I don't own Avatar: The last airbender
Chapter 31
"Spirits, it's good to be on land again." Jasmine said as she starched at her back.
"I'm just happy to be able to have space to walk." Said Mi-Dved. "Even with all the stuff we unloaded at the island it's still crowded, especially for someone my size."
"Maybe you should think about a diet, brother. Maybe some exercises even."
"Oh screw you, it's all muscle and you know it!"
The large teen hit his belly to prove that indeed, everything there was stone hard muscle.
Zuko looked to his other side and saw that the other pair of siblings was happy as well to be off the ship, only they were more quiet about it. The water tribe siblings instead opted to look around the city.
Although some of that relief may have come from leaving the port. Thinking about it, it may not have been the best thing for Sokka and Katara to be inside a fire nation military base.
Lucky, Zuko had them wearing green clothes beforehand, so no one knew about the fact that they were from the south pole. It's really funny how clothes can change what people think about you.
In any case, Zuko and his group were to Meet with lord Beifong. Unfortunately, Popy and Toph weren't with them, as their wooden passenger ship couldn't compete with his steam powered warship. Maybe it was for the best, he wouldn't have to make excuses to Toph why he can't hang out with her like he promised.
They had to pass a few checkpoints before entering Goaling proper, which was excellent. Shen didn't let himself get dual because of the lack of battle. After entering however, the city was… not much different then he remembered to be honest.
"I thought that there would be more somber… and red." Sokka said.
To be fair, there were signs of fire nation control like the red flag on top of a few buildings and the random fire soldiers patrolling, but besides that nothing too out of ordinary. The flying pig of Beifong was still risen high and proud, green was by far the dominant color in the streets, and most importantly the streets were filled with people living their lives.
"There is no need for that." Zuko answered the tribesman. "Gaoling surrendered peacefully and isn't behind in taxes, it also doesn't try to rebel. Therefore, there is no reason to invade too much into people's personal lives. Agni, they are even allowed to earth bend."
"Because lord Beifong cooperates we play ball as well. After all, his prosperity is our prosperity as well."
"But aren't they your enemies? Why would you want them to prosper? Aren't you afraid that they will grow stronger and rise against you?"
Sokka's question was fair after all, and one he himself debated on with Sai. The helmet's answer was the following.
"Once they are under the fire nation flag they aren't my enemies any longer, they are my subjects and my responsibilities. They may hate me at first, and it's understandable. My job as their prince is to convince them to like being a part of the empire."
"Once they see that they have better life under my rule, most will hardly want to rebel in fear of loosing what they have. Of course there will always be some who can't be swayed, who like to cause trouble, that's where the crushing war hammer that is the fire army comes in play."
It seems like his answer gave Sokka something to think about. Actually, that gave him an idea…
"Tell you what, how about seeing things for yourselves? Here is enough money to spend on for the day. Buy a few things, enjoy the Goaling experience, come back to this address when you finish. That's where we'll be sleeping."
"Am… Ok? What about you?" Katara asked.
"I will have a full day ahead of me, so don't worry about me. Also, you two are big kids and already had some experience on the island, I trust you enough to take care of yourselves." Zuko answered Katara's next question beforehand.
As the two left, Jasmine suddenly pouted. "Why do they have a day off for a shopping trip and we don't?"
Zuko looked at her dead in the eyes. "One, you are a part of the meeting, even an integral part. Two, it was more about them experiencing the lifestyle of the colonies, just like the two of you had. And finally, I may be a prince, but your shopping trips are too much for even my pockets."
Mi-Dved snickered at the side as Jasmine's pout deepened. Turning away, Zuko continued walking before Jasmine had a chance to use her puppy eyes. Luckily, salvation came as they entered the Beifong mansion.
The guards quickly let them in once they recognized Zuko. They were two different guards, one was clearly a fire nation soldier while the other obviously one of Beifong's guards from before Zuko's arrival. If he had to guess, someone at command wanted the two groups to at least be able to not hinder each other's work, so they started by forcing them to interact in an environment where they had to be polite to each other.
Well, so far, he hadn't seen any blood on the gate, so it was probably working. Either that or the servants were just that effective at cleaning, with what he had seen it was completely feasible.
The three of them were accompanied by a servant who showed the way to their meeting. After a few minutes, they were in front of a door deep inside the mansion. The servant stood before another pair of fire nation and earth kingdom soldiers.
"Introducing prince Zuko and company!"
The guards let them in as the servant walked away for other duties. Inside, there was a big round table with a map of the Si Wong desert and familiar faces. Zuko immediately recognized Lao Beifong, as well as Shen and Lyn.
"Zuko!" Lao called. "It's nice to see you again, as well as your friends." The other occupants of the room shared similar greetings.
