Captain Zhao left the old man's house at the break of dawn. It was a beautiful morning; it was a morning of destruction. Captain Zhao now knew that he and he alone, would conquer this great city, turning its great walls to ash, slaughtering and conquering its massive army and guard, killing the earth king…
Zhao had to act quickly if he were to get his plan into motion. The mapmaker served the Fire Nation well by relinquishing maps of the city; they would use these maps to get their soldiers through or around the wall. He had to get word to his men for supplies and preparation. He put his finger in his mouth and blew, making a terribly loud whistling noise. Suddenly large wing's blocked out the sun as his bird came and perched on his arm. Captain Zhao took out the map and unrolled it, taking one last look at it. He had inscribed a message on the bottom of the map, explaining their plan. He smiled and rolled it up, placing it in the birds pouch. The bird squawked and Zhao rubbed under its chin like he would for a dog. He whispered the word lieutenant and the bird flew away and disappeared, just as quickly as it had come. Zhao smiled and began descending down the street as the new day began. Little did he know that he was being watched and that the watcher had a big plan as well.
The hawk flew fast over the lands, very few catching sight of it, none recognizing it. It flew until it reached its destination. Lieutenant Liko was there to receive it. He held out his arm and the hawk gently perched itself on it. Liko opened the pouch and examined the map. As he did so his eyes lit up with excitement and glory; this was it! He turned to his left hand man. Sergeant, I would appreciate it if you would gather the men.
The sergeant curtly nodded and spun on his heels. "Gather! Fall in! Form the ranks!" He yelled, but not too loudly.
The men hustled and ran about, forming lines. Liko turned to them. "Men, we have a new mission; it is one of great importance! For security reasons, I will not tell you in detail what it entails, but I will give you each a task that you should perform to the best of your abilities. As I have already said, you should do your best. You are all Fire Nation soldiers and the Fire Nation relies on your precision and accuracy. I will instruct Sergeant Bowman and Corporal Flu to form separate groups in each of you. I will then explain each part of this mission to its individuals." He stopped and paced a little, "Are there any questions?" He looked about, but no one spoke so he continued, "Fall out and report to Sergeant Bowman and Corporal Flu." He turned and wandered away to examine the map. He knew he shouldn't get too excited, but he couldn't help it.
Back within the walls of Ba Sing Se Zhao walked along the streets near the outer wall, examining them. He was surprised that he was still able to find shelter in the city, surprised that he was not discovered. He painted a picture in his mind of the tunnels and the ways they enter through the city. The one thing, he could not picture, though, were the guard placements. He had to see for himself. He went to an alley near the wall, remembering that that was where the entrance to the tunnels from within was. He entered. He took note that there were no guards posted at the inner entrance. Although strange, it worked to his advantage so he ignored it. As he continued he came across a room underground. Within this room were hundreds of war supply and food crates. He almost was so entranced with all of the supplies that he did not see the guards. Also, with the supplies, there were about twenty guards spread along the room, standing at post. One guard spotted him.
"You!" The guard yelled, looking at Zhao. Zhao docilely looked at him, still in a trance. "You wear a general's uniform!" The man started to move towards Zhao. Now all of the other guards were paying attention as well.
"I am a general." Zhao said, still docile, but more aware.
"I don't recognize you." The man spat.
Then Zhao was aware of his current situation. A thought quickly came to his head. "Here, I will prove it to you." He unbuckled his arm guard and rolled up his sleeve. The guard was still a little distance away. "See?" Zhao asked.
"I don't see a thing." The guard replied a little hesitantly.
Zhao began walking towards the man, "Look closer! You can see very easily that-" Now he was right in front of the man and the man was focusing on Zhao's arm. Zhao smiled and bashed the man in the face with his fist. Then, in one swift movement, he launched a fireball and collapsed part of the tunnel on a few guards. Zhao twirled his body, moving into a crouching position, while shooting fire from his fingers; a very complex fire nation move that sends a deadly arsenal of fire in all directions. The guards were caught right in the center of it and were thrown off of their feet in a fiery blaze. Zhao was very pleased with himself when two pillars of earth shot from the ground right in front of him, engulfing his hands, and throwing Zhao to the ground. Zhao tried to fight it, but he couldn't free his hands. Within a minute he was surrounded by six guards. One of the guards hit Zhao across the face with his fist.
"Surrender, you Fire Nation pig!" The guard spat in Zhao's face.
Zhao was furious now and began howling like a wild beast and rolling about on the ground, trying to break himself free.
"How pathetic." Another guard said, his voice laced with disgust. Just then a rock fell from the tunnel ceiling and landed on the guards head.
"What the-?" The man said, rubbing his head and looking about the ceiling. "Did you guys see tha-?" Just then a whole pile of rocks fell, burying the soldier and the man next to him completely.
"Lieutenant?" The lead guard yelled with worry. He lifted his arms and the rocks moved into the air, revealing an empty spot. "What in the name of?"
"Where did they go?" Another guard yelled in panic.
"Just stay calm, Corpror-." He never got to finish the rank as he was sucked into the ground.
"Sir!" the corporal yelled falling onto the ground, digging with his bending. Then the earth shifted beneath him and he fell into the hole. Zhao simply stared in disbelief. He had not a single clue at what had just happened. Then a figure emerged from the entrance of the tunnel. It was dark and dusty in the room, so Zhao couldn't make anything out but the figure. Then he felt a thump on his forehead and darkness descended upon him.
"Men, stand at attention!" The sergeant said as he looked at the men. The sergeant turned on his heels and faced Lieutenant Liko.
Liko looked at the men. "We await command from Captain Zhao. We will not march, I repeat not march until we receive the command. Until then I will see all of you practicing your forms and strengthening your body. The command may or may not come soon, but I will see all of you ready when the time comes. Dismissed." The Lieutenant turned on his heels and marched away in thought. The sergeant yelled fall out and Liko could hear feet scrambling. Liko did not like how long it was taking for Zhao to give command. It had been a week now and not one word had been received. Not even a 'hold position' command. He paced the land and looked at the wall. Perhaps they would have to move without command. Perhaps Zhao was discovered and killed. These thoughts did not please Liko; either way they were in a lot of trouble.
Zhao struggled against his restraints. He was shackled to a wall in a dark, dark room. He tried to firebend his way out, but he felt a terrible pain in his wrist. Then he heard a voice.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. All you are going to do is burn yourself."
"What! Who's there? Show yourself!" Zhao yelled, panicked. There was a noise and then the room was illuminated, the man creating a window in the wall of the room with earthbending. An old man stood in front of the newly created window, hunched over.
"No… It can't be!" Zhao yelled.
Guy turned around, "Yes. It is I. I deceived you and now your soldiers are marching to their deaths. You will be handed over to the Dai Li and I will be made a hero. You shouldn't have been so stupid. Your men will be entering a tunnel entrance that leads to the barracks. Hundreds of Ba Sing Se soldiers rest there. They will not survive.
"Why?" Zhao asked nearly coming to tears.
"Incompetent fool! I told you! I will be made a hero! I am tired of serving the earth kingdom so that every one of those filthy soldiers can use me. I have trained my body and mind now and I can defeat any two Ba Sing Se generals! After this incident they will have no choice but to make me a soldier. Then a general. Then King." Guy said the last part sinisterly to the point that Zhao flinched.
"We will make you king if you release me." Zhao said, pleadingly.
"I am no fool. Shut up now, before I put you back out." The old man reclosed the window, darkening the room once again. Zhao was left in silence.