Chapter 14
"Is there no way you could make a little less noise?" Hakoda asked, frowning worriedly as he observed Toph metalbending another heavy iron gate, tearing it off from its hinges.
"I don't know if you've noticed this about metalbending… and earthbending in general, Hakoda," Toph shrugged in response. "It's not exactly subtle."
"Duly noted," Hakoda smiled thinly. "I'm just worried about all the attention it could draw."
"That could be to the advantage of our friends, though," Suki said. "The more of Ozai's cronies we can lure away, the easier it will be for them to free themselves."
"Our young friend here makes a very compelling point, Hakoda," Iroh chuckled, having observed the exchange. "I swear, this is what happens when kids have been forced to grow up too quickly. Before you know it, they're making sounder decisions than we would, don't you agree?"
"I do agree," Hakoda nodded with a heavy sigh. "I regret that I couldn't let go of my hubris and didn't listen to my own kids as much as I should have."
"Well, there's always time to change that," Iroh gave him a meaningful stare, which made Hakoda wonder just how much the old man knew about what had happened between him and his children. As a member of the White Lotus Order, Pakku probably would have sent detailed reports of everything that had happened at the South Pole, and Hakoda doubted these reports would have been flattering to him. Iroh probably thought him a complete fool.
Still, there was no time to wonder about that as the group of five came to a fork in the tunnel ahead. Before they could start discussing which of the paths to choose, a group of Rough Rhinos appeared in the left hallway, charging towards them. Hakoda saw that it was Colonel Mongke himself leading the group, and he also recognized some of his top lieutenants in their ranks, men like Ogodei and Kahchi.
"Hakoda!" Mongke bellowed, focusing on him in particular. "You dare show your traitorous face? Count yourself fortunate that the Fire Lord has instructed me to merely deliver a warning. Leave this fortress immediately, or our hostages will be executed."
"I don't think we'll be going," Ty Lee shook her head. "I mean, if none of you report back to Ozai, he won't know to hurt our friends, am I right?"
"Flawless logic as ever, Ty Lee," Suki grinned, readying her fans.
"Don't be foolish!" Mongke warned. "Unless you turn around, your passage will stop here. Between my Rhinos and Zirin's Fire Warriors blocking the other passage, you shall not pass!"
The group of five exchanged quick stares, having glanced down the other passageway, which was completely unobstructed, a fact that Mongke didn't seem to be aware of. "I guess Zirin's Fire Warriors are late to the party?" Ty Lee mused quietly.
"An opportunity we should exploit," Hakoda nodded. "Iroh, why don't you and Toph push on ahead? I will help these two brave girls hold off Colonel Mongke. If you're up for it, girls?"
"I've been itching for a fight," Suki said, cracking her knuckles. "Bring it on!"
"Same here," Ty Lee nodded, looking very eager. "You won't believe the amount of aggression constant midnight nappy changing builds up in a person."
"Perfect," Hakoda rubbed his hands before readying his swords. "Iroh, Toph, go! We're about to get seriously rough with the Rhinos!"
"I'm almost glad you chose this path of foolishness, Hakoda," Mongke spoke threateningly. "Men! Take out these girlies and leave Hakoda to me! This is personal!" he yelled before unleashing a stream of firebending at Hakoda and the two girls, sending them scrambling.
As Mongke charged at Hakoda, Ty Lee and Suki had already recovered, ready to strike at his underlings. Still, as Mongke charged past Suki, the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors unleashed a lightning quick strike, hitting Mongke just below the left shoulder blade. The jet of flames he was about to unleash at Hakoda fizzled out harmlessly, after Suki had effectively chi-blocked the man.
Even if the Rough Rhinos outnumbered them seven to three, it didn't appear to count for much. Suki and Ty Lee were literally untouchable as they moved between the enemy ranks, Suki using her fans to cut through the enemies like knife cutting through soft butter. Ty Lee remained loyal to her perfectly honed unarmed combat techniques, and in short order, both Ogodei and Kahchi were rolling on the floor, wriggling around like worms after Ty Lee's chi-blocking had effectively taken them both out of the fight.