"Thank you, although I wish it was under better circumstances." Zuko said as he sat in one of the sits, Mi-Dved and Jasmine sat at his right and left. "What's the status of our operations?"
"We are currently in a strength of five thousand infantry, along with five hundred heavy riders and twenty bombardment class eyes." Shen said. "We have also a hundred catapults and ten of those new 'dragons' you ordered."
At the mention of the dragons, both Lao and Lyn had a shiver up their spine. If Zuko had to guess, the two of them had seen a demonstration firsthand and decided that they were happy not to be on the receiving side.
"Yes, I was going to ask about it, how are they? Do you have any complaints?"
"Oh, hardly." The old acting commander said. "They are far beyond what we have today, especially if what was said about the different types of ammunition was true. My only complaint is that they are a bit off aim from what was promised, but they are still by far the best artillery we have."
"I'll talk with Loban about this later." Zuko decided before turning to the rest. "Lao, how about you?"
"I can send three hundred infantry, fifty among them are earth benders and fifty light riders, I'm afraid my personal guard have been cut short due to the situation." Lao answered. "I do, however, build steady supply lines for the troops. I can assure you that the soldiers will get what they need even in the middle of the desert."
Which was fair, all things considered. As a newly conquered territory, Gaoling wasn't allowed to have any military of their own. The fact that Beifong even had any soldiers to begin with spoke volumes about his savviness as a negotiator.
Besides, the fire army had enough might. Their main concern was exhausting said might while crossing the desert. The problem with big armies was that they were one big logistical mess. It didn't matter how many of them were if ninety nine percent died of various reasons even before the battle began, this is why it's better to form small raiding parties in the desert.
While not the best military mind, Lao was a master at logistics. A necessary skill if one is the head of a generations long merchant family. With his backing, supply is no longer a problem, making it possible to amass troops in force and send them across the desert. Ironically, Lao the logistic master is far more dangerous and deadly then Lao the general.
"Very well, what about you, Lyn?" Zuko faced the last person.
"Once Suki and her group return, we'll have a hundred Kyoshi warriors ready for action." the painted warrior said. "We should be able to disrupt and harass Mi-Sha's forces enough to weaken them for the fire army to easily crush them. I do, however, have some worries about the tunnels."
Right, the tunnels. According to Mi-Dved and Jasmine, and proved by Toph, there is a vast net of tunnels under the. It must have cost a fortune of money, time and manpower, but in the end, there were miles of tunnels across the entire city. Safe from attacks on ground and a fast way to move forces from one direction to another to ambush the flank.
"Yes Lyn?"
"How do you plan to work with the enemy popping up around you?" The Kyoshi leader asked. "Even with what we have now, we can't put guards on every entrance. If we go in there, even with full support, it will be the biggest 'whack the shirshu' game in the world. It will become a war of attrition, one I don't think we could hold."
She was right, of course. Beifong's job at the supply line only made sure that they could go on, not that they would be stronger than originally. In the hypothetical situation Lyn painted, one way or another they would be forced to give, be it by loss of man, orders to move to more important fronts, or any other reason. Lucky, Sai had an idea for that as well.
"You are completely right." Zuko nodded. "Which is why I am devising a plan to combat this specific threat. We will have squads assigned to specific entrances, each squad will have explosives to close off said entrance. We will leave a few entrances to get the troops inside and monitor them."
"And the information about the tunnels is legit?" Lyn asked as she pointed at a three-dimensional model of said network of tunnels. Zuko understood her well, he too would think twice before building all his plans and hopes to survive a literal dark hole on a too convenient model of unknown origin. However,…
"I trust this information with my life." Zuko answered. "I swore to not reveal the identity of the informant for safety reasons, so the one who made this shall remain unknown. But I will accompany you as well, the one who did it wouldn't lie to me."
The one who created the model was none other than Toph herself. Even with her "vision" dampened by the sand, after the time she was in Amora Toph got a full read on most of the tunnels. Of course, to keep her abilities safe, Zuko agreed not to mention her. It may be needless to be said, but Toph was very eager and put a very detailed work once she heard what it was for.
"If it so then it's good enough for me." Lyn concluded before turning to the siblings. "So, what can we expect there?"
"Well, if I were in Mi-Sha's place, I would have conscripted as many fodder as I can. He will most likely use the mob of thugs and lowlife to exhaust our forces without risking any of his assets." Mi-Dved explained. "And he will most likely use them to bleed us out in the dessert. He may not care for those men, but a ruined city is bad for business."
"We can also write off the possibility of them using the tunnels." Shen added. "No one will want un loyal and opportunistic murderers to know their secret passages. Mi-Sha will have to make sure each and every one using said tunnels will be silenced afterwards."
