Disclaimer: We own nothing except the original plot lines and characters... and all profites from the cage match involving my Penguin and Richards monkey. Cast YOUR VOTES as to the victor via review... and you'll see the play by play of that bloody battle in the next chapter.
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(Richard's) Author's Note: It's been a while. I'd give the excuses of job hunting, apartment hunting and various other unpleasantries, but they'd just be excuses. The Knight has been recovering from a fairly devastating document corruption, but he's building up steam again. However the story is still alive. So, to keep up a bit of momentum, we present another chapter of Mai's story, and an interlude after it about a familiar face that might have been much more important than almost any one realized… and a hint of things to come. Unpleasant things.
After all, something dark is coming… I bet you can hardly wait.
-Caine
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(Jade Knight's) Authors Note: We're really sorry people, but life has been taking the beating stick to out neither bits and it hasn't been pleasant. Like Richard said above I suffered total curruption on my master copy of 'Master of the Black Sword'; meaning that I lost a hundred and sixteen pages (Richards additions included) of the best fanfic I have every written. If any of you have suffer a similar fate you know how disheartening it can be. That combined with a sprained wrist totally destroyed all my ambition for this story. BUT NEVER FEAR, we are back and ten times more magically delicious. As you can see Richard has once again pulled my screaming body from the grasp of the rioting torch carrying mob with his contribution... for which I am eternally grateful. I had gotten my kick back and the possibility of a 7 day update is looking good.
-so lets get on with it
-The Man in the Jade Armor
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One more thing... the Forum that I set up to increase Writer/Reader interactivity has been sadly dead for the past two or three updates. In there you can directly ask myself and Richard questions or just toss an idea our way and receive feed back almost instantly, I built it for you, check it out.
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Sokka: Master of the Black Sword
By: Richard Caine
Creative Consultant & Beta: Jade Knight
-The Resistance Saga-
Chapter 10
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The Story of Mai
Part 4: Something Dark is Coming
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The newer model airships were a thing of pure martial beauty. Each one was a flying fortress of metal and firing ports. They also carried enormous bays for personnel, equipment, and explosive bomb racks. They were truly a flying storm of destruction. With the world devoid of the Air Nomads, the Fire Nation had finally become the world's pre-eminent air power. In the age of the Nomads, such ships would have been impractical. From the legends, their greatest warriors could have called up storm winds brutal enough to bring even these mighty behemoths crashing down. Of course, since Sozin's campaign of extermination that wasn't much of a problem. Legends of my people had said that the Old Ones and the Gel Hassad of old had been masters of flight as well and that only the Air Nomads could have come close to fighting them in the skies. During the fifty year war, it had cost them dearly to ground the aerial forces of the Old Ones. I imagined that their ships must have been like this; huge and capable of amazing things.
I stood at the window of the observation gallery, overlooking into the cavernous maw of the transport deck that would carry a sixth of a full division of the Fire Nation army across the Center Sea in only six days. I had to suppress a shiver when thinking about the Center Sea. It was too dangerous a place to sail, and I suspected it might be a risky flight despite the assurances the aerial commanders that it was perfectly safe. It was one thing to have a silly superstition. It was another thing entirely to be dead certain that there were things crawling all over the area. Some of the Gel Hassad's legends were quite specific on their nature as well.
Currently the Fourth Dragon of his Imperial Majesty's Royal Army was boarding the airship, tanks and all. From the tall observation gallery at the very peak of the stories-tall aircraft, they looked like nothing so much as a bunch of ants marching in close formation. Occasionally sunlight glinted off of the polished armor of the Fourth's infantry, causing them to glitter in the dying sunlight of the Capital.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Azula asked, standing beside me with her arms crossed behind her back, the very picture of aristocratic might and dignity. I allowed my lips to quirk in my equivalent of a smile.
"It certainly engenders a false sense of infallibility," I replied. Azula actually laughed at that.
"You're right of course," she said. "Misplaced confidence is the mark of a fool. Shining armor in parade formation doesn't mean much in the field. The finest sword needn't be the prettiest, and even the greatest of weapons in the hands of fools are useless. That's why you are here now."
Azula was the mistress of the backhanded compliment. She turned away from the marching army below and walked over to where a table map of Ba Sing Se was laid out in meticulous detail. It was a huge thing, covering a table big enough to seat the entire war council. The three rings were inscribed with major avenues marked off. I let my practiced eye trace out the details. It was surprisingly accurate. There were even areas to account for battle damage in the lower and uppermost rings. I looked over at Azula with a raised eyebrow.
