Four Elements
More people than I though seem to be enjoying my story, I believe that will be enough to continue my story even more.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or any of the characters, if I did I wouldn't be broke.
And I'm jumping to the battle of Zuko and Azula vs Aang and Katara.
Chapter 2: Secret Plans
It was the final battle for Ba Sing Se and it appeared as though the forces of Zuko and Azula were evenly matched against Aang and Katara.
Just then the Dai Li appeared and all hope for Aang and Katara seemed lost.
Azula smirked as the battle turned to her favor.
Zuko smirked for what seems to have been the same reason.
Katara prepared herself for facing multiple enemies.
Aang just muttered, "I'm sorry Katara." He then surrounded himself in the crystal substance beneath the city.
Just then Usui appeared from out of the ground and brought everyone but Aang's attention to himself. He snapped his fingers and pointed to Azula.
Azula was curious as to why this newcomer to the battle did what he did but was snapped out of her thoughts when she was surrounded to the neck by the crystals. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded as the Dai Li surrounded her should she find a way to break out of her containment.
Just then Aang broke out of his in the almost perfect Avatar state.
Usui responded by jumping up to Aang's height, which amazed everyone but the Dai Li and Aang, who was still in deep concentration, he then raised his fist and punched Aang right out of his concentration and across the chamber, where he crashed into one of the walls.
"Aang!" Katara shouted as she rushed over to see if he was alright.
"He'll be fine," Usui called out, "Roku could take a beating ten times worse than that. But if you want to be sure," he then snapped his finger again and some of the Dai Li ran over and started bending all the rumble that had fallen due to the crash, off of Aang.
When Katara saw him she bent some water and splashed it onto him to bring him back to consciousness.
It did the trick.
"Woah," was Aang's first word as he sat up and started holding his throbbing skull. "What hit me?"
"I believe it would be correct to ask who hit you," Usui stated as he was walking over.
Zuko kept watch over Azula along with the rest of the Dai Li.
"That who was me," Usui stated, looking Aang in the eye. Usui had a very serious look on his face, "Aren't you the desperate and daring one, attempting to go into a complete Avatar state. It was a good thing I stopped it, had it been anyone else, your instinctual defenses would have been too quick for them."
"Why did you stop me!?" Aang half shouted but was partially glad that he was stopped.
"I'm sure you are aware of, first, the price and, second, the risk of going into the Avatar state," Usui replied. "There was no need to let desperation get the better of you."
"We were vastly outnumbered, the Dai Li, Zuko and Azula," Aang stated not breaking eye-contact with Usui. It was then that he noticed that no one was attacking yet he was surrounded by Dai Li soldiers and he was well within striking distance of Zuko. "Why aren't we being attacked?"
"This is how you stall her?" Usui called out, turning his head in Zuko's direction. "Although a good idea, I don't think risking your comrad's trust is the best method," he finished with a smirk that, for some reason, reminded Aang and Katara of Toph.
"STALL!!!?" shouted an angry Azula at her brother. "YOU WERE FIGHTING ALONGSIDE ME TO KEEP ME HERE!!!?"
"You would have ran if I had shown my true alliance," Zuko responded simply. "You never fight a battle unless you believe that you can win. As the saying goes You must deceive your friends before you can deceive your enemies."
"He's right," Usui called out while walking in he siblings' direction. "You never had a chance in this city, the Dai Li aren't loyal to you. They weren't even loyal to Long Feng, they only followed either of your orders because it was the command of the one who gave them hope, purpose and who taught them true values among other things, and they were only given those orders so that you would be exposed as the princess of the Fire Nation instead of the Kiyoshi Warriors you and your associates were posing as."
It was then that the rest of the group entered the chamber.
Sokka was confused that there was no battle going on considering the Dai Li were everywhere, "Did I miss something? Because I thought the Dai Li were against us." He then spotted Zuko standing with no form of bonds restraining him and Azula imprisoned up to her neck in crystals, "I think I missed more than I thought, because, last I checked, the Dai Li were under Azula's command. And why is Zuko here?"
"Destiny is inescapable," Usui stated as he turned towards them. "All of you being in the capital city of Ba Sing Se is not a coincidence. I have lived long enough to know that there is no such thing as coincidence."
"Is that you Usui?" the Earth King asked, stepping forward and readjusting his glases to get a better look.
Usui bowed in respect, "It's been a while your highness, the last I saw you your father still had the position as king. I trust you've been keeping up with all of your studies."
"Actually, I have," the king responded. "They were some of the only things about me that the Dai Li kept from Long Feng."
"It was our pleasure, your majesty," one of the Dai Li spoke up.
"Are you saying that you knew Long Feng was a traitor?" Sokka asked slightly annoyed.
"Actually no," the Earth King responded. "I'm not the kind of person to arrest anyone without any form of evidence, especially for a high crime such as treason. I had suspicions about my former secretarian but I had nothing to follow up on. The king's word is law, that is not justice in my opinion or the opinion of my ancestors which is why the council of Ba Sing Se exists, so that the king's decisions, if no just reasons are found, can be overruled."