"Which means that we'll face his best in the city itself and especially inside the tunnels." Lyn added. "Besides those enforcers, what more units are we expected to face?"
"There are the regular foot soldiers, a better equipped thugs who do the small, dirty and unimportant tasks. They shouldn't be to much of a problem in one on one, but at mass they are a threat." The large earth bender listed. "There are of course the animals, from the meat-eating ostrich horses to the downright predators like the snake panther."
"I also saw once a camelephant in one of the parades." Jasmine added. "There are most likely more."
"Great… as if it wasn't hard enough already." Lyn muttered.
"The camelephants are just another big target for our new cannons, I'm not worried about them." Shen retorted. "I'm far more concerned about the fighting inside the city. It looks like a maze, very bad battlefield against guerilla warfare."
"Then burn it down." Jasmine said as all the other none desert natives, including Zuko, looked at the girl strangely. "What?"
"It's just…" Shen tried to find the right words. "You casually told us to burn your home to the ground, most likely killing many innocents at the process. We may even kill someone you know, doesn't that disturb you in any way?"
"Not really." Mi-Dved answered. "That place was never our home, it was a prison of pain and suffering. Trust me when I say that there aren't any innocents in there worth saving, if they don't want trouble than they will flee once we arrive."
"But what if Mi-Sha uses the civilians as meat shields to hide his forces?" Lyn asked uncertainly. "We can't just let innocents to die, we must firstly rescue them."
The other occupants in the room looked at her strangely as if she had grown another head. "What?" she asked.
"Kyoshi leader Lyn…" Shen tried to explain. "Your dedication to morality and values is admirable, but in situations like this it's not feasible. We can't even discern who is the enemy and who is a simple 'civilian', let alone have the resources to surgically kill the enemy."
"We must have something?!" Lyn desperately said as she turned to Beifong. Perhaps in desperation she hoped the merchant would have a more like-minded thinking. "Lord Beifong, you have a daughter, surely you're not comfortable with this!"
Unfortunately for the woman, Lao only looked away, not wanting to meet her betrayed gaze. "I'm sorry Lyn, but I'm with the commander."
"But what of the kids, your daughter –"
"Is the reason why I'm willing to go so far." Lao finally looked back at Lyn, his eyes a little rad. "My daughter was kidnapped by those animals and gone through spirits know what. If I don't end this threat right here and now everyone I hold dear will be in danger. I'm not going to put the safety of my family at risk to help people who most likely will grow as drags of society and have a grudge against us."
"What I suggest is a compromise." Zuko put his elbows on the table before the situation grew any more heated. "Once we reach the city, we'll blast open as many openings as we can in the walls around it and reduce them to rabbles. We'll call out for the people to evacuate and leave, we'll promise that those who run away without fighting won't be pursued. Those who still stay there are either willing to fight against us or clear slaves and hostages, in any case it would be far easier to contain. It's far from perfect, but it's the best we can do at the moment."
"You're a protector" Shen added. "For all of your prowess and experience, you have yet to experience being the one raiding settlements. War can't be won by passiveness, we must also attack back which includes collateral casualties. You were forced into this mess, and for that I'm sorry, but as a leader to your girls you must think of their safety first."
Lyn stayed silent for a while, considering the options.
"Fine. You… have a point." She admitted. "But My girls and I will try to save as many people as we can."
"Anyway…" Mi-Dved continued. "Because of the tournament, there will be a huge number of gladiators and other professional killers from the arena. I would suggest killing right away any person with colorful costume or a strange weapon. From my experience they hate working with anyone who's not in their group, so seeing them with the regular units isn't likely."
"But it gives us the problem of facing high skilled groups of killers." Zuko stated. "What would your advice be in such a case?"
"Can't really say." Mi-Dved gave his honest answer. "Each gladiator is unique. Some need space, others need to stay in place. Usually, they form groups, or parties, that compensate and shield each other's weaknesses. My best advice to what to do when meeting them is don't."
"Shen." Zuko addressed the old commander, "Prioritize the initial bombardment to the colosseum, we need to kill as many of those wildcards as possible. While they may be only loyal to the coin, I wouldn't bet on us out paying Mi-Sha. Nor would I want to."
"May I suggest a course of action?" Jasmine said.
Zuko nodded at her to continue.
"Some of those in the arena are there because they couldn't pay their debt to either Mi-Sha or someone else with power. I suggest firstly offering them a way out without having to die for someone they probably hate."
Zuko thought about it for a moment. On the one hand, it seemed very logical and pragmatic. But on the other hand, he really didn't want to have any of those criminals escape justice.
'Sai?'
