Rise from the Ashes Chapter 16: Into the Storm
It was a miserable night. A storm of this magnitude had not been recorded in recent history.
The torrent of heavy rain poured down upon the city streets. The running water swept away anything that was not firmly planted in the ground. Starting at the summit of the city and cascading down the chutes that permeated the entire area, the flowing streams in the streets flowed all the way down to the base. Mixing displaced possessions with dirt and grime. Not even the wares of an unlucky cabbage merchant were spared.
The citizens of Omashu, now renamed New Ozai after their new liege, had seen their city transform radically over the last few months. The old king was eccentric, but despite this his subjects had held steady lives. They had been largely spared from the century of war that raged across the continent, and so it had served as a safe haven for unfortunate refugees. Over the last hundred years invasions of the city had been attempted and failed. After the ancient King Bumi had surrendered the city to the Fire Nation without a fight, his imperial successor could not provide the same prosperity to his new subjects that the old King had.
New Ozai was poorly managed, food had become scarcer for those who needed it the most, the conquering soldiers had little oversight and they were able to take anything that they wished from the residents.
The assimilation of the city's inhabitants into the Fire Nation was off to a poor start. While the standard of living decreased, the people had no choice but to submit to the flaming banner and watch in disgust as resources that could have kept them properly fed instead went to the funding of a monument to the Fire Lord that was being erected above them.
No citizen would have to suffer the sight of Ozai's statue tonight, everyone who had shelter was huddled away to avoid the storm. For those unfortunate enough to be in the street, they fought desperately to avoid being swept downstream. Only when the lightning flashed would they be able to see the face of the Fire Lord as it was illuminated against the darkness of the night.
The darkness was an ally to a few individuals tonight, however. When the lackadaisical lookouts could hardly see their own hands in front of their faces, it made detecting the young man who had previously donned the persona of 'The Blue Spirit' nearly impossible. Infiltrating the city was easy, the guards who manned the walls were all unconscious before any of them knew there was an intruder. It may as well have been a spirit that had swept down upon them. From there it was a matter of patience. Lake Laogai had been better fortified and patrolled, and both Zuko and Iroh had infiltrated it undetected. Mai could keep up with them just fine and had provided them with the location of the prison where this old friend of Iroh would likely be held.
The Kyoshi Warrior was with them as well and she was holding her own.
"I will not stand idly by." Suki had told Zuko pointedly before disembarking. "I'll help if it means helping the people of this city. If you waver in that commitment, then we shall be foes once more."
No doubt she secretly hopes that she can oppose me. Zuko mused as he trudged through the rain. They dashed across the rooftops so that they would not be swept away by the current in the streets. A single misplaced leap could send him sprawling down into the water below. He had no fear of such a fate, however. Such a clumsy fall would not be his end.
Lightning flashed, and for a moment his father's face stared down onto him from above.
It may take years or even decades, but I will be there at your end father. Count on it.
This would be an initial step. The beginning of the end for Ozai's empire. It was unanimously agreed that Ozai's occupation of Omashu could not stand.
"What of the repercussions?" Mai had asked the group on the battleship prior to their departure. "When we rescue this friend of yours, the city itself will be subject to retaliation. Is the wellbeing of a city worth less than one old man?"
'My father, the city's governor, will face certain death for his failure if he does not flee' had gone unsaid.
Zuko had been the first to address her fears. "Ozai's influence will be thin in the city. He will have no support among the common people, and if empowered, Omashu's walls and defenses could be restored to resist his armies. He will not be allowed to raise a hand against a single person in this city. They will be outside his reach."
Mai could not suppress a dismissive scoff.
"How naive of you Zuko, the only way you will take that city back is with Fire and Blood. Face reality, grab your uncle's friend and get out."
"That is not an option my dear." Iroh interjected solemnly, but with firm conviction. "Bumi will not abandon his city while it is occupied, and neither will I."
"You will never hold it." Mai warned. "And if you fail today, your crusade will end before it even begins."
"The people of Omashu are worth fighting for, and I have faith in the path set before us today." The old man responded.