This left Hakoda facing Mongke in a deadly dance of swords, after the colonel's firebending had been disabled by Suki. Mongke was still a formidable opponent and Hakoda was on the backfoot for most of the fight. Still, Suki's chi-blocking had affected more than Mongke's bending ability, and his entire left side appeared stiff with the colonel favoring swings from the right. Hakoda needed less than a minute to observe and find his opponent's weak points. When Mongke came at him again, Hakoda was more than ready to counter, parry and thrusting, burying his swords in Mongke's left side.
"Well, that's taken care of," Hakoda said, feeling satisfied. "Well fought, girls. We should rush to follow Iroh and Toph now."
"Umm…" Ty Lee hesitated, her eyes widening for some reason as she stared at him.
"Uh, Hakoda, do you know that there's a dagger buried between your ribs?" Suki asked. Hakoda blinked, glancing down at his right side. Indeed, the pommel of a sharp dagger was sticking out from between his ribs, Mongke having managed to bury it in his side just as he was going down himself. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, Hakoda hadn't even noticed the stab wound, but now he let out a guttural cry as searing pain shot through his body. At his feet, Colonel Mongke let out one last hacking cough before starting to laugh and then quickly expiring in a pool of blood. Still, it seemed as if the colonel might have succeeded in getting the last laugh, as Hakoda doubled over in pain and collapsed on the floor next to Mongke, accompanied by the shocked gasps of Suki and Ty Lee.
Ever so slowly, but the flow of blocked chi was returning to Azula and she was almost ready to bend again. A brief exchange of stares with Katara told Azula that her wife was similarly waiting for an opportunity to dispose of her captor. It was Liang's extremely firm grip on Zuko that presented the greatest problem. Azula did not doubt the admiral's readiness to kill her brother for a moment, and she was not about to do something crazy to endanger Zuko's life. And Azula was certain that she could also rely on Katara to play things safe in this situation. What they wanted right now was a distraction.
"Our reinforcements have been gone for too long, my Lord," Hironomu spoke up after a bout of impatient waiting, Ozai nervously tapping his fingers against the armrest of his seat.
"Well, if these intruders prove unreasonable and don't turn back, we will start executing our prisoners," Ozai said, looking from Zuko to Katara and then over at Sokka. "I believe the Water Tribe boy is the least useful out of these three. Be ready to execute him on my command, June."
"Of course, my Lord," June replied, sounding obedient, but Azula was by now certain that June was dead set on switching sides. Azula really hoped she was not wrong about that, or else she would have to console her wife during the funeral of her brother.
"They are returning now, my Lord," one of the remaining Rough Rhinos spoke up, referring to the sound of approaching footsteps. Much to Azula's delight, the two arrivals were none other than her uncle Iroh, together with Toph. It was the first time that Azula could remember when she was actually glad to see her uncle showing up.
"Iroh! Stand down! No sudden movements, or Zuko dies!" Ozai yelled, red in the face with uncontrolled anger. The threat was futile, however, because the arrival of Iroh and Toph had provided the distraction that Azula had been hoping for. Even the ever-unflappable Liang had allowed his concentration to slip as he turned to glance at these new arrivals. This brief moment was all that June needed to unleash a throwing dagger that struck Liang directly in the side of his neck. The admiral staggered and Zuko used the moment to free himself, earning himself a nasty cut that pierced the skin, but did not appear to be deep enough to cause significant damage. Zuko's bending was apparently taking a longer time to come back, because he decided to stick with his Dao swords to quickly and effectively run Liang through.
As Zuko was freeing himself from Liang's attentions, Katara did the same with Vachir. Using water from a pitcher on the nearby table, in one smooth motion Katara encased the sword at her throat into a dull block of ice. Vachir's attempt to sever Katara's head from her shoulders ended in him running a harmless lump of ice across the skin of Katara's neck. Katara's next move was to send Vachir flying, nailing him to the wall of the room with shards of ice.