"It has merits. At worse, the defected gladiators will be taken care of at a different point at the assault. At best, they may even swear loyalty to you."
"Shen, how complicated will such implementation be?"
The man in question thought about it for a minute, petting his beard. "Not too hard, your highness. It wouldn't be too hard for the troops to offer your terms if they see any group of colorful people."
"Very well, do it." Zuko ordered as he turned to Jasmine. "Do you have any other suggestions?"
"No, my prince."
"Verry well, so let's continue."
The rest of the meeting was about laying the foundations of the assault, weak points at the various strategic places and so on. The meeting was concluded in the evening with all parties agreeing to continue it at a later point of time as they work on the tasks assigned to them.
The, very important, stuff like distributing the loot and deciding who will have the pleasure to kill Mi-Sha (because there was no way he will live after they're done) will be discussed later.
Sokka and Katara were browsing the wires of some shop in the street. Katara decided to buy a new water bag for her water bending, one that would be her own instead of a hand me down from Zuko. Sokka was interested as well in what the big city has to offer, they didn't really have that much time on the island, searching for Zuko and all that fiasco with the Kyoshi warriors.
"Hmm. Sokka, what do you think, should I buy the bag with the piglet on it, or should I buy the one with the fish?"
"Just pick one already, I still want to see what kinds of equipment they have here." Sokka desperately said. "Or better yet, buy them both. It's Zuko's money anyway."
Deciding that her brother for once had a good point, the incognito water bender took both bags. Now when she thought of it, each bag looked better with different clothes. When she's with her water tribe parka, she'll wear the one with the fish print and when she's in her earth kingdom attire she'll be with the one with the piglet.
Together, they went to another part of the shop where there were all kinds of camping equipment. She could easily identify tents, pots and many other little things, her brother, however, was more interested in...
"Rope?"
"Hmm?" Sokka then turned to her. "Yeah, it's a very important thing to have. You'll never know when you have to tie something, or someone, up. Besides, it's good for creating traps and can even act as a hook if I tie it to my boomerang."
"That's …" Katara blinked. "Actually smart. Let me guess, Zuko told you that?"
"Hey!" her brother yelled in indignation. "I can have a good idea!"
"Fine, fine, sorry." Katara giggled with her hand hiding her mouth as Sokka took a rope to his liking. They paid for their stuff and asked about a cloth shop. After receiving directions from the helpful man, the two found the shop.
Luckily, it had clothes for both man and women, so they didn't need to go searching for another one. They picked up some new clothes because having a hand me down from the men for Sokka and Jasmine for Katara wasn't very comfortable.
Besides the embarrassment of not owning their own, the clothes didn't fit them perfectly. Sokka had an easier time because the crewmen's clothes were made to be universally worn, but Katara had a harder time. Jasmine's clothes were made for her figure, meaning they were too tight in some places while too loose in others in a way that made Katara self-conscious as a woman.
After finding the right clothes to wear, and ignoring Sokka's wailing about time (seriously, how can he not understand the importance of the right combination?), They were finally going to pay for their stuff. They, however, stopped on their tracks as they saw a group of armed fire nation soldiers walking to the counter.
Katara was about to intervene, but her brother stopped her. "What do you think you're doing?!" he whispered – yelled.
"Helping the old man obviously!" She replied in the same tone. "Now let me go!"
"Oh no you don't." He held her tight and pushed her away from the scene. "In case you have forgotten, the two of us have a month of semi-formal training combined. They, however, have a score of professional killers armed to the teeth."
"We can't just do nothing!" Katara seethed. "They are clearly robbing the poor man! So far for Zuko's higher standing, not that I excepted anything else from the fire nation."
"We don't even know what they're here for, for all we know they are just buying stuff!" Sokka retorted. "Look, how about this. We see what's going on, if they physically hurt the old man we'll interfere. But if they are just robbing him then we'll give him the money Zuko gave us. Ok?"
"But –"
"If we fight and trash the shop it won't help the owner."
"Fine…" Katara begrudgingly agreed as they hid behind a shelf and looked at the scene.
"Is everything ready as promised, Mushoo?" The leading soldier demanded from the old shop keeper.
"Y-yes, everything is in the back storage room."
With a move of his head, the leader ordered some of the man too check. After a few minutes, they returned. "Everything seems too be in order, sir."
"Good." The leader said. "Take everything and head to base. Full speed."
"Yes sir!" The group quickly headed to the basement and left with every soldier carrying a wagon full of boxes. In minutes, the soldiers left, leaving the leader and the store owner alone.
"We'll come back next week for another bunch." The leader said. "Make sure that you have everything that time as well, we don't want a repeat of last time, do we?"
"N-no sir." The other man meekly asked.