"If your friend is so powerful, he wouldn't have allowed his city to fall in the first place. Instead, he meekly surrendered. If you truly wish to spark revolution, you cannot rely on cowards."
Zuko had expressed shock, but Iroh had maintained the twinkle in his eyes despite the young woman's biting words.
"It may seem that way, and he regrets Omashu's occupation as much as I…but Bumi is not a fool, a bit crazy I must admit. Iroh gave a warm, mirthful chuckle, then steeled his voice just a bit. "But no fool, and a good man. At the time he faced the full might of the Fire Nation bearing down on his gates. Could he have held them off? Perhaps, but he had the welfare of his citizens to consider and open defiance would have cost the lives of many. If he had failed, the city would have been ravaged. Centuries of culture snuffed out. These people are suffering, do not mistake me. But they have their lives with knowledge that one day, their independence and way of life may be restored. That day is today. When Omashu fell it faced the full might of the Fire Nation. It will not do so anytime soon. Over the last year Ba Sing Se has fallen, and occupied territory has expanded rapidly. But the Fire Lord and the Princess have made a grave error. In their eagerness they have grabbed land, cities, and villages too quickly. They will be unable to conscript new soldiers into the army fast enough to properly hold their vast amounts of new territory. Conscription from the conquered lands will do them no favors, as they will not inspire loyalty in those that they have conquered. The might of the armies is spread too thin. With the Fire Nation seemingly at its strongest, the truth is it has weakened. Amassing larger armies now will mean losing the territory they have recently conquered, and the more the Fire Lord tightens his grip, his new world he has envisioned will slip through his fingers like sand. Omashu will be liberated, and it will stand. Will you help us?"
Mai had been taken aback, and as she stared into the eyes of the Dragon of the West, she felt her doubts abating. Perhaps not fully confident, not yet. But for the first time she saw more than just a jolly old man.
She bowed to the old man in a show of reverence, looking to make up for her harsh words and dismissive attitude.
"My apologies General, please forgive my uncouth words. They are ill-fitting to what you deserve. Yes, I will do all in my power to help you. I would not be here if I was unwilling."
When she finally rose, she no longer saw a stern military tactician, but instead a kindly, jovial old man once again. "Please don't feel the need to address me by that title, that was another time and the actions of a wayward man." The Dragon of the West said with a toothy smile.
Mai herself could feel a hint of a smile across her face before resuming their serious business.
"In order to avoid bloodshed, we need to move the guards away from the residential areas." Mai remarked, "The governor himself must issue the decree. Even if this friend of yours can repel an army, civilians are going to get hurt."
"Permit me an hour and Bumi will help ensure that the suppression of the military is done safety." Iroh said. "With the governor's help of course."
"If you break out the King, the governor's mansion will be placed on lockdown. Reaching him could be difficult at that point." Zuko interjected.
"You're right," Mai said bitterly. There is a secure shelter in the basement of the mansion with a labyrinth of rooms and caves. The governor could hide himself away for quite a while before we could break in and pin him down."
She paused a few seconds before adding.
"I believe that my father remains as governor. I advised him to flee but I am not confident he heeded my warning. My letter would show him to be innocent of treason, but his mismanagement of Omashu may seal his fate regardless."
"If I may make a recommendation, I believe the two of you would be the most qualified to make the governor see reason. Approach him before Bumi is released." Iroh said.
"My father is not a reasonable man. He is a loyal sycophant to the Fire Lord. Not malicious, just clueless."
"Oh? Then I fear I would be ineffectual at persuading him. It is difficult to give a man who has been blinded sight, but those closest to them have the best chance at guiding them down the path that keeps them from harm.
The plan was in motion. Through the thundering rain the four figures parted ways. Iroh and Suki dashed towards the impromptu holding facility that guarded an old eccentric King.
Oh great, another prison. Suki thought to herself.
The remaining two teenagers ascended towards the city summit. Scaling the walls with ease despite the conditions towards a private office in the governor's mansion.
Not how I imagined meeting her parents. Zuko thought as he made the climb, effortlessly avoiding the sight of the sentries throughout the property. Not at all.
