Walking into a Fire Nation military base wasn't something too foreign to Sokka, but now, he wasn't walking in, the right-hand man of the would-be Fire Lord; he was pretending to be just a meek soldier, set to try and get the help from a few veterans who might help him solve a problem. He knew that actually getting the soldiers to believe he was a Fire Nation soldier, and that his matter was urgent was going to be harder than he would have liked, but he had played the Fire Nation before. The barracks was far less defended than Pohuai Fortress, and he got inside there easily with his disguise and a cover story.
So, when he arrived, he just played dumb, pretending he was any other soldier returning from his break, and going back to duties, walking in casually with a nod to the men guarding the gates; they didn't seem that interested in his arrival, and just continued chatting amongst themselves. When he actually got inside, he knew he had to find the group Azula wanted to persuade to their side, so his first step was finding the rosters, which would tell him where they were, and thus, how to find them and persuade them to follow him to the meeting spot. She had only given him a single name, Captain Huang, which was the name of the unit's commanding officer; so, he walked on into the barracks proper, glancing around to try and figure out where the rosters would be kept. He realised that not every soldier would immediately know their duties, so there had to be a board marking the duties of each unit.
He walked first into the barracks proper, checking around the mess hall for a roster, but failed to find anything, other than a few groups of soldiers chatting amongst themselves. Sokka remembered from the other day what the men looked like, and none of them belonged to the group. It helped that they had very distinctive armour, tattered and worn after months out in the wilderness, he assumed; that kind of rugged, determined soldier earned a bit of respect from the Water Tribesman, who understood their struggles were similar to what he and Azula faced in that forest all those months prior, but for far longer.
He decided after that to go to the quarters of the soldiers, which were spread over a number of halls, which surprised him, given how they could fit what must have been half a thousand soldiers in such a small space; of course, most of the division had been destroyed and routed by Azula's army back in the hills of Yi Province, something he still held pride in. Their victory gave him hope that they wouldn't just be making a fool of themselves by throwing as many fancy weapons and machines at the enemy as possible. He wondered how the soldiers present might have reacted to the events, and if any of them actually partook in the battle. He doubted he would be recognised by anyone, given he was fighting on the front line against the soldiers who were least likely to escape; someone like Ty Lee might have actually had more of an issue after kidnapping General Gyoko in front of his subordinates.
At each of the halls, he was able to find rosters, marking the duties of each unit that slept inside; though it took him some time, he was able to find the name Captain Huang, and his men's names as well; they were off-duty, but had been on training duty. He blinked a few times, before remembering what he had seen in the city proper; there had been units of soldiers training commoners with arms and firebending to defend themselves, and those must have been the militias referred to, and who the unit must have just been training. They would then be returning to base, given it was the middle of the day, and they would, like any men who'd been doing work since dawn, want some lunch. He pursed his lips, and before he could go back to the mess hall, a hand tapped him on the shoulder.
"You late for your duties, soldier?" a man asked him, and he cringed for a moment, realising he'd have to make up an excuse on the fly; he was pretending to have returned from his break, so he needed to have a reason to be in the base.
"N-no, sir." he assured him with a salute, "I'm just trying to find what my... uh, buddies are doing. We were meant to be having drinks tonight at a tavern." he clarified, and the officer let out a chuckle.
"Oh, fair, fair. Where are you going?"
"Uh..." Sokka mumbled, before trying to remember the names of the taverns he'd seen when walking around near the warehouse, "Tozen's." he recalled a name, "Yeah, Tozen's. By the walls." he clarified where it was, just to sound more convincing.
"Ah, yeah, I've been there. They make some really authentic fire flakes there. Just like the ones back home, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah." he smiled back at him, his forced expression hopefully convincing the officer that he agreed with his sentiment, "I do love some good snacks."
"Who doesn't?" the officer rhetorically responded, before slapping Sokka on the back, "Anyways, see you 'round, kid."
Sokka awkwardly waved off the soldier, before he let out a sigh of relief; he was able to go through a single conversation without making a fool of himself or raising suspicion, so that was a win in his book. The Water Tribesman didn't wait for somebody else to start asking questions and immediately paced back towards the mess hall, stepping through the doorway to check back around and see if the group had arrived yet. He couldn't see them, so he decided that he would just get himself some free food while he was there.
He picked up a tray at the end of the buffet they had, and walked along, picking out a few things to eat; he didn't want to waste too much time eating, in case the soldiers showed up quickly, so he only got himself some rice, a bit of roast duck and some dumplings. Everything seemed to have an odd shape and look to it, but he just guessed that was because of how they prepared the food. The army was probably more used to making rations, not actual hot meals that soldiers would be eating at a mess hall. Once he filled that tray, he found himself a table by the corner of the mess hall, so he could easily eye the doors and check if and when the soldiers might enter.
He then dug in, not wasting any time when there was some hot food in front of him; he got through the dumplings quickly, before spending a bit more time with his rice and roast duck, finding the meat nice because of the mix of spices they'd used. He really didn't mind Fire Nation food, and even if he missed Water Tribes cuisine at times, he certainly wouldn't miss the rather bland, repetitive meals; seal jerky, fish, fish again, more jerky, and then some stewed sea prunes, and maybe some seaweed noodles if he was lucky.
"Ah, so good..." he mumbled with his cheeks full of rice, before his attention was drawn by somebody standing beside his table with a tray of food in his hands; it was a young man, probably around his own age, though he looked younger with his clean shaven face and new, relatively clean uniform, "Uh... feel free." he allowed him to sit down.
"Thanks." he smiled at Sokka, before he began to eat his own lunch, though far more slowly than the Water Tribesman was.
As he continued eating his lunch, the soldier eyed him a few times, seeming intrigued by him; that didn't surprise him, given both his appetite and odd appearance. It might have helped that his armour was rather worn out, especially after the fighting he'd done in it during the battle; he looked a fair bit more experienced than he actually was.
"Uh, I'm just wondering, where're you from?"
"The colonies." he clarified, knowing that with his eye and hair colour, it'd be impossible to justify himself being from the Fire Nation homeland, "Yu Dao, specifically." he lied, knowing a bit more about that city than the others.
"Huh." the soldier mumbled, "I'm Private Sheng. I'm from Yunshizhen... you've probably never heard of it."
"Yeah, I haven't." he responded with a sheepish smile, before putting a bit of rice in his mouth, "You join the army recently?" he asked as he chewed it down, Sheng nodded, before glancing behind himself, eyeing the other soldiers.
"Yeah... uh, I'm having trouble getting along with the others. They keep calling me a greenie, and warn me about all these things that I'm unsure to believe." he explained, before clenching a fist, "But I'm not unprepared. I knew what I was signing up for."
"A civil war?"
"N-no, not that part." he grimaced, "I wanted a good paying job... my family has only a little farm to our name. I- I thought I'd just be helping the colonists move out of the Earth Kingdom. That's what Fire Lord-" he began, before cutting himself off, "Are we allowed to say his name?"
"What, Fire Lord Porkchopface?" he joked, Sheng lurching forward in shock, before he snickered, showing that at the very least, he had a sense of humour; it had gotten Sokka far enough, so he felt like the soldier wasn't completely screwed being in Shengchang at that very moment.
"Huh, I never thought about it like that." he admitted, before narrowing his eyes, "I've never heard anyone ever insult a Fire Lord before." he added, "You're... different."
"Hey, I'm just a man trying to make his way in this world... presently eating the free food graciously offered to me." he justified himself, half in jest, though he was being honest when he said he was getting that food for free.
"Well, it isn't really free. You've got to fight- you know they're saying the Princess is going to try and hunt our army down."
"Yeah, I heard." he nodded, "Something tells me it can't go much better the second time."
"We've got reinforcements coming, that's what Captain Sei said at least." he argued, reminding Sokka of the limited timeframe their battle for Shengchang would be placed in; if they couldn't secure the city in a day or two, they might as well withdraw at once to avoid facing off an actually prepared army, even with the advantage of the airships- numbers just weren't on their side as it was, and it was only a matter of time before somebody caught onto that fact.
He knew that scaring the life out of the rest of Gyoko's army would allow Azula to retain her intimidation factor, which would certainly help whenever they faced their next opponents; the idea of strength, at times, really was just as important as actually being strong. He knew from his experience that being underestimated or overestimated could go to his advantage, if he just knew how to use those preconceptions. Now, he had to lead some unwitting soldiers to Azula, and just hope on his life that they didn't immediately go and run to warn the others.
"What're your duties today, anyway?" Sheng asked the Water Tribesman, who peered up, having been deep in thought and in the consumption of his rather tasty roast duck.
"Oh... uh, night-watch. Going on patrol." he gave a quick lie, and the Private seemed to believe it.
"Ah, I never like that." he conceded, "I can't firebend, so it's a bit of a pain when they don't give me a lantern."
"I'd say steal somebody's shirt and wrap it around the end of your pike, set that alight, but that might get you some bad looks." he suggested with a smirk, feeling like he could at the very least stew a little restlessness out of this seemingly meek stranger.
"It might scare any scouts who come near me." he noted with a smile, approving of his dastardly idea, "Thanks for the tip... uh, what's your name?"
"Urgh." he grunted as he swallowed some more duck, not realising he'd ask that; of course, it was going to come up sooner or later, "Captain... Wang." he decided on a name, removing the jokey bit of his usual Fire Nation pseudonym.
"Well, thanks, Captain. You're... well, you're not like most officers."
"Most officers aren't from the colonies." he argued, pointing a thumb at his chest, "I'm not in the business of caring what some higher-up thinks about protocol. I'm here to get things done."
"I mean... that's the kind of attitude that gets us into a battle." he warned Sokka, who pursed his lips.
"Oh, I'm well aware of it. The traitors are eyeing us off, aren't they? We need to be proactive." he imparted some wisdom on the young soldier, thinking that even if Gyoko had had the guts to lead an army all the way towards their base of operations, nobody had tried anything too extreme, like trying to surround the base or land forces with the Fire Navy right at the beach; that was still a possibility, but he knew that their naval supremacy was the one thing they could count on while Ozai's forces were crawling all over the Earth Kingdom.
"We'll need those reinforcements first." Sheng conceded, before taking a bite out of his own meal.
The Water Tribe warrior smirked momentarily as he realised his assumptions were correct; the soldiers in Shengchang must have been well-aware that they were outmatched by Azula's forces, even if numerically they were matched. After all, they weren't even taking the whole of Azula's army, only about two thirds, as the rest were protecting the border or base itself, none of whom could be spared for the assault on Shengchang, in case another of Ozai's armies, or worse, some overzealous Earth Kingdom forces, tried to take over the region while they were away.
He continued digging away at his meal, quickly finding that his tray was empty, and his stomach not as full as he might have liked; he didn't worry about that, however, and instead just let himself relax for a moment, checking the doors, and then the tables, to see if the unit had arrived yet.
"Waiting for somebody?" the Private queried, and Sokka narrowed his eyes at him for a moment.
"Yes, yes I am. I want to see if somebody could help me investigate something. I don't want us to have to deal with a local insurgency on top of that army that just whooped the General's butt." he warned him, being frank about what he was trying to do; he wasn't going to mess-up his story, because it was necessary to actually get the soldiers to believe him.
"Find something suspicious, huh? Why don't you tell the higher-ups? I'm sure they might bother sending in a patrol, or get the town guard to deal with it."
"No, no, this is something dangerous. I know these guys are good at stealth, that's why I wanted their help. And if we solve the problem, then there won't be any need to get any higher-ups involved."
"Uh..." he mumbled, "What's your job, exactly?"
"Military intelligence." he clarified, knowing that was a good cover for why he wasn't looking for th higher-ups approval, "I was deployed with this army for the purpose of preventing terrorists or would be traitors interfering in our effort to reunify the Fire Nation." he argued, feeling that there must be somebody policing the political opinions and groupings that were opposed to Ozai's regime.
"Oh, so it's classified."
"Yep, classified." he confirmed, glancing up to see that the soldiers had finally arrived, decked out in their expected ragged armour, though they didn't necessarily seem that unkempt- they obviously hadn't been given any new gear, but he guessed after Gyoko's defeat, they were running short on supplies, "There they are." he spoke up, rising to his feet, "Have a good day, Private, and... make sure you don't let the officers push you around. I know what it's like to be treated like you're not good enough for the fight."
"Benders can be arses." Sheng mumbled, before his eyes widened, perhaps not intending to say that outloud, "Uh, sorry..."
"Don't worry, I'm not a bender either." he assured him, before he began pacing towards the unit, knowing he ought to introduce himself and his 'problem'.
"Where's your weapon then?" Sheng asked him, and the Water Tribesman just scoffed; even if he had brought a weapon with him, he certainly wouldn't need it.
"Weapon? You don't need weapons to fight." he told him, though he was unsure if Sheng was aware of fighting styles like chi-blocking.
"Really?" he asked, seeming surprised by his claim.
"Trust me. There's more things in the world than weapons and bending." he assured him, before he paced off towards the group of soldiers.
They were chatting amongst themselves, but quickly noticed Sokka approaching, and all of them seemed rather apprehensive; their leader, Captain Huang, stepped forward, and eyed the Water Tribesman with suspicion.
"What do you want? Are you another idiot asking for a story?"
The disguised warrior shook his head, "No, no, I am here for a proper reason." he assured him, "Important stuff."
"With that tone, it can't be that important. We're on our lunch break. Make it quick." he demanded, and Sokka cleared his throat, before stepping closer, trying to put on as serious a face as he could.
"We should take this outside. This is a matter of dealing with threats to our nation." he warned him, and the soldier, though taken aback by this, seemed to believe him, and turned to face his men for a moment, before raising a hand.
"You all just wait here. Let me and this... officer speak." he ordered them, seeming uncertain when he called Sokka that; he was still young after all, and probably didn't seem like the kind of person who'd be on any important operation- that's where his acting would have to work for him where his looks couldn't.
The two of them stepped out the door, out into the grounds of the barracks, where he could see a few groups of soldiers moving around, most of them towards or from the entrance; it was lunchtime, after all, and there was a lot of people going around, which was how he was able to get past the gates with little worry.
"So, are you going to actually give me any details?" Huang asked him, "Because I don't like wasting my lunch break."
"I believe I've located a hideout for one of the Zuko loyalist organisations that was forced underground after the army moved into Shengchang. They might be planning something while our forces are readying for an enemy attack." he explained to him the 'reason', that Azula had made sure to drill into his head- it needed to seem urgent enough that Huang would actually take the bait.
"You believe?" he narrowed his eyes at the Water Tribesman, "I don't like walking into places without evidence."
"I've been tailing people for the past week. Trust me, I would have gone in and taken a look myself if I wasn't afraid they'd capture me." he explained his rationale for coming to the Captain and not acting on his 'suspicions', as he was making them out to be, "Protocol calls for them to be apprehended and taken in for interrogation... quietly. We can't be causing a frenzy or rumours amongst the civilians." he warned him, "That's why I've come to you, Captain. Your unit is known for its stealth operations."
"Uh... well, thank you. I didn't think anyone was paying attention to past service here." he conceded, seeming pleased with Sokka's appraisal, "I- is this urgent?"
"I'd prefer to get it done before we face a siege or assault by enemy forces." he clarified, knowing that he needed Huang and his men there that afternoon, before the airship and ground forces would be closing in at twilight; if they weren't on side before then, then they wouldn't have another chance to persuade them, "These groups will benefit from our forces being wholly focused on the enemy."
"That is true." he agreed with the Water Tribesman, before turning to face the door, "Well, I ought to tell the men. This won't take long, I'm guessing?"
"If you're as good as I've heard, no, it won't." he confirmed, making Huang purse his lips for a moment before he stepped back into the mess hall, leaving Sokka by his lonesome.
The Water Tribesman remained silent while he waited, leaning up against the exterior wall of the mess hall while he eyed the soldiers who came and went by. Everyone seemed tense, and he didn't blame them for acting that way; after what Azula had done to Gyoko's army, it was only rational of them to be afraid of what would come next. The defenders of Shengchang were just lucky that they had no intention of bringing about mass devastation, even if they had the means to do so; Azula's strategies had clearly shifted over time, and now, he doubted she had even considered trying to bombard the city into submission- it was the common people they wanted to win over after all, not all of Gyoko's subordinates, even if they could do so with an act of intimidation.
When Huang returned with his men, they seemed suspicious of Sokka, and eyed him while the Captain himself approached, "So, where exactly are we going?"
"Into the city. I'll take you there." he clarified, before turning his heels; he didn't want to have to give them anymore information, given he was trying to lure them there, not create the most convincing story ever heard.
"Uh, and what kind of numbers are we talking about?" one of Huang's men asked as they made their way through the barracks, towards the gates.
"I've seen people go in and out. There's probably a dozen of them." he gave a rough estimate of what they ought to be expecting; Azula's supporters did go out in smaller groups like that, or even smaller, so it would sound reasonable, especially if they'd heard of encounters between them and the guards before.
"That can't be much trouble." the soldier argued, and Sokka tilted his head, knowing that just if the 'enemy' he was making up was only few in number, they would be a real threat to the soldiers if they existed.
"You might be surprised what a few people can do with a good plan." he warned him, "I've seen people take down whole cruisers with less men than that."
"Shit, what kind of stuff are they getting you into in military intelligence?" another soldier asked him, and Sokka cringed.
"The kind of stuff I shouldn't speak about. It's classified." he warned him, and the soldiers chuckled among themselves, before Huang shot them a glare just as a warning, as he obviously wanted them to take the task seriously.
As they stepped through the gates of the barracks, Sokka took a sigh of relief, just glad the gatsmen hadn't taken him up on any identification the second time he went through; being accompanied by so many soldiers made him seem all the more legitimate, after all. He continued leading them down the road, leading them towards the outskirts of Shengchang, into the industrial district, which was full of factories. He knew where he had to go, but he didn't want to accidentally run into any of his friends, because that would only complicate things. He knew where Toph and Aang were, so he made sure to take a path that would avoid the Earth Kingdom quarter of the city.
The streets were still busy, despite the large military presence in the city; the Governor's rulings hadn't done much to restrain economic activity, given that people still needed to make a living, no matter the circumstances outside Shengchang. Sokka was sure that there was some unrest over it all, but not enough that the army was cracking down on it, at least yet. That's why they had planned the protest, after all; it was meant to be both a legitimate expression of the frustrations of the locals, but also a distraction, allowing them to begin their assault on Shengchang while they already had their hands full. He sympathised with the soldiers a little, understanding most of them would have come to the city, and fought for Ozai, not of their own will, but because they had little choice. Officers chose their loyalties, and their men had to follow in suit.
He wasn't surprised when one of Huang's men tapped him on the shoulder, "What's your deal, anyway? Why did military intelligence get posted here?"
"To deal with insurrection." he clarified, "I'm sure you've heard what's been going on in the colonies since the coup." he pressed them, personally not well aware of the exact details, but sure that the soldiers themselves, being stuck in the colonies, would have had a good idea about that.