The leader then left the shop as the old owner tiredly sat on his stool and sighed. The water tribe siblings quickly went to him.
"Sir, are you ok?" Katara asked with concern. "Do you need something?"
"Hm?" The man, Mushoo, looked up and noticing the two new people. "Oh, nothing, just my old age catching up to me. Thank you for your concern." He smiled.
"Does this happens often?" Sokka asked.
"Oh, every week I'm afraid." Mushoo answered. "I don't know if I can keep up with this to be honest, we're running on fumes as is."
"Will that help?" Katara said as she put the money sack Zuko gave her on the counter, despite the protests of her brother. "I know that it's not much, but at least it should help you until they come here next time. Maybe even move someplace else."
"Hm?" The old man looked strangely at the duo. What are you- Oh!"
The siblings looked at each other in question as the man laughed before Sokka asked if the man was ok.
"Oh yes, yes, I'm fine, sorry about that." Mushoo said. "What you saw now wasn't an extortion or anything, the men just took the coats the fire army ordered."
The siblings looked bewildered.
"But there were so many of them!" Katara exclaimed in disbelief. "And they came armed!"
"Well, there were many coats to deliver as you saw. And their soldiers on duty, of course they well be armed."
"But that guy threatened you!"
"Yes, he may be a bit gruff, little lady, but he's used to give orders. I think that can easily explain his poor manners, even if he really could tune it down. And I assume you mean that thing about next week, and me having everything?"
Katara nodded.
"Well… let's say that last time I skipped on a few things when making the coats, the commander wasn't amused. I don't really understand why they need such heavy coats, and not why they are ordering such a large amount. But then again, I'm no general, and they pay handsomely."
"Oh…"
"Yes, I thought at first that business will go down once the fire nation came, but I'm happy to be wrong. The shop hasn't been that busy ever."
"Than we'll buy those." Sokka decided to be the saving grace as he put the things they wanted to buy on the counter. With a goodbye to the old man, the two walked out of the shop.
"Well, that was something." Sokka finally said. "I'm glad that it wasn't a robbery at least."
"Yeah…" Katara replied weakly. She was so sure, so sure, she finally found evidence that Zuko was wrong and that the fire nation was as eval as she knew it was. She really hoped that was a real… La and Tui, what's wrong with her?! Did she really hope that someone would get robbed and hurt just because she wanted to prove a point?!
It's all because of that damned Zuko! He was somehow influencing her, she just knew it. She couldn't stop thinking of how annoying the smirk on his handsome face was when he was amused by something she did, or how his eyes were always shining with barley hidden power that made her body shudder when she met his gaze. Especially how annoyingly warm his skin felt on hers as he corrected her forms in their water bending lessons.
"Sis, you're alright? You kinda spaced out there."
"Oh?" Katara was turned from her thoughts by her brother's voice. "Sorry, I was just thinking about… everything I guess."
"Yeah, makes sense. Everything changed so much so fast, didn't it?" Sokka looked at her. "Don't worry, we'll be together no matter what. Dad will join us soon and with any luck, we'll even have mom back! We could go back south and be a family again."
Katara smiled at him, it was a very nice thinking, but she knew he was just trying to cheer her up. It was naïve to think Zuko would let them go and lose a bargaining chip against their father. Besides, she knew Zuko had plans for her, or more specifically her bending, if all the lessons about healing were any indication.
Never, those are problems of tomorrow's Katara. For now, she'll just enjoy the calm before the storm. Speaking of her father, she wondered about Xing's progress in finding her father. Somehow, she was pretty sure she didn't need to worry about that front.
Xing was halfway to the target. It could feel the smell growing stronger, the target ever closer to Xing's reach. It seemed like the target wasn't moving for now, all the better for Xing.
Xing suddenly stopped. No, it was wrong, the master told it about the dangers of suddenly stopping after a long run, So Xing forced itself to continue some distance to slow its pace.
It was tired, so very tired. It ran none stop for over three sun cycles (days, they were called days) too reach the target, not even to eat or sleep. Xing underestimated the distance it had to teach, thinking it wouldn't be much more than the regular trips he made at the small land, and now it was paying for it.
Exhaust, it fell to the ground, panting hard. Yes, maybe a small nap will be good…
"RAWR!"
"AHH!"
So much for a quick nap.
"S-stay back! Song, run!"
"M-mom!"
By his nose, Xing smelled two imitations with very similar smells to each other, along with a smell of an animal it hadn't encountered before. Although judging by the smell of blood, it was a predator in nature.
Now it was conflicted, to interfere or not to interfere? That's the question. It was obvious that the two imitations are soon to have their flame snuffed out and feed the thing. Another sniff told Xing that while the two were completely null imitation, they were close to those who challenge the master. Which made them enemies.