Governor Ukano had stopped working hours ago, yet he remained seated at his desk as if he were still occupied. He pantomimed busying himself to avoid the judgment of the man and woman standing behind him in silent vigil. They were guests from the capital after all, he was not going to portray an unfavorable impression any more than he already had.
Receiving personal escorts should have been a high honor, instead it filled him with dread. His governorship had been nothing short of disastrous and the letter of warning he had received from his daughter had overwhelmed him.
His escorts had arrived just this morning by airship and they were set to depart with the Governor, his wife, and son the next morning. That is if the violent weather abated.
The man was massive. The muscles on his forearms were freakishly large. So much so that they looked ready to pop at any moment. He was by no means a young man and must have seen significant combat in his life. His massive figure made his head look very small. It was a mean looking face, bald with small beady eyes. The man had not said a word since his arrival, but his silence spoke volumes.
Any interaction from the pair was facilitated by the second escort. The young woman looked to be around thirty with a proud and regal aura despite her small stature. She had jet black hair that was common in the Fire Nation that fell past her shoulders. The woman was quick to smile and laugh, which the Governor would have enjoyed had the circumstances not been so alarming. Her small figure looked even smaller when standing next to the mountain of a man that was her companion. Other than the princess herself, Ukano had not met a more confident young woman. It was evident that she was well raised as she spoke well, though he could not recall ever meeting her. Her words were as sweet as honey, though they were laced with confidence. As if she owned everything and everyone in the room.
Including me, the Governor thought. And how right she is.
He hadn't even gotten her name.
"Our names are not important, Governor. We are merely an extension of the Fire Lord's will." The woman had responded with a sweet smile.
"As are we all." The Governor had conceded, too scared to inquire further.
He had been alone with the man in his office for nearly the entire day as he refused to leave the governor's side while the woman had left to 'take stock of the city'. When he offered to provide her with a significant amount of protection. The woman had replied that 'In the Fire Nation all were safe enough to walk anywhere without fear.' When the storm began to brew, the governor half hoped that the rain would wash the woman away, but as night began to fall, she had returned with not so much as a single hair out of place, as if she had been able to dodge the rain itself.
Said rain pounded the windows violently with loud bursts that echoed throughout the mansion, eliciting cries of discomfort from the Governor's son Tom-Tom who was in his room down the hall as his mother attempted to sooth him. Ukano couldn't hear it over the storm that raged in his own mind and heart.
"Governor" The sweet voice said from behind him, sending a cold chill down his spine. The softly spoken word had somehow cut through the noise around him.
"Yes? Yes…I'm sorry...I'm sorry ye…."
"Governor" She repeated, cutting him off before he could continue to stutter. "You will retire. The hour grows late, and you will rest before your report to the Fire Lord."
She commands me in my own home.
"I…. Yes, yes of course."
Ukano obediently laid his 'work' aside and rose to his feet. His heart pounded and his fingers twitched. Subconsciously he felt the outline of the dagger that he had hidden in his robes.
Lightning flashed, illuminating the sky through the window.
Then in a sudden blur of motion, both of his escorts spun into motion. Going into combat stances with stunning reaction time and precision, fire erupted from both of their fists. The windows exploded. The fire had been so hot that it instantly heated up the room before the cold rain began to pour through the new openings.
The Governor stumbled backward in shock, his hands shielding his face from the heat and shattered glass.
"The resistance." He sputtered fearfully. "Have they come for me?"
Half a dozen of his guards rushed into his office.
"Be silent and follow." The sweet voice from before now held a frightening edge. The voice of a seasoned warrior.
The Governor yelped as he was roughly grabbed from behind by the large man and herded like a disciplined child towards the door.
"Make sure it's dead." He heard the woman say.
He heard the footsteps of one of the guards approach the window before he heard a scream of pain. He quickly turned his gaze to the window to see the guard on the ground flinching in pain, a dagger lodged near his shoulder. It had been precisely thrown in order to be embedded in the weak points of his armor.
Memories of his daughter playing with knives despite his protests flashed through his mind.
