chapter 6 – the edge of war
It was early in the morning in Yu Dao, Toph, Yasuaki and their fire bending students were staying in an old military barracks in the city itself while here metal bending students went home for the night as usual, it was smaller than their original academy, but it was behind the city walls, so all of her students were safe and Toph was fine with that. She was sitting outside but with her earth bending she sensed Yasuaki looking over the fire bending students, gently stroking their hair as a parent would. He made his way to the porch that Toph was sitting at and sat down next to her.
"its more than just a business for you" Toph asked
Yasuaki sighed
"yea… it's something I cant help, ever since…" but he stopped himself
Toph sensed that he was about to talk about something sensitive then she decided to ask
"so, why these students?"
Yasuaki then looked at her know where this is going answered
"well, I could say the same for yours"
then Toph took a bit of a cracker she was holding
"ok how about we tell each other, we are partners after all"
looking at his lap then he held his hand out to her "deal"
then he started on his students
"I found Wang six months ago, in a village just south of here, he was a pick-pocket for some local thug. When I saw him take a coin purse from a lady and ran, he was quite the acrobat jumping higher than most and running faster… he wasn't one to mind his surroundings and I used my cane to stop him. But rather than let the authorities take I'm to jail, I offered to pay his fine in exchange he come to my… well our school, and he accepted"
Toph nodded then talked about Penga
"I first noticed Penga at the market here in market, she was a spoilt kid of a Nobel house who has a fascination with shoes. One day I noticed her having a temper tantrum with her servants over some shoes, and my metal bracelet started to vibrate, seeing that potential I quickly went to find her parents to sign her up and the rest is history"
Yasuaki sipped on his morning tea and smiled
"we'll she seems to have found a lot more discipline now and a sense of self reliance now"
Toph smiled at that but still couldn't thank him (too prideful)
"ok next student"
Yasuaki then started again
"Satomi is a shy girl to say the least, her parents live in a town not far from here and they heard about the dojo and wanted me to teach her better fire bending in hopes to get he cofinance up and maybe speak out more often"
Toph talked about Ho Tun
"I found that big lug in the ramen house just down the road from here, he was well… a bit a wimp. My bracelet like before vibrated when he freaked out at a spider wasp in his soup. As you heard him say on many occasions, he has a bit of a Doom complex and nearly no self-esteem"
Yasuaki chuckled
"and I take the war didn't exactly help with that?"
Toph just nodded but Yasuaki continued
"well, he seems to be quite the optimist now, I don't think he has said the word DOOM all day yesterday, even when those thugs attacked us"
Toph looked shocked then smiled in a way that only a successful could smile. then Yasuaki talked about his last student.
"I found Kyla in a market, she was a peddler selling little art pieces, like statuettes, small paintings, and stuff like that. I noticed that she was a fire bender and I asked her why she is doing this for a living. She told me she wanted to become an artist and was saving up for art school. That's when I told her that if she trained with me at my dojo, she'll be able to create art with out the need of a brush or chisel"
and he looked up to the sky
"she knows how to make fire of many different colors… I know that doesn't mean much to a blind person but it is an accomplishment that I haven't been able to achieve"
Toph not knowing how to top this started
"well, Moo-Chee-Goo-Chee-La-Poo-Chee the third or the dark as you have come to know him"
Yasuaki looked at her with amazement of such a long winded name and she continued
"he was on the street side spouting hatful remakes to… anyone really and yes my bracelet vibrated to that as well, I recruited him and he replied with a 'whatever' and here we are"
Toph felt the student starting to wake up so she got up and looked at Yasuaki and held her hand out.
"well Master Yasuaki I am partly glad that to have you as a business partner, despite what happened"
Yasuaki got up and shook her arm in gratitude
"Same here, Master Bey-Fong"
Sokka was looking at the coin he got from those militia guys, he now knew that those thug guys were way to organized to be simple thugs and they needed to be stopped. He shared his knowledge with the fire nation General with that map he made, but now he needed help. He was invited to have breakfast with mayor Morishita, and as he approached his house, he found a familiar and ever welcomed sight, the Kyoshi warriors and the noticed him then Suki charged at him screaming.
"SOKKA!"
and she tackled him to the ground kissing him all over his face, while both the fire nation soldiers and Kyoshi warriors chuckled at the sight.
once Sokka was able to get her off of him.
