Chapter 4: Assault on the Fort
When we got to the mountains we had Toph search for the Fort, she found it almost immediately. According to Toph the Fort was in an old mine but it also connected to some caves, which the soldiers inside seemed to be used as living quarters. She then used her Earthbending to make a map of the Fort. The first thing we had to do was locate the Captain's quarters and rescue the girl. This was difficult to find since there were three rooms that were guarded, all at various places in the Fort. I decided to start with the one nearest to the entrance facing the river, since this was the entrance that … uh … wait did he ever tell us his name? Uh, the entrance the … mapper used to enter the Fort.
Since I was in charge of planning the attack I decided against a direct attack because the area leading to the river entrance was too open, so we'd be easy to spot and easier targets for Firebenders to hit. My plan involved Toph blocking off the entrances surrounding the Captain's quarters and trapping the guards using Earthbending, then she'd create a tunnel into the Fort. This would allow us to get in and out with minimal resistance. Though Toph wanted to fight more I reminded her that since we were rescuing a girl who might be injured, it would be better if there weren't fireballs flying all over the place. She seemed upset about this but agreed.
The plan began well, Toph was able to block out everyone but the guard, then she trapped him using her Earthbending. Toph was also able to get us in easily by Earthbending us a tunnel. When we got to the room outside the Captain's Quarters Suki tried to open the door, while I went to talk to the trapped guard.
"Where's the Captain," I asked.
"I don't know, he left this morning with most of the Runners," he replied, obviously afraid and confused about what was happening.
"Hey Sokka, come look at this," Suki said, from inside the Captain's quarters (guess it wasn't locked).
"Okay, I'll be there in a sec," I replied, I then turned to Toph, "Stay her and make sure no one gets in."
"No problem," Toph replied.
I then entered the Captain's quarters; Suki was inside holding a pot, though I couldn't see where Ty Lee was.
"What did you want me to see," I asked Suki.
"This," she replied, removing the lid from the pot and pushing it towards me. It was full of dark blue seeds, from their shape it was obvious what they were.
"These are poppy seeds," I exclaimed, "How many pots are there?"
"There's a cupboard full of them," Suki replied. We'd have to destroy them, however this wouldn't be easy since breaking the jars and stamping on the poppy seeds wouldn't work. But first we had another matter to take care of.
"Have you found the girl?"
"Not yet, the jars were behind the first door I opened and Ty Lee is in the Captain's room looking for something," Suki replied (so that's where Ty Lee was).
There were two doors left to choose from. I choose the one on the left and Suki choose the one on the right. When I opened the doors I saw lots of gold statutes and jewellery, along with some Earth Kingdom scrolls. I noticed some jewellery by the door that looked valuable and would be easy to carry. I decided to take it and show it to Lai as proof that we'd met with our "supplier". As I was picking these items up Suki called out.
"She's in here."
I went to the next room to see the girl. Ty Lee also came out of the Captains room and wanted to see the girl but the room wasn't big enough for three people, so she had to wait outside. I stood next to Suki and looked at the girl. She was on her side, lying on a bed, wearing a gown, and partially covered by a blanket. Her vacant eyes, huge grin, and skeletal figure reminded me of the opium addicts we'd seen on our last mission. They'd also all been thin, since they no longer cared about eating, only Poppy Tea; however she was much thinner.
I noticed there was an empty cup by her bed. I picked it up and took a small taste of the cold liquid in it. The bitter taste made me spit it out but I knew what it was; Poppy Tea, and a strong brew. I turned to Suki and said.
"She's an opium addict."
"I know," Suki sadly replied (addicts always made her sad).
"Did she say anything to you?"
"No, she's high right now so all she does is giggle."
I looked down at the girl. She had pale skin, gold eyes, and very long, unkempt black hair. Something about her seemed strangely familiar but I couldn't place where I'd seen her before. If we wanted to find out who this girl was we'd need to beat it out of the Captain. Since there was nothing more we could do Suki and I left the room. Ty Lee met us outside and told us that she couldn't find anything suspicious in the Captains room (what was she looking for?). She then went to see the girl. Suki and I would need to think up a plan to capture the Captain.
"Azula?" Ty Lee suddenly shouted.
Suki and I both turned towards the room with the girl in. Ty Lee was shaking her.
Azula, what happened to you? Azula," Ty Lee sounded really anxious now.
"Where's Azula?" said Toph, running into the Captain's quarters. She looked ready for a fight.
"Uh, I'm not sure," was all I could say.
"Are you sure it's Azula," Suki asked Ty Lee as she moved closer to her.
"Of course, I'd recognise her anywhere." Ty Lee confidently replied.
We all moved closer to Ty Lee and Azula (?). Suki went into the room with Ty Lee and stood in the doorway. Since I was blocking Toph's view I started to move to the side, then remembered that this wouldn't make much difference to Toph. I then remembers that I'd heard from a "sailor" that Azula was supposed to be rallying support in the south, however she looked barely alive. If Azula was here then who had we sent Aang and Katara after? A fake Azula! So the fake had the real Azula locked up here? No, the Fire Nations generals would know she was a fake, unless they'd hired her … oh no.
"We need to get out of here now."
"Why Sokka?" asked Suki, "Shouldn't we wait for the Captain?"
"If this is the real Azula then someone wants her kept here while they use a fake Azula. If they think that she's been discovered they'll try to move her."
"So what," said Toph, "When they show up, we'll beat them."
"They'll want a large guard to protect her because they need to keep her hidden. The Captain probably left to get reinforcements."
Suki, Ty Lee, and Toph all realised what this meant. Soldiers from the Fire Nation Army and possibly Dai Lee would be here soon. Fighting them would be very difficult and without Appa we couldn't easily escape. We'd have to put as much distance between them and us as we could. I gave the order.
"Grab Azula, let's get out of here now."
"She's only wearing a gown, we should at least get her some clothes," said Ty Lee.
"I'll get something from the Captain's room, Suki you help Ty Lee carry Azula out of here."
"Okay," Suki replied.
I ran to the Captain's room and started to look for clothes for Azula. This wasn't too difficult since Ty Lee seemed to of thrown the contents of every draw and wardrobe on the floor. I was able to find a top, jacket, trouser, and some spare shoes. I was unsure what to do about underwear since Azula probably wouldn't want to wear a guy's underwear but she probably wouldn't like not having any underwear either. So I got her some underwear, so that she'd have the choice.
I ran out of the Captain's room and out of his quarters. Toph was standing by the tunnel but when she saw me she ran into it. After I got inside the tunnel Toph collapsed the entrance, then we ran through the tunnel. At the other end Ty Lee and Suki were holding the giggling Azula over their shoulders (her hair was really long). Once we were out Toph destroyed the tunnel so we couldn't be followed.
"Where to now," Suki asked.
"Let's head back to Dairen and try to get a boat back to the Fire Nation," I replied.
We then set off towards Dairen as fast as we could, all the time I was thinking about the full impact of this discovery.
Notes:
The Captain's quarters contains a small hallway, three rooms, and one cupboard. There are no locks because the doors were not good enough quality to support strong locks. So the Captain's quarters are guarded at all times.
Technically Poppy Tea is made with poppy seeds and seed pods, while opium is made with the whole poppy. However Sokka is not aware of this difference, which is why he uses Poppy Tea and opium interchangeably.