"It appears as though the Earth King is a great deal more intelligent than he lets on," a voice stated from behind everyone else.
"Ah, the former general and Dragon of the West, Iroh," the king stated. "I've been wanting to meet you for some time, ever since I had first heard of you being a threat to Ba Sing Se. You seem to be the kind of person who wants to enjoy life. Especially after you founded what is known as the finest tea shop in the city."
"You mean you knew about the war!?" Sokka exclaimed with even more annoyance.
"The Dai Li were founded by Avatar Kiyoshi," the king explained. "They only follow the Earth King, the Avatar and those that have gained the utmost trust of either one. They were obligated to keep me informed about serious events."
"They also follow the orders of others who haven't exactly reached the trust level if they are ordered to do so," Usui added.
"Speaking of which, whatever happened to the Kiyoshi Warriors?" Katara asked.
"They're just fine, I found them while they were fighting Azula a few days back," Usui answered. "Some of them had to lose their armor and clothing to make them easier to carry for the others."
"YOU!!!" Azula said with growing rage. With that rage she shot lightning to break out of her containment and went for Usui.
The Dai Li were about to act but Usui simply held his hand up as Azula sent a blue-flamed kick straight for Usui.
The flames died down as Usui held his hand out, caught the bottom of her foot and held her upside down. He then brought up a condensed piece of dirt and engulfed her hands and cuffed both them and her feet together to prevent similar acts in the future.
The scene was quite humorus given who was the one dangling from her foot.
Due to her immense frustration one key factor escaped her attention at the moment.
"I believe that is the second time you've been beaten by me," Usui stated informingly. He then smirked at her, "Third time's the charm as the saying goes." He snapped his fingers and the Dai Li assembled around him, "Take the princess and her two companions to the holding cells until she's had time to cool down, I have something I've been wanting to confirm for a few years now. Make sure that they are in separate cells." He then turned to the king when the Dai Li did as they were told, "I hope this meets your approval because she bound to figure me out on some levels."
The Earth King nodded.
Usui turned to Sokka and asked him, "You have a piece of paper with the next solar eclipse inscribed on it, do you not?"
"I do," Sokka responded.
"May I see it?" Usui asked politely.
"What for?" Sokka asked.
"Do you always have to be so suspicious of people you have recently met on some levels?"
"This war has taught me not to trust people too easily."
"Just give him the paper already," Toph said with obvious annoyance.
"Fine," Sokka gave in. He then sifted through his bag until he cam across what he was looking for. Sokka placed the paper into Usui's hand.
Usui looked at the back of the paper and saw what was written on it. He then turned to Zuko. He handed him the paper and asked, "Do you recognize this date?"
After Zuko saw the date, he looked as if he was about to cry.
"I'll take that as a yes," Usui said to the teenage prince. "I suppose visual confirmation will have to allow you to be able to understand the other reason as to why this date is so significant."
"Why exactly did he have that look?" Sokka asked, clearly confused.
"Now is not the time to speak of such matters nor is this the place," Usui changed the subject. "Let us get ourselves back to the surface. I'm sure everyone here is exhausted from today's excitement."
And they did so.
When they reached the surface, Usui turned to Iroh, "I need to speak with the retired general if none of you mind."
"That's fine," the Earth King responded. "That reminds me, the generals of Ba Sing Se need to be released."
When the king, the Avatar group, and Zuko were gone Usui turned to Iroh, "I've no doubt that you've figured out who I am in my entirety."
"I've had my suspicions if you knew who Zuko truly is," Iroh responded. "Although you may have your reasons I am greatly curious as to why you are so secretive."
"Some things are best kept from the knowledge of those who need to know it the most in order for them to truly be ready to hear it," Usui answered informatively. "The fact is that if they knew of my true identity, there would be numerous attempts to sway me to assist in bringing down the Fire Nation rather than simply taking the precautions I'm taking now and keeping it so that this war will end through knowledge of events rather than who has the biggest army or the most skilled soldier. If my suspicions are confirmed, then lives will no longer need to be sacrificed in a meaningless war."
"And what kind of suspicions would you have that you could end the war if they are confirmed?" Iroh asked, now completely interested in the answer.
"I cannot say until they are confirmed through my own form of visual aid," Usui answered with complete honesty. "The truth is that the moment I have complete confirmation of my suspicions is the moment my final plans of action begin and it is then will every bit knowledge of myself and themselves will become their own and anyone that carries their complete trust."
"Then I pray that all goes well," Iroh stated.
"So do I," Usui replied.
They headed into the palace after all that could be said has been said.
End of Chapter
To tell you the truth, this is the longest chapter I've been able to come up with in a while. I just hope the readers enjoy it. Anyway Read and Review. And if you read carefully you'll find out a serious spoiler for future chapters.
For those who are fans of any of my other stories, I'm having some serious writer's block so I'd like people to be patient until I can get details out, which is not one of my strong points when it comes to storylines.
I'm also acting as a Beta Reader/Editor for Norma Lizeth's story 'The Muse of Air Waves' so that does take some of my free time.