Ozai screamed in frustration as he watched his precious hostages freeing themselves in a matter of moments. The remaining Fire Warriors and Rough Rhinos seemed to be frozen, slow to react, failing to support the former Fire Lord as he appeared ready to unleash fire and lightning on his enemies. Azula realized that she had to disable her father quickly, and a powerful jet of blue flame leapt from her fingertips to strike Ozai before he was ready to defend himself. Unfortunately, Azula's flow of chi still wasn't functioning properly, and the flow of fire was neither strong nor precise, merely singing her father's robes.
Ozai grinned wickedly as Azula saw lightning gathering at his fingertips. Azula braced herself, trying to recall the technique to redirect lighting that Zuko had once showed her, but it wasn't something she had practiced recently, so Azula was uncertain if the form she was thinking of would be effective in repelling the attack. It was only when her father was already about to bend lightning that Azula suddenly realized that she wasn't the intended target of his attack. Grinning maniacally, Ozai had turned on the unsuspecting Katara, ready to incinerate her on the spot in a way that was so reminiscent of the traumatic Agni Kai Azula had fought with Zuko seven years ago. She had been ready to strike Katara much the same way Ozai was about to do now. Azula didn't think she could both reach Katara in time and redirect the lightning, but Azula was ready to do the same as Zuko had done for Katara all those years ago. She immediately moved to interpose her body in front of Katara, ready to absorb the deadly discharge of lightning.
Except that the searing pain of being struck with deadly lightning never came, because Azula hadn't been the only one on the move. Despite looking like a glob of whale blubber with a heart condition, Iroh moved with surprising speed, somehow defying gravity and launching himself in the air just as Ozai struck. Azula could scarcely believe her eyes as she watched her father's lightning being redirected back at him, sending him into convulsive fits. When Ozai's body eventually stopped shaking, he fell backwards and went perfectly still, with a bit of foam dribbling from the corner of his mouth and blood trickling from his nose.
The remaining Fire Warriors and Rough Rhinos immediately lost their nerve, turning around to flee. Unfortunately for them, Toph had not come all this way to miss out on the action, and so only one or two of them managed to escape the hall, with the rest of them becoming intimately familiar with the joys of Toph's earth and metalbending, an introduction that was sure to involve at least a few fatalities and plenty of broken limbs. The High Sage was among those who were trying to flee, and Zuko appeared willing to stay his hand and allow the octogenarian to escape. "Just let the old fool leave, he's completely harmless without his allies," Zuko called out when June and Toph still looked ready to dispose of the limping High Sage.
"Is that it?" Sokka asked once the fighting had died down. Despite all the frantic action taking place in the hall, Azula was sure it all hadn't taken more than a couple of minutes.
"Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed, the first to rush to Iroh's side. "Katara, quickly!" he cried, kneeling next to the old man. Katara immediately rushed to help, with Azula, Sokka and Toph following. June remained a few paces behind, eyeing the exit of the hall, but wisely deciding against fleeing, probably because she had just witnessed what Toph had done to most of those who had tried to escape.
"He's alive," Katara said, sounding relieved as she kneeled next to Zuko. "These are some bad burns, but I don't believe they're life threatening," she spoke, following a cursory examination of Azula's uncle, Iroh groaning in pain. It was clear that the redirection of lightning had not been carried out perfectly, and Iroh had absorbed a part of the blow.
Azula quickly realized that right now she couldn't deal with processing the idea that Iroh had just saved her and Katara's lives, risking his own in the process. She would deal with it later, once the situation had been settled. Leaving Iroh in Katara's capable hands, Azula walked over to where her father had collapsed, slumped back on the throne of his new empire that had barely sprouted a bud. Sickening stench of burning flesh was wafting from her father's smoldering robes, and the look etched on his face at the time of his quick and merciful death was one that expressed both intense pain and shocked surprise. Azula was taken aback by how little she felt staring at the crumpled form of the man who had dominated her world as she was growing up and then was absent from it for seven long years, only to attempt this ill-fated comeback. Azula felt as if these long years of separation had been enough to break the shackles that had once bound her will to that of her father's, and this one brief encounter had done nothing to change it.