"it's wonderful to see you to!"
then he asked
"what are you fine warriors doing here?"
then one of the Fire nation soldiers and Kyoshi warriors helped the two of them up and Suki explained
"well, we heard so much about the unrest that was happening with all those thugs that keep attacking people so we sent a message to the General asking if he needed a hand, of course he said yes"
then one of the fire nation soldiers asked
"why help us? Arnt we the enemy, you know earth Kingdom and such"
then Suki answered
"we are more loyal to helping the people earth or fire, not their politicians"
the soldier just did a bow of respect
"well thank you"
Sokka, Suki, were enjoying the hospitality that Morishita and his family had provided them, Mrs. Morishita was cradling little Han, patting his head with a cool wet cloth while Kori spoke with Suki about this, that and the next thing, and Sokka was talking with the mayor Morishita himself about the raids the thugs have done, the public unrest, and other politics.
"the problem is these masked thugs are more organized than we originally thought, they have a chain of command, and I think someone is supplying and funding them"
mayor Morishita taking a bite of food then asked
"you have any suspects?"
Sokka looking at the plate of meat in front of him sighed because he knew the general answer.
"I have no evidence, but judging by hate of fire benders, and that fact that the only benders they have are earth benders, I would wager it is some one form the earth kingdom, maybe more than one"
Suki looked at Sokka and Morishita
"the war has already begun I guess"
Morishita sighed then nodded
"officially no… but yes"
Sokka placed his hand on his face holding back loads of emotion, while Suki tried to comfort him
"what have I done!, that whole Harmony Restoration Movement?"
and he rested his head in his palms, then he and Suki looked at Mrs. Morishita attending her toddler and Suki asked
"is he alright"
she smiled and replied
"yea, just a minor fever from teething. Molars are the worst"
Han then wined, and she comforted him with a little song
Sokka then looked to Mayor Morishita
"look, I'm sorry for my part in the Harmony Restoration Movement. If you'll have me, I'll do what I can make it right"
the mayor then looked at Sokka and smiled
"thank you, is there anything I can do to help?"
Sokka initially didn't know but then something in his mind clicked
"can you tell me what this is?"
and he showed him the coin. The mayor inspected it
"I don't but…"
and he looked to his daughter
"she might"
and handed her the coin and she looked at it and then looked at Sokka
"come with me"
and both Suki and Sokka left with her.
Aang wandered back to the Jasmine Dragon late at night, both Iroh and Tylee approached him asking if any real progress was made and Aang just plumped himself on a love seat with his hand on his face to cover it from any light.
"no…" he said in an exasperated but quiet tone
Momo climbed on his chest and curled up in a ball as Aang petted him.
Tylee looked at Aang, his eyes were baggy, and looked exhausted and she and Iroh agreed to not probe any questions.
Iroh led him to a spare bedroom and Tylee picked up Momo and took him in there to be with Aang.
after that Tylee looked in Iroh's kitchen for a cook book in particular and after a few minutes she found what she was looking for, Iroh extinguishing all the candles found her by the looks on her face she had a plan
"what are you planning?"
and Tylee closed the book and started to head for the room she was staying at
"just a little something to help"
Aang found himself again in a great field surrounded by the three armies from before, this time he could see the city of Yu Dao, then a great white flash happened and the whole area was in a great rainstorm the city and the surrounding area was in ruins and burnt out, he found himself in the aftermath of a battle, with soldiers of all three armies dead by their thousands.
Aang looking at around he could see Sokka and Suki. Sokka was siting, his sword broken, holding a blue spirt mas that was split in two and just staring out in shock and disbelief while Suki was attempting to comfort him though she wasn't fairing to well either and both seemed unable to speak.
Aang found king Kuei dead, he then found Toph, but she didn't notice him but seemed to be in trance as she tended to seven graves.
Then he found Katara who was on her knees cradling a now dead and broken Zuko, she looked up to him with tears and despair in her eyes
"you were to bring harmony, why didn't you"
She said as she cried
Aang tried to comfort her but she swatted at him, still cradling Zuko's body and said in a sobbing tone and tears in her eyes.
"go away you monster, you murder… GO AWAY! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"
Aang just stood there in shock then someone came that he thought he would never see, Ozai in his phoenix King attire approached him with his serious face on him.
"your thought that peace would from a piece of paper?"
and Ozai held up a copy of the Harmony Restoration Movement then dropped it in the ground.
"you really thought that taking Ozai's bending would bring world peace? And that changing the map to pre-war boarders would bring harmony among nations and peoples?"
he then gently patted Katara's head and Aang ran up to him to stop him, but Ozai grabbed him by the neck holding him in the air.
"and if you believe that you are entitled to her love because you saved the world? then you are truly a fool among fools"
then he placed him on his knees on the ground
"and you are no longer worthy of being the Avatar"
and he placed his hand thumb on his chest and about to place his other on his forehead.