"Which coup?" the soldier asked with a snicker, "There's already been two of them."
"The first." he clarified, referring to when Zuko had claimed to have killed Ozai; Azula may have been partially to blame for the chaos that followed that, but Sokka couldn't help but be a little annoyed that her brother didn't just finish the job, "There's been a lot of unrest, from all sides. Earth Kingdom, colonials, business, and ordinary soldiers. The grand mission we all aspired to... it has lost support." he explained, feeling almost disturbed to have to speak about the Fire Nation in that way; the result he was speaking of was only a good thing.
People were becoming aware of the terrible parts of the war, especially in the Fire Nation, and that had to hurt the propaganda they had been spewing out for the past century. The soldiers seemed uneasy about hearing that, but not surprised; they had probably seen the results of the conflict better than he had- nobody could trust anyone, or their motives.
"Well, these people made a mistake by staying in Shengchang. We're not going to let them give the Governor any more excuses to ruin this colony." Huang gave his own opinion, which reminded him of what he'd heard back in the city hall; he really didn't like the Governor and his methods of dealing with the issues they were facing, and that, after all, was what motivated Azula to seek him and his men out.
"Some guys can get pretty power-hungry and petty, especially in times of war." he conceded, "I don't have to say anything about the Governor, or anyone like him. We have to cooperate... that's how wars are won." he tried to give a more ambivalent stance, not wanting to sound off his own loyalties just yet, "Now... it's just up ahead." he gestured down the road, towards the abandoned factory where Azula was presently waiting for them.
As they approached, the soldiers slowed down, and began to fan out, checking for entry points, leaving him standing on the street, knowing he would just have to let things play out. Captain Huang stood beside him, crossed armed as he eyed the windows and doors leading into the warehouse, which were boarded up. The building was abandoned, supposedly after some machinery set alight and damaged the building structurally, as well as ruining most of the things inside; one of their allies selected it, knowing that it was set to be renovated within a few weeks, so nobody would be inside before somebody inspected it.
"This is pretty abandoned." the Captain noted an obvious fact, and Sokka nodded.
"Well, that's why they're using it. We need to enter through the back, otherwise they might notice something's up." he warned, "Assuming anyone's in there right now." he added, knowing that it would be a bit weird if he acted as if he knew someone was inside.
"And if they aren't?"
"Well you can set them up, wait until somebody comes over. I'm sure the town guard could arrest whoever comes in here after us." he suggested, and Huang smirked, seeming to approve.
"Sounds good." he agreed to his proposition, before whistling, getting his men's attention; he then paced down the alleyway beside the warehouse, his men and Sokka following not far behind.
When they reached the rear door, one of the men yanked at the chain that was locking the door shut, and decided to break the lock with a small, but potent fireball. The chains fell away, allowing him to pull the door ajar, and he leaned his head in to check.
"Can't see anyone, sir." he clarified the situation inside, "Maybe they're all out."
"Well, there's probably stashes or something in there. They're terrorists... or at least, could be." Huang argued, momentarily eyeing Sokka before he pulled the door further ajar, "Let's go in and search this place from top to bottom. Everyone stay quiet, and keep your heads down. I don't want anyone getting blinded by some scared firebender." he warned them, and they nodded, before he stepped inside, followed by each soldier, and then finally, the Water Tribesman himself.
He had forgotten how dark and decrepit the place was, but he remembered the plan better than ever; when he stepped through the door, he made sure to slide a stray brick with his foot, ensuring that they wouldn't be able to easily push the door open in case they tried to flee. It wouldn't be too dangerous to tie up the soldiers if they were uncooperative, but he needed to make sure that if they were going to try and make a break for it, they'd have more than just that single metal door to deal with.
"Bloody... it stinks like shit in here." one of the soldiers snidely remarked, "Did a platypus-bear crap all over this place or what?" he asked one of his comrades, who didn't laugh, and just shushed him.
Sokka slowly followed behind, pretending to be more cautious than he actually was, approaching the office where he knew his disguise was hidden; just in case he had to make an escape, he couldn't have them seeing his face, or knowing he was really behind everything that was about to unfold. One of the soldiers was already eyeing around the place, just looking at the ruined paper and furniture; Sokka pointed over towards another door, which he knew led to a storage area, but he needed the time to change.
The soldier nodded, and went inside, giving him the moment he was asking for; he crouched down, and pulled out the basket that held his mask and cloak, putting both of them on hastily before drawing out the machete that he had hidden underneath the desk. He then took off his forearm-guards, as they might quickly identify him as a soldier, placing them in the basket, before he pushed it back under the desk. Turning his head around, he checked to make sure the soldier wasn't back yet, before he stepped over to the door, eyeing out to where he knew Azula was hiding, before he clapped his hands as loudly as possible, to make sure she heard.
Suddenly, the soldiers' attention was drawn by a small explosion in the centre of the factory, causing a blast of smoke and dust to fill the air around them; taking the momentary distraction of the smoke, Sokka dashed beside the wall, making sure to hide himself with the stacked up machines and boxes, approaching Huang whose attention had been drawn to the explosion. He saw that he had two of his men with him, but he knew they wouldn't be much trouble with all their focus on the blown up machine.
He rushed at them before they had a chance to ever turn their heads, tripping one of them over with a kick to the calves, before disarming the other of his jian with his machete; Huang turned around, aiming to shoot him with a fireball, but he weaved out of the way, holding the blade up by his neck.
"It's time to talk, Captain." he addressed him with a disguised, deepened voice, making sure that at least for the moment, he didn't conflate his two identities.
"Wh-what the hell is this?" he asked him, less afraid and more confused.
"A negotiation." Azula spoke up, revealing herself as she stepped out from behind a broken machine, wearing a mask and cloak like Sokka's, "We are not agents of the dead Fire Lord... if you must know." she added, just to clarify their loyalties.
Huang's men were just recovering, obviously confused by seeing two masked assailants; the one Sokka had tripped got into a firebending form, "You better let the Captain go... or this will get ugly real quick."
"We know ugly." Sokka retorted, "That's what we're here to prevent, actually." he clarified, making Huang snicker.
"What... you wanna recruit us for your little terror cell? No thanks, I've spent enough time in the wilds to know you kind of people are all bark and no bite." he attempted to threaten them, though Azula certainly wasn't fazed as she moved to sucker-punch the firebender before he could try and free his superior; he grasped at his bleeding nose and cringed, falling to the ground.
"Terror cell?" he chuckled to himself, "Okay, you obviously haven't got the messenger hawk about this." he mocked Huang in return, "This city is about to fall to your enemies... or might we say, the Governor's enemies."
"We're here to offer you another choice." Azula added, before she pointed a finger at him, "You wouldn't like to die for a pointless cause, would you, Captain?"
"So you're agents of the Princess? You think that's gonna work out for us?"
"Certainly." she answered his rhetorical question, "You are hardened soldiers who have fought for your country. This is not the fight you should be fighting." she argued, gesturing around them, "The Fire Nation is condemning itself to another century of war, of pointless suffering, if this goes the way they want."
"Who are they?" he quipped back at her, and Azula chuckled lightly, before stepping over to the man she'd already punched.
"Who do you think will benefit from another century of war? From the never-ending war of Ozai?" she asked, and the soldier wiped the blood from his nose, before shrugging his shoulders.
"Probably arms producers, I guess."
"Wars are meant to finish." she stressed, "We are here to offer you a chance to help this one end."
"The civil war, or the hundred year war?" Huang asked her, "Those are two very different things."
, or allow for the people to have their say? They're going to have it either way.""Not anymore. Do you wish for men like the Governor to continue lording over the world, making everything about their whims for control
"I doubt it." Huang snapped back, "The Princess is just as bad as her father. She slaughtered Gyoko's Army."
"That's propaganda. Most of them survived... or deserted." Sokka retorted, "And they were going for their base of operations; what choice did they have?"
"Not much." he conceded, before sighing, "And neither do I, right? That's what you're going for."
"No, you have a choice, Captain." Azula admitted, "But, by sunrise tomorrow, that choice will be made for you, if you don't make it now."
"How can you be so certain?" Huang asked, and Azula sighed, before pulling her mask off, letting it drop to the floor; the look on the Captain's face turned from one of confusion to utter terror.
"P-please have m-m-mercy." he pleaded, dropping down to his knees, Sokka not even having to hold the blade to his neck, given his overwhelming fear of the Princess, "At least spare my men... It was my choice to leave."
"I am not here to judge you, Captain Huang." she retorted, "Get off your knees, unless you really enjoy begging." she quipped, not approving of his deferring behaviour in those circumstances; she was trying to make a deal, not to intimidate him, "I am not here to harm you or your men. I am here to end my father's rule over this city, and of the whole Fire Nation."
"Why- why me?" he asked, before turning to eye Sokka, who he seemed to suspect, despite not seeing his face, "Y-you... you're the- how didn't I-" he gasped, realising his identity, "I'm an idiot."
"Not really, I have practice with this." he assured him, before clearing his throat, "Now, can everybody relax their poses and stuff, and just listen?" he requested, earning some confused looks from Huang's men who had surrounded them, but they did so, and with that, the Princess continued.
"I am not what the propaganda says... and I did not mean to leave you all in the colonies. I had little choice." she admitted, "My brother would have had me thrown in prison, and my father being alive... it has complicated things." she conceded, "You have the choice to re-join my forces, and help me free the Fire Nation, and the world. We will not stop in the colonies... I have seen the world with my eyes... not just as a soldier, or a Princess, but as a person." she declared, before clenching her fist, "There are many things wrong with this world, but fighting for one's nation is not one of them. I do not judge you for doing it, because I do the same." she stressed, eyeing Huang, "So, what do you say, Captain, do you have the stomach for another defection?"
He sighed, and knelt before her, "None of us wanted to serve that idiot Zhao, your highness. We thought you were dead."
"That was somewhat intentional." she conceded, "And Zhao has been dealt with, I assure you." she added, humoured and pleased by that fact, "City Hall, at twilight. Be there if you want to prove your worth."
Huang's expression shifted as he considered her words, before he nodded, "I... I have to think about this." he admitted, "I did not believe I would see this day."
"As long as I don't see a whole army waiting there for me tonight, you'll get to live, Captain." Azula acknowledged, before pulling her mask back over her face, "You are free to go." she allowed him and his men, "Apologies for the punch. That was just a precaution." she addressed the soldier whose nose she had broken, before she strode past him and the others, making her way back towards the door.
"So... you're Wang, right?" Huang asked him, and Sokka snickered.
"Well, nobody seems to remember my actual name, so just call me that." he decided, patting him on the shoulder, "You don't seem like a bad guy. Good luck." he farewelled him, before pacing after the Princess.
Tailing after Azula, he approached the rear of the factory, returning to the office so he could pick up his forearm guards. The Princess didn't wait for him, instead kicking the door open before she strode outside. He put the armour pieces on as quickly as he could, before dashing out the door after her. She stood in the alleyway, having dispensed of her cloak, presently changing her hairstyle to prevent herself from being recognised.
"You left your mask in there." he warned her, and she shrugged her shoulders as she let her hair drop down, gesturing to his own mask.
"You should probably take that off, Wang Fire." she warned her boyfriend, who snickered before doing just that, putting his mask in the bag he had slung over his back. The cloak would have to remain while he was in his armour, but he let his hair down, making sure none of the on duty soldiers he'd gone past would recognise him.
"Well, are we going back to the hideout... Or was there something else on the agenda this afternoon?"
"No there isn't." she answers his question before she began pacing down the alleyway, back out towards the street, "I assume you stole some food while you were in the base... So I won't need to buy you lunch, right?" she asked, and he sheepishly grinned at her.
"Uh, yeah, I did. Even got to make friends with a private... He makes it sound like they're scared shitless of our army." he noted, remembering what Private Sheng had said.
"Good, they should be." Azula responded, her foreboding tone not being missed by the Water Tribesman, "This is war, Sokka."
"Yeah, it's pretty hard to forget when you're disguised as an enemy soldier." he admitted, before he furrowed a brow, "Speaking of which, how are we going to be dressed when we finally put on a show?" he asked, and she scoffed, perhaps not liking the comparison of their plans to some kind of stage play.
"Like the terrorists they think we are, before we have to show ourselves, truly. You are 'the Water Tribesman', after all, remind them of that." she suggested, and Sokka pursed his lips as he got an idea.
"Thanks Azula... I've got a good one." he assured her, and she stopped herself, narrowing her eyes as she seemed to try and peer into his very being.
"I hope you're not planning something stupid."
"No, no, I'm not." he raised a hand to stress, "You want terror, I'll give them terror... I mean, I don't think I can top the bombs falling from the sky." he conceded, knowing the airship was going to steal the show, no matter what he tried; the Princess just snickered, before pointing at his sternum.
"Did you forget that was your idea?"
The first thing Aang noticed about the neighbourhood was how different it looked to the rest of the city; if he wasn't able to see the factories in the distance, he might have thought he was just in some small Earth Kingdom town, and not an opulent one in the slightest. The streets were not very well-maintained, but the gardens that seemed ever present throughout Shengchang continued into the Earth Kingdom district. They made it feel more lively, even if the people around didn't seem all too pleased at that moment. Soldiers were still patrolling about, and he and Toph had to keep their heads down and not try and get in their way; they didn't want to get into any more trouble than necessary before things actually got messy.
Aang didn't like fighting, and the war was just a whole lot of that; it went against his principles as an Air Nomad, but he knew that fighting for one's home was something he couldn't argue against. That was, after all, what he wanted to ask these people to do. Or more accurately, Azula wanted him to ask them to do that. He knew it was going to be a big ask, even coming from the Avatar, and he didn't even know what they'd think of him.
He hadn't told that many people his identity, and he knew that the Fire Nation feared him, but he was unsure what the other nations really thought of him. After years and years of war, the people could have lost faith in the Avatar, in what he stood for, and what he and his past lives had done for the world. He hadn't done much himself, but that was about to change; even if the circumstances were forcing him to do so, he was not unhappy that he was being made to act.
After all he'd seen in the world, he knew that not doing anything just wouldn't cut it. Asking people to do good wasn't a bad idea, and persuading others to hold onto hope and the idea of peace was still useful, but in the end, that wouldn't stop the struggle, so he needed to at the very least try and help the people of the world get back on their feet.
When Toph stopped suddenly, he knew that something was up, so he glanced around, unsure what had caught her attention, "What is it?"
"That tavern." she gestured to their left, "There's a earthbending fighting ring underneath it." she explained, which surprised Aang; he didn't expect that they could hide something like that, but upon closer inspection with his own seismic sense, he realised she was right; the basement of the tavern was a lot bigger than one would expect from looking at the outside.
"Illegal earthbender duels are one of my favourites." she admitted with a smirk, before she straightened her expression, "I mean... uh, whoever runs that place can probably get us to the community leaders." she clarified, telling him what he had been wanting to hear.
"Great." he grinned, before pacing over to the front door, eager to get on with their task; he was little curious about her interest in the earthbender duels, but he decided he could ask about that another time.
As he approached, he noticed there were a few teenagers standing outside, and the eyed him with suspicion, the Air Nomad boy just awkwardly smiling as he stepped past them towards the front door.
"What's with the bandana, shrimp?" one of them asked him, sounding like he wanted to annoy him; Aang wasn't easily annoyed, however, and he just tapped the orange band.
"Covering a scar." he gave the same story he gave any stranger, before stepping through the doors, making his way inside.
The tavern seemed rather homely, and it was lit by the warm colour of lantern-light; it wasn't very full, given the time of the day, so, he was able to just walk up to the bar, and wave to the bartender, hoping he could get some directions from him.
"Hi, uh, are you the boss around here?" he asked the man, who let out a huff, seeming like he wasn't in the best of moods.
"The boss?" he asked him rhetorically, "Yes, I am." he declared, before narrowing his eyes at him, "What's a colonial kid like you doing in here. This is an Earth Kingdom establishment... if it isn't obvious."
"Oh, I got that." he nodded, "I'm not Fire Nation." he clarified, trying to dissuade any unease he had about him being in there; he glanced back to see Toph walking inside, and she walked straight for the bar.
"Is this your friend?" he asked the Air Nomad, who nodded, and the earthbender pointed his way.
"Okay, I'm not here to waste time. Are you informing for the Governor or any of his cronies?" she asked him, and the man shook his head.
"What do you take me for... a traitor?" he asked her, and she pursed her lips, telling Aang that he hadn't lied.
"Good." she replied, before stepping closer, "We're here to speak with whoever you consider your leaders." she explained, and the bartender chuckled.
"Okay, now you sound like an informant." he warned her, "What do you want?"
"To organise something." she clarified, "A community activity, yeah, that's what I'd call it."
"What, you want to do a festival?" he asked her, clearly sarcastic in his tone, "Not gonna have much luck with the Fire Nation soldiers prowling about."
"Uh, no, it's about that, actually." he clarified, and Toph stepped up beside Aang.
"We want to organise a protest." she explained, "Against all the measures the Governor's been taking... we thought that the Earth Kingdom community could take the opportunity to voice their... uh, opinions on the Fire Nation government."
The bartender raised a brow, seeming surprised by her question, "Girl, you really are sounding like a spy." he warned her, and she crossed her arms.
"I'm not a spy... at least for them." she retorted, now annoyed by his accusations, "I'm the Blind Bandit, dammit." she grumbled, and he just scrunched his lips up, looking a bit confused by her declaration.
"Sorry, the Blind Bandit? Am I meant to know who that is?"
"Have you heard about Omashu?" she decided to divert the conversation topic, "What happened there a few weeks ago?"
"Uh..." he mumbled, before glancing behind her, "You mean with the King and all that?"
"Yes, that's what I'm talking about." she confirmed, before pulling out a waistband, which Aang remembered seeing her wear back when she was on duty in New Omashu, "I am one of King Bumi's lieutenants." she identified herself, "And this, this is the Avatar." she gestured to Aang, who pulled up his bandana, allowing the bartender to see his arrow.
"The- oh." he gasped, before he turned around, fumbling about through the shelf before he pulled out a key, "I apologise... I guess you chose that disguise for a reason." he realised Aang's rationale for walking around dressed like a colonial, "So, you want to meet the locals... I'll get everyone, but we're not going to discuss anything... dangerous, in public that is."
"So, in your underground fighting ring instead?" Aang asked, and his eyes widened, and his gaze darted between the two of them.
"How- when- how did you find out about that?"
"Seismic sense." Toph answered his question, "I can see through the ground with my earthbending."
"That's... an interesting technique." he observed, before his gaze turned behind them, "Hey, hey, we're closing for a bit. Lunch is over." he addressed whoever was behind them, before he stepped out from behind the bar.
"Wait, really?" somebody asked, and Aang turned to see that there was a pair of young men standing there, seeming rather disenchanted by the news.