The last thing he saw before he was practically thrown through the door by the large man was his daughter bursting through the opening followed by a young facially scarred man who could only be Prince Zuko protecting her from the fire blasts that his female escort and guards launched at her.
"Don't harm the girl" the Governor called out frantically before he was removed from the room.
So much for a subtle entrance. The governor's office had descended into chaos.
Amidst the pandemonium of her close brush with death and the combatants in the office, Mai could see her father being forced out of the room.
Which means that we can still save him from himself.
The guards were simply doing their jobs. Mai didn't exactly know them personally as she had been aloof as usual when she had been living in Omashu. Nonetheless she knew that they didn't deserve to be cut down indiscriminately. She aimed for non-lethal takedowns of the guards and was quite successful as one by one they fell to her. In pain, but alive.
The firebender was another matter. It was taking Zuko all he had to keep her at bay. Blast after blast burst against Zuko's defenses. Mai had worked quickly to dispatch the other guards, letting Zuko focus on the bender.
I would have recognized her if she had been to Omashu. And with this much skill she very well could be sent here by the Fire Lord.
As the last man fell, Mai's heart stopped for an instant as a fire blast hurled towards her aimed directly for her face.
Zuko saved her with no less than a moment to spare. The fire that had been raging forward to take her life dissipated right before her eyes, near enough that her eyebrows were singed.
Blinded momentarily with her face flushed from the sudden heat, she whirled away in a retreat before she heard a grunt of pain.
Her sight returning, she saw Zuko stumbling backward clutching at his chest. He took off the fabric of his tunic which had been burned and had been set aflame, showing a burn mark on his chest. He had blocked the blast just in time so that it merely burned his skin rather than melt his heart.
He put himself out of position to save me, and it nearly cost him his own life.
Filled with vigor she didn't know she had, Mai launched a volley of strikes at the women, each intent on taking the firebender's life. Not one touched her.
"Not bad for a spoiled noble." The firebender scoffed. "But your heroic rescue will fall short. Your treacherous jumped-up family will match your fate soon enough."
Mai was prepared for another flurry, when a calming voice stopped her.
"Don't become unbalanced. We will take her together." Zuko said.
He's right, if we synchronize our movements, we can overwhelm her.
The woman laughed. "How sweet, but your insurrection ends here."
She unleashed a barrage towards the pair, but it did not seem as overwhelming as before. Mai and Zuko matched each other's movements. Mai's agility allowed her and Zuko to attack from multiple angles simultaneously. Zuko was calmer, but his attacks seemed to get stronger. Each blast took more and more effort for the woman to turn away and her openings to attack the pair became sparser.
The firebender's superior confidence was ebbing away. It was replaced with doubt, concern, and finally even a hint of fear.
At last, one of Zuko's blasts connected. Their opponent was launched off her feet and slammed into the wall. She lay still.
Mai drew a dagger on instinct, ready to end the unconscious woman's life.
"Don't" Zuko said. "She won't be getting up anytime soon."
Reluctantly, Mai lowered her weapon. "So be it. We need to move fast."
Together they dashed out of the office into the hallway.
"This way" Mai led them through the halls towards the hidden bunker. Any guards that got in their way were quickly dispatched, hardly breaking the teenagers' stride. Mai and Zuko were synchronized and focused as they cut a path through the mansion.
Up ahead, they heard a child's cry.
Tom-Tom
Mai sped towards her brother's sounds as she rounded a corner….
And nearly lost her life as the long hallway was engulfed in flame. It had been a trap. Only instinct and exceptional agility spared her as the tapestries and rugs around her burst into flame.
Her brother's screams became frenzied, followed by her parents.
"I told you not to harm her!" Governor Ukano screamed as another guard held him back. "Kill the boy but spare my daughter."
The bulky man continued firing blasts at Mai and Zuko. For fear of harming Mai's family nearby, Zuko was forced to only use firebending defensively. It was the only thing keeping the teenagers alive.
"Stop this madness!" Michi, Mai's mother, shouted shrilly to the point of hysteria.
"Be quiet." the large man spoke for the first time. In between fire blasts. "Orders from the Fire Lord, the girl is an enemy of the nation."
