I don't own Avatar: The last airbender
Chapter 39
A secret corridor behind a secret corridor. Hakoda had to admit that he wouldn't have thought to search that deep in an establishment like this. Thankfully, Xing's nose was sharp enough to recognize his wife's smell.
The second thing that surprised Hakoda was the traps and ambushes. When the dog halted at first Hakoda and the men were confused, at least until it shot a fire ball at a random spot. When the fire ball hit, an array of darts shot from the walls to the same spot.
From there, Xing walked in a very specific path as the animal scourged the land under it. The message was clear as Hakoda and his men walked on the exact same path. Needless to say, none of them had another encounter with any darts.
It was in the next corridor where things got interesting. Xing halted once again and started stalking as if it was ambushing someone. However, all Hakoda and the men saw it did was peeing on random spots.
"Is the mutt broken?" Asked one of the men.
"Don't think so, probably sees something we don't ." Another answered.
As answer that soon proved to be correct as the black hound returned. It stood above the first spot it marked and then, with a movement that reminded Hakoda of many great beasts at home when they broke the ice and snow to hunt for the prey underneath, it broke the stone like surface with ease.
A quick muted struggle followed by a snap had Xinng pulled back it's blood covered snot. In its mouth, a head of some man who was most likely planning to attack intruders from behind. The purpose of the marking became suddenly very clear.
With quick movements, the men gathered a group around each mark. To make no mistakes, they even came from the same direction Xing came to his kill. Once in position, the men simultaneously stabbed with their spears at the wet marks. The screams from below signaled that they hit their marks.
Once Xing deemed it safe enough to leave, they followed.
"Spirits above, what's the matter with this place?" a random man said.
"I know, right? We've seen fire nation strongholds less protected."
"At least it means that we're in the right direction."
"But what next, a dragon? Our luck will run out eventually."
"Let's hope that the traps run out first."
Hakoda ordered his men to continue their advance. They were deep in the tunnels now, an enemy territory like no other. Indecisiveness meant death here. Suddenly, however, Xing moved its ears upward as it caught something with its senses.
"What is it, boy?" Hakoda asked. "Another ambush?"
The dog turned its head and sniffed… backwards? Where they about to get circled? But Xing's reaction was strange. It wasn't growling or preparing to attack like usual, instead it sat with tongue out and wiggled its tail.
Just to be sure, Hakoda ordered his men to prepare for the worst. It was however unnecessary, as Xing barked and got a confused feminine voice in response.
"Xing?!"
From the double point behind them, a female figure of a young Kyoshi warrior stepped out. If Hakoda remembered correctly, this was the same girl who knocked out one of his men at the meeting they had. Her name had some similarities to his own son, Sukka, Saki… Suki! Yes, her name was Suki.
With a hand signal, the other Kyoshi warriors went out of hiding with the lead of Lyn. Xing walked towards this Suki girl and circled around her affectionately.
"What a pleasant surprise." Lyn said as they met and shook hands. "Didn't expect to see you down here."
"Same here." Hakoda answered. "We followed the trail with Xing, although it's a relief to see friendly faces. I assume that the lack of foes on our tail is thanks to you?"
"We did intercept a good number of men." She confirmed. "Although I must salute you on exterminating the vast majority of their heavy hitters, it made our job much more manageable."
"My men and I can't take all the credit, Xing was a vital part at the operation." Hakoda nodded towards the dog… who was sitting with tongue out and breathing happily as Suki petted it below the head?
Get your hands and yourself out of there you stupid girl! It was only a few minutes ago that Hakoda had seen that exact mouth crush a skull like an egg, for La's sake the mouth still had blood!
"How things are from your end?" Haloda asked, changing the subject of his thoughts.
"We got a few." Lyn said in a sad tone. "Apparently this 'Madam' had left them behind while she ran away with other, more profitable, merchandise. They couldn't give us exact directions, but luckily, we had your trail of bodies to follow."
"Than seeing as our goals more likely than not in the same place, I suggest a cooperation." Hakoda decided. After all, the more capable people he has, the better.
"Aligned goals?" Lyn asked in confusion. "Sorry for asking, but what are you after exactly?"
"My wife." Hakoda said evenly. "I have reason to believe that she's been held here for the last seven years."
"Oh…" Lyn thought to herself for a moment. "Yes, I can see the similarities. Very well, I agree."