"What a humiliating look," Zuko said, coming up to her. He seemed to have calmed down about their uncle's condition, accepting that Katara had everything under control. "It's weird, though. I remember how uncle told me just before the end of the war how he was not supposed to fight his own brother, and yet he ended up doing exactly that, only seven years later. Destiny is a funny thing, indeed. Just not the way uncle himself thought."
"Oh, I've heard that story from Katara," Azula scoffed. "Iroh fed you that line just before sending you to fight me in that Agni Kai, didn't he? I guess it's alright for a brother to fight a sister, though."
"Don't be like that," Zuko sighed. "You know uncle cares about you, or else he wouldn't have risked his life like that."
"I'm pretty sure he was only doing that because father was aiming his lightning at Katara," Azula snapped. "You both love to throw yourself in the path of lightning for my wife."
"All three of us love to do that, Azula," Zuko laughed. "Don't act like we all didn't see that you were ready to take that lightning bolt for Katara."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Azula huffed.
"I saw that and we're definitely having a conversation about your recklessness later," Katara replied, never breaking her focus from healing Iroh.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful," Azula sighed. Zuko snickered next to her, earning himself a glare. "Shouldn't you be looking for your wife or something? What if she's still stuck fighting our father's lackeys and needs help?"
"Damn it, you could be right!" Zuko exclaimed, immediately taking down the same hallway Ozai had sent his forces to confront the Iroh led invaders.
"Can you explain to me why Zuko just took off all on his own instead of taking someone with him for backup?" Katara asked, continuing with her waterbending healing and slowly patching up Iroh's burns. "Was there any reason not to take Sokka or Toph with him, or even June, who suddenly appears to be on our side?"
"Because we're talking about Zuko here," Azula grumbled. "Unless you haven't noticed this about him, thinking is not high on our Fire Lord's list of priorities."
Zuko ran like a wind down the circling hallways of the Pohuai Stronghold. This was really bringing back the memories of his previous visit to the fortress, seven years ago, using the disguise of the Blue Spirit to extract the Avatar from Zhao's clutches. Zuko had no idea how he hadn't managed to become completely lost inside the fortress on that day, because right now he had no idea where he was going, blindly hoping to pick up on some noise, perhaps sounds of fighting that would lead him towards Ty Lee and their remaining friends.
It was strange to make his way through the vast fortress complex when it was so understaffed, making it appear abandoned. His father had gathered a few competent people around him, but it was still a puny force, not enough to garrison even a single fortress. Perhaps with time more recruits would have flocked to Ozai's banner, but as far as Zuko was convinced, his father was operating on a deeply flawed presumption that he still somehow enjoyed widespread support in the Fire Nation, ready and eager to welcome him back.
All these musings were quickly cast aside when Zuko turned a corner and came upon a scene of what appeared to have been a vicious battle. It looked like Ty Lee, Suki and Hakoda had absolutely annihilated those pesky Fire Warriors, most of them lying unmoving on the ground. Zuko was forced to revise his opinion of what had happened, however, when he checked the bodies of the fallen Fire Warriors, immediately realizing that they were riddled by throwing daggers of very unique and familiar shape, belonging to his old flame, Mai.
"Mai!" Zuko exclaimed, suddenly spotting his ex-girlfriend nearby. She was lying with her back on the ground, at peace, with unseeing eyes staring at the ceiling. "Oh, Mai…" Zuko whispered, kneeling next to the young woman who had strayed too far from the path of honor. "None of this had to happen, if you had only reached out to us and expressed a desire to repent," the young Fire Lord lamented, tearing up as he reached out to close Mai's eyes. "I hope at least now you will know peace you didn't know in life."