"Sorry... but could you do me a favour? I need you to get Yun, Liluo, Jianding, Ji, and Old Lady Shu." he listed off some names, and the two men looked at him with confusion.
"That's... uh, quite a few people." one of them admitted, glancing back towards Aang and Toph, "Is there something important going on?"
"I need to speak with them about something... It's urgent." he explained, obviously not wanting to give away Aang's identity, and the two men nodded, before they paced off.
"We better be getting some drinks and food for this!" the same one shouted at the bartender as he left.
"So... uh, did you want to know anything?" he asked the man, who just looked at him uneasily.
"Uh... yes." he admitted, "But we're not talking here." he declared, before raising his arm; Aang realised immediately by sensing the wall shift behind him that he was opening up the entrance to his underground fighting ring.
When the wall parted enough to allow them to pass through, the man stepped past, and strode inside, "You better get in quickly, before somebody comes and sees this when they're not supposed to." he warned the pair, and with that, Toph and Aang followed him in, before he closed the wall back up behind himself.
They were standing in what looked like a storage area, but he quickly revealed what they were anticipating as he pulled a rug out of the way, revealing a wooden hatch, "Well, that's where we'll be going to talk with the others, but... I guess I could just ask you here. Why are you here?"
"The Princess sent us." the Earth Kingdom girl bluntly stated the truth, "But, that doesn't mean we're here because she said so... we know that you locals are the ones the soldiers are stomping all over while they're here."
"You can say that again." he grumbled, "I've had three inspections in the past week, by different patrols. They're really suspect... we haven't even had a match in the ring since before they arrived here."
"Well, they're Fire Nation. Paranoia is their whole deal... they probably think you're hiding weapons or insurgents."
"I'm not." he assured her, before eyeing the two of them for a few moments, "Or am I?"
"Well, I think we are wanted by the Fire Nation, but that doesn't mean I'm here to hurt anyone." Aang assured him, "Me... that is."
"Yeah, Azula doesn't care too much about that." Toph admitted with a humoured tone, before her face straightened, "Well, no, she does... otherwise she wouldn't have asked us to come here."
"So... I assume she wants to integrate us into her regime. Appease the locals, and get us to support her rule, is that it?" the bartender asked, seeming suspicious of their intentions, "Because, I don't like the Governor, but I don't want to stick my head out, or have any of my friends stick theirs out, just so she can rule this city."
"Well... it's not just Shengchang." Aang mumbled, before his expression brightened, remembering what Azula had been speaking about; taking the city had more to do with getting the resources to assert control over the colonies, and then, go and help liberate the Earth Kingdom, which was one of Aang's own priorities- they had spent too long under the Fire Nation's foot, and he knew that if they could just unite, they would have a chance to make their nation so much better, "We're going to help rebuild the Earth Kingdom."
"I hope you don't mean literally, because no amount of ban from the Fire Lord's treasury is going to fix what's already been done." he warned him, joking a little, though he was clearly being serious in what he was discussing; the Fire Nation's destructive conquest could not be undone so easily.
"No... he means that we're going to make a new government. Well, I mean, somebody else has to assemble the government, but we're going to make sure it happens."
"Oh..." he mumbled, eyes wide as he thought about that revelation, "I mean, I don't expect the Fire Nation to just give up the colonies, even if the Princess is ruling them."
"No, neither do I." Toph agreed with him, "But that's not the point. If there's no nation to even try and negotiate with the Fire Nation, what luck will we have for our future?"
"A lot of fighting... more dead. Not much gained." he admitted, already seeming to know the cost of war well enough, "Once, I was a soldier... but I left that life behind years ago. I know that you're both young, but I'm glad you want to at least... well, try and negotiate an end to all this."
"That's the idea." Aang grinned, before his smile broke as he remembered what it would take to rebuild the Earth Kingdom, "But it's... it's not going to be easy to fix your country. The Fire Nation rules most of it, and the rest is controlled by the Dai Li... and maybe people that are just as bad."
"Yeah, I've heard of the bandits, deserters, and sandbender tribes... they don't seem like the kind of people to trust running a country." he conceded, before shaking his head, "Anyway, that's beside the point. I- uh, well, I just don't know what good we're going to do here. We can't stand up against the Fire Nation Army."
"You don't have to... at least not yet." Toph assured him, "We don't want you to fight. We need a distraction."
"The army needs a distraction." he corrected her, before crossing his arms, "So, I assume the Princess intends to strike soon."
"Tonight." she answered his assumption, "And I recommend you get your friends on the street... it'll make it a lot easier for everyone."
"Easier, how? What if the soldiers start immolating civilians? What good does that do anyone?"
"They won't have the chance." Aang assured him, "You have earthbender friends, right?"
"A few... but we have to hide our abilities here. Public earthbending is a punishable offence... and that's fighting. You were just saying the opposite a second ago." he warned, and Aang cringed.
"Y-yeah, I can understand what you mean... you don't want to put yourselves in danger. But we will win, I assure you."
"How?" he asked, and Toph sighed.
"Maybe let's wait for those people you got them to collect. I don't want to have to say the same thing three times."
The bartender sighed and leaned back on a crate, "Well, that doesn't change the fact nobody's going to want to put their necks on the line for your Princess."
"We have a bargain, don't you worry." the Earth Kingdom girl tried to dissuade his concerns, making him roll his eyes.
"Of course you do. Oh what, the city guard won't have us arrested for earthbending, or won't keep buying up our land and settling more of their people here?"
"I mean, I agree, that stuff should stop... but it'll be a lot more than that. You'll have a say." the Avatar tried to explain, and the bartender scratched his goatee, seeming a little amused.
"Yes... and do you know how much of a say I had back where I came from? I don't think you Air Nomads realise this... but, uh, the world isn't as nice as you'd like it to be."
Aang's eyes turned down, and he thought about all he'd seen since he left the iceberg, and even the world before that; his people weren't perfect, nobody was, but there was much that could be done, especially now there was an opportunity with somebody like Azula, who had the stomach to ignore the traditions and expectations that she once had to follow. She was like him in a way, shrugging what her father might have called her destiny; he knew that took guts, and just like his decision, it mightn't have led the way she wanted it to.
"I know the world is... well, it has its ups and downs. But I want to give people some... just a little hope. The belief that you can change something."
"Hmph, you talk a lot of talk for a kid. Did the old monks teach you this stuff?"
"Mostly... but I've learned a lot just by seeing the world. It's a big place, and you can meet a lot of different people." he explained his experience, "I know I can't change what happened, but the world's still here. People can always do better."
"Heh... your optimism isn't something you'd find a lot around here. The war... these past few years, it's taken a toll on us all. Before we knew you were back, they were just saying this war would go on forever."
"No war can last forever." Toph scoffed at his suggestion, and the man gestured a finger at her.
"Did you forget your history lessons, girl? There wasn't much but war amongst the Earth Kingdom for centuries after Chin the Conqueror. Everyone might have called the Earth King their king, but that didn't make everything safe, or prosperous. If it weren't for the Fire Nation invading, who knows how long we would have been stuck like that."
"Not all of the Earth Kingdom was in such a bad condition. The Fire Nation only took my hometown two years ago."
"Well, you were one of the lucky ones." he admitted, before sighing, sitting himself down on the crate, before turning to eye Aang, "Where were you all this time?"
Aang froze in place; he knew that question might come up eventually, and all it made him feel was shame. Shame for his actions, and the world that could have been if he had just spoken up against the monks, and made sure he and Gyatso wouldn't be split up. None of that mattered now, not in a way where he could do anything about it, so all he had left was that throbbing heartache of knowing he could have had at least a chance to save his people.
"I- I was frozen." he told him the truth, "For a hundred years."
"Huh, that explains you being what... twelve? Shouldn't you be the oldest man alive?"
"Maybe not the oldest, but... uh, close." he admitted, knowing that if somebody like Bumi was still kicking, there must have been others from his time who were still alive.
"Well... a lot's changed since whenever you were frozen. The world could have... well... never mind." he refused to say what Aang was already thinking, and he appreciated that he understood why he didn't want to hear it, even if he hadn't tried to stop him.
"Twinkletoes, lighten up a little." Toph prodded him, punching his arm, "You won't persuade people by looking sad... or... maybe you will." she trailed off, perhaps wondering if his dour mood would better their chances; he knew it couldn't- he was there to persuade them with an idea of hope, not by reminding them about all the terrible things that had happened to the world.
"Sorry." he quietly apologised, before straightening his pout, "I'm sorry... uh, we never got your name."
"Cheng." he gave his name, before he strode over towards the entrance into the room, which was still closed, blocked by a stone wall, "I run this tavern... I have for the past ten years."
"You said you were a soldier." Toph recalled, "Where'd you serve?"
"Well, around here, actually."
"I didn't think the Earth Kingdom Army had any bases in this area." she admitted, seeming interested by his revelation, "At least... well, before the Earth Kingdom stopped existing."
"The General of my division called us the last real army of the Earth Kingdom, and in a way, he was right." he admitted, "We fought a long campaign against the Fire Nation, trying to push them back west to the colonies, back before the first Siege of Ba Sing Se. It went as well as it could... until we were cornered by the enemy."
"Did you lose?" she asked another question, and Aang was pretty sure the answer wouldn't be a happy one.
"We did more than lose; my division was destroyed by the Fire Nation in a great battle near the ruins of Taku, and I escaped death or capture by mere accident."
"How?"
"I had fallen into a cavern that was opened up during the fighting... and I was lucky enough that they didn't bother trying to check if I was breathing." he admitted, "The war was terrible... and some villagers took pity on me, nursed me back to health from my injuries. When I returned to my own village, I found out that the Fire Nation had kicked everyone out, and levelled it to the ground to build a railroad, so... I decided to come here, where my family had found new jobs and homes."
"Well... not many people are as lucky as you were." Toph conceded, "Most of the fighters I know were prisoners of war who freed themselves from their labour camps."
"I've heard those places are terrible." he admitted, "I've heard stories... and I hope that's on your agenda."
"Uh, well... we haven't talked about it that much, but you're right. They shouldn't exist." Aang agreed with him, "As soon as Azula gets control of any of those, I'll make sure those prisoners are freed and returned to their homes."
"That's a big promise." he admitted, "But, the Princess would have that authority." he conceded, before he tapped a hand on the wall he was standing beside, causing it open up again, peeking his head out of the gap, "Ah, good, you're here already."
He tapped his toes as he waited for a few moments as a number of people walked into the storeroom, before Cheng closed the wall back up; the group consisted of three men and two women, and they all seemed unaware of their identities.
One of the men pointed at him, seeming suspicious, "Who are you two... are you why Cheng had us come over?"
"Yes, we are." Toph confirmed, "I am Toph Beifong, one of King Bumi of Omashu's lieutenants, and this is Aang, the Avatar." she gestured to the Air Nomad boy beside her; their expressions shifted to ones of shock, and the Avatar pulled up his bandana to reveal his arrow once more, confirming what Toph had told them.
"This- well, this is unexpected." the man admitted, "Are we going down to your little arena, Cheng?"
"Yes." the bartender confirmed, pulling the wooden hatch open, revealing a sharply angled staircase which led under the tavern, before he picked up an oil lantern, quickly setting it alight with a spark rock, "Follow me." he requested of the group, and with that, they followed him down the staircase.
Aang wasn't surprised by what he found at the base of the stairs, but he was intrigued by the whole construction. It wasn't very well built or ornate, simply constructed out of earth with some lanterns nailed into the walls and stands built out of slabs of stone, with a ring in the centre. They weren't going down there, however, but along the side of the stands towards a viewing area, which sat high above the ring, allowing one to have a good view of it. There sat a table and some chairs, and Aang was intrigued as he saw Cheng light up the candles and lanterns around them before sitting down on the table.
"Everyone sit down, and let the Avatar make his case."
"For what, exactly?" one of the men asked, and the bartender shook his head.
"That's why you've got to hear him out, Liluo." he retorted, and Aang awkwardly stood while everyone else, except Toph, sat down, the earthbender girl just leaned back onto a nearby stone wall, using it as a backrest.
"So... what is it that you're here for?" the older woman asked, and Aang cleared his throat before he began, feeling a little nervous; everyone was counting on him persuading the Earth Kingdom community to help them protest and distract the city guard and army forces in Shengchang, and even with Toph's help, he was sure that out of all people, the Avatar was the one with the best chance of persuading a group of civilians to act against the Fire Nation.
"As you might have heard, I am friends with Princess Azula." he introduced himself and his ally, who he knew they would have understandable apprehensions about; she was an infamous figure from what he had gathered, but he wanted to make clear that her intentions toward the Earth Kingdom were not malicious.
"And that gives us every reason to not trust you." Liluo immediately retorted, "How can we trust a word you say if you're working with a person like her?"
"Because I'm here." Toph spoke up, "I am an Earth Kingdom fighter, and the Avatar's earthbending master." she identified herself, "I do not serve any ash-maker... it's not like we're all her servants. She is an ally."
"Ally of what? The colonial elite?" another at the table scoffed.
"Do you hear yourself, Yun?" Cheng asked the man, "This is somebody who fights for our nation, and the Avatar... do you think they would fall prey to the whims of such people? It is true we cannot trust the Princess wholly, but these people aren't Fire Nation, they're far from it."
"No, you can't trust her. You can't trust anybody without looking at their prior actions." Toph agreed with the bartender's point, "That's why I'm going to explain some things... do you know who controlled the Princess' base of operations before she returned from the South Pole?"
"Uh... some Admiral I think." Yun noted, "Some guy who had beef with the Fire Lord... the dead one that is."
"Yeah, that guy." she confirmed, "Well, he was mistreating the local Earth Kingdom peasants. Attacking their villages just upon the suggestion that they were harbouring rebels, or just not giving his men what they wanted. The soldiers lorded over them without repercussions."
"Yeah, what do you expect? They're Fire Nation soldiers." Liluo scoffed, and the earthbender raised a finger.
"I'm not done. That was before she arrived. You know what she did with that Admiral? She had him go over to the Northern Water Tribe, believing he could kill some spirit to destroy waterbending, and she just captured him... though I heard there were a few complications."
Aang awkwardly scratched the back of his scalp, "Uh, we did our best, and Zhao's in prison now."
"Well, yes... and after that, she made sure those soldiers who had been mistreating the peasants were reprimanded, and those that had been forced into labour camps were freed and given shelter at the base. She also gained the support and assistance of a group of Earth Kingdom fighters, from the hinterland to the east of here... they thrashed that guy... uh, General Gyoko, right?" she asked Aang, who nodded, and she snapped a finger, "That's who's coming here. Not just the Princess, but those rebels too. They're coming to free this city, and make sure your voices are heard, no matter if you decide to help us, or not."
The table was left speechless, looking amongst each other, perhaps considering who ought to comment first; Cheng clapped, seeming to appreciate her explanation, "See, this is what I wanted to hear. It's nice that it wasn't just a bunch of begging." he acknowledged with a hint of pride in his voice, "So, the protest." he recalled what Aang and Toph had already mentioned to him, and the Avatar nodded, deciding he should try and give his best offer.
"Yes, so, we are planning a protest against the policies of the Governor. We'll assemble in the streets, outside the walls of the city, and march towards the gates, demanding the Governor give up his emergency powers." he explained, recalling what Azula had told him, "Uh... whatever those are. The point is, we have friends in this city who are fed up, and will march to make their voices heard."
"But that's not really what you want, right?" one of them spoke up, this one a younger woman, "The Princess wants to take over Shengchang."
"Free Shengchang." he corrected her, "She wants to give the city, and all the cities like it, their own elected governments, so the people, like you, can be heard. Rebuilding the world can't all be done by one person, no matter how smart they are... or think they are." he argued, and they all snickered, amused by his suggestion.
"Oh, so you're not that big a fan of the Princess?" Liluo asked, "Well, that doesn't surprise me... her ancestor had-" he began, and Toph raised a hand, creating a pillar of earth which almost whacked him in the face.
"Watch your tongue!" she shouted at him, as if she was a drill sergeant, "This is the Avatar you're speaking to."
"I know what Fire Lord Sozin did." Aang admitted quietly, knowing full well what Azula's great-grandfather had done, but he was aware that her other great-grandfather was his past life, Avatar Roku, "But she is not Sozin. She is... her own person... just like how I'm not like every other Avatar."
"The title doesn't make the holder." the older woman acknowledged, "So... what will she do?"
"Attack at dusk. The army will be distracted by the protest, allowing us to take control as peacefully as- uh, I don't really know how peaceful it will be. I want to avoid hurting anyone, even the soldiers."
"Even the soldiers?"
"This war isn't one-sided, where everyone we fight are all evil." Aang argued, even if he knew they might disagree, "The people in the Fire Nation, they're still people, no matter what their country has done."
"That sounds like something an apologist would say." Yun suggested, his glare cold as he must have thought he was trying to side with the Fire Nation, when it was the opposite.
"I'm not here to take the side of any nation. I fight for peace, when I have to fight... and with people like the Governor, or Ozai around, there's not going to be any peace."
"How about peace in the Earth Kingdom?" one of the other men spoke up, who Aang guessed would be Jiandang or Ji, given the names Cheng had mentioned earlier, "Peace for the Fire Nation might help us here, that's true, but that doesn't help anyone out there."
"I didn't say peace for the Fire Nation." Aang corrected him, and Toph cleared her throat.
"So... what's the opinion of Chin the Conqueror around here?"
"He was a bit of a short-sighted man." Liluo gave his thoughts, "Failed at his job by messing with the Avatar."
"And what did the Avatar do?"
"Bring peace to the Earth Kingdom." he said what Aang would have expected, but he knew where Toph was going with her point; Azula's tirade about Kyoshi had rubbed off on her, it seemed.
"See, this is where we differ from others. The past Avatars tried to uphold balance between the nations, and peace within them... but can you recall them doing anything to actually improve the lives of the people living in them?" Toph asked them.
Those seated looked confused, before the older woman raised a finger towards Aang, "So, he's going to destroy the Dai Li, and the Earth King?"
"Well... I don't even know if we could find the Earth King if we tried." Toph admitted, before turning to face the Avatar, "Tell 'em, Twinkletoes."
"The Dai Li are standing in the way of peace... and they are trying to rule your country... just for them. Not for any of the people the Fire Nation have hurt, or the people who want to fight for the Earth Kingdom."
"So, you're going to destroy them." the older woman repeated her last assumption, "How?"
"With the promise of something better... just like we have here. If you can go out there and protest, there's nothing stopping the people of Ba Sing Se to do the same." he suggested, and the group seemed at least a little convinced.
"Okay, well, that's reasonable... but it has never worked before." Yun warned them, and Toph just let out a snicker.
"And remember that Kyoshi was all about helping save the Earth King's butt... Aang doesn't care."
"No... not really." he agreed with her point; he didn't really wish ill-will upon anyone, but he was sure that removing the Dai Li from power would at the very least, give the Earth Kingdom the opportunity it needed to rebuild something stronger, and more fair, than what they had before, "I know that people want change. It's... well, do you?"
