Chap. 39

The Invasion

The Fire Nation capital was a city shrouded in mystery. It was called Agni Hai Di, which meant 'city of brightest flame.' It was situated at the very center of the main isle of the Fire Nation, directly at that isle's opening to the sea. No one outside of the country had laid eyes upon it in a century. But at the same time, there were few within the Fire Nation who had seen it as well. At first glance, this made little sense, as the decision to place the city there looked to have been based on tourism, due to it's fine view of the seashore. But this was not the case. For long ago, in more peaceful times, the Earth King, in a show of friendship with the Fire Lord, had sent his finest Earthbenders to Agni Hai Di, to grant it protection from seafaring pirates that threatened it's people. To do so, they used their skills to draw out the nearby cliffs, so that they formed a wide ring in the middle of the ocean, protecting the city from seafaring invaders. Only one small opening existed in the cliff, which allowed merchant vessels to deliver supplies to the city. Though the threat of the pirates soon vanished, the Fire Lord had kept the wall, to protect his city from other invaders.

Years later, Fire Lord Sozin continued his ancestor's plan. Over the course of twenty years, he built a huge wall around the land-based end of the capital, cutting it off at both ends. Many compared it to Ba Sing Se, but the two cities could not have been further apart. Ba Sing Se remained as it had always been- a sanctuary for the downtrodden. Agni Hai Di became a city of the wealthy and powerful, where only the best of the Fire Nation could ever hope to live. The only concession was a section of the city in which the slaves of those 'fortunate' families could live in squalor. The Fire Lord ruled most heavily here, and therefore, none dared to speak against him. After all, they had nowhere to go, for none left the city unless it was on business for the Fire Lord himself. Nor did anyone enter without such invitation. Therefore, as time passed, Agni Hai Di became a city both hated and feared by the common folk of the Fire Nation. Hated, because of those who inhabited it, and feared, because those who entered came to see Ozai, and few left such meeting unscarred.

That fact was evident in the mind of one Fire General named Huza, as he struggled under the grip of the Fire Lord. He, along with rest of the generals situated in the western Earth Kingdom, had sent many requests to the Fire Lord, asking for more supplies and men to combat the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Lord had sent nothing back, save demands that the Army 'bring him victory.' Angered at their leader's insensitivity, Huza had sent a letter that said that if the Fire Lord did not send them aid, he would have to leave his safe throne and fight the Earthbenders himself, because no Firebender would have the strength to go on. After that, things happened very quickly, and Huza was given a reply at last.

"You dare to insult your lord?" Ozai hissed, as he held Huza up by his throat.

"My… my lord… I only…. Wanted… to…" Huza gasped.

"You questioned my fighting skill, did you not Huza?" Ozai continued. "You think that because I sit on my throne, I have forgotten how to do battle? I am Fire Lord. I need not do battle, only gather those who would battle for me and collect the spoils that are rightfully mine."

"But I will let you on a secret Huza." Ozai whispered, drawing Huza close.

"I do get my hands dirty. But only… when I really….really…..want to."

Huza gasped once more, then began to scream, as Ozai's hand began to grow hot. The heat dug into his skin, burning him instantly, then digging deeper and deeper into his neck. There were harsh, choking sounds as Huza's throat began to burn. He couldn't breathe; the air became hot and arid in his throat. He struggled and writhed, as the other generals watched in silent horror. Finally, Ozai released his grip, and Huza fell to the floor. The flesh of his neck had been burned away; only the exposed spinal cord kept his head attached to his body.

"Do the rest of you have any complaints?" Ozai asked calmly, turning to face the other generals.

There was a vast succession of shaking heads, and Ozai smiled. "Now, return to your posts. And bring me the victory that I have waited for."

The generals bowed nervously, the quickly exited the room. As the last one left and shut the doors, Ozai moved to call for a servant to dispose of the body of Huza. But before he could, there was a rumble, and the ground below his feet began to shake. Ozai stumbled, but quickly regained his balance. At first, he thought the island's volcano had begun to erupt again, but quickly dismissed the thought. The volcano erupted in three-month cycles, and only a month had passed since the last eruption. This was something else. Struggling to keep his balance, Ozai moved to the window to see if he could find this source of this anomaly. But when he looked outside, he saw something that shocked even the great Fire Lord Ozai.

It had started beyond the cliffs. The armada had arrived just as Ozai had begun tormenting Huza. The opening of the cliff was too small for any of the ships to pass through, and too high for the sky bison to climb over. But they had anticipated this, thanks to the rebel members of the Royal Family. And they had a plan. Slowly, the Earth Kingdom ships had moved into place, forming a row of five ships facing the cliffs. On the deck of each ship stood twenty Earthbenders, with the very strongest in the center, led by Tierra and Toph. As they looked upon the cliffs, they readied themselves, then they raised their arms and put their power to the test. Each bender reached forth and by sheer force of will, grabbed the cliff walls, and forced their will upon them. As they had sweated and strained under the task, they could nevertheless feel the results, and then, see them. With a series of rumbles and shakes, the cliffs began to move apart, the opening between them growing wider and wider.