"Someone was taking this seriously. This is one of the best maps I've ever seen."
"It should be," Azula said blandly. "It's the only thing saving the neck of the current governor. Father wished to execute him for incompetence, but I persuaded him to let me do my work first. If the governor proves to be sufficiently pliable, then perhaps I'll see fit to let him live."
"Another politician for your collection," I said wryly. She shot me a tight smile.
"Of course dearest," she purred. She looked down at the map in thought. "They're so much more fun to collect than simple jewelry; and so much more useful. Now, we have more pressing matters to attend to. The Sixth Dragon will be picked up en route, and with the Fourth, Sixth, and Twelfth Dragons we should have more than enough men for what I have in mind."
"First," she said pointing at various gateways into and out of the city. "We secure the transit systems. The governor had to allow the benders who controlled the logistical network to continue their jobs. It's frustrating, but I'm forced to agree with his approach for now. Without its infrastructure, Ba Sing Se would collapse in a day, and almost everything that they do is based on Earth Bending. However, the flip side to this is that our dear friends in the resistance have been using tram tunnels and under-ways to bypass the surface checkpoints. The Twelfth Dragon has been outfitted for underground combat, and that will be their task. I will assign the Sixth to patrolling and use the Fourth as a strategic and tactical reserve. They're fast, and they're veterans of the last invasion attempt. They'll know the kind of trickery they'll be up against."
"And if tightening the net doesn't slow them down enough?" I prompted, nearly forgetting my nervousness as I looked over the detailed deployment plan. It was a work of genius. Whatever else she was, Azula was an unusually gifted strategist.
"That's where you come in," she said and my nausea came back in a flash. There was something very worrying in her tone. I glanced to the side as she handed me a set of orders. "You will be in command of the Fourth's commissariat. The divisions have a capture prerogative. When the prisoners begin rolling in, your men and the Dai Li will be in charge of breaking them. From there, we'll do the only thing that makes sense. Kill their entire family. Do that enough times and their support will be torn from them. They are soft, the people of the walled city. They haven't seen the constant warfare that the rest of the Earth Kingdom has. They lack the appropriate… perspective. It is our job, yours specifically, to educate them."
"As you wish," I said, and I was proud of myself for keeping an iron control over my voice. "May I take these and review the personnel I'm going to have under my command? I want to be sure that I know who I've got that's dependable."
"Very well," Azula said with a dismissive wave. "Do as you wish. Just be sure to be back here by Friday. In five day's time the Sixth and the Twelfth will be ready to go."
"I will," I said with a bow. "I also have a need to ensure that the family business is properly looked after while I'm away. You know how irresponsible servants can be when your eye isn't on them all the time."
"Believe me, I know," she said, and gave me a very piercing look. "I know that very well. I look forward to seeing you again Mai. I'll be here when you return."
It was a long and very thoughtful ride back from the Capital staging grounds. The crescent shaped island that was the capital actually only had one space that was large enough and flat enough to house our air fleet, and it was on the far side of the caldera from the upper city. Effectively the only way to get around was a hike up the volcano, or to sail around to the back. Thankfully I'd brought a komodo-rhino, and the ride wasn't as infuriating as it might have been with a less dexterous mount. Still, it gave me plenty of time to think as my giant lizard picked its way over the black rocks. My thoughts were chaotic and uncertain. I felt the press of my duties and my heart pulling me in separate directions, and it was beginning to irritate me severely.
On the one hand, I most definitely couldn't refuse any of Azula's commands. I knew that if she felt even a hint of betrayal, she'd plant my head on a pike in front of the palace. Oh, it wouldn't be immediate of course. Our family had a great deal of influence within the capital. Still, it was merely an inevitable consequence. It wasn't as if I really cared about the lives of the people that I was going to kill. It was actually a purely selfish thought. It was the cost to me that I was most worried about. I already felt like I had a tenuous grip on my sanity. Killing people who didn't deserve to die might just be enough to push me over the edge. What I'd become, I had no idea, though I could guess.
I had seen Gel-Hassad who'd taken one too many missions that had questionable moral foundations. It had terrifying results. I couldn't tell for sure whether there was a real truth to the legends that for every innocent slain a piece of the soul was consumed by the dark gods or if it was just the simple dissociation from humanity. I suppose it didn't really matter; the result was the same. The blank eyed killers of the Obsidian Talon, a subgroup of the Gel-Hassad that specialized in… unsavory jobs, were some of the few people on the planet who genuinely scared me.