"What?" Michi sputtered in shock. With Ukano hiding the warning letters, she was unaware of Mai's betrayal.
"You will answer for this and more to the Fire Lord himself. He is awaiting your arrival. I am to ensure that he is not denied…."
"Never!" Mai shouted. Trusting herself that she could not miss, not now, she flung the last dagger she had.
The large man fell silent. And then he fell.
The remaining two household guards, sworn to serve the governor, were taken aback in shock to see the visitor from the capital meet his end. In their surprise, Michi tore herself from their grasp and raced down the long hallway and embraced her daughter. She held her tightly as if she could shield Mai from the Fire Lord himself. The guards advanced after her, but two quick blasts from Zuko knocked them unconscious.
"My girl, my darling girl. Everything will be alright." Her tears swept down onto her daughter's face.
"Not yet mother," Mai said as she pulled away. "You are not safe yet." She stared down the hallway towards her father.
"Michi, step away from the traitor" Governor Ukano told his wife. He now held a distressed Tom-Tom in his arms. His voice lacked conviction.
"That's our daughter you are talking about!"
"I speak the truth whether you like it or not. She has defied our nation, our illustrious leader, everything we have sworn our lives to."
The governor was shaking, looking like he was about to collapse at any moment. His shoulders were slumped downwards. He was a defeated man already.
Her mother turned towards her pleadingly. Her eyes darted between her daughter and Zuko. "Prince Zuko, you are a hero to our nation. You aided the fall of Ba Sing Se. You stopped the Avatar. Yet you break into our home and attack our guards. My Prince, please explain!"
"What father says is true, every word." Mai responded instead.
Her mother stared at her, mouth agape.
"You should know this. You should know the danger that you were in. Your honored guests were about to send you to your deaths. Damn it all, why did you not heed my warnings? Why didn't you run?"
"Because she was never told." Said Zuko. "Isn't that right, Governor?"
"It would do no good to trouble her so…until reports could be verified" The governor looked like a scolded child.
"You are lying, but it doesn't matter. Mai responded. "What matters is the future, but if you are stubborn you won't have a future. You will die, and painfully."
"And what do you suggest?" Ukano sputtered. Defy the Fire Lord himself? Inconceivable. He has spread the greatness of our nation with the wider world. You would condemn our family to dishonor." He turned towards Zuko. "How dare you strike out against your liege, your own father. The Fire Lord had the right of it when he banished you, he saw your true nature even then. Now it is evident that he did not go far enough."
He turned towards Mai.
"My darling girl. I don't know where I went wrong with you. I offered you everything a young girl could want. The finest jewelry and baubles. You never so much as looked at them. The finest clothes, but you only cared for black. Instruction in proper etiquette that is required of a young lady, instead you gravitated towards combat that would be more fitting of an assassin. A place in the imperial court, yet I could only receive indifference in return…I don't remember the last time I saw your smile. You were always so morose, even when you were a child. So uncaring. I scorned you for it, but perhaps the fault lies with me for being unable to reach you, to let you know that you mean more to me than a simple tool. I do not know. I do not know you well enough to be certain."
"I am not who you wished me to be. The perfect little doll of a girl. I will never apologize for that. Yet, I can still be your daughter. Stand down father, and we can begin again."
"Ukano" Michi called out. "You must choose where your priorities lie. She stepped forward, scooped up Tom-Tom out of her husband's arms, who did not resist, and returned to her daughter's side. "For I know mine."
"Is a new beginning even possible? This world is to be shaped in the image of our nation's greatness. It is no longer multiple lesser nations, but one strong unified empire. There would be nowhere to turn."
"Look at the very city you live in. Is it profiting from the Fire Nation's greatness?" Mai asked.
"New Ozai's failures are mine alone." Ukano admitted. "Stronger leaders then I will see to our empire's success."
He beckoned towards Zuko once more. "You turned my daughter against me!"
"In this you are wrong." Mai said. "I am not your enemy. Far from it, I will ensure your safety. Your enemy is in the capital awaiting your arrival."
