Chap. 7
Separation
The army marched from Ba Sing Se for close to two hours, putting as much as forty miles between the two of them. Finally, once those forty miles had been reached, the Army came to a halt; even Appa and the Knights hung in the air. General How turned from the front and yelled out, "All right, bodyguards come forth!" At that, several Earth Kingdom troops emerged from the lines and came to stand next to the General. How nodded, then turned to face the members of the Avatar Gang and Knights that had stayed on the ground as they approached him.
"These men are the best warriors I have known, and the best in the Earth King's personal army." How said. "They will not fail you."
"I'm sure they'll be fine." Zuko said, as he looked over the group assembled before them. During their planning of the invasion, the Earth King has been accepting of the fact that he knew too little of military matters to plan much of the army's maneuvers. However, he did know enough about the dangers that were working against his friends to insist that each separated group take at least two Earth Kingdom soldiers as bodyguards. The others had been somewhat reluctant about this addition, but the Earth King had been quite determined, and so they had finally given way.
"Like I don't have enough to worry about." Toph muttered, as the two troops assigned to her and Tierra came forward. Toph had been the most vocal about reusing to accept the Earth King's help. Going home to her parents was not something that she looked forward too, and she wanted to get in and out as quickly as humanely possible. Dragging two Earth Kingdom troops around was not going to help that.
"Look on the bright side. You'll be able to cover more ground, and find the Boulder faster." Hierro said. But Toph just glared at him. Unlike the others, Hierro and Aire had not been assigned any support. This had been at the insistence of Hierro himself. The spider argued that getting into an entire city that was controlled by the Fire Nation would be easier for two men then four. General How had agreed, and so the two Knights had been left alone, a fact that had not gone over well with Toph.
"Looks like Tierra's going to have some fun." Fuego said to Zuko, as he glanced over at Toph and the spider. Zuko nodded absently as he looked over the two troops assigned to him and Fuego. One of the troops was the standard Earth Kingdom solider; tall, strong, powerful, dressed in perfectly designed armor. The other however, was somewhat different. This troop was about a foot shorter then his counterpart, dressed in armor that seemed slightly too large for him. As Zuko looked on, he saw that some pieces were actually tied down onto the soldier's body. His helmet covered his face, and also wrapped around his lower face, and he awkwardly held a spear that seemed far too large for him. He looked like he could barely fight a five-year-old child, let alone a Fire Nation solider.
Zuko had worked with many soldiers in his life, but he was truly surprised as he looked at this one. How in heaven's name had this solider become one of the Earth King's chosen troops. "How!" Zuko yelled out. The General quickly turned and came over to the former prince.
"Is something wrong?" How asked, a slight bit of annoyance in his voice.
"About this soldier here…." Zuko said, gesturing towards the solider in question. How saw the trooper, and instantly understood.
"Solider!" How called out, bringing the troop to attention with a quick snap of his boots. "Explain yourself! Why is your armor below standards?"
Instead of responding, the solider reached into his pocket, and brought out a piece of parchment and a quill. Writing quickly, the soldier filled out the parchment and handed it to How, who proceeded to read it aloud.
Name is Pong. Was involved in battle against chaos demon, and was critically injured. Vocal cords damaged beyond repair, and lost much strength and body mass in recovery. Ready to fight for the Earth King now.
How folded up the note and handed it back to Pong. Turning to Zuko, he asked, "Would you like another soldier, Prince?"
Zuko was quiet a moment, but before he could respond, Fuego said, "Naw, we'll keep him. Needs a chance to redeem himself."
"Are you sure?" How asked.
"Yes, I agree." Zuko said. "After all, there may be a fire in this one that we can't see right now."
"Very well then." How said, as he moved off to instruct some other troops. Zuko and Fuego both turned back to Pong, who quickly bowed to the two of them.
"Don't worry about it kid." Fuego said. "Just make sure you're ready for it."
Pong nodded his vow to them energetically, his helmet bouncing up and down on his face. Zuko had to smile at the young soldier's enthusiasm. This may work out after all. He thought to himself. But before he could think any further on the matter, there was a rush of air and a rumble that spread through the ground. Zuko and Fuego turned to see Appa and the others behind them.
"You didn't really think we'd leave without saying goodbye?" Luz asked.
"I suppose not." Zuko said.
"Aww, you guys are sissies." Sokka said. "I could've left."
"Sokka, don't kid yourself." Katara said. "You knew you wanted to say goodbye."
"Not if he's sane." Toph added. "We don't need to get all emotional with this. We'll all see each other again."
"Perhaps Toph, but surely you wish to say good bye to them for now." Iroh said.
"No. I'm totally ok with it."
"OK then, bye-bye." Fuego said, as he and Zuko turned around and started to walk away. Toph and Sokka watched stone-faced, their arms across their chests.
"Shouldn't we…" Aang asked, but Trueno hushed him. "Just wait." He said, as he watched Toph and Sokka. Already, their expressions were beginning to soften, as the ram began to count down. "Three, two, one…"
"NOOOO!! WAIT!!!" Toph and Sokka yelled together, as they finally broke and ran after Fuego and Zuko. The two Fire Masters suddenly found themselves on the ground, with two bodies wrapped around them.
"I'm sorry, I just didn't want to admit it!" Sokka sobbed, as he hugged Zuko. "You guys are like family!"
"I am family." Zuko replied, as he twisted around in Sokka's grasp.
"You're family to me too!" Toph cried out, her arms wrapped around Fuego. "I always wanted family that wasn't completely human, and could shoot fire out of their hands."
"I'm sure." Fuego said, as he struggled to break free. Finally, Katara, Iroh, and Truneo came over and broke Sokka and Toph's grasp on their friends. It took a considerable amount of pulling, pushing, and cursing, but they managed to do it.
"Easy to leave, huh?" Katara asked, as Sokka wiped his eyes.
"Don't feel bad Sokka." Trueno said. "I'll miss you guys too. Of course, I won't cry about it like a baby."
"Shut up." Toph muttered.
"Still, let us good bye the right way." Iroh said.
"You mean a group hug, don't you Uncle?" Zuko asked with a sigh.
"Actually, I was thinking a quick salute, but that sounds much better." Iroh said, as he spread his arms wide. Zuko sighed, but a minute later found himself drawn into the fold, as everyone was pushed together. They remained there a few minutes, then broke apart.
"That was beautiful." Aang said. "But I'm still going to miss you guys."
"So will I." Oscuridad said. "But we're not really separating. Toph and Sokka were right; we are family now. And family never leaves you. No matter where we go, no matter what may happen to us, we will never be apart from each other in our hearts."
With that, the bat pulled out his sword, and held it in front of him. The other Knights followed suit, drawing their own weapons. As they stood facing each other, and their friends, Oscuridad held the blade to his face, edge first. The others imitated him. Then, he flipped the blade so that the flat was out, and then dropped to his knees, flipping the handle of the sword so that the blade pointed down. As the other Knights kneeled as well, he said, the other Knights echoing his words, "Ninguna cantidad de millas puede venir jamás entre corazones. No amount of miles can ever separate hearts. We salute you, my brothers, my sisters."
The Avatar Gang were touched by the Knights' salute, and bowed deeply back. The Knights rose, and then finally, the separation began. Aang and his group climbed back onto Appa, and after a quick wave, took off, the main Army trailing behind them. The Knights and their respective partners took off into the air, the Earth Kingdom troops riding the ground behind them. And so, the Army of The Avatar spread out, ready to gather those that would allow it to finally bring down the Fire Nation.