As I rode up the caldera and back towards the family mansion I had the chilling realization that even though I wouldn't back down, that I would do everything I had to to protect Zuko, I really didn't want to end up like them; and I was afraid that I might not really have a choice in the matter.
0o0o0o0
I had barely gotten back to my chambers when a servant rushed in to see me. I blinked at his extreme haste and I was about to snap at him in displeasure when I noticed the naked stress on his face.
"What is it?" I asked carefully.
"My lady," he responded, catching his breath. "A visitor for you, bearing the Black Seal. He claims that he brings knowledge most dire."
"Send him here," I said. The servant nodded, but I had no time to waste. The Black Seal wasn't waved around without reason. "Go!"
I rarely shouted, but it had the desired effect. The little man scampered from the room in a whirl of brown and crimson robes. I walked over to a balcony, one of those that overlooked the great palace itself and crossed my hands behind my back. It took a few minutes but a single person was soon approaching at great speed. I cocked my head to the side as they entered the room, not bothering to turn around.
"Report," I said blandly.
"Yegoth still lives in her people's hearts," the man intoned in a flat voice that could only come from one of the People who wasn't good at hiding their nature. I turned my head around just a little too far for a normal human and looked at him with my left eye. My sclera pulled back to reveal my cross shaped pupils. The man I was looking at was one I had seen before, at the great council meetings I'd been to three times in my life. But I couldn't remember his name; some minor functionary or mercenary trainer. Skilled with a sword, I suppose. In fact, that was his preferred style if I recalled correctly. He was some kind of master warrior, although I was at something of a loss to remember his standing among the Gel Hassad dueling association; perhaps the sixth or seventh seat. A name came to me. Senchi; that was what they'd called him. I doubted it was his real name, but it worked as a title I supposed.
His ornate clothing was dusty from the road, and his sandy hair looked like it had seen better days. I suppose it must have been windswept, but there was a great deal of grime in it. His own eyes were exposed, and they stared at me from his expressionless face with something like fear. I narrowed my eyes. Something wasn't right here.
"Speak," I said quickly. "What brings you to us?"
"Grave news my lady," he said quietly. His voice was shaking. Shaking voices plus Gel Hassad weapons master equals bad. I waited for him to gather his wits, but my patience was just about out.
"There are several local Soudatsu that I compete in," he began just before I was going to prompt him with something pointy. I nodded and he continued. "I usually maintain a low profile, but this year the Homarnu Soudatsu had a large number of unusually skilled opponents. I thought it wise to test some of my newer techniques against worthy foes."
I raised an eyebrow and he hastily backed off, bowing his head low in a sign of submission. "I mean no offense mistress; I understand that it was a… breach of protocol."
The way he said that made my eyebrow raise even higher. "Continue."
"All was well until the tenth and final match," he said. Senchi swallowed, and seemed to marshal his thoughts before he continued. "I went up against the most extraordinary young man. He was quite skilled for a human. His previous fights had grabbed my attention, I knew not why at the time. I was tracking him with my Void sight, to learn how he moved. He had thus far beaten almost all of his opponents with relative ease. The beginning was simple. He was a man who most of our basic troops could face, but he was definitely distracted by something. I thought that I had simply overestimated him, blinded by my desire for a worthy opponent. I had nearly defeated him when I decided to give him a moment to gather his thoughts. My test would be useless on a weak opponent. That proved to be a mistake."
"He," Senchi began, and then paused. "I can think of no other way to say it my lady. This young human male drew upon the Void state; and perhaps other magics that neither I, nor any Gel-Hassad that I know of, have ever seen before. He managed to isolate time, my lady. He slipped beyond the Veil and took me with him."
"He was human, you said?" I asked. I had a rising feeling of nausea. If my hints were correct, this… this could be very bad.
"Yes my lady," he said shakily. "His mask was broken in the fight and, he was unusual looking. He had dark skin, and his eyes were a color blue I have rarely seen before."
"Fuck," I whispered before Senchi could continue. He politely ignored me, and rolled on.
"I believe that… he may have been the one we were searching for. He displayed… an uncanny insight into my actions, and once he was focused, he defeated me easily within forty to sixty seconds. I cannot tell for certain due to the dimensional dilation." Senchi shivered, probably at the memories of the fight. "Mistress, I do not wish to succumb to vanity; but I hold the second seat of sword mastery, second only to master Haiyahi himself. No mortal human, no score of mortal men could have defeated me with the ease this one did."
"It's him," I said quietly. I whirled to face him, and I could feel my outer skin shedding. In my terror and rage I was reverting to my true form.
"The host of the Incarna was within fifty miles of the capital of the Fire Nation and we didn't know?" I screamed at the cowering man.