Aang shot out of bed and looked around and took a few breaths. Like last time he was in a cold sweat, once he got his bearings he got up and walked around and brewed himself a cup of tea and seeing that it was still night.
"these dreams are getting worse"
Zuko was got up at the crack of dawn, he still couldn't sleep well, his mind was on what his father told him last night, despite how brief it was…
"Do you remember those family vacation's we took to ember island? Once at the beach, you were probably a little older than three at the time, a hawk was attacking a turtle-crab near the water"
he took a sip of his tea
"you ran as fast as your little legs could carry you to rescue that turtle-crab. Even then, you possessed an odd affinity for the weak"
and Ozai paused then continued
"however, when you had the turtle-crab safely in your arms, you were hesitant. The Hawk looked at you with hungry eyes' then you realized you were condemning it to starve. You weren't sure whether to side with the Turtle-Crab in your arms, or the Hawk.
looking Zuko in the eyes
"but before you were able to reach a decision, a large wave came and washed over you cand carried you out to the ocean"
taking another sip Ozia continued
"I fished you out of the water myself. You spent the rest of the day in your mother's arms vomiting up seawater"
Zuko climbed to the roof top of the palace to watch the rising sun and not be disturbed by servants or guards. Thinking on that family memory, what did it mean, Ozai wouldn't have wasted his breath on such a story.
"what was he trying to tell me?" Zuko said to himself in frustration
"what was who trying to tell you?" and Zuko looked to his right to find Katara standing on the roof looking at him as if to ask him if she could sit next to him and he just pats the spot next to him and she sat down, then looked up to him as if to ask if he's going to answer her question
"just an adviser, giving me a nature lesson"
looking at him Katara knew that it was probably more than an advisor, but then she saw the sun touching the clouds and ocean, the brilliant oranges, reds, and whites in the clouds have the colors of fire and the way the waves moved made the ocean like fire, she pointed it out and Zuko smiled and put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder then he rested his head on Her's.
Zuko's and Katara's stomachs growls, then they look at each other but then mutually agree to stay and watch the sun rise despite their hunger.
In the prison, Ozia was reading some of his hidden messages that he got from his nameless informants, he was getting interesting news to say the least.
the conflict in Yu Dao has spread, and colonists were being harassed and militias being formed to stop them, even reports on the Blue spirit.
the Avatar was in Bas Sing Se getting few results, it was nice that the earth kingdom take things slow, but his agents to need to advance their objective.
However ever the new that intrigued him the most was this growing relationship between his son and that water tribe peasant. As much as he despised that his son was in a relationship with a foreigner and at that. His personal feelings had to be put aside for now and he had to utilize this to advance his ultimate goal, to destroy the Avatar in a more permanent way.
he then took his chopsticks and started to write hidden messages on his napkin like before.
Ming took the food tray to the kitchen unaware of what was hidden in cups on it.
a cleaner then took the messages out of the cup and gave it to a guard, who intern took it to a man in a cloak, who then took it to hidden cave.
in this cave the message was reviled by heating up the napkin and it read
Continue the fire fight in Yu Dao and the surrounding colonies, give our fire fighters more information on fire troop patrols but do so sparingly.
Inform me more about these militia groups and the blue spirit, they may pose a risk but also may be potential assets.
Inform the papers of Zuko and Katara's relationship, exaggerate if you must. Prioritize the papers in Ba Sing Se, we can't let this opportunity go to waste.
keep an eye on the avatar, and the earth King.
keep me informed on the Avatar's reaction to this news.
After reading the orders, the man wrote letters with the appropriate information for their agents and sent them by messenger hawks.
Sokka wearing the blue spirit mask, and Suki was in a commoner outfit were on the road heading for a specific place marked on a map by Kori. She just took the coin he showed her then she marked a spot on his map just north of Yu Dao and told them to go there as soon as possible.
and that they did, they looked at the map again and read the directions Kori gave them.
"ok so we have to head north of town past that twisted tree"
and Sokka sighed
"yep"
Suki the read the directions
"near that road that goes nowhere"
Sokka smiled and rolled his eyes (lucky for him he had the mask on)
"I know…"
then Suki looked at the directions
"and near the statue of Ozai doing a fire bending stance"
Sokka and Suki looked at the statue with a mean scowl , missing it's forward most arm, and was obstructed by a bush and it was leaning a little. Sokka started to laugh, and Suki wondered why so Sokka explained.
"the way that bush is in front of it, the missing arm and the face it has makes Ozai look like he's having a hard time going poop"
Suki lightly punched him in the arm as she laughed to the said
"once this whole Yu Dao thing is over, and assuming it ends peacefully we got to show the rest of the gang"
then Kori jump out of a near by tree, in her ninja attire
"you made it!"