"Of course." the younger woman assured him, "But we don't have any chance of fighting off the Fire Nation here."
"No, you don't... but you don't have to fight them, you have to try and remind them that you exist. You do." he declared, knowing full well that his nation was gone, and he was all that really remained of it, with the empty temples mere tombs for the Air Nomads; he hated that truth, but it motivated him more than anything now, "If you want to continue having an Earth K- no, an Earth nation, then you have to remind them of it."
"Yes." Liluo clenched a fist, hammering it down on the table, "The Avatar speaks the truth we all try to deny. We have our numbers, we have our reasons. Why shouldn't we?"
"Because it's dangerous." Cheng countered his enthusiasm, and Liluo scoffed.
"And what good does avoiding danger do us? If all change is going to be dangerous, then why avoid the change that might actually help the people here? Help our community."
"I've never been much of a patriot, despite my career choice." Toph admitted, stepping back off from the wall, "But I know that if you're going to fight for something... don't bother fighting for the Earth Kingdom, or some idea that doesn't really exist. Fight for what you care about, those you care about, and what you want to see become a reality."
"A better Shengchang." Jiandang declared.
"A kinder world." the older woman argued, before turning her gaze to Aang, "When will we need to be on the street?"
"In a few hours, just before sundown... if there's people you want to keep safe from the fighting. Your children, your elders, make sure they're in their homes, and away from the main streets when it gets dark. I don't... I don't want anyone to get hurt because of what Azula's doing here."
"What about the soldiers?" Yun asked him, seeming sure that they would be hurt, if not killed in the fighting that was sure to follow Azula's attack.
"That's just an inevitability. You're not soldiers... and neither would anyone else protesting be one." Toph answered his question, before she gestured around the table, "So, what's your answer?"
They all looked at each other, before nodding, "We'll speak to everyone we can." the younger woman assured the pair, "At sundown, we'll head for the gates, and make our voices heard."
"You have my thanks." Aang acknowledged them with a bow, trying to imitate the ones he'd seen Bumi's guards give him; he was sure it was some kind of formal bow, so he followed that, and they seemed a little amused.
"You take your job seriously, young Avatar." the older woman noted, "You give me hope for the future of our world."
"If I didn't... then I'd just keep trying." he smiled at her, "I won't give up... never again." he stressed his commitment.
"When you bring your protests to the Dai Li, make sure to have them armed." she added, which was a little unnerving, "They're supposedly a lot less... restrained than the Fire Nation authorities."
"They beat on us on the daily, Shu." Liluo scoffed at her claim, and she glared him down, pointing a finger towards the younger man.
"I've been there, young man. I've seen the results of their... practices. You would be wise to appreciate keeping your sanity and honour." she warned, before turning her gaze to the Avatar, "You two best be off. We have much to do, and I assume the Princess won't want to wait."
"Well, I don't care what she thinks." Toph shrugged her shoulders, "I just want some lunch, that's all." she admitted, making Aang giggle, finding her bluntness a little refreshing at times; she just said things as they were, not cushioning it up- it made her surprisingly easy to trust, in the end.
"Uh... alright." Cheng responded, seeming taken aback by her comment, "Well, make sure to close the wall back up when you leave." he told her, and she nodded, Aang and Toph strutting off to make their way back around the ring, to reach the staircase.
The pair made their way along, and the young Air Nomad gave the group a wave goodbye, before they scaled up the stairs, back into the storeroom. His companion didn't waste any time and pulled the wall apart, allowing them to step back out into the tavern; nobody had come inside while they were down in the fighting ring, which relieved any fears he had about their choice in location. She closed up the wall behind them, and with that, they strode back out towards the front door.
He glanced back out at the street, and noticed the two young men were still standing nearby, and they looked at Aang and Toph with interest. He elected to ignore them, not wanting to unnecessarily involve the two of them any more than they already had been. So, they strode down back onto the street, heading back towards the industrial district, where the warehouse was located. The number of patrols on the street hadn't decreased at all, and seemed to have grown larger, maybe because they were all finished with their lunches, and could return to duty.
He licked his lips, thinking of what they might be eating; he knew that Ty Lee and Katara were going to organise something, but he didn't know what exactly, "Well... I really am looking forward to lunch." he admitted his feelings, and Toph just let out a snicker at that comment.
"Not thinking about whether you actually persuaded them or not?"
"We persuaded them." he assured her, and the earthbender just paced ahead, seeming to not believe him, "We did." he stressed, and she waved a hand towards him.
"No, you told them when to be on the streets, and they seemed receptive to your ideas about changing up the Earth Kingdom... but that doesn't mean they'll stick their necks out for us."
"They seemed like nice people. I think they'll do the right thing." he assured her, and the Earth Kingdom girl just shook her head.
"No, Aang, they'll do the thing that's best for them... and I expect that'd be staying safe. I'm a fighter, I sure wouldn't refuse the offer, but not everyone is." she argued, "People aren't as brave as you might think they are."
"I want to be brave." he mumbled, and she shrugged her shoulders.
"Eh, well, that'll help your earthbending." she noted, "You're learning."
"Thanks, Sifu." he grinned at her, before bowing momentarily; he then continued after her, following her down the street.
"Why do you have to be so weird about it?" she grumbled, "I haven't even been training you the past few days." she reminded him that earthbending was not their focus while they were in Shengchang; though he was sure he'd get some practice when it came to the fight, he wished he had more time and opportunities to train.
"I give my masters respect. You're a good teacher, Toph." he assured her, and the earthbender stopped momentarily, before she hastened her pace.
"Stop being such a bootlicker." she warned him, "Nobody likes a bootlicker."
"But I'm not lying. You've trained me a lot already. I never would have gotten this far with scrolls or something like that." he argued, and the earthbender pointed at him while still looking the other way.
"Yeah, yeah, you can say that once you beat me in a spar, Twinkletoes."
Toph was sure that that something would go wrong with the protest, but she didn't care to warn the others about it; she knew that Azula was overthinking everything enough already, and she'd just start talking about it instead of thinking about it, which would frankly annoy her more than her own internal monologue about the situation. The sun was just about to fall over the horizon, according to Katara, which meant the time had come; she was still waiting in the lounge area of their hideout, finding a hammock she found there to be rather relaxing, mostly because she could barely sense anything while on it. Usually, when she tried to rest on the ground, she'd just sense everything around her, and focus on all the minute details, but she knew she needed to clear her head before she went out.
Sokka was sitting down nearby, chewing on some jerky while he was reading something; that was what he told her he was doing, and she had no way to easily verify that other than asking, but she couldn't be bothered. She wasn't too interested in whatever he was reading; books weren't ever going to be her thing, but she was interested enough in the world around her. Just not at that moment, while she swung in the hammock, feeling blissfully unaware. She could hear footsteps coming up the stairs, and she rolled herself over, turning the other way to pretend as if she was asleep. She would get as much out of her rest as she could, knowing that the fight she would have to partake in wouldn't be easy.
"Is Toph asleep?" she heard Ty Lee whisper, and after that, Sokka let out a snicker.
"No, she's just badly pretending." he answered her question, "Are we heading out?" he asked, and the girl hummed in a tone that could only signify one thing.
"Fine!" Toph exclaimed, rolling back over and turning herself upright, "I'll get up." she told them, and Sokka stepped closer, indicated by the creaking floorboards beneath his feet, "You know, I was just enjoying being blind for once, but you had to ruin my tranquillity." she derided him.
"Hey, hey, I didn't say anything while you were resting." he defended himself as he stepped back down onto the floorboards; being made of wood, she struggled to sense anything at all, but given her good sense of balance, she was still able to easily walk back over towards the staircase, which would lead her back to the ground, and with it, her seismic sense.
"You know, you walk around pretty good without your seismic sense." the Water Tribesman commented, "I wonder if you could fight without the ground touching your feet."
"If I can hear you, I can probably still hit you, if I throw enough rocks." she warned him, before scrunching her lips, "There's none in the room, so you're lucky."
"I'll keep that in mind." he chuckled, and she shook her head, making her way further down the stairs.
"We're surrounded by earth. I could probably bend the bricks in the wall, and the floor, if I got close enough." she warned him, just wanting to remind him that she didn't need her seismic sense to whack him.
"Maybe don't fight him. It's not a good idea." Ty Lee warned her, and she just continued on down, reaching the part of the building where the ground was made of stone bricks and connected to the ground, thus, visible to her seismic sense.
"Yeah, it isn't a good idea for him. I'd win." she declared confidently, before she sensed somebody else walking towards her, this time from the same floor.
"Please refrain from knocking out my brother before he actually gets anything done. I'd prefer it if we won the fight together." Katara voiced her opinion, and the Earth Kingdom girl shrugged her shoulders.
"Yeah, alright. I'll do it just for you, Sugar Queen."
"Please stop calling me that." she asked her, before she strode past, "Also, try and be a little more serious. I don't want Azula losing her cool because you two start fighting."
"I won't." she assured her, though she wasn't being wholly honest; if Sokka agitated her, she wouldn't hold back and deck him- she needed to focus, and to her advantage, beating him down would help her gauge her skills.
All four of them then made their way down to the ground floor, where she could sense Azula along with a few others, though she hadn't been paying attention to what the Princess was saying, even if she had overheard her in the distance.
"Ah, you're all here." she noted, before she glanced behind herself, "Aang is just checking the street for us. Making sure that the guards aren't around yet... it will take some time to gather our protest, so we need to avoid them in the meantime."
"When will you move on the Governor, your highness?" one of her supporters asked, and she crossed her arms.
"I will decide on our timing. Though coordination in any conflict is desirable, if the guards corner the protestors, I cannot have them knowing when I will strike at the Governor. That includes you all." she warned them, "We will assemble together once my forces arrive, and drive the soldiers from the city."
"How will we know?" another asked, "It will be dark by then, after all."
"Oh, you'll know. I intend to strike fear into the hearts of these soldiers... we don't need a massacre or anything like that to intimidate them." she declared, before turning to face Toph, "You remember what you did against that camp of rebels, don't you?"
"I remember Aang making them surrender." she argued, recalling what had happened, which was frustratingly hard for her to describe, as he'd been off the ground when he attacked the enemy with earthbending, which had come as a surprise after hearing he was only trained in airbending.
"I think you're lucky you can't see." Katara admitted, sounding nervous, "That was... a lot."
"Well, that's not what I'm talking about specifically... using Aang's unwieldy abilities is more of a danger to the people in this city than it is to the soldiers." she explained, before clearing her throat, "Your earthbending wave is what I am referring to. You may need to enact such strategies if the soldiers surround us."
"Oh, I can do that." she assured her, cracking her knuckles, "You should've seen what King Bumi did in Omashu. I'll make a good show."
"That's what I want to hear." the Princess replied, seeming pleased with her attitude, before she strode over towards the door that led out of the warehouse, "As soon as Aang returns, we leave. The protest will begin, and we will test the willingness of our opponents to use violence for their ends."
"I don't think that needs to be tested." Sokka warned her, "They're going to react badly no matter how the protestors act."
"We're counting on it. That's why we're armed." one of the supporters assured him, tapping on what seemed like a sword; upon sensing them a little closer, she realised that they were all armed, though the weapons must have been covered up for them to have to tell Sokka.
"Ah, well, I should have already guessed that." he admitted, sounding annoyed at himself, before he started tapping his foot, obviously wanting to leave already.
"You do realise I can sense every time you do that, right?" she asked him, hoping he would catch her drift and stop it; he did, and she crossed her arms, wondering if Aang was safe out by himself.
She didn't see the twelve year old Air Nomad as the most responsible of the group, but when she recognised his light footsteps in the distance, making their way down the street, she felt the weight of that uncertainty lift. She would have smiled if nobody was there to see her do it.
When he knocked on the door, Toph gave the Princess a nod to confirm it was him, and she strode over to unlock it, allowing him back inside, "Alright, we're good to go. The path is clear... we can go straight for the gates if we leave now."
"That's the idea." Azula confirmed, before she pointed at the door, "You know what you all need to do, let's move out. If this all goes to plan, you won't have to worry about getting arrested." she assured her supporters, before striding over to the door, with Aang following her outside; the rest of them followed suit, and Toph strode beside Sokka and Katara, making her way to the door, which was wide open as they stepped out onto the main street.
"Make sure to split up while you're approaching the gates... we can't attract too much attention before we even get there. If our negotiations worked, then the Earth Kingdom locals will soon join us." the Princess gave her last commands, and her supporters fanned out, leaving their little group on the roadside; Ty Lee turned to close and lock the door behind them, before throwing Azula the key, and with that, they were ready to go.
"Well, this is it." the acrobat admitted, seeming a little nervous, "I've been looking forward to actually getting something done."
"Nothing's getting done while we're standing here." Toph reminded them all, before she began pacing down the street, "Come on."
"She goes from napping to harassing in like two minutes." Sokka voiced his frustrations, and the earthbender just scoffed.
"I was resting to be ready. Are you?"
"Yeah, of course." he responded a little too quickly, and she noticed Azula shooting him a suspect look; that amused Toph, but she held her tongue, and kept moving.
Everyone else started walking too, and they began making their way down the street towards the walls in the distance, and soon enough, as she expected, the group began to talk amongst themselves.
"So, what did everyone else get done today?" Ty Lee spoke up, leaving an open question, before she began explaining herself, "I got some of those... uh, 'party toys' made." she euphemistically referred to what she'd created, which Toph recalled was one of Sokka's own designs, a kind of smoke bomb, made from crushed up pieces of fibre and wood that supposedly made a lot of smoke, which would stop seeing people from being able to do much.
"You made sure to test them, right?" Sokka asked her, and she nodded along.
"Yes... they work. That made me cough for like half an hour." she explained, and the Water Tribesman seemed to approve.
"Well, that was the idea. It was either that or the stink-variant. I don't think you'd want to mess with that." he added, and Katara wagged a finger at her brother.
"I've seen those, Sokka. How could you make it small enough to take around?"
"Well, I couldn't." he conceded, "But, for the airship... well, that's another story."
"You're kidding." Ty Lee gasped, "That's what you were spending all that time in the workshop for?"
"Well, not just that, but yeah." he confirmed, sounding proud of himself, "You'll see it in action soon enough."
"I prefer the incendiary-" Azula began, before holding her tongue; she couldn't just talk about weapons in public, especially when there were people around.
"Close save." Toph acknowledged her near miss, before furrowing a brow, "I can sense something, over that way." she gestured to her left, having felt something about two blocks away, big enough to be of interest.
"Like what?" Aang asked, "Was it earthbending?"
She scrunched her lips, and tried to focus on the area where she felt something, and realised what it was; there was a group of Fire Nation soldiers marching down the street, towards the Earth Kingdom district of the city, which was located far off from the walls in the outskirts. The thing she had sensed had to be some kind of weapon they were bringing along, though she was unsure what exactly it was.
"Soldiers, heading towards the Earth Kingdom part of the city." she told him quietly, and the others turned to face her seeming surprised.
"Really?" Katara asked, "Why would they do that?"
"Maybe they've caught on quicker than we'd hoped." Azula lamented, and Toph tried to sense further afield, to try and sense what was going on in that part of the city.
"I can sense... some walls? Wait..." she mumbled, before she turned to face Aang, "We didn't ask them to do anything like that."
"A distraction." Azula declared her own thoughts, "They're buying us time to gather our protest. I'm sure the rest of them will be coming around this way soon."
"We kind of need the soldiers here, though." Sokka reminded her, and she just chuckled, her confidence not seeming to waiver in the slightest.
"Oh, they'll be here, trust me." she assured him, and Toph raised a finger to her chin.
"Cheng did say he was a soldier. Maybe this is his plan." she gave her best guess, and Aang nodded.
"Yeah, that makes sense." he agreed to her proposition, and turned to glance back down the street, "I don't see any guards coming this way yet."
"And I don't sense any on the side streets either." she gave her own observation, before a silence fell over the group.
That was until, unsurprisingly, Ty Lee spoke up once more, "And... uh, Sokka, Zula, how'd your thing end up going? Did you really persuade those guys?"
"Well enough, I'd say." the Water Tribesman gave his thoughts, "They understood the situation, but those guys don't strike me as being too, uh, heroic."
"Don't we want wilful people to help us?" Katara asked him, "If they're not good people, then why ask for their help?"
"Not good by your standards, perhaps." Azula retorted, "This is about choosing allegiances. They understand who can solve their problems, and thus, who is worthy of those allegiances." she explained her own rationale, "How do you think any leader gains followers? By being the nicest person in the world?"
"No, they give people what they want." Ty Lee piped up, "Uh... whatever that is." she added, more cautiously.
"I don't think there's much agreement on that subject." Toph noted, finding it hard to believe that there could be a common ideal that all people wanted out of a leader, or a government; she disagreed more often than not with almost everyone she met, so such a possibility just seemed unreasonable.
"Peace and security. Why do you think anyone fights for anything?" Azula asked them all, and Sokka cleared his throat.
"What about food?" he asked her, and she literally waved away his question.
"Hunting does not count as a fight. I don't think those animals have much of a chance."
He remained silent for a moment, before he placed a hand on his chest, "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Now's not the time to brag about things. Because I'm sure that'll just become a big argument that nobody will win." Katara warned them, and Azula just turned around and placed her hands together as she walked backwards.
"Wrong. I win." she quickly retorted, "And before anyone claims they're better at whatever they like, I will literally rule-" she cut herself off, almost saying something foolish again, "Well, you know what I'll rule."
"Half an igloo." Sokka whispered to Aang, who snickered, though Azula clearly could still hear him.
"I heard that, moron." she snapped back at him.
"Yeah, I know." he assured her, sounding awfully confident for somebody who might have been about to get socked in the face.
"So, the point is, they might not help us." Ty Lee reminded them what was being discussed, and Azula responded immediately.
"No, they will. I made it very clear what their options were." she reassured her confidently, and with that, it seemed that discussion was over; it was clear when everyone shut up, and Toph was left to continue striding along in relative silence, though the civilians they walked by were speaking amongst themselves.
She didn't pay much attention to their conversations, but rather turned her focus to sensing ahead, towards the walls of Shengchang, where she knew the protest would be taking place. She could sense some of Azula's supporters, grouped together, down the street, and some guards, further afield, though they were just passing by, making their way along the wall.
"Everything seems clear at the moment." Azula commented, before she gestured to a nearby alleyway, "Let's stay back for a bit, and see how things go."
"Aren't you kind of meant to be leading this whole thing?" Aang asked her nervously, and she nodded, before shunting him towards the alleyway.
"Yes, but we aren't revealing ourselves, not yet. We will intervene only when necessary." she stated her intentions.
