XXXI: Yu Dao
The Earth King and Fire Lord were moving towards the city of Yu Dao, but the Children of Raava had made it there before the armies had arrived and were there to tell Sokka and the Mayor their plans. They camped among the defensive barriers, the people of the city brought them food, and they trained.
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Zuko oversaw his army preparing for departure, when a low, slimy, voice spoke to him: "You've hardly been Fire Lord for two months and already you're sending out your armies."
Zuko turned and saw that the person speaking to him was Ozai, he wore a baggy and faded custodian's suit while holding a mop. He looked a pathetic sight.
"The Earth King has lost his mind, I've tried to reason with him that the Fire Nation colonies should remain. I'm fighting to protect the people of both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation." Zuko replied.
"I take it that the Earth King will be showing up with his forces too." Ozai stated.
"Unless I'm willing to give all power of the colonies to him, we'll have to fight for the people of both nations. If these colonies can live in harmony with people of any nation, then I believe that something new can come out of this."
"Now what might that be?" Ozai questioned in his slimy voice.
"I'll have to find out for myself… Now you, get back to your mopping." Zuko replied and he went down to board a ship.
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After a couple of nights of camping out among the defensive barriers of Yu Dao, the Children of Raava caught wind of the Earth Kingdom army approaching, as did Mayor Morishita. His daughter, Kori, had been advancing in Toph's Metalbending classes, but only knew a few basics, no one in Toph's classes were as proficient as she was, and though Toph liked to teach, she was a bit proud that she remained the greatest Metalbender!
So they had taken their positions to defend their home for when the Earth Army arrived.
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The night before they were to reach Yu Dao, Zuko slept and Lux had come to speak with him in his dream.
"You're worried now, aren't you?" Lux spoke.
"I know that I won't become my father after this battle, but I've killed with my bending before, I don't want to have to do it again."
"We teamed up against Azula, along with Katara and Kaimana, why should this be any different?"
"Then we were trying to conquer the throne of the Fire Nation, now we're trying to protect the peace of a city. I don't want to rule over it, and I don't want King Kuei to rule over it either. Yu Dao knows the best way to rule their city, and that's how it should be." Zuko replied.
"I do quite like this idea, and I'll be at your beck and call if the need arises." Lux stated.
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Earth King Kuei, standing at General How's side in a hot air balloon stood and looked on approvingly as How announced that the Earth Kingdom was seizing Yu Dao and so all Fire Nation citizens would have to either pack up and leave, or be taken in as prisoners.
The Children of Raava and the Yu Dao resistance stood guard, and so King Kuei told General How to make the attack.
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The thunderous sounds of Earthbending echoed throughout the area, and so Zuko hurried his army, and called out: "The Earth King is already there! Hurry, before his army wipes out Yu Dao!
Katara and Aang had been marching at his side, while he rode astride a komodo rhino, that was at his general's insistence. He looked over to his friends and sent them on ahead. Aang opened up his glider and took Katara for a flight, there they found the Children of Raava teamed up with the Yu Dao resistance. Aang dropped Katara off into a safer spot among the defensive barriers.
In position, Katara pulled water from her skins and the air and bent them to form a ring of tentacles. She would take up Earthbenders and toss them to the side or into their comrades, to move her position, she would take a deep breath and then encase herself in the water and maneuver over to her new spot.
Aang and the Children of Raava teamed up to just drive back the advancing army, while the Yu Dao resistance attacked anyone that got past Katara.
Zuko's army showed up half an hour later a large stream of fire shot between the Yu Dao forces and the Earthen Army, everyone jumped back as Zuko steered his rhino between the two armies, he ordered his army to protect Yu Dao and turned to Earth King Kuei and called out: "King Kuei, take your army and leave these lands! You have no idea what you're about to destroy if you keep going down this path!"
"You have no power over these lands, Fire Lord Zuko! Retreat with all Fire Nation citizens and we shall reclaim what you ancestors unjustly stole from us!" General How ordered.