He moved away from my banshee screech, but he held up a hand desperately. "Please, there is more. H – He had three traveling companions. One, a young blind girl, another that must have been his sister, and a third male with grey eyes. Such eyes are rare except…"
"For the Air Nomads," I finished, my snarl echoing in the room. "Did you get a good look at the boy? How tall was the fourth, the Air Nomad?"
Senchi held his hand steadily above his head at the appropriate height. My fist pounded into the nearby stone pillar and dented it considerably. "Old ones fucking damn it! The Avatar and the Incarna were both within fifty miles of the Fire Nation capital and no one realized a damn thing until now? What do we pay our agents for? Certainly not this… foolishness."
I turned back to the man at my feet, my stabilizers trembling. "Tell me you have something actually useful to us, Senchi, or I feel Mother will be most displeased."
My anger was causing a very slight temperature drop in the room. A nearby vase of fire lilies began to wilt as my rage distorted the environment. I don't think I'd ever been this scared or angry before.
I was furiously angry because I hated being caught unawares. Having the two single most powerful persons of mass destruction show up at your doorstep unannounced was simply unconscionable for an intelligence service of any kind, and the fact that the knowledge had been stumbled upon by an idiot who only came upon it by dumb chance disturbed me. It showed that the intelligence service either had a horrible incompetence (which I doubted) or the Incarna's host had a deadly cunning (which was the worse outcome by far).
The fear came from what I suspected them to actually be capable of doing if the two of them truly worked together. Alone the two of them had kept the peace in an age of high science and magic. The two of them in this fallen age… they might be completely unstoppable unless we knew every advantage we could have; and right now I had none.
"I have this," he said quickly, withdrawing a broken mask with his trembling hands. I looked at it. For what it was, it was quite an intimidating piece of work. I'd rarely seen better craftsmanship with clay. "I paid a great sum for it, but this is the mask he wore throughout the tournament."
I carefully picked the mask from his grip. There was a long vertical scar by one eyes slit that gave it a slightly sinister air. I turned away from Senchi and activated my Void Sight, looking at the mask. It was nearly alive with spirit energy, and to my Other sight it glowed like a white hot blaze in a dark room. Somehow the mask had absorbed a fraction of the Incarna's power at some point. I couldn't even pretend to understand. The last Incarna to be called had been two hundred years before I'd been born. I shut off my Void Sight and turned to Senchi again.
"Alright," I said shakily, and I cursed my weak voice as I tried to think as clearly as I could. "This changes everything. Tell me Senchi, what other things have you retrieved for us?"
"I also have gathered some information, though it is far from complete," he said quickly. "I believe they are headed for Ba Sing Se. A gentleman in the Fire Nation army that I did not have the pleasure of dueling seems to have decided to give them information regarding the new reinforcement that Azula is heading up. I don't know how many true details that they know. I do not know how they will act on the information given them, but past patterns would indicate that they would attempt to stop such a further invasion of the Earth Kingdom."
I thought about what I knew of the Avatar and his behavior patterns. It would suit his impulsive nature to do what he could. If the Incarna spirit was involved it would also sense an opportunity. The heavy ocean lift was much easier to destroy in the air than after it had landed. If it had the opportunity and the inclination to strike a massive military blow, it would. Of course its relationship to the host body was still unknown. However, given the amount of raw power this mask had been exposed to… it did not bode well for my continued health.
Were I to put myself in their position, I would strike at Ba Sing Se as well. There would be time enough with their flying bison thing to cross the distance if they insisted on continuing their invasion plans. Indeed, if we hadn't overheard them, they might have been able to strike so hard they could have crippled the Fire Nation's infrastructure, and maybe even killed the Fire Lord. However, that was no longer a real option. Measures had already been taken. They couldn't know this of course, and we still had no idea exactly what they were going to throw at us.
Still, the Avatar had already proven that one god-like being with appropriate backup could destroy even the most resilient machine the Fire Nation had ever commissioned. Bringing down a small fleet of airships as a master Air Bender would be no problem. He would undoubtedly think of something. I would have to be prepared, and assume the worst.
"Thank you Senchi," I said quietly. "Leave us now. There is much to consider."
He left me to the quiet of the balcony and I hefted the mask in my hand, looking into its empty eye sockets and wondering. I needed a better plan, and I really needed one fast. I sat down on one of the reclining couches in the room and began to think.
"Distressing news, isn't it daughter?" a high voice asked from a shadowed corner.