Toph then sensed ahead, checking to see how the others were doing; from what she could tell, all of them were still moving into positions, but nothing had begun just yet. There were a few guards by the gates into the inner city, but they weren't going to be much of a mass to a whole crowd of protestors, so she sensed further afield, checking back towards the Earth Kingdom district; she could sense a lot of erratic footsteps and earthbending, but that didn't say that they were fighting, perhaps just trying to draw away. The people of the Earth Kingdom were a stubborn bunch, and she knew that well with her own experiences; if it came to a fight, they were going to keep the attention right on them, which was obviously what Azula wanted, at least until her army arrived in the outskirts.
She leaned up against the alleyway wall once she reached it, and waited for the others to step into cover, before she began focusing on the street and gates, trying to gauge the number of people around, and who was heading where. She could still sense some of Azula's supporters, but it was hard to distinguish them clearly from the other pedestrians, as she hadn't spent a long time trying to remember everyone's footsteps, which was her key way of distinguishing people without having to focus too narrowly.
"What's going on?" Sokka asked her specifically, obviously knowing she could sense further afield than they could see.
"There's still some earthbending going on in the Earth Kingdom district, but I don't sense any fighting. The soldiers haven't got there yet." she explained what she had sensed earlier, before drawing her attention to their general vicinity, "The protest is gathering." she added, though that was obvious.
"Are there any guard patrols moving to the gates?" Azula added her own question, and Toph sensed down the streets, noticing what seemed to be regular patrols moving about, and one of those was approaching the gates.
"Yes, just one group. It's only four guards." she answered, before sitting herself down against the wall, "It doesn't seem like anything is going to happen, at least for a few minutes."
Suddenly, she noticed a vibration in the ground, big enough that the others, without seismic sense, would have noticed it too, coming from the Earth Kingdom district, noting that a bunch of earth had been displaced.
"Okay, that'd be the distraction in full swing." Katara observed, "Right?"
"Whatever weapon they just used, it was powerful... like me powerful." she admitted, even if she didn't want to.
"Oh great." Azula sighed, "Just something else we have to destroy."
"No, I'm sure any earthbenders over there will destroy it if they have the chance." Toph argued, "You said that our goal was the City Hall, not to destroy all their weapons."
"Well, we're trying to neutralise the whole defence." Sokka corrected her, "Getting rid of whatever powerful weapon they might be using against the locals will help."
"It can't stand against our weapon." the Princess retorted with confidence, before she leaned out from the alleyway to check down the street, "Now they're gathering... the guards will be drawn to the gates."
"And then we go underground, I know." Toph finished her explanation, remembering well enough what was expected of her; she had been in enough battles and done enough stealth in her career as a fighter to not simply forget her role.
"So... uh... we just wait here." Ty Lee observed what they were doing, "Uh, so, we have to take the sewers, don't we?" she asked the earthbender, who turned to face her.
"What, it's the easiest path. I don't want to dig a tunnel under the city and have the guards notice it half-way through." she argued, before turning her attention back to the Earth Kingdom district, noticing something slightly more concerning; people were moving in their direction, and she could sense that heavy weapon being dragged along behind them, "Okay, we may have a problem." she admitted, "I think the earthbenders... and that weapon, are coming this way."
"Well... we did tell them to come here." Aang admitted, and Azula sighed.
"This better not get us caught. I prefer the element of surprise."
"What surprise is there when there's a protest or a riot going on?" Katara asked her, and the Princess waved off her concerns.
"They expect frustrated citizens and Earth Kingdom nationalists... not a decapitation strike." she argued, and Ty Lee cleared her throat, stepping closer to the Princess.
"Do you mean that literally?"
"Did you decapitate Gyoko?" she rhetorically asked her, Toph recalling her story about kidnapping the General; they were intending something rather similar, but now, had the advantage of moving in as a group, instead of it being merely Ty Lee by her lonesome.
"No." she replied, before stepping out into the street, "Okay, there's more people here now... and they're now our people."
"Good." Aang spoke up, "They're able to tell the Governor and the army what they think. They should."
"Guards are approaching from the north. A dozen of them." Toph gave an update, and sensed back up the street, off to where the earthbenders were, "The earthbenders will be here soon... so, when do we go?"
"Not yet. We need the garrison soldiers to be drawn out here first. That's the only way we'll be able to take the City Hall and hold it." Azula explained her reasoning, "We need to make sure the protestors aren't crushed, either."
"I think they can defend themselves."
"Well, they can't see with their feet... or waterbend." she noted, earning Katara's attention.
"Wait, what?" she mumbled, "Did you want me to do something?"
"The drains run under the street, right?" she asked the Water Tribe girl, who reached a hand out, perhaps trying to sense in a similar fashion to how Toph did with her feet.
"Yes, there's water in there. You want me to attack them with that?"
"Oh better than that." she corrected her, "I want you to turn it all to steam and fire it out one of the manholes. That'll help the earthbenders and protestors hold off the guards and soldiers... but wait until there's enough people here." she explained, and the Earth Kingdom girl crossed her arms, impressed by her strategy.
"That's not a bad idea. They won't be able to aim." she noted, knowing that seeing individuals required a good field of view to hit a target, just as she required a connection to the ground for herself and her target.
"Of course it's not a bad idea. It came from my head." the Princess tapped the side of her head, making Ty Lee and Sokka snicker, "You can't deny my skill." she pointed at them, and neither gave a retort to her claim.
Toph turned her attention back to the protestors, noticing the guards gathering in front of the protest, and sensed more of them coming out from inside the walls, closing the gates behind them; as their numbers massed, she realised that it wouldn't be long before things got violent. The earthbenders were rushing down the street, heading towards the gates, but she was unsure if the guards were aware of their presence yet. Her attention was then drawn behind them, down the alleyway; she could sense a few guards making their way up the parallel street, presumably intending to surround the protestors to force them to disassemble.
"They're going to come down this alleyway." she warned the others, before she raised a hand up, bending the wall of a nearby building open, revealing the interior of a closed workshop, "Get inside." she told them, and they complied, stepping in before she did, closing the wall up behind her.
"What now?" Ty Lee asked, "Aren't we going to stop the guards?" she asked Azula, who paced through the workshop, moving towards the front door.
"We will only act when it is necessary. Having all of them here will make them easier to deal with." she admitted, before gesturing to Toph, "I want you to trip them up with your earthbending. They won't be able to see you, so they won't attack us." she ordered the Earth Kingdom girl, who cracked her knuckles and focused on the guards as they made their way down the alleyway, out onto the street.
She flicked her hand up, creating a number of potholes and stones out of the road, which made the guards stumble over as they made their way out. The protestors took their chance, and rushed at them, kicking and whacking them with the signs they had made; the guards weren't up for the challenge, clearly, and ran off as quickly as they had arrived, drawing down the alleyway.
"Problem solved." she told the Princess, before she turned her attention back to the earthbenders, who were now arriving down the street, ripping up the road to use it as a weapon against the guards who were harassing the protestors, "They're here." she declared, and the others strode over to the front of the building, where they might have been able to see the fight ensue.
Rocks were thrown about, and fists went flying as the protestors, guards and earthbenders all fought, the civilians quickly realising the danger and running off through the alleyways, clearly afraid of getting caught up in the fighting. The soldiers weren't far behind, drawing along their weapon, which she realised was moving independently.
"What is that?" she asked, and Azula leaned over towards the windows, or at least, what she guessed were windows, as there'd be no other way for her to see what was going on.
"A tundra tank... it must be a new model. They're powered by firebending which heats and moves hydraulics... that being, pipes filled with water." she explained, and Katara strode over to the front door.
"Well, that's my cue, isn't it?"
"Not so fast. We want the soldiers to think they have a chance first." the Princess decided, and they all stood still, watching through the windows while Toph continued sensing ahead, anticipating the arrival of the soldiers.
Sensing the weapon firing off, she noticed that the earthbenders were tearing up parts of the road as shields, defending themselves from the soldiers, who then began pummelling them with firebending, which Toph could sense from how it whipped up dust and dirt from the surface of the road. The earthbenders responded by tossing cobblestones at them, ripping the road apart. Toph turned to the Princess, knowing she could intervene.
"Can't I... I dunno, just throw roof shingles at them?" she asked, and Sokka blurted out laughing.
"Oh that's great." he commended her idea, clearly amused by the concept, "Do it." he prodded her, and Azula nodded, permitting the attack.
The earthbender smirked with the thought of the soldiers flailing about in fear, before she raised her arms up, sensing the shingles on the roof above them, before flicking them off with great speed, whacking the firebenders from above, where they wouldn't expect it. They cowered, and she could sense them attacking the roof itself, presuming their attacker to be there; she just snickered, before sensing over to the roof of the building across the street, and repeated her attack, flicking off shingles to whack them, hitting a few of them right off their feet.
"Okay, that worked." Aang commented, seeming surprised, "I guess they won't realise you're hiding in here."
"People are not as smart as they think they are." she simply commented on that, knowing that most combatants she faced never considered that she would attack from a position out of their line of sight.
"Get ready to break the tank." Azula told Katara, who nodded, taking a waterbending form, "In five, four, three, two... and go." she counted down, Toph hearing the thump and splatter as the hydraulics burst outside, and she could sense the metal pieces of the tank fall apart, and the soldiers turn their attention to it.
"The steam might help too." she suggested to the Water Tribe girl, who reached a hand out, before clenching a fist.
"Uh... is she doing anything?" Sokka asked them as he watched his sister bend; Toph and Aang, with seismic sense at their disposal, could sense the pipe shaking due to the pressure of the water, and the cracks in the earth as it was malformed.
"Just wait." Toph assured him with a pat on the shoulder, before suddenly, the road surface broke open when the pipe ripped apart, and Toph just assumed the steam had burst out.
"Now do I give 'em one?" she asked, and Azula just scoffed.
"You don't need permission." she told her, and the Earth Kingdom girl just smirked, before slamming her foot down onto the ground, bending through the earth below to rip up parts of the road, throwing up pillars to strike at the confused guards and soldiers, raising the pillars and stones with quick succession, before soon enough, she'd battered every one of them that she could sense.
"That was a lot of grunts." Ty Lee admitted with a humoured tone.
"That's what it sounds like when you spar my guards, Ty Lee." Azula told her, before she pointed behind them, through the workshop, "Let's get out of here, and underground. This distraction will only last so long."
With that, she paced down through the workshop, before she reached the rear door, unlocking it and letting them exit out into another alleyway, this one far more narrow than the first; as everyone filed out, Toph sensed around, selecting the nearest manhole as their entry point, which she pointed towards, "There." she told them, "We'll take that one." she explained, leading them towards the manhole which sat in the middle of the bigger alleyway; suddenly, the manhole burst off, and from the splattering of water she received, she realised it was because Katara had waterbent the liquid inside to open it up.
"Gross." she mumbled with a grimace, before she bent herself some steps into the side of the hole, allowing her to scale down into the sewer, soon followed by Azula, and then the others after her.
She didn't waste any time, and began trudging forward through the sewer, recalling that they'd taken it before to get to the City Hall. She knew it was gross, but she wouldn't complain, deciding that they would exit the sewers as quickly as possible, once they had crossed under the walls, which sat nearby. She snapped a finger, deciding that she had an idea.
"Katara, Aang, bend the water out of our way. That'll help." she suggested, and they complied, Toph noticing that the water was no longer lapping up against her makeshift earthen boots, her preferred choice of footwear as it protected her feet without preventing her from sensing through the ground.
They continued on down the narrow, damp tunnel, and Toph could sense the fighting going on above them; the chaos made it rather hard to distinguish friend from foe, but it was clear that the distraction was doing just that. She could sense that a group of soldiers were moving in the opposite direction as her own little group, out from the walled city to assist the guards, which was exactly where they wanted them. Out of the way when the airship finally arrived at twilight, which would bring an end to the occupation of Shengchang, at least according to the Princess' plan.
When she had led them under the city walls, she turned her attention towards the next alleyway they could climb out from, and sensed around to check for guard patrols and more soldiers, but was pleased to find them unaccounted for. They were all being drawn to deal with the protest, but sensing further afield, she realised that there was a sizeable number of men outside City Hall.
"We might have a problem at City Hall." she warned Azula, who just scoffed.
"Oh, they can muster as many soldiers there as they like. That won't save the Governor." she argued, before pointing behind herself, "And we have the Avatar. I don't imagine they'd like to anger him."
"I'm not going out of my way to hurt anybody." the young Air Nomad retorted, "I will fight when I have to."
"Exactly." she agreed with him, "And when you do, you will deliver far more strength than a few squads of firebenders; you'll be like a walking battleship."
"I don't think you want that just walking around." Sokka warned her, but the Princess didn't seem convinced.
"We already do. Aang has enough self-control... he has earned our trust."
"Thanks, I guess." the Avatar awkwardly thanked her, before sighing, "I just hope that we don't have to fight for that long. The people in Shengchang aren't asking for that."
"Nobody ever would." Toph noted, knowing that the stance he was referring to was more than commonplace; many people in the Earth Kingdom, from what she could tell, supported fighting the Fire Nation, but that didn't mean that they wanted the fight coming to them personally.
"And I don't break my promises. The colony will be free... not in ruins." the Princess declared, "I am the Fire Lord."
"Come on there's something better you can say to intimidate the Governor." Sokka prodded her, making them all snicker.
"Yeah, how about, 'I'm going to make you wish you were never promoted'." Ty Lee suggested, before Katara piped up.
"Or, 'I will burn your face off if you even try to run'." she suggested, and the Princess coughed, finding that idea wouldn't be tolerated by the others, or even Katara herself if Azula had been the one to come up with the idea.
"I don't think that would be fair if he's not a bender." she admitted, "Though I might do it anyway if he annoys me enough."
"Azula." Aang addressed her, seeming frustrated by such a brazen suggestion.
"Fine... I'll only do it if he tries to have us killed."
"I mean, that's just a given." Sokka warned her, "You're really trying to find a way to do something stupid."
"Intimidation never comes free of harm." she warned him, "And before you ask, I made that one up." she added, preempting any questions about the seemingly on the spot proverb coming from her father, who was for lack of a better word, just the worst.
"And neither does a victory in battle. But you don't see me trying to crush everyone's bones." Toph gave her own opinion, and Azula remained quiet for a moment before she responded.
"Well, the Bone Crusher does sound awfully scarier than the Blind Bandit."
"The Bone Bandit." Sokka intervened with his own idea, and both Toph and Azula groaned, amusing the former greatly.
"Well I'm glad to agree on that." she commented, before pointing at Sokka, "I don't want a stupid name out of you again."
"Alright, Badgermole Girl." he responded, and she held her tongue, torn over whether to like the name, as it was rather fitting, or to bend a brick into Sokka's face for continuing to annoy her; she was a little impressed by the courage, at the very least.
"If these soldiers are courageous as he is, maybe we'll actually struggle." she suggested, and he snickered.
"Oh, I doubt it."
"And I don't. Underestimating your enemy is the first step to defeat."
"Somebody write that one down." he whispered, and she just rolled her eyes, having been quite serious in saying that.
Toph did have her doubts, but they were drowned out by the obvious successes her forces had made thus far; a city was a step up from a battle in the woods, but she knew that overwhelming force could not be ignored. With an airship attacking from above, foot and mounted soldiers from all around the city's outskirts, and a loyal group of earthbenders at their disposal, she was sure that the Fire Nation would be defeated. It was merely a question of what it would cost them all to achieve that victory.
Scurrying through alleyways was not what Ty Lee expected when she was told they were going on the offensive, but she understood why that was the case; the element of surprise was vital, and after dealing with Gyoko, she was confident that they could achieve a repeat, without the danger of her nearly drowning. Soldiers were rushing down the streets, heading off to deal with the protests, and drawing their numbers away from the city centre, where City Hall was located; that was their destination, which was appearing to be a struggle to reach, as they had chosen to not continue through the sewers, which kept them out of sight. Toph's seismic sense was still just as useful on the surface, giving them indication when to move and when to hide.
She kept her composure as well as she could, pacing behind Azula and Sokka, who led them through the alleyways as they moved closer to City Hall; she knew they'd have to take the underground route again, and she just hoped that they didn't get found part way through their entry. That would just make all their effort a waste, even if the airship arrived soon; the Governor and his lackeys could quickly escape, and prevent a quick victory. Back in the hills, when they had fought Gyoko, things had only ended quickly because their opponents chose to withdraw, while now, they weren't going to have better odds, even with more backup from Yi Province.
So, she focused on walking as light-footed as possible, imitating Aang's own soft footsteps which she realised had been the source of Toph's rather humorous moniker for him, 'Twinkletoes'; she had her fair share of experience with walking softly, but it wasn't to stay silent, but merely for the purposes of executing her acrobatic tricks. She could hear the marching and voices of the soldiers as they approached another major road, and Azula raised a hand, stopping everyone for a moment.
"We need to wait and hide." she declared, before turning to face Toph, "Where do we go?" she asked the Earth Kingdom girl, who stomped a foot onto the ground, presumably getting a lay of the surrounding buildings.
After a few seconds, she pointed to the right, and ordered them, "Everyone, get in that building."
She raised her hand, bending the wall apart so they could step inside; Ty Lee noticed it was what looked like the bottom floor of a house, but it seemed to be abandoned, with dust layed over the table and some clothes strewn on the floor. Toph closed the wall up behind them and everyone dropped down to find a place to rest and hide.
"What happened here?" she asked her friend, hoping Azula would have an idea.
"Why should I care?" she retorted, "Get down." she told her, forcing her to crouch down and hide by the table, the Princess kneeling down beside her; her eyes darted around as they continued to listen to the soldiers marching by, and Ty Lee glanced back to look at the others, who remained silent, and clearly concerned, though nobody was panicking, at least yet.
"Defectors... or loyalists." Azula gave her idea, "I'd say by the look of things nobody's been using this place for a month." she added, and Katara furrowed a brow.
"How many people loyal to your brother are there?"
"It's not a question of loyalty to him, but to my uncle. He is the most famous person in the country, for better or worse." Azula corrected her, before she tilted her head, "Though some might have believed my brother's claims... all of those would turn to me. I am the only one who will give the colonials what they desire."
"That's a big claim to make." Toph warned her, and she scoffed.
"My brother's dead." she retorted with a tinge of anger, which surprised Ty Lee, who knew that her friend hadn't reacted much to her brother's purported demise.
The earthbender didn't respond to that, but Sokka did, clearing his throat, "How about we just stay quiet from now on?" he suggested with a whisper, and the others heeded his advice; not long after, Toph gestured to the wall, and opened it up once more.
"It's clear, but it won't be for long." she warned them, and with that, Ty Lee and Azula rose to their feet, dashing out into the alleyway.
The acrobat leaned around the corner, checking down the street to confirm that the soldiers were gone, and she immediately made her way across the street, waiting for her friend to join her before she continued along, the two of them now leading the group down the maze-like configuration of alleyways as they continued their approach.