Mai opened her eyes and reared her head, glaring at Zuko. "Why the fuck are you always so dramatic, Zuko?" she sighed at the Fire Lord, as Zuko gasped in shock. "Oh, by the way, I'm not dead. But I will surely bleed to death if you continue to sit around monologuing, instead of bringing me to a healer!"
"Mai! You're alive and well!" Zuko exclaimed joyfully. Mai continued to glare at him. "Okay, you're not well, point taken," Zuko coughed uncomfortably. "But I promise to make sure that you'll get the healing you need. Is it safe to move you?"
"Yes, I think so, but why-" Mai gasped and sputtered when Zuko quickly picked her up in his arms. "Oh no, you don't get to dump me several times and then still carry me around in bridal style!" Mai protested.
"Mai? Shut up, please," Zuko said, starting on his path through the winding corridors leading back to Katara and the others. Even if he had set out to find and help his wife, he couldn't abandon Mai to the fate of bleeding out from her wounds. Zuko knew that Ty Lee wouldn't want it either. He knew that deep down his wife was very hopeful that one day Mai would make her way back into their circle of friends, and perhaps if Mai survived her injuries, that day would now be just a little bit closer.
"Where was this assertiveness when we were still dating, Zuko?" Mai smirked. "Maybe then I wouldn't have dumped you."
"I thought the narrative was that I dumped you," Zuko replied, blushing lightly. "Several times, actually."
"Well, the narrative changes depending on what's convenient to me at the time," Mai said with a straight face.
Zuko burst into disbelieving laughter at that comment. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, Mai, but… I've missed you," he said earnestly.
"I guess I'm going back to the Fire Nation after this," Mai said. "In chains, presumably."
"Well," Zuko replied thoughtfully. "I think that will be a matter of discussion, indeed."
Zirin limped through the hallways of the Pohuai Stronghold, clutching her side where Mai's throwing dagger had left its thankfully non-lethal mark. She had managed to get Mai back for her treachery after she had unexpectedly turned on the Fire Warriors, but Zirin wasn't sure if the stab she had delivered to the traitorous assassin had been fatal, and she hadn't felt compelled to stay and find out. Zirin was savvy enough to realize that everything was falling apart around her and it was time to abandon her delusions of becoming the favorite concubine of Fire Lord Ozai, and perhaps even the next Fire Lady. Instead, it was time to get out with her life intact.
Zirin had nearly reached one of the exits into the inner courtyard of the complex. Once out there, she would have to move quickly and stealthily. She had no idea what kind of forces the Avatar had brought with him, but it seemed safe to assume that the fortress was surrounded. Zirin stood still for a moment, focusing on blocking the pain of her injury and readying herself for the swift dash to safety once she was outside. She was still preparing herself when she saw someone limping towards her, gesticulating wildly.
"You there, girl! Yes, you!" it was the old Fire Sage, Hironomu, who for some reason had not remained with his master. It led Zirin to assume that the confrontation with the invaders had not gone well for Ozai, and that merely reinforced her decision to cut her losses and run. "You need to get me out of here!" Hironomu insisted. He was clutching a heavy tome against his chest, like it was his most treasured possession.
"I do?" Zirin wondered. With Ozai out of the picture, the whole chain of command was now meaningless. The High Sage was in no position to order her around. And her chances of escaping while letting this as good as dead weight slowing her down became much slimmer. "So, you want out, High Sage?" Zirin asked with a dangerous glint to her eyes, a warning sign that Hironomu completely misread.
"Yes, fool girl! Ozai and Liang are both dead, of course I want out!" the High Sage screeched.
"Very well," Zirin bowed to the old man. "Then by your request, I grant you release," she smiled. A moment later, the High Sage let out a weak grunt as Zirin's katana impaled his side. He slid off the sword almost instantly, leaving the blade dripping with dark blood.
Zirin merely nodded at the corpse, turning to leave, but then she hesitated, staring at the tome Hironomu was clutching against his chest even in his death. Zirin did not particularly care for politics, but she had overheard Hironomu ranting to Ozai about what this Order of the Red Lotus was supposed to stand for. Some of the things they had discussed made a lot of sense to Zirin. It just didn't make sense that one person as powerful as the Avatar held such influence over the rest of the world. What if one day Aang or the Avatar that succeeded him would choose to use their power for evil and selfish goals? Who would be there to stop them? And who would be there to counter-scheme against these old farts of the White Lotus Order?