As they worked, the Waterbenders and Firebenders moved into position behind the ships. As the whole grew, they organized themselves into an identical pattern, with the Waterbenders in front and the Firebenders behind. They all watched as the cliffs widened and widened. When the opening was finally large enough, the Waterbenders sprang into action, led by Agua and Katara. The benders on each ship quickly manipulated the water behind them and the Fire Nation ships, pushing it forward. The calm ocean became a river, shooting the various ships through the opening at rapid speeds. As they moved through, the Airbenders flew their bison in as well, keeping to the sides of the cliffs. Working with the Firebenders, they destroyed the pieces of falling rock that endangered their fellows. The ships and bison sped through the cliffs, remaining unharmed, until they left the cliffs behind and emerged into the large body of water that separated the cliffs and Agni Hai Di.

On the docks of the city, the people had already begun to gather. After all, this was a sight they had not expected to see in their lifetime- Fire Nation ships sailing side by side with Water and Earth Nation ships. It was a sight that both amazed and unnerved them. The patrolmen on the beach quickly began to push the townspeople back into the town, their gruff, authoritarian voice hiding the fear they felt in their own hearts. Still, the townspeople were quick to leave. Perhaps they realized deep in their minds, that a sight such as this would have a backlash of unknown proportions, and that it is always best to avoid such things. As the ships landed on the coast, the patrolmen all watched as they emptied of passengers. One patrolman, perhaps hoping to rally his fellows, brandished his spear at a masked figure dressed in blue who walked with the Waterbenders.

"By the authority of Fire Lord Ozai, halt!" he called out.

The figure stopped, as did the rest of the group, but that did not stop them from emptying off the ships. As the other patrolmen moved to stand by the officer, they could help but marvel at the amount of soldiers that were coming out of the ships.

"Identify yourself, now!" the patrolman demanded. But the only response he got was for the figure was a glance at the spear, and a shake of his head.

"I said identify yourself, now!"

"Leave it solider." Another voice said. The patrolman turned, then gasped to see…

"Prince Zuko?"

"The same." The prince replied, as he walked over to the patrolman, dressed in his new armor.

"Y-You… you can't be here. By your father's decree…."

"My father's decree no longer matters. I am home. And I plan to stay a long, long time."

"I will not allow that. Your father is Fire Lord, and you cannot change that."

"True. But I've brought those who can with me." Zuko said, gesturing out to the Army spread before him. But all this got was laughter from the patrolmen.

"If you were looking for an invasion Prince, you wasted your time. The capital is well prepared against a rag-tag bunch of foreign benders such as this." Said one solider, sauntering up to the boy prince.

But Zuko only smiled and said, "I don't think so. You see, I am part of an Army that rivals the Fire Army. I come not as a broken, foolish child, but as a man ready to return his country to the way of honor. And most importantly, I come with my friends, and my family."

"Family?" the patrolman sneered. But that sneer faltered a second later, when he saw Azula and Iroh walk up and stand by Zuko. It vanished completely when Katara, Jin, and Sokka moved up as well.

"Yes patrolman. My family." Zuko said. "As for my friends….."

At that, the blue figure undid his mask, revealing the face of Agua. The patrolmen both gasped, and then saw more animal faces appear in the crowd.

"I may not be Fire Lord, but I am the prince." Zuko said. "My banishment did not change that. And you are still my people. So I am offering you a choice. Let us pass, or else I will leave you to something far worse then this."

"And what's that?" the second patrolman asked, trying to hold onto his arrogance.

"Me." A voice said from above. The patrolmen both moved back, as Aang dropped from the sky and landed on the ground. As he rose up, both men gasped at the sight of the mythical Avatar. But then, they made the mistake of looking up. It was then they saw the sky-bisons whirling around, saw the ghosts of the pasts circling above them. What happened next, well it's safe to say that it was the only thing they could of done. Both patrolmen let out a scream of fear and rage, and then grabbing their weapons, they charged the lead ghost and the former prince that had brought them here, as their fellows followed suit.

But for all their bravado, the patrolmen's assault lasted only a moment. Within seconds, the Earthbenders sent a shockwave through the ground that blasted the soldier off their feet. They quickly got back up, trying to find a battleplan. But before they could regroup, they found themselves surrounded by a huge ring of fire, as Jhee and Jeong-Jeong nodded, their fingers still smoldering.

Zuko nodded and said, "I'm sorry you made that choice. But I've learned that you don't have to fear the past or the future."

"Maybe we don't, but you will." The second guard said from inside the fire. Before anyone could react, he had drawn a horn from his belt and blown two loud, low blast. As the Army stood, they could hear the blow echo from inside the capital.

"What is that?" Aang asked.

"The warning signal. It's blown whenever something gets into the city that shouldn't." Azula answered. "Two notes mean it's an attack on the Fire Lord. And that means this is going to get even harder.

"Then we need to get moving." Zuko said. Gesturing to the rest of the Army, he pointed towards the palace that stretched out in the distance, and gave his first royal command since returning to his kingdom- "CHARGE!!"