She could see the tall, peaked roof of City Hall in the distance, and that made Ty Lee smile, glad that they were at least close enough to see it. The alleyways wound around, and she passed by the personal gardens of the larger townhouses as they drew closer and closer to the centre of the city; the place reminded her a lot of the caldera city, and she assumed that the imported nobles and businesspeople from the capital and other bustling centres would live in those houses.
It was a far cry from the smouldering factories and shacks in the outskirts, which reminded her once more of the great disparity her nation faced. She had learned quickly enough after leaving the comforts of her family's mansion that the Fire Nation's prosperity, as her teachers liked to boast, was not spread quite evenly, even if it was already clear that different parts of the nation were richer than others, it wasn't obvious to her that the standards of living even in a single city could be so drastic. She didn't know what Azula thought to do about such issues, but her rhetoric about the Earth Kingdom hadn't been hollow, at least thus far, so she hadn't found a reason to doubt her intentions to better her nation in a tangible way.
"What do you think these people will think about your take over?" she decided to ask her friend with a whisper, and Azula shot her a momentary glance before shrugging her shoulders.
"I'm not intending to give them any new taxes, so they won't have reason to plot against me... in fact, I seek to ensure the enrichment of our nation can continue after this conflict is long over." she assured her of something that had already been stated before.
"I mean... is that enrichment for you, them, or the rest of the nation?" she decided to ask, and Azula stopped for a second, before chuckling.
"Oh, Ty Lee, I'm starting to enjoy your random questions now." she acknowledged, before pointing at her, "Who is going to win my war for me?" she asked her, and Ty Lee realised that was a rhetorical question; she was working to gain the support of the common people, and it was clear this wasn't going to be some uneven exchange- she wouldn't just claim their rights and representation had been restored and leave it with that.
"Good." she nodded, approving of such a mindset; she wouldn't claim she knew enough to address the problems that faced her nation, but she was sure that if Azula knew that the problems needed to be addressed, she would find a way, and something would be done about it, instead of just making proud, but hollow claims about their superiority.
The group continued on past the houses, approaching the large, expensive looking apartment blocks that surrounded the City Hall; when they got close to the road, Toph raised a hand up, gesturing for them to stop, and they did. Ty Lee kept an ear out, and noticed the sound of marching nearby; the earthbender gestured towards a nearby garden, and they all quickly climbed inside, taking cover. A few moments later, the marching had grown loud, and voices could be heard off in the distance.
"Get moving!" she heard a distinct shout, "Those peasants aren't going to dispel themselves!"
She turned to face Azula, who just pursed her lips, seeming to approve of what she'd heard, "As goes the plan." she whispered, before rising back up to her feet, listening as the soldiers marched away, "What fools." she derided them, and gestured for them to move, "The entry point is just up ahead... Toph, you left the tunnel, correct?"
The earthbender nodded, before she leapt out of the garden, pacing her way down the alleyway, making her way to the main street. The others followed cautiously, and Ty Lee made sure to check behind them for any guards, or civilians, and was pleased to see that the streets were empty; though the army was breathing down everyone's necks, that didn't mean people weren't going to go out, given that there wasn't a curfew. When she stepped up to the main road, she noticed she could hear voices in the distance, realising they were over by the City Hall; she guessed more guards or soldiers were assembled there, though for what end, she couldn't be sure.
Toph quickly threw her arms up, bending a hole where the tunnel had been dug before, right at the end of the short alleyway that divided the apartment complex around them. Without a second thought, Ty Lee jumped in after her, just glad to be out of sight again, feeling that at least, for a moment, she could relax and let her guard down. It only took a few moments for everyone else to follow, and after that, the hole was closed up, leaving them in utter darkness. That would have made her uncomfortable, if it weren't for the reassuring fact her friend was a firebender; she lit a torch in her palm, striding up behind Toph, who was trudging down the tunnel without any care for the lack of light. She did however stop when she reached the wall, which stood between them and the basement of the City Hall; Ty Lee strode up and glanced at it, unsure why she had done so.
"Is something wrong?"
"There's a few people upstairs, running about. I think it has to do with the protest." the earthbender gave her own theory.
"That's expected." Azula retorted, before tapping the brick wall, "Open it up."
Toph complied, parting the bricks to reveal the basement, which didn't look very different from the last time they were there. Ty Lee did notice there were some new crates sitting in the basement, marked with 'rice' and 'dried fruit'; she was unsure why they had brought food into the basement, but she guessed that Azula or Sokka might have an idea.
"Uh, so... the crates? Are they suspicious?" she asked them, and the Water Tribesman eyed his girlfriend for a moment before he strode out of the tunnel, eyeing the crates intently.
"It's just food... but I doubt they'd need this much here unless they thought they'd be holed up." he suggested, "I think the Governor knows we're coming... well, maybe not right now, but he expects a siege."
"Oh, I knew that." Azula waved off his concerns, "The Governor should suspect our intention to attack, but he will have no idea how we will do so." she argued; Aang stepped out behind her, and glanced around the basement.
"What if he's ready for us? I mean, if you're right, then we might have to run."
"After that debacle at Yu Dao, I know to expect that outcome. That's why we have Appa."
"On the edge of the city, nowhere near here." Katara warned her, and Ty Lee glanced at Aang.
"Don't you have that whistle?"
"I don't think he can hear from this far away... or maybe he can. I don't know if I want to find out."
"Exactly." Sokka agreed with him, "But you're ready to... uh, do what you do best. Hightail it out of here, if worst comes to worst."
"I'm-" he began, seeming offended, before he let out a sigh, "Yeah... I can do that."
"Now that that is settled, can we actually go and beat somebody up?" Toph asked them with a disgruntled tone, "I came here for a fight, not to chauffeur you guys around."
"Yes, we need to get on with it." Azula agreed with her, "Before the Governor actually gets a whiff of our plans."
"He won't see us coming." Sokka argued, and the Princess scoffed as she paced towards the stairwell.
"No, he will... but he won't be looking up, will he?" she asked, and the Water Tribesman snickered.
"Oh, if Dad could see this." he whispered to himself, before following after.
The rest of them did the same, Toph hastily making her way to get ahead of Azula, presumably to make sure they weren't about to run into a trap; she made her way up the staircase, and gestured for them to follow, indicating it was safe. Ty Lee cautiously followed, her gaze turning up as she made her way into the stairwell, remembering the last time they were there; they were just lucky they weren't caught that time, but now, security was going to be tighter, so she would have to act quickly. Though she didn't feel personally responsible for much of the fight that was to follow, she knew that her chi-blocking skills and speed would be vital in ensuring the Governor's capture, just as she had been with General Gyoko.
When they reached the top, Azula had already opened the door and checked the hallway, and turned back to face them, "We'll split in two. Toph, Katara, Aang- make sure the guards don't interfere, and push them out of the building. The rest of us will find the Governor and his guards, and deal with them. We'll meet at the foyer, understand?" she asked them, and Ty Lee nodded, understanding her role; she and Sokka needed to chi-block the Governor and his men, and anyone who stood in their way.
"Say no more, Zappy." the earthbender agreed to the plan, patting the Princess on the shoulder before she strode out into the hallway, "Time to crack some skulls."
Aang looked at her apprehensively, and she must have been able to sense that, as she raised a hand toward him, "Do I really need to say that wasn't literal?"
"He is twelve." Azula conceded, and Katara shot her a fiery glare.
"Aang isn't stupid."
"Yeah, I'm not." he declared confidently, before stepping back, seeming intimidated by Azula's mere gaze.
"Uh, I don't mean to be bore, but isn't this just a waste of time?" Ty Lee asked them, and Toph nodded, grasping Aang by the wrist to drag him out into the hallway, with Katara following right behind.
"Wait a second!" Katara called out to her, raising her voice to the point where her whisper was more of a breathy shout.
Ty Lee followed Sokka and Azula a moment later, the group splitting up, with her group heading right down the hallway towards the Governor's office, which they had inadvertently found the last time they were there. As they approached, she was concerned not by any noise, but by their absence; she could hear noises below and above them, but not ahead, in the Governor's office. Her suspicions were confirmed when Azula kicked the door open, revealing that no one was in the room. Nobody spoke, and the Princess just turned around and continued down the hallway; Ty Lee and Sokka followed, the two of them glancing around, and she guessed he was thinking the same thing. The Governor must have either evacuated out of fear of the protestors, or was someplace else, such as a briefing with the guards or army.
When they reached the staircase that led up to the next floor, Azula made her way up, pulling the facemask she had over her mouth; unlike the rest of them, she was very identifiable due to all the wanted posters that had been left around, so keeping her face out in open, around guards or public servants would only alert them to her presence before she even had the chance to firebend.
Reaching the top, the three of them made their way around the hallway, approaching the rest area they had found last time. There wasn't anyone there, but they could still hear noises nearby, and Ty Lee paced over to the door where she thought the voices were coming from; she pushed it ajar, glancing in to see it was an office, full of desks and file cabinets, with a few workers inside, shuffling around paper amongst themselves.
"What are they-" she began, before Azula kicked the door open, pulling out a dagger to threaten them.
"Hands up!" she ordered them, and they complied at once as the group entered, ready to attack if it was necessary; it clearly wasn't, but the intimidation factor helped, "Where's the Governor hiding?"
"Hiding?" one of them asked, clearly confused, "He's with the commander of the guard right now... downstairs." she explained, and the Princess sighed.
"We went the wrong way." she realised, before turning around, "Come on!" she shouted at them, clearly intent on reaching him as quickly as she could.
"What were you all doing?" Ty Lee decided to ask, and that clearly annoyed her friend, who wanted to get a move on.
"Going through records." one of them admitted, and Azula pointed towards him.
"To what end?"
"To make sure the Governor's financial dealings are safe." he clarified, and Azula narrowed her eyes at them.
"Do me a favour and don't burn them. I'd like to see how far the rot goes when I'm through with fighting." she asked, understandably confusing the workers, who mustn't have had any idea who she was; before they had a chance to ask, they had all left, following the Princess' order.
Ty Lee raced down the hallway ahead of her friend, deciding to take matters into her own hands, rushing to the staircase; she quickly descended, before dashing down the hallway, listening out for voices; when she found somebody who sounded like they were ordering people about, she continued in that direction, approaching a turn in the hallway. She momentarily stopped at the corner, noticing that two guards stood in front of a double door, presumably leading into a meeting room, where the Governor would be.
She reached into her bag, pulling out one of the smoke bombs Sokka had given her; she pulled her bandana up, covering her mouth, before she lopped it over at the men; they shouted out frantically, but quickly began coughing as they inhaled the fumes, and she took her opportunity. Ty Lee rushed at the guards, chi-blocking both of them with ease, before she kicked the doors open, letting the smoke inside. The Governor, who was standing at the other end of the room, with a well-dressed guard, probably their leader, was shocked to see her.
"A terrorist!" he pointed at her accusingly, and Ty Lee pulled out the other smoke-bomb.
"Well, yeah..." she conceded, "Terror is the idea." she admitted the aims of their attack, before throwing the smoke-bomb at the men; they probably thought it was an actual explosive, and dived out of the way, only to find out it simply expelled a heavy, pungent smoke.
A few moments later, she heard rapid footsteps behind her, and turned to see Sokka and Azula had arrived, the former pulling up his own bandana to stop himself from inhaling the smoke. The three of them strode inside, and Sokka and Ty Lee approached the Governor and his companion from either side. She did so slowly, not wanting to get lunged at while it was hard to see with all the smoke in the room; the Governor did end up trying that, pulling a jian on her, but Ty Lee was far too fast for him, weaving out of the way before sucker-punching him in the throat. He coughed and gagged as he fell to the ground, while Sokka knocked out the other man, throwing him into the wall.
"Good job. Now let's take these two somewhere we can actually hold them." Azula ordered them, and Ty Lee pulled out a rope to bind the Governor's hands; he obviously wasn't a firebender if he'd attacked her with a jian, so she didn't need to worry about him breaking free from rope so easily.
She pulled him back up to his feet, the Governor letting out a few sputters, still recoiling from the sucker-punch, and he turned his eyes to her, glaring her down, "I wouldn't try anything if I were you. That just leads to bad places."
"Or drownings." Sokka jokingly added, and Azula let out a snicker, though she seemed to have done so unintentionally, as she seemed embarrassed, pacing back over to the entrance.
The two of them pulled their hostages over, and Ty Lee glanced down the hallway, checking to see if anyone was around; she could hear some shouting off in the distance, and immediately guessed that Katara, Aang, and Toph had gotten to work, which meant it was only a matter of time before the army surrounded City Hall.
"Who are you idiots?" the Governor asked, and Sokka just chuckled.
"Oh, wouldn't you like to know." he prodded him in return, "We're not in the business of revealing secrets."
"Not yet." Azula warned him, and shoved the Governor, forcing Ty Lee to step forward to keep a hold of him, "Get moving, we've got a show to start."
"What, so you're going to make an example of me?" he asked, "I can negotiate my release... whatever you want, I'll pay double." he assured her, "That's if the soldiers don't slaughter you first."
"We don't negotiate with traitors." the Princess snapped back at him, and she pointed down the hallway, "Let's get to the others, before things get out of hand, and we miss our chance."
Ty Lee nodded, and gripped the Governor's arm tightly, pulling him along down the hallway, leading them out towards the foyer of the City Hall, where a podium and rows of seats were placed, presumably for local meetings and discussions. She could see a number of unconscious guards laying on the ground, with Toph, Aang, and Katara standing around, still in fighting form.
"Oh, so you've already got him." the Water Tribe girl observed, "That was easier than I thought it'd be."
"Chi-blocking really does work." Ty Lee told her with a smirk, proud of the abilities she wielded, and had indirectly passed on to Sokka, who used them with a surprising proficiency, despite his short time practising it.
Ty Lee dragged the Governor up to the podium, where Azula had stepped up, and laid her hands on it, eyeing towards the front doors of the building; she stepped over to her friend, wondering if she had a speech in mind. Being Azula, she must have wanted to say something, either to be intimidating, dramatic or a bit of both.
"So, gonna say something?"
"Something." she mumbled to herself, before turning around, reaching into her bag, picking out Roku's headpiece, which she hadn't worn since they first arrived in Shengchang; she replaced the small band she had holding her hair up with the ornate headpiece, before turning to face the Governor, "Do you recognise this?" she asked him, and the man's eyes narrowed at her, still unable to identify her with the lower portion of her face covered.
"It's..." he mumbled, before shrugging his shoulders, "Why should I care? You're all about to burn... and I don't mean that figuratively."
"Don't give her ideas." Ty Lee warned him, and the man scoffed.
"If she could fight, why didn't she attack me first?" he asked her, and the acrobat just turned away, not really having an answer for that; the Princess must have wanted to avoid revealing her identity, which was starkly obvious once one laid their eyes on her firebending, "Alright. I see whoever's paying you didn't think this through."
"Oh, to the contrary." Azula spoke up, before gesturing to Aang, who turned around to eye the door.
"You want me to... uh... you know?" he asked, and she nodded; understanding her intent, the Avatar thrust both his arms forward to create a massive gust of wind, which flipped over chairs and blasted the doors open.
"W-w-wait... was that-"
"Yes, airbending." Azula confirmed his suspicions, and the Governor's face turned to one of dread.
"Th-that's... that's the Avatar." he gasped, and turned his gaze towards the open doorway, "Somebody help!" he pleaded, but to no avail; nobody even approached the door, probably thinking that the group would come out to fight them.
When nobody entered, Azula let out a sigh, and she kicked down the podium, which crashed in front of them, breaking apart as she grappled the Governor by the throat, "This isn't the first time I've had to deal with your ilk." she assured him, before throwing him over the podium and onto the floor; he let out a cry of pain, and the Princess jumped down, followed by Sokka and Ty Lee.
She gave them a gesture, indicating towards the arms of the Governor, which the two of them grabbed, dragging him along on his belly, after Azula who paced down towards the door, dispensing of her face mask. As they reached the doors, Ty Lee made sight of their foes, a group of two dozen or more guards already in form, with shields and pikes at the ready; they shuffled back as they saw the Princess walk out, and when she strode towards the decapitated statue of Ozai, she shot out two fire streams from each her palms, setting the respective palms of the statue alight. At that moment, the guards must have all realised who they were dealing with, as did the Governor, who looked up to her with terror.
"Spirits save me." he muttered under his breath, and she just scoffed.
"No one can save you but yourself, because this city is already mine." she declared, before pointing at the guards, "You can stand there, and wait for your back-up, or you can attack me, but the result will be the same."
Katara stepped out a moment later, having grabbed the Commander of the Guards, and shoved him down onto his knees, "Uh, maybe now would be a good time to tell your men to stand down." she suggested, and he just spat out blood, eyeing his men with a hawkish glare.
"This city isn't yours, not yet." he retorted, "We will protect it from you and your foreign allies."
"You aren't in the position to be making political statements like that, Commander." she warned him, before lighting a blue torch on her index finger, pointing it at the Governor's throat, "Now, your excellency, you may call off your men, and turn them on the Lieutenant General's forces, unless you'd like to see this city square look like the Royal Palace after Avatar Roku was done with it."
"Sorry, what?" Aang asked her with a confused glance.
"Oh, that's a story for another time." she pursed her lips, before pushing her finger closer to the Governor's neck, "But I'm sure you already know how that ended."
"You don't have the power to do that."
"On my person... absolutely not, but your imagination is lacking when it comes to the power of the Fire Nation." she warned him, and the Governor narrowed his eyes on her.
"If I don't die tonight, I shall receive all the honours I possibly could from his majesty." he declared confidently, before raising his chin, "Kill them!" he shouted out at the top of his lungs, and Azula retracted the torch, instead turning her attention to the guards, creating a wall of flames all around them to prevent them from advancing; the flames rose up, towering above all of them, and the heat alone forced Ty Lee to step back, moving to grab the Governor and gag him with a bit of fabric she had.
"Enough talking from you." she chastised him as she tied the fabric around his jaw and neck, before kicking him in the gut, forcing him to slide back through the doors.
"That was one kick." Katara commented with surprise, before shoving the Commander of the Guards in after him, "You two have fun lying there." she chastised the pair, before turning to Toph, "Keep them down!" she shouted at the earthbender, who rolled her eyes, before raising her hand, creating stone bindings to hold both men down.
The Water Tribe girl spun around, reaching her arm forward, and eyed the Princess, "If you could get rid of the fire for just a second, I'll give you a hand."
She nodded, and Aang followed Katara in taking form, waiting for Azula to drop the flames; when they dissipated, the pair bent water from the fountain in the middle of the square, right past the guards, who they knocked to the ground, before creating rings of water around themselves. With that, they were able to attack in sync with the Princess, blasting the guards whenever they tried to get closer.
"That's what I'm talking about." Sokka grinned at them, before drawing out his boomerang, "Oh, I've been looking forward to this part."
"I swear if you make one of those stupid puns." Azula raised a finger at him with her left hand while she shot out a fire stream with her right.