"King Kuei, I've no doubt in my mind that you feel weakened in your position, but now is not the time to prove that you're man enough to lead your nation! As I've told you before, I do not wish to rule over Yu Dao, a place this unique to the world should be left to govern itself!" Zuko called out. Still, the king would not listen, allowing all forces to suffer burns and broken bones. Zuko felt Lux preparing to attack within him.
No, Lux, I need to resolve this with peace. With further force, how would I be any better than my father?
He looked behind his shoulder for a moment in time to see Jade get struck by a rock the size of a standard kickball. It hit her upper arm and knocked her to the ground, the other Children of Raava were quick to assist her. A Waterbender took her off the field for a healing session.
Zhu Lin and Narrik had even triggered their alternate spirits, drawing a great amount of power to further fortify Yu Dao and to drive back the king's forces.
It actually hurt Zuko to see all these people fighting, just because one stubborn king was, essentially, feeling emasculated against a teenaged head-of-state, and so refused to give up the fight. The Earth army made a move to attack Zuko himself, but he dismounted and rode a bolt of lightning to teleport over to Katara and he told her: "I need you to get up to the king's balloon and show him the city. Make him understand that our peoples live in harmony here!"
She nodded and made her way up to Aang and told him to meet her inside the city. Aang took flight on his glider and claimed a spot before the townsfolk to wait for Katara's arrival. She made her way to the balloon by rising up on a pillar of ice, and she found the king trembling in the balloon's basket, fearful of the dangers that raged on below, even though Zuko saw fit to actually fight alongside his own army.
She explained to the king that he must see the city, and he told her that it just wasn't safe beyond the balloon.
"You're right, King Kuei, but we must brave it. You need to see, you need to understand." Katara told him. She took his hand and took him over the battle and into the city. There the king saw the pleading eyes of those who would have to live with the decision the fight outside determined. Katara introduced the Fire Nation mayor and his Earth Kingdom wife and the king now saw that if the fight ended in his favor, he would break apart this family. Aang took the time to explain to the king that with this fight the king was standing against the harmony between all nations, the world was a new thing now and what was taking place here could be the start of a whole new nation, one that could accept and welcome the people of every nation!
The king turned to Aang and Katara and told them: "Bring the Fire Lord here, I wish to withdraw my army."
Aang took flight again and entered the Avatar State to use his booming legion of voices: "END THIS FIGHT NOW, THE EARTH KING WISHES TO WITHDRAW HIS ARMY!" His voice echoed through the valley. The people stopped fighting and the fortifications surrounding Yu Dao were steadily disappearing.
Aang told Zuko that the Earth King wished to speak with him, and Zuko rode a bolt of lightning back into the city where he faced the Earth King.
"It seems that I owe a great deal to you, Fire Lord Zuko, I was a fool to take the stand I've made and I've failed to see the potential of a place like this. You were right, Yu Dao must become something new, and so if you're willing to let go of your power over these old colonies, then I agree to relinquish the Earth Kingdom rights their lands and allow them to become something new."
"Thank you… Now please, take this day to explore the city, and later we shall discuss what we can turn this place into. We'll need to call for a summit." Zuko replied.
King Kuei agreed and sealed matters with a handshake before heading off to explore the city.
Aang looked over to Zuko and told him: "Jade and several others are being treated for their wounds, but nobody was killed. Zuko, I'm glad that you wanted to resolve these matters as peacefully as you could. You had the means and power to just lay waste to the Earth Kingdom army, but all you did was make sure to simply protect these people."
"I may've restored my own honor, Aang, but the honor of a nation is an even harder thing to maintain. I haven't been at peace with myself or my nation in years, and I'm still working to achieve that; but I'll do whatever I can to be sure that I won't become my father." Zuko replied.
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Soon we will be entering 'The Search' plot! Would you guys like me to make any specific adjustments to that story? Please let me know if you do!