Zirin bent down and pried the tome from the High Sage's weakening grip, sliding it into a satchel to bring it along with her as she made her escape. Even if the High Sage had bet on the wrong ostrich horse, perhaps his ideas were worth preserving. Perhaps these ideas would still find ears willing to hear them, and the Order of the Red Lotus was destined to be reborn.
Hours later, a procession of mongoose lizard mounts and a shirshu was slowly making its way back towards the Republic City. Suki and Sokka led the way atop of the first lizard, followed by the shirshu carrying June and Toph. Since June had wisely decided not to attempt an escape, they were leaving her unbound. Katara suspected that the main reason for June's unwillingness to flee, however, was her concern for Mai's health. Zuko and Ty Lee rode behind Nyla, June's shirshu, and finally Azula and Katara brought up the rear. Katara felt absolutely exhausted from having had to heal all Iroh, Mai and finally her own father, as they all had sustained very serious injuries. Fortunately, none of them were in a critical condition and Aang and On Ji on Appa's back would soon deliver Iroh, Mai and Hakoda in the hands of the capable Republic City healers. Obviously, it didn't mean that Katara was not worried out of her mind for her father, even if she knew that he would be fine.
"So," Zuko spoke up as the procession slowly neared the outskirts of Republic City. "I almost can't believe we took care of that so swiftly."
"Well, it's only because I had to push and prod you all the way," Azula said, a little haughtily. Katara was too tired to tell her wife off for being unnecessarily arrogant. Also, she couldn't help but feel that Azula had a point. "Without me leading the effort, you all would have dragged your feet and our father would have had ample time to build up his forces and then conquer Republic City as the first step in his plan of world domination."
"Maybe so," Zuko admitted, sounding unwilling to argue. "But instead, we ended up burying our father in an unmarked grave behind an old and abandoned Fire Army outpost."
"So, we did," Azula shrugged, her reaction too glib to fool Katara. "If you feel like it's going to give you issues, I know this old woman in Agna Qel'a who could help."
"Don't pretend like it doesn't bother you at least on some level," Katara spoke up quietly.
"Well, of course, it does," Azula replied, just as quietly. "But that's for the two of us to discuss behind closed doors, later. And you know why it had to be done, right?"
"Oh, I understand the rationale," Katara nodded. Azula had explained the motivation perfectly. Giving Ozai a public funeral carried the risks of turning him into a martyr in the eyes of the remaining Fire Nation supremacists. Ozai did not deserve people going on pilgrimages to visit the site of his burial. He deserved only to fade into shameful obscurity.
"You should be happier that we managed to deal with this issue so swiftly," Azula remarked a while later.
"Oh, once it sinks in that it's truly over, I will be very happy," Katara smiled. "Right now, I'm just exhausted."
"Just a few more miles to the city and then you can rest," Azula replied with rare softness to her voice. "I'll tell the staff to make that minty tea you love, and then we'll just lay around for the rest of the day and cuddle."
"I have the most thoughtful wife," Katara whispered, tightening her hold around Azula's waist from behind and lowering her head against her wife's shoulder. "What did I do to deserve this?" she asked, fighting off a tired yawn.
"I'm the one who's supposed to be asking that question," Azula said.
"Well, you're wrong," Katara insisted. "I'm definitely the lucky one here." Azula didn't reply to that, but Katara thought that she could hear her wife trying to stifle a sob. "Are you crying, Zula?" she asked softly.
"What? Of course not, that's ridiculous," Azula denied quickly. "I was just thinking about how much I suddenly want to go home."
"Soon," Katara smiled in reply. She couldn't remember at which point she had started to think of the Fire Nation as her home, but now it came naturally to her. "We'll go home very soon, love."