"No, no, of course not." he assured her, though Ty Lee was unsure whether to believe him; it turned out it wasn't a pun he intended as he raised his boomerang up, along with his left leg, before dropping both as he launched it towards their enemies, "Water Tribe style!" he shouted at the guards as he struck one of them in the helmet, the boomerang flying back towards Sokka, who was able to grab it with ease.
"Okay, enough posing." Toph spoke up behind them, pushing both Ty Lee and Sokka out of the way, before she cracked her knuckles.
"Don't ruin the fight just yet." the acrobat suggested, "Give Aang and Katara their time to shine."
"They can have that after I give them some." she refused to follow her idea, and threw her arms forward, before raising them up, pulling the ground around them with it; the stone tiles and soil underneath curled up and pushed out like a wave of earth, throwing all the guards off their feet, though the attack quickly dissipated.
"You made that look easy." Aang turned to her, panting from the exercise of going through his waterbending forms.
"Oh, it was." she smirked back at him, "Now, give them what they came for!"
"All four elements at once!" Sokka raised a fist, and the group turned back to their enemies, beginning their moves in synchronisation, with fire bolts, water whips, boulders, and what looked like spinning balls of air, being launched out towards the guards, who struggled to keep up; they obviously didn't have to deal with waterbending on a daily basis, and she doubted any of them had even seen airbending before.
The attacks were launched in successions, with each wave forcing the guards back, but with time, they were able to build up a defence, launching fire streams and lunging ahead with their pikes, but those that got too close were just pummelled and thrown back. Azula seemed to be getting cocky, because she strode ahead, unprotected by anyone, and raised her arms up, as if to mock them for their inability to attack her.
"Who has the tenacity to attack their rightful Fire Lord and live to tell the tale?" she asked them, suggesting she would end anyone who tried, and nobody attacked her at first. That was until the Commander of the Guards shoved Sokka out of the way and rushed at the Princess with his hands still bound, probably thinking he could tackle her, only to be knocked off his feet by a water blast, and thrown over into the fountain.
"I admire the gusto, but your hands are bound, Commander." she commented upon his attempt, before a soldier tried to take advantage of the distraction, lopping his pike at her head like a spear; instead of letting it strike her, or even dodging it, she just leaned back, catching the pike with her right arm, and spun around, moving into form, "How about this... I won't even use my bending."
"What is she doing?" Ty Lee mumbled her under breath, confused why she would choose to use a weapon instead of her bending.
"She wasn't just training me." Sokka answered her question, the acrobat watching in awe as her friend fought off three men at once as they tried to impale her with their pikes; their attacks weren't inaccurate or poorly executed, she was simply too fast for them, weaving around their moves and using her pike to block theirs.
Ty Lee knew that her friend was skilled at fighting, but she only thought that extended to martial arts, and not to the use of weapons like pikes, which were associated with the lowest, least skilled Fire Nation soldiers; she imagined that the Water Tribesmen used similar weapons, which explained why she had learned to use one, which would have already complimented the skills she was more familiar with.
"Are we even going to help her?" Aang asked, clearly concerned for her safety, but Toph just chuckled, crossing her arms.
"No, I think she's got this handled." she refused to act, all of them watching as the Princess beat guard after guard back, eventually hitting a few of them, disarming others, and finally, pulling the Commander out of the fountain to threaten his life with a fire torch to the throat.
"I've enjoyed this, but I believe that negotiations are in order."
"Why didn't you all swarm her?!" the Commander asked his men, clearly angered by their inability to strike her.
"Because we'd hit each other, sir." one of them gave a seemingly honest answer, and he groaned with frustration.
"That's what-" he began, before he was gagged by a bit of fabric; the Princess wagged a finger at him, unimpressed by his attitude.
"Now, ignore him for a moment. I'm sure you can all see where this goes... I threaten his life, he begs for mercy, and bargains his own escape so I can continue beating on you all, along with the Avatar, a waterbender, earthbender, and two highly skilled chi-blockers." she defined exactly what they were up against, and suggested that their superior would rather sacrifice them than actually die with honour, something that wouldn't go well to their Fire Nation ears.
"Wh-what..." one of them just gasped, clearly confused by her exposition.
"Let me state my offer more clearly... betray him, and he won't betray you." she suggested, and the guards just eyed their superior, clearly tossing up her offer.
"We can beat you." one of them argued, moving into form, "Even if some of us die, that is worth protecting this city."
"You won't be able to do that for much longer, even if you live." she warned them, "I am not your enemy." she stressed, before suddenly, a massive fire stream burst forth, and forced her to duck; Ty Lee paced over to get a better look, and saw that a squad of soldiers, better armed and presumably better trained than the guards before them, and definitely not loyal to the Governor or his lackey Commander.
"And the Avatar!" Toph shouted out, "You know, the one person you guys really want to kill!" she reminded them, making Aang and Katara both cringe, eyeing the earthbender with contemptuous looks.
"That's Fire Lord Azula to you." the Princess stressed her identity, even though Ty Lee herself couldn't really call her 'Fire Lord' yet, out of force of habit; she slammed the base of the pike into the ground, gaining the attention of the soldiers, especially their leader, "You would be best to surrender."
"That's funny." the officer acknowledged, before he and his men took form, "I was about to ask you to do the same. I'm sure the Fire Lord would appreciate his usurper daughter being dealt with."
"You mean the same man who had his own son killed. I will not be captured by the likes of you just to languish in the worst place imaginable." she assured them, snapping a finger towards the group, indicating for them to get ready for a fight- a real one and not just showing off by battering a bunch of unprepared guards.
"And where would that be?"
"By his side." she answered him coldly, before tossing the pike back towards the guards, though not offensively; she was giving them their weapon back, as she moved into form, ready to charge a lighting bolt.
"Attack dammit!" the Commander of the Guards shouted, having wrung free of his gag.
Azula, obviously fed up with the Commander's blabbering, whacked him across the side of the face, knocking him out cold. The soldiers let out a flurry a fireballs, sing us all to return fire with tough and Katara using their respective elements to create shields of earth and ice, holding back the flames. Then the princess gathered flames behind her, focusing into her palms; she weaved out of the way of a fire stream before she returned the favour with her own. She unleashed a stream from each hand, which ripped the earth and ice apart, blasting soldiers back. The guards had just stood there, as if their superior hadn't uttered a thing; it was obvious to Ty Lee that her words had an impact on them but that didn't mean that they were going to fight by her side.
Out of the smoke and steam, a few eager soldiers ran out, rushing forward to attack the group; he shifted into a fighting stance and dodged their fireballs before she sent out a flurry of jabs, striking the extremities of any soldier she could reach. Frustratingly, the soldiers were able to draw back and formed a defensive line allowing them to to stave off her tree looking as well as the attacks coming from Azula and Sokka, the latter only knocking one of them out with his boomerang.
It quickly became apparent that their strength was in skill and not in numbers, as the group was forced to move back into the City Hall. Ty Lee grabbed the Commander and dragged him back, making sure he didn't take the chance to escape, even after his beating by the Princess. Toph raised some stone tiles and dirt up to form a makeshift barricade, which was immediately set upon by the firebenders, who shot fireball after fireball at it, the flames leaking through.
"Now would be a good time to deck them, Toph." Sokka suggested to the stout earthbender, whose face contorted into one of clear annoyance.
"What do you think I'm trying to do? There's a lot of them, and since you don't want me killing all these guys, I need to incapacitate them individually." she explained her reason for not going all out, which was quite understandable from Ty Lee's perspective.
Unlike her own fighting style, earthbending could be very deadly, especially given that earth surrounded them everywhere, and it could be used to sink and crush enemies into the ground.
"I never clarified on whether you were to use lethal force." Azula turned to her, seeming genuinely surprised.
"No you didn't, Zappy. Aang did."
The group turned to face Aang, all while Toph's attention was still squarely focused on bending at those soldiers outside which they could no longer see. The Avatar didn't seem too surprised, or embarrassed.
"What? Did you guys want to kill them?"
"No, of course not." Katara assured him, and turned to her brother, "Right?"
"Take it from someone who's actually done it... No, I would really like to avoid it, but sometimes it's necessary."
"We're not boxed in yet." Toph spoke up, "When that happens, we won't have a choice."
"It won't happen." Azula assured her, "They will be here before the sky turns black." she stressed, making Toph tilt her head up, seeming ever so miffed by her explanation.
"I don't want to sound stupid... But how long is that?"
"Very soon. Quick enough that they won't have a chance to catch us."
When Azula told her friends that she would lead them to victory, she didn't imagine that would involve them hiding behind a barricade of chairs while they threw potshots at any soldier who dared to enter the building; their only luck was that the army must have decided to use their 'secret weapon', whatever it had been, against the protestors, instead of them, though it was probably because they had the Governor hostage, gagged and tied to the podium in the centre of the foyer. Darkness had fallen over the city, and all she could see was the distant light of fire, and she could only hope that was from her invading forces, and not from the soldiers torching neighbourhoods to silence the masses.
Azula wasn't usually one to feel guilt over her actions, and this time was no different, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel responsible. She was meant to be the Fire Lord, protecting her people, which was something Ozai of all people had taught her; it was obvious that he didn't believe this with their best intentions at heart, but he knew he needed to protect his people if they were ever going to fight for him and his ideals. She faced the same problem now, feeling like a coward; shame of weakness was far stronger than any desire to make amends for her mistakes. That was why she had gone to kill her brother in an Agni Kai, and that was why she was going to stop cowering, no matter the protestations of Sokka, who would surely lambast her for her overconfidence.
When she rose to her feet, she just sighed, watching as her companion did the same, looking at her with a frustrated glare, the same he gave her when she tried to steal the water he had put the effort into boiling, after being washed ashore in a foreign land with no friends or hope of rescue, "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Now is not the time to act like a hero."
"Shut up, Katara." she snapped at him, making him snicker as he realised what she was referencing.
"Hey!" the Water Tribe girl called her out, and she just ignored her, before she strode towards the front door.
"Get to Ty Lee and Aang. They must still be holding the back door... take the Governor and get out of here."
"Why would we do that?" Katara asked her, clearly annoyed by her decision, "You can't fight them alone."
"Oh, not forever... but it won't be forever. I can't protect everyone from explosions, and that's what will be coming our way when the airship arrives." she warned them, and Toph raised a hand.
"I can just dig a hole."
"For once, that doesn't sound completely brutish." she conceded the ease of such a plan, "Be ready, I'm just going to keep them busy." she warned them, before Katara stepped up.
"No, I have a better idea." she argued, "You wanna scare them, right?" she asked her, and the Princess nodded, glancing towards the doors, where a few soldiers were cowering, ready to send more fireballs their way if they tried anything, "Toph, follow behind her and tell her exactly where the soldiers are standing. I'll take the water from the fountain... you turn it into steam, and they'll be blind." she gave her plan, and Azula scrunched her lips up, not sure whether to be annoyed or impressed.
"That is a bit more eloquent than my plan." she admitted, "But no." she refused, "I need them to see me. They've been afraid of me all this time, so perhaps I ought to show them my strength."
"Okay, but we'll be right behind you." Sokka assured her, and turned to face Toph, "Uh, just rock up the Governor for a minute. We can't watch him while we kick butt." he suggested, and the earthbender just smirked, before striding over, slashing the rope that held him with a bone knife she must have taken from Katara's set.
She threw him to the ground, and bound him with the rock below, before throwing her hand up, ripping apart the barricade that held the doors shut. The soldiers then rushed in, trying to take advantage of the opening, as they obviously would, throwing flurries of fireballs their way; Azula didn't flinch as she created two fire shields over each of her forearms, turning their attacks into mere fuel for her own defences.
"Keep it coming and she might have a bonfire." Sokka mocked the soldiers, before tossing his boomerang forward, striking one of them in the leg, making him trip over, easy pickings for Toph, who threw him into the air with a stone pillar.
Azula then rushed forward, knowing that despite the risks, she needed to push them back, or the rabble of soldiers would just come up with a half decent plan and defeat them. The soldiers raised up their defences, consisting of a few flimsy fire walls and some pikes which the non benders wielded; these weren't much to the Princess, who just weaved around their pikes as they were thrust forward, before shooting a short flurry of bolts from her index fingers, alternating with each attack.
Cries of pain echoed out as she struck their uncovered faces, before she raised her arms up, bending the walls of fire around herself, remembering the 'escape' technique Lo and Li had once taught her; she found it would be rather suitable for offensive situations, given her enemies could no longer see her through the blindingly bright blue flames.
As if she had had the exact same idea, the ground rumbled beneath her feet, and she heard a few grunts and metallic tangs as the armoured soldiers were struck back by stone pillars; Toph wasn't going to stay out of the fight, no matter what Azula said about making a statement for herself. She didn't berate the earthbender, just thrusting her hands forward, turning the swirling mass of flames into a funnel by which she could push her enemies out of the way.
When the flames dissipated, the soldiers were all against the walls or on the floor, most of them singed with embers, some worse, with their clothes clearly tarred from her bending. She had the courtesy to let the flames dissipate once she was done with them; attacking the fallen was not necessary, as they just cowered in fear as she strode forward, out of the City Hall, back into the square, where the guards and soldiers stood in formation.
"Here I am!" she addressed them, "Aren't I the one you all are here for? The one who made you run with your legs between your tails?" she questioned the soldiers, knowing that some of them might have been survivors from the battle she had won against Gyoko; there, the might of her forces was on full display, and that was without War Minister Qin's pet project.
"We won't run away." the officer who had led the first group of soldiers assured her, "It is our duty to bring you to justice for the wanton destruction of our nation."
"Oh, I wasn't the one who pretended to kill their own father. You must have gotten me confused with someone else." she assured him, before taking a fighting stance, "I'm giving you all this opportunity to surrender."
"Or what?"
"You will face the fury of the dragon." she declared with confidence, feeling as if that was something her uncle might have said, back when he actually had the stomach for fighting.
"You are but one girl... no matter your bending skills, you will fall like any other human being."
"Oh, that's where you're mistaken. You're not fighting me." she scoffed, "You're fighting the people of Shengchang." she warned him, and he just raised a hand, signalling for his men to move into form.
"Riots aren't battles, your majesty." he mockingly addressed her, "Knock her out... if she really doesn't want to return to the Fire Lord."
"Suit yourself." she acknowledged, before dropping her hands down towards the ground, "Toph, I'd like to get a better view!" she called back inside, the soldiers rushing towards her to attack before anything could be done; they clearly didn't understand her words, as she was launched up into the air but a moment later, creating two fire streams with her palms, launching herself even higher as she set fire to the ground beneath her feet.
Without a second thought, she opened her mouth wide, and let a fire stream propel out of it, dousing the soldiers with flames as they screamed out in shock and fear; when she dropped back down to the ground, they were either running away or rolling on the ground, trying to get the flames off their body. The officer and a few of the better armoured firebenders stood tall, their leader seeming to grow angrier the more his men faltered.
"I will not stand for this." he decried their cowardice, before taking a firebending form, which wasn't as sloppy as she'd expected, but nobody would lay off practice when an uppity junior officer could Agni Kai their way to generalship.
"Something tells me they bullied you in the academy." she mocked his character, and the officer just rushed at her, eyes glazed with fury, just how she wanted them to be; even if he might have been a real challenge otherwise, when enraged, he was no stronger than a juvenile pig-bull, rushing at her with its tusks and horns.
She ducked under a fire stream he released from his palm, its flames bright and hot like his fury, but that didn't make his aim any better; she conjured a torch underneath her clenched fist, and threw it right into his fast, scorching his cheek as he stumbled away in pain, raising his hands up to try and block whatever she'd try next. He didn't have a chance, as he was knocked right from his feet by a sweeping kick from the Princess, who then turned to face his remaining firebenders, who seemed more than a little cautious, standing far back and in defensive forms, or at least, as defensive as a firebender could be.
"Are you feeling stupid today?" she questioned them, before her attention was drawn by a high pitched whistle; she turned her head, as did the firebenders, to take notice of somebody she'd been waiting for.
Kibo stood with half a dozen other civilians, wearing bandanas that covered their mouth and blue headbands which signified their loyalty to her cause; the soldiers turned to face them, clearly concerned that they'd gotten all the way to the City Hall.
"How did- the gates were shut!" one of the firebenders declared, clearly concerned that they'd just gotten outmatched by a bunch of untrained civilians.
"It's called the sewers, idiot." Kibo mocked the soldier, before pointing her pike towards him, "Would you like to know how I got this?"
Azula understood her intentions, and pulled her mask back up to cover her face, watching as the insurgents dropped some of Sokka's smoke bombs, which gave off a rather pungent smell; they certainly weren't just a trick, especially when faced by those inexperienced with such weapons. The firebenders began coughing hysterically, and tried to pick up their commanding officer, but Azula got in their way, ready to make an example of them.
She weaved around their poor attempts at firebending at her, which was not much of a challenge with their smoke blocking their view, but that meant they could also get around her, the Princess forced to bend flames all around her body, stopping them from flanking her. She then grabbed one of their helmets and yanked it off his head, tossing it into one of the other soldiers, who was then stabbed in the leg by one of her supporters. Their fighting skills were more than she had expected, but she knew they had been training ever since they assembled their organisation, fearing that another Yu Dao might occur.
She then grasped the officer by his collar, looking at him as he tried to cover his mouth, "Not so tough now, are you?"
He snarled, and tried to claw at her face, only to find himself jabbed in the jugular; he coughed and sputtered, before falling back down on his back. Azula didn't waste any time and moved back towards the City Hall, where the others were awaiting her; Toph dropped the barricade once more, and Sokka rushed out, seeming concerned about what had been happening outside.
"Are you guys alright?" he asked the ragtag fighters, who just nodded along, before saluting him.
"We've done what was asked, sir."
"Don't call him sir. He'll start getting ideas." she reprimanded the young man, whose name she couldn't recall, but recognised from the earlier meeting.
"Apologies, your majesty." he bowed to her, before readying his pike once more.
Kibo stepped closer to her, "Are we going to hold this building, or... take the Governor and get somewhere safer."
"This is where I told my forces to converge. We will wait, because we need as many soldiers here when the assault begins." she declared, "All of you, get to the rear, and help Aang and Ty Lee. They're probably going to try and attack there now that we've thrashed these soldiers."
"And the guards." Toph added, before chuckling, "They mostly ran off once I started ripping the ground apart."
"They seemed unreasonably loyal to their boss... I think some will come back." Sokka suggested, and she scoffed, finding such a decision to be quite laughable, given it wouldn't help their superior in the slightest.
"There won't be much to come back to." Azula retorted, and obviously, the Commander had heard that, and squirmed a little, still tied up by the barricade of chairs they'd set up, "I wasn't referring to you, if you're really going to panic that much."
"Why bother telling him that?" Kibo asked, "They'll fear you all the same."