The head of the Kyoshi warriors gave Hakoda a parchment of some kind, when Hakoda opened it, he saw… a map? It looked like a map, but the roads were painted in red and green colors that gradually changed from one to another as the roads continued.
"This is a map of the tunnels, at least the best we could come up with. The color is how deep underground we are, you can see the exact numbers in the bar at the up-right corner."
"How… how did you get this?" Hakoda asked in wonder. The details on this map were amazing, he wasn't sure even Mi-Sha had something like this.
"Let's just say that we had a badger mole inside." Lyn said. Hadoka noticed the past tense but didn't comment. He knew how ruthless and efficient Mi-Sha is with this kind of thing, the fact that someone had done something like that under the giant's nose was a miracle in itself.
"Yes… That will help things tremendously." Hadoka said.
"You don't have maps of your own?" Lyn asked confused.
"Mi-Sha made it clear that we're not among those who permitted to use the tunnels." He answered. "If a map of any kind is found in our possession, it would raise questions. And Mi-Sha is paranoid if nothing else."
It's not like Zuko even mentioned such a thing to him in their meeting. And even should he, Hadoka hardly believed that the prince would just give away such valuable information for free. Hakoda preferred it that way, the prince already had too much of a hold on him as is.
And so, they continued. Xing was their danger sensor and the Kyoshi warriors acted as scouts, together they bypassed and naturalized the threats effectively enough. When they went deeper, however, they began to hear the voices of many animals. The roar of a lion, the hiss of a snake and the call of a goat. The echo only made it worse.
A look to his side notified him of a very concerning development. Xing, the murder machine that slaughtered everything in its path in brutal fashion regardless of size and strength, was shaking as it moved. Hadoka was a hunter, he recognized those movements. It wasn't a conscious fear of impending danger, but an instinctual reaction at the presence of a mortal predator. Xing wasn't afraid, but its body was.
It filled Hadoka with worry. After all, what monstrosity caused something like that to Xing of all beings?
Everyone stood in shock as Jasmine revealed her bending, none more so than the named girl herself. Of that Katara was sure, if the shocked expression was anything to go by. Fortunately, Katara was the first to act among all of the killers around her as she shot a blast of water at the nearest thug. A part of her wondered how all the others, who were much more experienced fighters than her, were so slow to act, but she reasoned that a sudden air bender would give the fire nation a pause. The, quite concerning, connection Jasmine seemingly had to Mi-Sha took care of the others.
Katara's act seemed to remind all the others what they were doing a few moments before. That is, killing each other. An act that they most dutifully return too with burning passion, in the fire bender's case, literally. The cat frog was out of the bag now, so Katara had no reason to hold back her water bending.
She sent another water whip to counter the one Amir shot at her as she stalled for time and got closer to Jasmine, who still didn't seem to register what's going on. Katara was saving her strength and stalling for time. Reinforcement would come and, considering from what she had seen, it would come sooner rather than later. And the sand people knew it too.
Katara was in the middle of redirecting another one of Amir's whips as she noticed a frown on his face, someone wasn't happy at being in a standstill with a novice girl. It was then that Katara came to a realization that this was her very first real battle.
"So, you're another one of this Zuko's girls?" He said amid the strikes. "You have a cute enough face, I'll admit, but you need more fat on those bones."
"Screw you, at least I'm not the one who's having problems fighting a little girl." Katara shot back. She knew that with guys like this, there was nothing more humiliating for them than a blow to their masculinity. She had Sokka for reference, but her brother for all his faults was a saint compared to this guy.
"Tch, I'll have to teach that mouth of yours how to behave after all this is over."
As they continued their fight Katara suddenly pulled a water barrier by instinct, and a good thing she did. As the barrier finished manifesting, a few knives were already lodged in it. An angry feminine yell followed by an assault kept Katara on her beck foot.
"You [censored]!" Zia yelled as she gone berserk.
Katara noticed that the other girl had a few deep cuts on her cheek and a few broken needles as well. That couldn't be healthy. The fact that the eye above ticked randomly was a concerning sign as well, but if in was caused by the remnants of the drugs or natural was everyone's guess.
It took all of Katara's skill to keep herself from getting hit in this two against one fight. Zia came at her hard and fast and didn't allow Katara a chance to counter. Amir, on the other hand, was fine with watching the cat fight and disorienting Katara with his whip.
They continued this dance back and forth. As much as Katara hated to admit it, she was in a very bad position. Ignoring the fact that it was two against one, the girl in front of her was much more experienced in fighting and was smart enough to not let Katara have enough time and space for her bending. Besides that, both her opponents were stronger, faster and had much more stamina than her.