"Yes mother," I said absently, feeling the smooth clay of the mask in my hand. I wondered where he'd gotten it. I hadn't seen anything like this since I was in Ba Sing Se. Thinking of the great city made my stomach curl a little. "What do the Elders think we should do?"
"At this moment?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, melting out of the shadows. "Nothing. However, we must remain vigilant. They were completely divided upon the news that the Incarna's current host is to be… human."
"You say that like it's something you aren't," I shot back. I gave my mother an icy glare that she returned with a smirk. I wondered if that expression on me irritated others as much as hers did me.
"Oh, don't let you infatuation for 'Prince' Zuko cloud your mind girl," she returned with an airy wave. "We are nothing like them in many ways. We are different creatures."
"You bore one of those 'creatures' two children mother," I replied flatly. "Isn't that an indicator of a close relationship?"
"You know what your father is to me," she said quietly.
"A tool, nothing more," I stated. She nodded and I pursed my lips in anger. "I don't like Father all that much in some ways, but I am as much his daughter as yours. I think the Elders haven't thought about that as much as they ought. If we weren't human, then why would we be able to breed true as we do?"
"Your questions have complicated answers," she smirked. "But in short we subsume their lesser qualities when we share blood."
"Ah," I said, feeling petty. "Then we're a disease. That's comforting."
That one hit home. My mother's face was blank as new slate.
"Shut your mouth child. You don't know what you're talking about," she said, and the hiss of her voice was deep and unpleasant. I stood up and looked her straight in the eye.
"Mother," I state formally. "I've a mission to attend to now. We can sit here and argue about the wisdom of the Elders but I have very real things that need doing. Is there any other point to this than tormenting your child some more?"
"Hm," she replied and she ran her fingers along her own jaw line for a moment. "Yes there are a few things. First, the Elders have authorized you and a few select others in the world to try to initiate contact with the Incarna's host. Attempt to befriend, or at least educate it on the ways of the People. He will discover them either by our interference or by his own bumbling experiments. We have no wish to end up exposed simply because the Water tribe boy summons the wrong spirit or uses Void powers in an overly flashy way."
"You'd trust me to make that kind of contact?" I asked and I felt a deep sense of surprise. She nodded her response.
"Yes," she stated. "You are also one of the few who might have the skill to help train the Incarna in our arts. I also trust you to use your judgment soundly. You've done an admirable job so far."
I was actually a little touched by that. It was a bit of a backhanded compliment, but for me to be complimented on anything by my mother was so rare that I couldn't help but feel a slight swell of happiness. I didn't feel as if I owed the old hag much, but it's always nice to hear that your family might actually believe you to be competent.
"Thank you mother," I said, and bowed a little. After I straightened up I looked at her closely. "There is more?"
"The second part of your mission is a little more dangerous," she said. She examined her hands in the afternoon sun. "We have several family interests in Ba Sing Se that ought not to be disturbed. With the coming invasion of the city, we need you to overlook our assets as best you can and protect them when possible. The solicitor has the details."
"Mother," I cut in before she could continue. She tried to give me a sharp look, but whatever she saw in my expression caused her to falter a little. Perhaps some of my fear and anger was coming across, even though my voice sounded dull in my own ears. "I've been assigned to Azula's little purgation squad. I'm going to be rounding up those who fight back and their families and executing them. I'm going to be under too much scrutiny to do much more than ordered. I worry that Azula suspects something."
"She suspects your nature?" my mother asked, cocking her head to the right.
"I don't think so, not like that at least," I said. I thought about it for a moment. "It's more akin to institutional paranoia. My closeness to her brother is a threat to her own power. She will be keeping an eye on me because I may soon become a political rival. That is, if what you and father have planned for my future happens."
I tried not to sound bitter about it, I really did. Unfortunately bitterness comes naturally to me, and it did a very good job of incensing my mother.
"It was you who pursued the Prince," she said, raising her voice a little. She must have been really pissed. I frowned at her, reveling in the agony of it.
"Oh yes, it was me," I hissed. I was angry, confused, and tired, and I did not have the patience for this right now. "It was me who said sit and be a good girl. Don't let those who matter see you unless called for. Don't show yourself to the court unless it puts you in their favor. Play with the princess, be her friend. It will further your father's goals. Pursue the boy, he is useful. The fact that I actually love him is incidental to you, isn't it?"