"Good point." the Princess acknowledged her wit with a smirk, before snapping her fingers at Sokka, "We're done scaring them for now, but the distraction has just begun. That can't be the last of the soldiers coming our way."
"Well obviously... there's like a thousand of them here." he stated the obvious truth of the situation.
"Your majesty!" she heard somebody shout out to her frantically, and Azula immediately turned to step outside, noticing more of her supporters, these ones far more battered than Kibo's group.
"Are they coming after you?" she asked, and they nodded, limping their way towards City Hall, eyeing the men she'd already beaten.
"Yes... and we're going to need your help."
"That is why I came all this way, after all." she assured the tired man with a smirk, before turning her gaze towards the street, where she was sure the soldiers would soon arrive, "There isn't much time. Katara, heal these men as fast as you can. We're going to need everyone we can."
"I thought you said you could beat them." the Water Tribe girl asked her nervously, and she tilted her head.
"Oh, I can, but an image of desperation is as effective as actually being desperate." she explained, and one of the injured men began to laugh, before coughing.
"Your tact is unmatched, your majesty." he complimented her with a crooked smile.
"Your flattery is unneeded... what is needed is your confidence, and your strength." she stressed to the man, and he and his comrades nodded, each of them sitting down to be healed.
The officer who she'd battered earlier began to try and get up, and she didn't even attack him, just watching as he eyed her with a fearful glance.
"Need a hand?" she asked out, and he didn't speak, just pulling himself up by grabbing the edge of the water fountain, "Your reinforcements will face the same fate." she warned him, before snapping a finger, "Toph, I'd like you to show off."
"Sure about that, Zappy?" she asked her with a smirk, and the Princess just ignored that, only gesturing towards the soldiers who had just arrived, tailing the injured fighters.
"Yes, your expertise is required." she emphasised her value, and the earthbender just raised a hand, "Give me a minute."
"Half a minute." she countered, and her smirk contorted into a devious grin, as if she had something terrible planned.
"Get back." she warned those fighters still standing by her side, and bore witness to the skill of the Blind Bandit.
First, she simply stood there, hands dropped by her side, as if she was ready to pounce at someone, while the soldiers filed down the street, and into lines for combat. The injured officer just looked at Toph, cowering as he realised what was about to happen; at least one of them had the brains to understand what an earthbender could do, and then, she did. The ground shook violently, as if a volcano had just erupted nearby, shaking the building behind her just as much, as the city square was ripped up in mere moments, throwing the soldiers off of their feet, or forcing them to run backwards to avoid the wave of earth.
However, a simple wave wouldn't stop them, as those left unscathed moved back into form, and the firebenders began their attacks, lopping volley after volley of fireballs towards them; Toph was quick enough to raise blocks of dirt and stone tiles to defend them, and Azula used the same technique as before, bending the flames that came her way into her own weapon, saving energy that might have otherwise been expended bending walls of fire. She then proceeded to shoot a flurry of fire streams out, scaring the soldiers enough to stop them from advancing, though they were still trying to find their footing after Toph's massive attack. Sokka stepped up beside her, and readied his boomerang, though she grabbed his hand, preventing him from using it.
"That's just a waste." she warned him, "Wait for them to get close, then attack." she directed him, and the Water Tribesman pouted, frustrated that he couldn't use his beloved 'Mister Boomerang', as he liked to call it, but he seemed to get her point; they were holding the line, not trying to push the soldiers back towards the walls.
Kibo stepped up beside her, with her pike at hand, "We will fight them back, Princess."
"When Katara's done healing your friends, then we can decide if an offensive is worth it." she gave her decision, before gesturing to the soldiers who were now about to rush for the City Hall's entrance, "Ready!" she called on those behind her, who got into form, and turned to Sokka, who just winked.
"As always." he assured her quietly, before he got into a chi-blocking pose which looked right out of Ty Lee's book, which made her smile; he must have been sparring with her just a little too much- if she fell behind, he'd get the glee of beating her in a fair fight.
When the soldiers got close enough, Toph raised her arms up, creating a number of pillars which shot out from the ground at random, catching them off guard, but some got past, aiming to attack the Princess directly. She was able to block a pike easily enough, disarming its wielder before she smacked a firebender across the face with the shaft of the polearm; Sokka tried something similar, though he just ended up chi-blocking the soldier, and taking the weapon from his limp hands. Her supporters, despite their inexperience, held the line, and even went toe-to-toe with firebenders, who were usually more than capable of taking down any non-bender.
But, their luck wasn't lasting; even with Katara joining the fray after she'd finished healing the fighters, her supporters were beaten, one by one, forced to get back inside, leaving only the strongest amongst them to hold off the soldiers. They were dropping too, with men bloodied, bruised and knocked unconscious from the flurry of elements that were sent their way, and the chi-blocking that Sokka dispensed with increasing efficiency, as he even refused to step forward, taking her words truly to heart.
Even some of the beaten soldiers had gotten back up, and instead of fleeing, re-joined the fray, trying to take down their most effective fighter, Toph, with an angry rabble. She held them off with a set of armour conjured out of stone tiles from the ground, and smacked them about like they were playthings, before she had had enough and encased as many as she could into the ground itself.
The officer she'd beaten before decided to try and fight her once more, and Azula was willing to let the man play fool once more; she waved a hand at her group, telling them to hold off for a moment while she stepped forward, the other soldiers looking with confusion as the officer took a firebending form, despite his injuries.
"You will regret coming here." he assured her, "Your little group won't stand for much longer."
"I haven't even had the Avatar lay into you yet." she scoffed at his claim, before imitating his pose, "Let's go then, if you really want an Agni Kai."
"Oh it won't be much." he assured her, before shooting a fireball right at her chin.
The Princess was forced to lean back, not having enough time to swat the attack away with her hands; though she almost fell back down flat on her behind, Azula would not let a fool beat her so easily, crouching down to balance herself before she jabbed him square in the gut. He grabbed her by the arm and covered his other palm with flames, ready to try the move that had scarred her brother, which would have been amusing if not for the circumstances; she instead breathed out flames, overcoming his own strength and forcing him to stumble back, before she sent out a kick, not even firebending, simply to throw him back off his feet.
"Are you done yet?" Toph asked her with a unamused tone, and Azula just raised a finger.
"Half a minute." she assured her, before kicking up one of the pikes that had been dropped beside her.
"Oh, not this again." the soldier sighed, before trying a sweeping kick on her; he did get her legs, but she was able to hoist herself on the pike, which stood firm on the ground, before swinging her whole body at him, kicking him square in the chest with both feet.
He coughed and sputtered from the blunt force of the hit, before the Princess threw the pike back to one of her supporters, "Don't bother getting up again." she warned him, "And for the rest of you, you would best leave while you still have the chance, unless you think you'd fare any better."
"I think I would." she heard a voice from in the mass of soldiers, and Azula felt it was oddly familiar; it wasn't until the speaker stepped forward that she realised her luck.
Captain Huang and his men had arrived at twilight, just as she requested, and she could only smile; the officer obviously thought he was about to be saved, and smirked with glee.
"Finally, somebody to teach this woman a lesson." he declared, "These aren't any poor sods who've come to help."
"No, they aren't." she agreed with him, "Captain Huang, you may deal with these men." she gestured to the soldiers that surrounded her.
"Well, I did swear an oath." he admitted, before conjuring a fire whip, striking one of the firebenders in the back, his men rushing forward with their odd assortment of weapons to strike at the shocked soldiers, who quickly fell prey to their erratic moves, giving her group the opportunity make an offensive.
It didn't last too long, with the mix of earthbending, waterbending, and firebending putting them in a frenzy, and that wasn't considering her enthused supporters, led by Sokka, laying into the soldiers without delay. Azula rushed ahead, and took her pound of flesh, though not quite literally, perhaps to Aang's relief, if he'd ever come back around to see what they'd done with the soldiers; flames licked skin and men cried for the spirits to save them, but there was no reprieve. The beating, to their luck, didn't last too long, and when the last of the soldiers standing frantically ran off, instead of trying to reform some kind of line, Azula let herself sigh, glancing up to the sky above.
"Renshu... now would be a time to make your entrance." she mumbled under her breath, knowing that all of her guards were aboard the airship, ready to come and assist her; her attention was drawn by the Captain, who strode over toward her, stepping past the unconscious or sorely beaten soldiers between them.
"I don't mean to sound like an idiot, but what's the actual plan here?" he asked her, understandably confused about what would come next.
"We go inside to wait." she told him, before her gaze turned to those who hadn't yet fled, but were able to actually walk, perhaps cautiously waiting on some kind of order to attack or withdraw, "You should go and find your families. Now is not a good time to stand your ground, no matter what your superior might have told you." she warned them, feeling responsible for their safety, given their superiors were more than willing to have them throw their lives away just on the odd chance they could actually kill or apprehend her.
The soldiers who were still reeling on the ground just looked up at her and her allies with fear, and she could only turn her chin up; she wasn't there to save everyone, and her warning applied to them all the same, even if Shengchang wasn't their city. When she was about to turn to go inside, she noticed that Ty Lee was dashing towards her, with a frantic look on her face.
"Zula! There's a lot of them coming down through the back. We need to stop them before they get the Governor." she warned her, and the Princess let out a sigh.
"That explains their willingness to run away." she glanced back towards the city square, before covering her palms with her signature blue fire, "Let's deal with them, before they try anything more reckless."
"I could just bring down the building on top of them." Toph suggested with such nonchalance that Azula was almost impressed.
"I'd prefer a roof over our heads when reinforcements arrive." she countered her idea, before pointing to the floors, "These, however, you can rip them to shreds."
"Good enough for me." she agreed to the proposition, before they all moved back inside, the earthbender raising the barricade once more behind them.
Not a moment later did Aang rush down the hallway, throwing blasts of air towards his unseen opponents, and it wasn't long until they revealed themselves, well-armoured firebenders with a clear goal in mind.
"Over here!" the Governor called out to them, and though some stood their ground, throwing fireballs at Aang, the rest rushed to go free him.
Azula wasn't going have any of that, and charged two fire stream in each her hands, gathering masses of flames, which grew brighter and hotter by the second, before she released them, using them to hasten her dash towards the entombed Governor, whose bindings were blasted apart by firebending. Though Toph was able to knock a few of the attackers back, one of them was able to reach him, and pulled him to his feet.
The Princess lunged forward, creating an arc of fire which slashed at the firebender, whose armour protected him, but his faceplate was not so lucky, being shattered by the attack. He stumbled back, and shot a quick succession of fireballs at her, though Azula's attention was solely on the Governor, grasping his wrist before he could make a break for it. He was hit by some of the attacks, and cringed in pain as his robes were set alight, though Azula dispersed the flames before creating a bright blast to momentarily stun the firebender. With a moment of blindness, he was flung into the air by a stone pillar, Toph moving onto the next threat instead of battering him any further.
The Governor was about to make some comment, but she had no care for it, whacking him in the jaw to shut him right up; confident he wouldn't resist further, she threw him to the ground, and eyed the firebenders who continued spilling into the foyer. They had to be what remained of Gyoko's rear guard, as they were the only unit she knew escaped intact, and they were more than a challenge, even for the likes of herself.
She realised their capabilities when she saw Katara get whacked across the face by a fireball, seeming knocked out, which was worth her attention; she dashed over to try and assist the girl, before she herself was set upon by two firebenders at once, who attacked her with fire whips; her robes were set aflame for a moment, but she flung her arms out, dispersing the flames, and instead, gathering two torches on each her index fingers.
"Enough toying around." she reprimanded them with a tone that she only reserved for those who actually annoyed her, and not in the stupid ways that Sokka would; more so in the way that Long Feng did when he set his brainwashed Fire Nation troops upon her, and those memories were clear when she saw them aiming to set Katara alight, instead of just grazing her face.
She rushed at one of them, slashing her torches over his arms to prevent him from bending, before grabbing his forearm. She then took his bicep with the other hand, forcing his arm to open wider than it ought to, an audible snapping coming from somewhere, which made him scream in pain, the sound only muffled by the skull plate covering his face. She turned to the other, who stepped back, realising the mistake they had made, only to find himself blasted across the room by a single attack, conjured with the effort she'd usually need to throw back five men.
She then turned to Katara, and her eyes darted around the room, seeing that Sokka had taken note of his sister's sorry state. However, that meant that his attention was away from the fighting; Azula's eyes widened, and she waved a hand, trying to get him to stop approaching, and instead focus on the firebenders. That gave their enemies enough time to shoot at his right side with a fire stream, flinging him to the ground.
"No!" she shouted out in fear, her gaze momentarily turning to Katara, "You better wake up, stupid." she demanded of the girl, even though she knew she wouldn't hear her.
Before she could deal with the men who had dared to harm Sokka, Toph had already bashed them with a flurry of stone tiles, before some of her supporters were able to beat them with their pikes. Despite their lack of bending, they persevered, and she knew she had to do the same, even as Sokka lay there, cringing in pain. When a soldier rushed at her, perhaps sensing the opportunity to strike while her attention was drawn away, she just aimed her hand his way and unleashed a fire stream, throwing him back at once.
Her focus was no longer on distracting the soldiers, or even fighting them; all of her thoughts lay with Sokka, and she moved over to him at once, Toph doing her the favour of creating a wall of stone to keep him out of the line of fire. She looked him the eyes, and he just grit his teeth, probably trying to hold back tears from the pain.
"Yeah, this one hurts." he admitted with a low voice, "Sorry for doing that." he mumbled, and she just shook her head.
"No, you-" she began, before clenching a fist, "If they want to play dirty, then we'll play dirty." she decided, placing a hand on his chest, "Stay down, I'll make sure nobody else gets hurt."
"Go give them what they deserve." he told her with as confident a look he could give her, still cringing as he grasped at his singed arm.
When she moved out from cover, she could see that the Governor was trying to get away, flanked by a pair of firebenders, "Oh no you fucking don't!" she called him out, and rushed ahead with flames covering her hands, "You're not leaving!" she assured him as she leap up, pummelling one of the firebenders in his helmet, throwing him down to the ground before she shot the other with a flurry of fireballs.
Before she could grab the Governor, someone leapt down in front of him, and she realised that she had the backup she required; Ty Lee jabbed with a flurry of blows, and the man flailed to the ground, unable to use any of his limbs, let alone move.
The acrobat just smirked, with hands on her hips, "I never leave my acts unfinished." before she kicked one of the downed firebenders in the bicep, before he could even try and shoot one of them with his bending.
"Thanks." she simply acknowledged her friend's effort, before turning around, "The rest of you better start running, or I won't hold back any longer!" she shouted at the soldiers, leaping up to the podium as she spun her fingers around her body, ready to launch lightning at the next fool who tried to attack.
Though she was more than ready to unleash her most powerful technique, her focus was drawn by a bright flash out the front door, which was followed by a deafening boom and shake that could only have come from one thing. She saw the firebenders tense up, stopping any of their attacks, only to be haunted by another explosion, this one brighter and even closer.
"This is not holding back." she warned them, before continuing the form, the sparks gathering at her fingertips, released upon one of the firebenders who'd decided to rush her while they were all distracted; his body flew back, falling limp, and the rest of the firebenders seemed to catch the message, running for the hallway as the explosions continued to rock the building.
As they fled, she noticed Aang rushing over to Katara, who had regained consciousness, now clearly in pain; the former raised some water to her face, which began to glow. She must have taught him healing while they were on their trip, because she hadn't heard of him using any technique like that before. She was glad for it, fearing that she would be incapicitated and unable to heal her brother, as their only trained healer. However, everyone else was far more worried about the shells falling around them as the airship must have been circling above. Azula, now confident she wouldn't be attacked, climbed down to get to Sokka, sure he could at least appreciate the moral support, even if she couldn't heal.
Toph dropped the barricade for her, allowing her to see him, lying there curled up, trying to keep himself together. He wanted to be tough, that was obvious enough, but even he wasn't immune to pain. She knelt down beside him, her focus drawn away from the loud and frightening shelling, and towards him, and him alone.
"I'm not dying." he assured her with a smile, "You should go out and try and make sure Renshu's here." he suggested what she had already been thinking, but she wasn't going to think about that, "The mission, remember."
"Fuck the mission." she muttered under her breath, dropping her arms down so she could hoist him up; luckily he wasn't wearing his armour, so he wasn't as heavy as he might have otherwise been.
He chuckled a little, though his face shifted to one of surprise as she started carrying him over to Katara, whose gaze met her own. She must have realised what happened, and her expression made her opinion clear enough; her eyes filled with regret, knowing that her brother had gotten hurt trying to help her.
"Azula was the one to protect you." Aang told her, and the Water Tribe girl just raised her chin up.
"And you say you aren't good."
"No, I'm selfish." she retorted, "Just like this idiot." she referred to the presently incapable warrior in her arms.
"Please, uh- heal me." he awkwardly requested, and Katara nodded eagerly, raising her arms up towards her brother.
Azula dropped him down beside his sister, who drew out some water from her waterskin, making a ring of water in the palm of her hand. She then ran her hand across Sokka's right arm, the water glowing underneath her hand, as it did its work. He let out a sigh of relief as the pain must have subsided, and Azula heard somebody clearing their throat, the Princess turning her gaze to the door where she saw a dozen men dressed in the finest armour she'd seen all day: her personal guards.
"Your majesty, aid has arrived." Renshu declared with confidence as he approached, "We can escort you and your allies over to the frontline by the outskirts... It will be safer there."
"I am well aware of that, but you must have misread my message."
"No I didn't." he conceded, "I can see that many of you are injured and tired, and we're in the centre of the city. The soldiers are going to draw back in here soon enough."
"He does have a point." Sokka agreed, "What do you say, Toph?"
The Earth Kingdom girl crossed her arms, and eyed the guards, "As much as I like fighting, we are going to need to take a break. There's just one problem, though."
"That being?" Kibo asked her, "We must be winning now the airship and army are here."
"Whatever they took to the Earth Kingdom district is a serious threat, and I think it might even pose a threat to the airship." she argued, leading Aang to sigh.
"I'm the fastest one here." he noted, "I can try and help them... But I don't know what good I'll do."
"I'm your master, Twinkletoes, and I can tell you, you're more than ready to crush whatever thing they've got out there."
He smiled at her, before rising to his feet, "What about you guys?"
"We have to keep the enemy occupied here for the meantime, and make sure the rest of my forces can enter the walls." Azula admitted, "You have to stop that machine, whatever it is."
"Could I tag along?" Sokka asked, and the Princess just facepalmed.
"You can inspect the remains tomorrow morning. For now, you need to just rest. Most of us do." she admitted, before she rose to her feet, eyeing her men, "Prepare some defensive positions, I doubt the airship will keep them back forever."
The guards saluted her, and she turned to Aang, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I know you mightn't want to hear this, but the Avatar State might be more than a little helpful against some unknown weapon."
"I'll... hit it really hard."
"That's dumb." Sokka scoffed, and Toph just laughed.
"That's earthbending, Boomerang Boy."