"I lead the great city that bears his name. Why would he harm me?" The Governor stuttered.
"If you truly believed that you would not have hidden my letter. You are afraid."
"Whatever high praise you hold of the Fire Lord, you must know that he is not a just man. Zuko indicated towards his own scar. "And what happens to those who displease him."
The Governor was silent for a few long moments. Michi spoke up. "I trust our daughter with my life. If she says we are in danger. If Tom-Tom is in danger. Then we must listen. I will not stand against my own daughter."
"Now you as well." Ukano mused in defeat. "My nation or my family. It's dishonorable for a man to neglect either" He drew his dagger out of his sleeve and went to his knees.
Michi screamed and Mai flinched fearing the worst. But instead, Governor Ukano reached up and cut off his Top-knot and then prostrated himself onto the floor. He stayed there for a while in solemn grief.
Mai approached slowly, hearing her approach, her father looked up at her in defeat. "I will do as you asked in your letters. What I did not have the courage to do. I don't know how to live a simple life, but I will learn. I can only hope that a lowly man will be beneath notice. Come with us."
"Your survival is paramount, but my destiny is elsewhere." Mai stopped abruptly. "What do you mean letters? You have more than one?"
"Here" He withdrew two letters from his robes. "The second is not yours? Perhaps I still have friends in the capital."
Mai studied the second letter thoroughly. "Perhaps I do as well." She said softly.
Composing herself, she resumed. "Fortunately, you will not have to go far. This city will be the safest place for you if you do exactly as we say."
That went far too well.
As uneager as she was to enter another prison, this stop had been brief.
Suki's training did not specialize in stealth, but she was able to adapt to it well enough.
Besides, sitting in wait on a ship waiting for the return of her temporary companions felt wrong. It also felt good to be in action again after her imprisonment.
Not that the old man had needed her help at all. This king of theirs was freed with ease and when they had approached and revived him from the sedatives, he had been administered, he had sprung into action. As if he had expected such a bold rescue to be a certainty.
The three of them were now outside in the driving rain. She didn't trust the prince and his companion to accomplish their goal, but the old man was confident and sure enough there was a flurry of activity. The occupying force was congregating and on the move. A large force was leaving the city walls, the rest were congregating at the ready at chokepoints. Points that were notably non-residential. Away from anyone who may be a regular citizen. No one could organize the city's forces like this other than the governor himself.
There had been intelligence that a force had been gathered to attack the city in the dead of night, and that by amassing a force of their own they could ambush the invaders to prevent a siege. It was a foolish and risky plan, but no one would accuse Governor Ukano of wisdom.
But after they left the walls and ventured outwards, they would find that there were not any attackers to be found. When they would return at dawn, they would find the walls sealed shut. What remained of the guards in the city would have an experience that they would never forget. Huddled up in the rain and full armor, cursing their superiors, the supposed invaders, and their bad luck, they found the very ground in the open plaza in which they stood to be lifted into the sky. It shot upwards into a plateau that reached higher than the walls themselves.
This crazy King worked fast, he along with other earthbenders that he was able to contact quickly, coordinated this effort. Suki was informed afterward that the other earthbenders were part of an underground resistance that the King had put on standby. With their combined power they fashioned the earth into a slope, mimicking the chutes throughout the rest of the city. What remained of the occupying force slid down in surprise and were dumped outside the city walls. In a single staged strategic blunder, the Fire Nation lost control of New Ozai without a single civilian casualty. It was a maneuver that defied convention, but was possible for a mad genius, and for Iroh, who knew how a mad genius would think.
As humorous as watching an entire city guard being unceremoniously thrown out was, what happened next was what put a smile on Suki's face. A lightning strike flashed directly overhead, illuminating the statue of Fire Lord Ozai. The statue then wavered, then it cracked, then it fell.
As if nature itself was fighting to put the world back into balance.
It took until dawn the next morning for the storm to abate, and the city took no time to celebrate. Fire Nation administrators outside of the armed forces had no choice but to accept their expulsion, and all markings of the occupation were torn down.
It was then during this celebration, that Suki saw the sky bison approach overhead.