning to a path down to the main road.
"This is good and bad, not sure which it is more." Kojima frowned.
"Why good and bad?" Mina asked him.
"Good, because they can be split up in the more open space of the plaza, meaning we can isolate our 'target' without involving a large opposing force. On the other hand, it makes them easy prey for our own forces, which means we have to hurry." Mina and Dasi followed him down the path, as the Sun's edge was caught by another shape moving into its place.
The dust from the explosion surrounded her, choking and blinding her to the surrounding battle. Ashani tried bending some of the choking air away from her, but met with little success. Her eyes stung as she tried to get her bearings, vaguely aware of several shapes making their way towards her.
"Hey, looks like the Avatar's recruiting helpless women now! Must be getting really desperate, using someone like you for a soldier." The dust-clouded silhouettes resolved into four soldiers, all with weapons at the ready as they advanced on Ashani. Turning to run, she stumbled blindly through the dust and a loose pile of rubble sent her sprawling. She heard the soldiers laugh, and their crunching foosteps came closer.
"We'll take it from here, soldier." The voice was oddly familiar, but Ashani couldn't place it as she rolled over to see two more shapes approaching in the settling haze.
"Huh? Who in Agni's blessed name are you, and why should we listen to you?"
"Because I happen to be a High Guard with orders that involve this one." The familiar voice growled, and a shape pulled one of her attackers up to where they were face-to-face.
"You ain't no High Guard, you're just some free-loading son of a baboon-dog who wants to get some free-" The impact made an audible series of pops as the attacker fell limp. The other three turned on the shapes, only to double over with a yell, grabbing their legs.
"Armor's got a gap at the knee to allow for running, remember?" Another figure approached, and the dust had cleared enough to see that there were two men and a girl, and the men were wearing some kind of coat.
"Did you have to hit him that hard, Kojima?" The other man asked, and Ashani remembered--the name of the young man who had visited Ling was Kojima, wasn't it?
"He deserved it, you heard him."
"Not saying he didn't deserve it, but breaking the man's jaw? I bet even Ozai heard that...wherever he is. Eh, won't matter soon anyway."
"Right, now could you go over and make sure she's alright?" The other man detached himself from Kojima and kneeled next to Ashani.
"I--I'm fine, no need to worry about me."
"Sorry, milady, but I'll decide if I need to worry, alright?" The young man, for that was what he was, gently pressed at several points on her leg, then her arms.
"Is this really necessary? I mean--"
"Never mind him, Ashani, Dasi just wanted to make sure nothing was broken before he got you on your feet. Always the gentlemen, eh Dasi?" Dasi just shook his head and elbowed Kojima hard in the chest before hauling Ashani up by her arm.
Ashani turned to Kojima, "My husband sent you, didn't he?"
Kojima nodded, "Now that we've found you, we have a safe area where you can wait out the battle, then we'll get you back to Ling and we can all laugh about this absurd little episode later. Sound like a plan?"
Ashani pushed off Dasi's hand and glared at the Guardsman, "No, it doesn't. I'm here fighting for my people's freedom and I don't care what Ling says, I'm not waiting this out in safety and seclusion."
"Ma'am, with all due respect--you're not very good. You're a civilian and I don't want to see you get hurt." Dasi replaced his arm on Ashani's shoulder, only to have it angrily shrugged off again.
"Give me one good reason why I should leave--and I may not be the best fighter, but I can take care of myself!"
"One good reason? Please Ashani, we're just following Ling's orders, it'll be better if--"
"Good reason incoming." Mina noted as Kojima sent a massive flame spear over their heads, shattering the artillery round coming straight for them. He looked back at the Airbender, visibly shaken as Mina began complaining loudly. "They're not even trying anymore! No blasted battle-line, artillery's not even bothering to range in and spot friendlies, and the eclipse is coming!" All looked up then, to see the sun quickly being swallowed by the moon, and could feel the cold creeping in as their bending became weaker.
"Let's move. Now would be nice." Kojima grumbled as Ashani meekly followed the three Fire Nation soldiers across the ruined pathway, up the cliffs to the safe area they had prepared.
Midori cringed as the door slammed open. Even from around the corner, she could hear it rebound with an impossible crash against the stone wall. After a moment, however, the steady, heavy footfalls made her push herself to the bars in curiosity. Laos Tim's steps were slow and light, almost as though he slid across the ground, and the Princess's were extremely precise and there was always the crack as her heel struck the stone. This was someone else, however, and she strained to see down the dark hallway.
As the visitor turned down the hallway, his footsteps slowed, then stopped--she guessed it was at Suki's cell. She could hear murmered voices, but nothing intelligible. Then, the crack of lightning shook the hallway, and she threw herself to the floor as she waited to wake up in the Spirit World.
"W-what w-w-was that?" Lihui asked as Midori crawled unsteadily back to the doorway. Before she got there, a large pair of feet stepped up to stand in her vision. Slowly moving her eyes upward, she took in the man's massive body, as well as the fact that he seemed to be gently cradling Suki in his bear-like arms.
"My dear lady, could you please move to the back? We do not have much time, and it is painfully slow to use my hands on these bars." Unknowingly nodding, she moved blankly to the back and flattened herself into a corner as the bear-man sat Suki gently behind him. Turning around, he made a series of slow, graceful arcs with his hands, and the hair on Midori's neck stood up just as she realized exactly what he was about to do.
"Oh, spirits..."
"Aang! The eclipse is starting in thirty seconds! We need to get up there now if we're going to do this!" Sokka pointed up the massive city wall as Aang landed in a tired cloud of dust. Behind him, Hakkoda and Pakku gathered their men as Haru and his father helped their warriors maintain the stone barriers protecting them from Fire Nation artillery. The rest of their motley crew of allies sat inside the shield, eagerly awaiting orders. Aang looked around and sighed as he saw they were all looking at him.
"Listen, I'm just a kid! I don't know what's going to happen and I don't have much of a plan beyond going straight in and challenging the Fire Lord. If anybody has a good plan, it'll be Hakkoda or Tyro or-or maybe Sokka."
"But you're the one we would follow anywhere, Aang." Hakkoda came up and put a hand on the Avatar's shoulder, "I know you may be new to leading men in battle, and I pray it's a skill you never have time to perfect, but the fact remains that you are who the men look to, you are the Avatar, and we will do our best to follow what you say." Aang looked around at the men, women, boys and girls who had gathered around him, seeing determination unanimously written across their faces, and a light of hope in their eyes that he had thought long extenguished.
"Okay everyone, I think I know what we all need to do..."
"The eclipse! Everyone to the secondary positions, double-time!" Soldiers scattered around them, but a hand signal from Akira kept the Guardsmen in their positions.
"Miss us?" Kojima emerged from behind several boulders, with Dasi leading Ashani along behind. Akira smiled, Good work, Kojima. Knew I could count on you and Dasi. But where's Mina?
"Don't worry about me, these lizard-brained slowpokes couldn't keep up with me if I was hopping on one foot." the Yu-Yan piped up, seated comfortably on a boulder a ways up the trail from their position. Torn between amused and furious that she had gone right past them without notice, he threw Kojima's helmet at him, while Dasi fished his from under a rock.
"Okay, the eclipse is starting! You know the assignments, let's move!" As the Guards moved back toward the city, Akira could feel a presence in his mind, a warm sensation that he couldn't pin on anything, but gave him some much-needed confidence in what he was about to do.
Thank you, Agni.