As Xing was about to ignore the scene and find a safer place to rest, it suddenly stopped. Xing felt wrong as it walked away, but why? It was just nature running its course, just another creature desperately trying to fend off its inevitable demise to a larger predator. Just like… Oh…
Just like Xing itself had before the master came, desperate, weak and alone…
Xing let out a huff that would have been the equivalent of a sigh in the master's language. Xing was going through it. Exhausted as it may, it had the duty to follow the master's legacy. Who knows, the master managed to make imitations like that a part of the master's peck. With any luck, Xing may be able to do the same.
Xing rose on all fours, with a snort it gathered all of its strength to one final push and ran towards the scene. It will not fail to follow the master.
Song was terrified.
She and her mother went out to gather herbs for medicine, their supply was getting very low again. Today they went farther than usual because the herbs in the usual places didn't regrow from the last time they collected them. Song suggested looking farther and mother agreed.
Song didn't really understand why the medicine supply was ending so fast, there weren't that many people sick. Actually, she did understand, the man that came from time to time to her mother (who she assumed were soldiers of the earth kingdom) took it for the army.
What she didn't understand was why they where only interested in the calming drugs? She helped her mother with the making and the drugs didn't even make the person fall asleep, why would the soldiers be interested in that? Oh well, she wasn't a soldier, so she probably didn't understand.
Back to the much, much more pressing matters. Because they went farther than usual, they may have lost track a little. This resulted in the accidental, and extremely unwanted, encounter with a full-grown platypus bear. They were running away as it chased after them, although for some reason it didn't run as fast as it could.
She didn't have time to wonder why as she ran for her life, the burn on her leg didn't help. She did realize, far too late, why the beast wasn't putting so much effort. As her mother and her exited the tree line, they discovered that they were on a cliff with no way to run.
"S-song."
"Y-yes m-mom?"
"I-I will keep it busy, b-but you must run away as far and fast as you can."
"What?! No! Mom-" Song knew exactly what her mother meant by keeping the beast busy.
"It's not up for debate! This way at least one of us will survive!" Her mother said with finality.
Unfortunately, while they were busy arguing, the platypus bear was already on them. It roared as they screamed and prepared to smack the two of them down with its massive pow-flipper thing. It seemed that some spirit had heard their prayers, because it stopped mid swing in confusion and sniffed at the air. It turned its head back, only for a black shape to tackle it.
It was too fast to make any details, but the man-sized shape of black mauled the platypus bear as it cried in pain. Before the platypus bear could respond, however, the shape disengaged and jumped off their would-be killer. For the first time Song got a good look at the thing. It was a hound of some sort… just a hound, no other animal involved… strange…
Anyway, it had tar-colored fur with blood rad eyes. The claws were painted red, undoubtedly from the blood it drew just a moment ago. It growled again the bigger animal in hate and defiance as the platypus bear willowed in pain and rage. She noticed that the platypus bear lost its eyes in the process and couldn't help but feel at least some sympathy for it. Yes, it tried to kill and eat her, but she couldn't help it. A quality that mother was both proud and tired off.
The platypus bear ran towards the hound, the promise of violent death was clear even to the humans. She thought that the hound was done for, but it easily sidestepped the charging beast. The platypus bear, however, kept its charge as it ran after the hound. Song didn't understand how it could do it without seeing, but she did notice the near hybrid wasn't as precise as it should have been.
She held her breath as the hound was cornered on the edge of the cliff, the bear roared in victory as it changed towards the cornered animal. Only for the seemingly cornered animal to once again evade the clumsy bigger animal with ease. It proved to be disastrous for the platypus bear, as it comically flipped its hands like a bird to keep itself balanced.
It however wasn't meant to be, as with a strong bash, the hound managed to push the full-grown platypus bear off the cliff. Said bear roared in panic as in was thrown down to the hard ground bellow, until there was a loud boom and then quiet. She didn't think that the platypus bear was going to get up any time soon.
With its deed finished, the blood red eyes of the hound were turned away from its handwork down the cliff and onto them. They… they probably should have run while the two fought, didn't they?
It moved towards them five steps and then… sat?
"Bark!"
Dear spirits, the thing that just a moment ago killed an adult platypus bear was shaking its tail and had his tong out. Wait, is it? Oh spirits, its chasing its tail now!
"Mom?"
"Yes sweetie, I'm confused as well. I think it's domesticated, however. You see the bag on its back?"
"Do you think it's lost?"
"Maybe, I don't think we should stay her, however, spirits know if there is another predator nearby."
"Maybe Mr. Hound can guide us. Hey, Mr. Hound!"
"Song! Don't –"
"Bark!" The hound rose up from where it was laying on its back.