Sokka asked about all the cloak and dagger, but Kori explained
"sorry, but my out side permissions are still suspended, you know attempted assignation"
both Suki and Sokka laughed lightly
"so this was just a rally point?"
but Kori then did a earth bending move and the statue moved and Sokka, Suki found a spiral stair case going down and Kori led them in
"no, it the entrance. And I think we came at the perfect time."
Sokka and Suki were led into a large maze, it seemed similar to that other hideout but much more sophisticated and well maintained, there were barracks with cots, men and women of both earth and fire nationalities doing everything like transporting weapons and ammo, performing medical work on their injured companions, and much more.
Sokka and Suki were eventual taken to what looked like a mess hall that was serving as a command center, and Kori was greeted by several men and women and she showed them the coin, and one of them walked up to Sokka.
"ah the blue spirit, it good to meet you. My name is Miyagi and I'm the head of this opperation"
Sokka looking down took his mask off.
"I'm no spirit, but a fool… a fool who thought he changed the world for the better but only made it worse"
Miyagi patted him on the shoulders.
"we all have things we have done that we are not proud of. Sokka, Your Harmony Restoration Movement has caused problems yes, but you and Suki here have saved countless lives by stopping the Phoenix King's air fleet"
and he looked at him in the eyes
"but it is obvious that you are trying to right this wrong, and as far as I'm concerned that is a worthy enough reason to join our little militia"
he then led them and several others to their seats and explained everything. The name of the group of thugs that harass anyone of fire nation origins and their families/associates/friends is called the Eternal Earth Enclave or EEE as Sokka nick-named them, then there were the freedom fighters that Sokka recognized from the war and so far, their brand hasn't changed, then there were the Fire nation army that these guys considered them a idle threat and only needed to keep an eye on them.
Sokka then showed them the map and explained what he knew.
Miyagi looked this over and then at the intel he already had and started to assign the different groups to intercept the operation of the EEE and Freedom fighters respectively, Sokka and Suki went with a small group that was going to intercept a group of EEE thugs.
Aang managed to get back to sleep despite his nightmares, and after a few hours he got up with, not the ideal amount of sleep but enough that will do. However, it was what got him up that made him feel restored, it was the smell of food cooking, the smell was very familiar even nostalgic. Aang quickly got up, got dressed and went to where the smell was coming from and found the source in the Kitchen. There were a few plates with different Air nomad dishes, Air Temple Tsampa balls with butter tea syrup, assorted chopped fruits with a dipping cream, creamy egg tarts (his personal favourite food) and looking in the kitchen was Tylee in her normal cloths, apron on, dancing around as if she was humming a tune that sounded familiar, not even noticing him as she put some Shiitake Dumplings on a plate lined with lettuce.
Iroh came in with his pajamas still on and he smiled
"looks like breakfast is more than rice and eggs today"
then Tylee not reacting to Iroh's comment picked up all four plates and twirled to a table that was two tables moved together and placed all the plates on it, then she back flipped her way back to the kitchen and grabbed four plates, some chopsticks, and tea cups and pranced back to the table and gracefully but very swiftly placed them and she threw off her apron and it almost missed the hook it hangs from but Aang then used a small gust to make it land perfectly. She then took a seat and looking at the two men and lemur and said in her bubbly and optimistic way.
"eat up boy, plenty of food to go around"
Aang took his seat and plated his portion then took the chop sticks and bit one of the dumplings.
before Aang realized it, he was swimming in the feeling of nostalgia that he almost teared up, it was amazing then he dipped it in the sauce and took ate it, and once again this was done to perfection.
Aang was enjoying all the food, and he looked at Tylee who was as well then, he asked
"this is all great, but how do you know how to make these"
Tylee with a smile on her face
"well I found a cookbook for the fruit and egg tarts, but for the dumplings and Tsampa balls, I just went by what my grandma taught me. She was a vegetarian and since you are as well I thought I'd use her recipes"
Aang with a Tsampa in his hand then wondered
"so during the war, were you the cook of your group?"
Tylee nodded as she ate a dumpling
"yep. You don't have to use too much of your imagination to figure out how Mai and Azula would cook"
Aanf got a picture of Mai with this food all diced into fine cubes, and Azula with everything as charcoal. Then he asked.
"what was her name?"
Tylee looked at him questioning
"who?"
Aang then finished his question
"you grandma?"
Tylee then replied
"Yana… why do you ask?"
and Aang with a look of shock then said to her
"Tylee, that is an Air nomad's name!"