She looked about ready to hex me. Subtle spirit power began crackling in her hand like static electricity but I wasn't done just yet. I narrowed my eyes. "The news is this. Azlua is a psychotic bitch who would kill me for insubordination if I ever crossed a big enough line. My friendship has protected me so far, but you know what? Azula doesn't have friends mother. She has tools that are useful and those that stand in her way. Nothing else matters to her. Not even her own fucking brother. I am expendable mother. I can't do what you're asking because if I do I might get killed for it. Then you, dad, and Tom-Tom would follow. I don't think you understand what you're asking me to do, so I'm going to politely ignore it. Go away mother. I've got the murder of children to plan."
I knew it was harsh and over the top, but it sure as heck got the point across. My mother flinched and I slowly sat back down on my couch and clutched the mask in my hands. It was cool to the touch and running my fingers along its smooth surface gave me a slight feeling of peace after my last outburst.
For a long minute my mother stood where she was. She shook her head after a little while and sighed. "Mai, I know this is difficult, but it must be done."
"I know that," I replied. My voice felt dead and distant, as if someone else were using my mouth as a puppeteer would. Right now I just wanted her to go somewhere else. "I'll do what I can."
"I… I will inform the Elders of that," she said with a slight hesitation. I nodded silently.
After another long and uncomfortable pause my mother left. I really couldn't stand her presence right now. I sighed and began to think, staring at the mask in my hands. Slowly, almost tantalizingly a plan began to form. It was half thoughts and images at the moment, but I knew there was something there; something that would get me and Zuko out of this nightmare. I just didn't have all the pieces of the puzzle and the final solution kept avoiding me. I dug further into my mind looking for a clarity that didn't seem to come to me despite my hours of work. Hopefully something would come to me and soon. I was running out of time.
0o0o0o0o0
"Hey," a voice called out. I started from where I had been sitting, the mask still in my hands. I looked down at it and realized the room was a lot darker than it had been when I was last paying attention to my surroundings. I cursed myself for my thoughtlessness, but it was done now. I turned my head to give the only person who addressed me with 'hey' a smile.
"Hey to you too," I said, and my voice sounded even rougher than usual. He walked in and smiled down at me. He leaned over and gently brushed my lips with his own before straightening up.
"I thought you'd be getting ready to go," he said. He gave the mask a strange look but ignored it after I put it down on a nearby end table. I stretched slowly, and I felt my joints popping.
"I'm pretty much packed already," I said with sigh. "I've started keeping a whole kit ready for whenever your darling sister decides we need to go on another 'fun trip'."
Zuko gave a short laugh at that and walked around to sit down next to me. His trailing fingers accidentally touched the mask, and he drew his hand back with a hiss. I blinked at him.
"That thing is cold," Zuko said in an irritated voice. "How could you hold on to something like that without hurting yourself?"
I blinked again. "Um, it didn't feel that cold a second ago."
"Weird," he said, giving it a mistrustful glance. He shrugged and turned back to look at me. "Has Azula told you what she's been planning?"
"Basically," I said carefully. "You?"
"Yeah," he said with a sigh. He sat down on the edge of the couch and rubbed his scarred eye with the heel of his palm. "I… I don't like what she's got planned. I understand that we need men in there to reinforce the other occupation forces but her suppression plans, those are another thing. I'm worried that, well, that she'll take it too far. I don't want to be responsible for the death of innocent people Mai. We do enough of that without going out of our way to do it."
He seemed to be lost in thought. Sometimes his memories caught up with him so much that I felt like the only thing I could do was just sit there and wait for it to pass. A minute or so of silence passed as he stared out the nearby window at the setting sun. I very carefully laid my hand on his arm, and he turned to look at me. I could see his concern and his fear warring with some kind of sense of duty. I honestly didn't know what to tell him, so I said nothing. I just leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss.
"I don't know what's going to happen," I said truthfully. The fact that the Incarna and the Avatar were both involved in this and on the same side made me feel uneasy. "But I do know this. We'll do what we have to do, right?"
"Yeah," Zuko said unenthusiastically. I very gently traced my hand along his scar, feeling a brief surge of fury at the man who'd done this to him. But I didn't know what to do, what to say to him. I really couldn't say any more than that and be telling the truth, and frankly I was tired of lying, especially to Zuko. So instead of saying anything more we just sat there in the gathering gloom and I held him tightly to me, resting my chin on his shoulder. As I watched the sun fade I was struck with an incredible sense of foreboding. The pieces were coming together, but I just didn't have a broad enough view to understand what the hell was happening. That thought was intimidating in and of itself, but worse than that was the quiet.
For the last week, the Whispers had been totally silent. There was no guidance from the ancestors, and the Archive had been inaccessible to me for days now, even though I'd tried to reach it. My mother had claimed that she had received no visions either. It was as if the entire network, the source of the Archive and the Whispers was spinning down, almost as if it was preparing for something; something that was bigger than anything in centuries.