"Can you guide us home?"
"Song, I don't think it works like-"
"Bark!" The animal sniffed the air and walked in a direction. It stopped and looked at them, waiting.
"I think it wants us to follow it." Song said.
"Oh dear…"
"The ships should be in position shortly, colonel Thrawn" The soldier said as the colonel in question studied a portrait of the current earth king that they got their hands on. "An hour or two at most."
"Good, good." The colonel said, eyes still fixed on the painting. "Tell me trooper, looking at the portrait, what do you see?"
The man didn't really understand the question, it was pretty clear. The portrait was a portrait, it was made so people could look and recognize the earth king. As well as making him look good.
"The… Earth king, sir? Probably looking much better then in reality." The colonel's obsession with art was known across the troops, it was known that he liked from time to time to ask a random soldier about one work to another to make a point.
"Yes, yes, but what else? What do we not see?" Thrawn continued. "The king in his prime, obviously a try to project the control that he lacks. But what is there that we don't see in other paintings?"
"I don't know, a wife?" The soldier guessed. "It's strange that he isn't married, or at least engaged."
"You are absolutely right, trooper." Thrawn complimented. "The sole ruler of the largest nation in known history, and he has no one to continue his line. Any dynasty would have quickly made a heir to secure the line, especially if it's in an excisional threat by a stronger nation."
"The only individual who is constantly in the presence of the earth king, besides his bear pet, is the one we assume to be the head secretary." Thrawn continued. "What does that tell you?"
"Maybe the king isn't into women?" the soldier tried. "You think that he has some sort of an affair with the old secretary guy, sir?"
"Oh, spirits no, at least it's not the direction I thought. Although we can't discard your theory as well, I'll have men work on that. It will be a good propaganda if nothing else." Thrawn admitted. "But I do agree that they are very close too each other, which is understandable considering the head secretary was there even before the former earth king and queen joined the earth."
"So you think the earth king sees the head secretary as some sort of father figure?"
"Yes, or at least someone important enough to include in his family portraits." Thrawn replied. "But it's only half of the story, and the interesting one at that. I'm much more interested in the perspective of the head secretary."
That surprised the soldier. "Why the old coot?"
"Because he's the one who actually controls the earth kingdom." Thrawn replied casually, as if he didn't just drop off a bomb and discovered a kingdom wide conspiracy by just looking at a painting.
" ... What?!"
"Look at the other painting." The colonel instructed. "Do you see how the Dai Li dominants the background? You won't find a single portrait here that doesn't have either the Dai Li or the head secretary."
"What about that one?" The soldier pointed at a picture of the earth king shaking hands with a general. Usually, for any other superior, such an act would cause severe punishment. The humiliation of proving them wrong would cause a de-rank at least, sometimes much worse if said superior was named Zhao.
Thrawn, however, had a very different approach. Not only did he not mind, but he also downright approved of the questions and doubts of the troops. As long as it didn't affect the mission of course. He said time and again that any concern that is valid enough for the troops to want to say it, is valid enough for the mission.
"A keen observation." The colonel nodded. "And one that I would have completely agreed. If the painting wasn't a fabrication to begin with."
"How do you know that, sir?"
"Look at the painting." Thrawn said. "Now look at the paintings above marked as D34, K701 and G57. Do you notice any resemblance?"
The soldier in question looked a bit and… wait a minute… "Aren't those the king, the general and the exact background?"
"That they are." Commented Thrawn. "And after checking the dates, I can assure you that all the paintings above are made before the painting below. You may have also noticed that the handshake itself, where the templates of the king and the general touch, is of lesser quality than the rest of the painting. Most likely because the painter had to paint from his own head instead of copying."
"I can assure you that all the paintings of the earth king, without the Dai Li, are forgeries like that one." Thrawn continued. "Which made me believe that the king doesn't have any interactions without the Dai Li's intervention, without the grand secretary's intervention. Each and every aspect of the earth king's life is controlled by the grand secretary."
"Be it by direct ambition to control the earth kingdom or by a toxic parental relationship, the royal line is fragile, with a king who knows nothing about ruling. We can use it to saw disarray in the earth kingdom by crumbling it from upside down, either by orchestrating a civil war for the succession or by forcing an unfit king to lead his nation in its darkest hour."
"And you figured all of that by looking at a bunch of paintings?" the soldier asked bewilderingly.
"To be fair, it was more that just 'looking'. Much work had been done." Thrawn regarded the troop. "But it wasn't as hard as studying the art of the city of Ba Sing Se, the cultural and economical situation the art told about was extremely fascinating, if gloom."
"You should be at the big table, sir." The soldier said. "If you were in charge of the war, we would have won it in a week."