I held onto Zuko and I felt the sure and steady knowledge flow into me. Something dark was coming. And I really didn't know what to do about it.
-
Interlude: Red May
A plain looking girl sat behind a rickety desk that held a formidable stack of scrolls and other paperwork. From the dim light that was cast from the orbs that hung in the vaulted ceiling of her 'office space', she was cast in deep shadow. The clothes she wore were as unremarkable as the rest of her absolutely normal, if thin, body. The only truly distinctive feature that she had was her face. It was just a little too thin, a little too sharp, and the glowering brown eyes had a cold detachment that had made more than one captured Dai Li shudder in horror.
She was a ghost, a woman that didn't exist. The Fire Nation soldiers that patrolled the streets so far above knew what she was called. They called her Red May, for it had been the first day of that month when she appeared, just a few days after the Fire Nation coup. In a single night an entire barracks full of Dai Li had been strangled to death with red scarves and in each of their foreheads had been carved the character for 'Traitor'.
It was said among the lower rings that she had been trained by the Dai Li, a perfect tool for assassination. The legend continued that one day she'd broken free of her 'Ju Di' persona and slaughtered an entire contingent of Dai Li before wrecking one of their most secret encampments. She was supposedly the greatest earth bender left in the city, one woman a match for an army. Entire patrols in the lower rings would disappear, and the only thing left would be a swatch of red fabric and three simple words elegantly drawn in the blood of the missing men.
"Leave this Place."
She'd been seen of course. The Fire Nation knew what she looked like, and the Dai Li had her face plastered over the entire great city. Not that 'Red May' cared. The truth of Red May was far more mundane. Who would believe a young woman who was going to be a scholarship student at Ba Sing Se University before the fall would have the kind of power needed to do such a horrific deed. Indeed, it was impossible for her to even bend earth. She was just a normal woman. However, that wasn't her real power. In a world full of monstrous spirits and divinely gifted martial artists she was the one who had the ultimate power. She was ruthless; the kind of cold ruthless nature that was the only thing creatures like Azula feared, for they understood one another, predator to predator, monster to monster.
She was no bender, but she could call up platoons of them on a whim. She had no applied subterfuge skills, but an entire guild of mercenary thieves and criminals had been created by her loving hand. Her touch sent ripples throughout the great city, and within its environs she was the manipulator supreme. Perhaps once Long Feng might have matched her; not any longer however. Long Feng was past his prime, and Red May was just hitting her stride.
No one knew where her bodyguards had come from. One, who wore his peasant's hat and had never spoken a word that had been recorded, was a marksman that put the Yu Yan to shame. Usually after he killed an entire squad of them by himself. The other was an androgynous creature who wore its hair in a pageboy cut, and painted red marks beneath her eyes with the blood of their fallen foes. It was whispered that they swore their very souls to her. Perhaps they did; the truth was only theirs to tell, and none of them spoke of it.
But as with all spoken arts, Red May had a talent for lies and deception, mostly because she only used them sparingly. A hint of truth, a whisper of real motivation soon blew out of control to become something more. Jin the failed college student could be killed; Red May was invincible as long as there were those who lived in Ba Sing Se.
They thought that she was new, that she was something that fought against the usurping Fire Kingdom soldiers with a righteous fury born of nationalistic pride. Those who worked the counterintelligence table back in the palace knew differently. She had been too quick too powerful too fast. It wasn't just exceptional turn around for covert operations, it was impossible.
The truth was that she had been planning insurrection long before. No one knew what had driven her to it, but the very organization that she controlled hinted that she had not been the first generation to belong to it. Those who remembered mentioned her father fondly when outside of her presence. He had been a hero to the cause, a man who would change the world. His disgust at the actions of the Earth King and his discovery of the Ancient Temple City of Ba Sing Se far beneath the true city had created a catalytic reaction that had led to this very day. The Old Timers said that she was her father's daughter with a very real fondness.
She understood political truths that her father did not. The king was necessary, as was the very structure of Ba Sing Se's political machine. It was too unwieldy to change now, far too many depended upon its existence to ensure their own. The cycle of dependence could not be easily broken, if at all. Red May argued that it was not the system, but rather those at the helm of such a system that were in need of correction. Best of all, she matched her rhetoric with a practical wisdom. She understood the weakness of the bureaucracies; she had dirt on all of them and knew what made them tick. She also had a firm grasp of military reality, and understood that no matter the nominal ruler of Ba Sing Se, for an insurrection to be possible, one thing must happen. The Dai Li must die.
Jin considered it to be fortunate happenstance that he own movements were so well accompanied. The Fire Nation was like an obliging dance partner of convenience. The more they ground the people down, the more that the people began to trust in the May Revolution's philosophy. She couldn't ask for a better associate, really. At least that had held true until now.
She looked at the missive below with a growing sense of dread. At least, it would have been dread if she were truly capable of feeling emotions any more. That was something that might be completely lost to her. Only one man had ever really caught her attention, and she was honest enough with herself to know that it had been at least as much what he was as who he was. It was a shame he'd returned to his throne without her. She'd been shorter on time than she could have guessed.
With a flick of her hair, she turned to look at the androgynous figure leaning against a nearby stone wall. The light from the green crystals gave her a severe look that was at odds with her rounded face.
"So, they've finally wised up," Red May said, sitting up straighter in her chair.
"Looks like it," the guard responded in a rough contralto. "According to this we've got a little upwards of three more dragons coming into the city."
"Well hell Smellerbee," Jin said with a wry smile. "You have handled worse odds, or so you tell me."
Longshot turned and gave Jin a very level look.
"Okay, well, the absolute numbers weren't nearly so large, it's true," Jin admitted. "Still, the troop numbers don't bother me. It's who they're bringing in as leadership."
Jin took out four scrolls and unrolled them. The faces of Azula and her known associates stared up at them, along with that of Prince Zuko. When the scroll for Mai Jin Xiao was unrolled, she heard Longshot draw a hiss of indrawn breath. Jin, who was leaning over the scrolls, turned her head sideways and gave him a very serious look.
"You know her?" Longshot twitched, and Jin's frown deepened. "Okay, so you know of her. What are her full capabilities?"
"Well above that which is known," Longshot said quietly. "She is at least as good as I am, probably quite a bit better. Her family moves in similar circles to what my own used to."
"Damn," Smellerbee whispered. "They're sending the entire royal party?"
"The worst part of it is, they're competent," Jin said. She uncurled herself from her stooped position and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms under her bosom. "Azula is at least on my level, and she has all the humanity of a forest fire. This is going to get ugly before it gets better. I'm thinking this is going to be a bloodbath. You see, Azula here understands how to fight a popular insurrection; destroy the populace."
Even Longshot looked slightly perturbed by the implications. Their musings were interrupted by a knock at the door. Longshot had an arrow knocked even before the echo faded. A complicated series of taps followed, and Smellerbee drew a battered looking hook-sword from her back and cautiously opened the door to the chamber. A panting man stood at the other side of the door.
"I have news mistress," he gasped a little. Jin was gone, and it was Red May that he saw stand up from behind her desk. She gracefully rose to her feet and walked around the oak contraption to look the man in the eye.
"Catch your breath," she said. "Then you may speak."
He nodded. It only took about thirty seconds, but he finally straightened. "We have had sightings from the towers outside of the Great Wall. The Avatar's bison has been spotted on approach to the city."
"Really?" Jin asked, arching an eyebrow. "This makes our position interesting. Very well, alert all surface teams. We will want them watching for our friends. After all, a free Ba Sing Se is very much in their best interests. Oh, and tell Arckon that I have some additional information for him regarding the matter he inquired about some weeks ago. I'm sure he'll be eager to see it."
"As you say mistress," the messenger said, making a sweeping bow as he left the room. Jin sighed once the door was closed and walked over to the four scrolls laid out on her table.
"It's a shame," she said quietly, running a single finger along the jaw line of Zuko's portrait. "We could have done such wonderful things, Lee, such wonderful things. Now, I'm going to have to arrange for you to die. I wish it could have been different, I really do."
Jin straightened up. "Smellerbee, Longshot, we need to prepare. If the Avatar is coming with his usual team, we're going to want to be ready for them. Assemble what information we have on the composition and methodology of the inbound Fire Nation combat forces and prepare the strike guard for mobilization. Total war is coming to our home, and I'll be damned if I let it destroy everything we've worked so hard to build."
The two slunk out, leaving her staring at the scrolls on her desk. She would hope, but that was something she'd abandoned a long time ago. Hope had little place in this world, in this age. What was needed now was action. Jin idly wondered if the Avatar would be enough to tilt the scales against the Fire Nation juggernaut. He hadn't been so far, but the boy was learning. Still, she was not fool enough to rely on one capricious boy. Her own backup plan was already in motion. After all, without a plan there could never be success.
Richard Caine - Jade Knight
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