"Please, you're overestimating me." Thrawn humbled himself. "A work of art is a way for the artist to express themselves their ideas, their environment, who they are, what they are. Once a person learns to read the messages hidden inside the art, all the secrets and information the creator put there, knowingly or not, are exposed."
A whistle was heard.
"Apologies trooper, it seemed I have kept you enough by my rumbling. You may return to your duties."
"Yes sir!"
"Move it, worms!" a loud voice yelled as the men ran from one direction to another in the arena.
"Hippo scared." A large man with a physic that resembles his name said.
"The Boulder know, my friend, the Boulder knows." The man next to him. A muscular and tall man, however it was dwarfed by the sheer size of his companion. "Think of the money, friend. Just bear with it until the tournament is over and then go somewhere else."
The Boulder and his group of wrestlers joined the preparations of the tournament after they heard the amount of money they will be paid. Of course, the fact that their usual workplace was closed up after an investigation on the young lady Beifong helped them decide to switch places. The Boulder still feels the shock from when the identity of the blind bandit was revealed to be none other than the very same kidnapped girl.
With no place to work, and running from the low, the group had little choice but to go to the infamous city of Amora. Thankfully, they were skillful enough to not be conscripted to whatever was going on in the city and enlisted as gladiators. Spirits knew that conscription to the earth army was bad enough, the Boulder did not want to know what it was like to be a foot soldier to some thug.
"But what about fee?" The Big Bad Hippo asked in his usual tone.
"After the team wins the tournament, the fee can be paid and more." At least the Boulder hoped so. There was a money fee for enlisting to the tournament and the group didn't have enough money, so the group borrowed some from a shady figure. The Boulder just hoped that the shady figure would agree to get all the money back at once and not in payments across five years as he said before.
"If you can talk, you can fight!"
The voice above yelled as the two went back into training. The Boulder really hoped that the tournament would already be over with.
AN
And here is chapter 31.
there were a few moral dilemmas discussed. I wanted to demonstrate the difference in thinking between the parties in Zuko's forces, as well as presenting a very real dilemma of what to do in such situations. Hope I did it justice. A few support character from cannon were introduced as well, and will play a part of the plot. Because of the very high reception of Xing's POV I decided to give them a separate side arc. We'll see the assault on Ba Sing Se in the next few chapters, Hope you're as excited as me.
I also introduced the abominable ship of Kuei X Long Feng. I'm pretty sure that should burn in hell for that.
Now onto the reviews:
Engineer1869:
Delightful as always to read your review.
I'm happy that you noticed that Azula is starting to fall to her paranoia earlier then usual, but I'm afraid that it's just in her character. She is used to be the best in everything, with a father like Ozai and no support. She also never had a rival. The closest thing she had was Zuko for their mother's affection, which he won easily. I think that's the main reason why Azula torments Zuko so much (besides her personality). She's now basically living in her worst nightmare and by the philosophy she was grown on she deserves to be cast aside if she doesn't measure up. I think most of us would be paranoid. That said, I have plans for her character in the future.
Just you wait for Ba Sing se, it will open a very big can of worms. Also, hope that you liked Thrawn's dissection of the reality in Ba Sing Se.
Sokka did very well, beyond expectations. It's just that everyone else are much better (for now) that it's hard to see. Sokka is using his head much much more that in cannon, which is excellent for the role he is going to play. He and Gran Gran are absolutely right, of course.
Hope you liked Xing's POV. He is a very good dog.
02cjdgmail:
I tried a different sentence structure, tell me what you think.
It's actually a good idea with the fire color, I will certainly use it in the future. I have planned an entire arc for Zuko to realize his relationship with his father. Funny enough, it includes Azula as well. You can be sure that the other nations will see Zuko as a bogyman, I'll also write perspectives from different sides. Xing right now is in the shape of a big wolf, when standing on two legs it has the height of a full grown man. it's muscle mass is more like that of a tiger then a dog. I plan for it too reach the size of a polar dog bear (like Korra's pet) or a shirshu. I still want it to be a bit smaller then Appa, or else the predator with experience in murdering big beasts will butcher the poor thing on ground.
deniswanheda:
Happy to see your review as always.
Yeah, Hakoda has a hard path in front of him. As for Ty Lee, it's in her personality to ask about cute boys. She asked more out of curiosity for herself. But you did give me a few things to think about. Azula will of course have other plans up her sleeve, but in reality, she's really has no idea what to do. her experience with people that doesn't includes fear is basically nonexciting. I agree that it would be better if Zuko evolve his own banding to different directions then bend other elements outright.
Anyway, be sure to write what you think about the chapter and the story. Don't be afraid to share what you think could and should happen.