Therefore, it came as a little surprise when Zia finally got past her guard and landed a spiked hook in Katara's stomach. Causing the water bender to kneel and hold her stomach in pain. That quickly followed by a pressing weight on her head that made her kiss the ground.
"Nothing smart to say now, eh?" Amir stood towering over her, his shoes a few centimeters from her face. "Now play nice and we wouldn't hurt you… much."
"F-ARGH!" Katara screamed as her arm was bent at an unnatural angle.
"Shut the #$ & out you [censored]!" Zia yelled. "I'm gonna [very long and detailed censor]!"
"Now, now, what did we talk about? Savor it, you need to savor it." Amir lectured his deranged she-dog. "Besides, she's south water tribe, right? I wonder if she'll be as good as that Kya gal."
She must have shown some reaction, because she suddenly felt even more pressure.
"Ooh, a reaction! Do you two know each other? Is she your mother?" Amir mocked cruelly. Katara must have given another reaction, because Amir's eyes and grin grew larger. "Holy spirits, she is your mom! You hear that Zia?"
"Don't worry $! &." Zia spoke to Katara's ear. "When we're done with you, you'll be just like mom-ARGH!"
Katara suddenly felt an immense amount of heat above her as Zia screamed in pain. Katara's view had gone blazing orange for a few seconds. When it was over, she felt the charred corpse of Zia fall lifelessly on the ground.
A look behind her showed the old fire nation commander (Shen if she remembered correctly) it a fire bending stance and a resolute look on his face, behind him rows of black and red armored soldiers. A sight that Katara wouldn't have even thought would ever being her joy did just that, she cried from relief.
Reinforcement has arrived.
Sokka was moving with the temporary squad he was assigned to. Their mission was simple, to escort a bunch of engineers, so that they could demolish the tunnels in the area.
Teams like the one Sokka was in were sent to the already sterile areas that were under fire nation control. Well, sterile was a relative word, as some boogieman could always be hiding behind the next wall or coming from the very tunnels they were ordered to destroy.
Sokka's group had a dozen people, seven soldiers including himself and five engineers. Which should be more than enough to take care of any strugglers. They had five tunnels that they needed to destroy to call it a day, a task that Sokka really wanted to get done with.
"Look at this place." One of the engineers whistled in appreciation. "Not a wall left standing "
Now when Sokka thought of engineers, he thought of those smart little guys with a stick like figure and hunched back. You know, the kind of guys you can't help but have the urge to shake them down for lunch money. He was far off.
The guy before him was a head or so shorter than Mi-Dved, which still made him far taller than Sokka, with just as thick arms. Unlike Mi-Dved, however, the engineer was much much fatter. Sokka was sure that he himself could have fit inside the belly without problems.
When asked about it (because Sokka couldn't keep his mouth shut), the engineer luckily wasn't offended. Apparently, being an engineer in the fire army required doing a lot of heavy lifting, especially if you serve in the navy. Compared to that, running around with a spear sounded very casual. Looking at the equipment they carried with them, Sokka couldn't help but agree.
Another engineer quickly added that in spite of their seemingly stronger build, they were no fighters. They lacked the speed and stamina required from the troopers and had little to no knowledge about fighting itself.
It was strange, Sokka used to think that the more a person is bigger and physically stronger, the better he is at fighting. Recent events, mainly the Kyoshi warriors, opened his eyes to the many other ways of fighting. Another look at the engineers in front of him told him that while they may have a mean punch, a light legged opponent can easily bleed them dry in an open field. In fact, Sokka figured that as things are, even he could take them on at one-on-one fight.
"Good riddance, I say." Another engineer voiced his opinion. "Don't know about you, but I'd rather not have some bandit jump at me from the wall."
A look around showed that indeed, there wasn't even one wall intact. Just rubble. And it was for the exact reason that was said, to take from the enemy the ability to plan ambushes. The old houses and wooden cabins had no chance against the new artillery the fire nation used, and everything else was taken care of by Mi-Dved's axes.
If he was on the other side, he would undoubtedly call foul. Blaming the fire nation for being cowards and causing pain and destruction because they could. Here, however, he was downright glad that he had the cover of artillery that saved him from the death trap that he would have undoubtedly been facing. It really put things into perspective.
After some time, they got to their first target. The entrance of the tunnel was a hole in the ground, it wasn't a big one, but big enough for a grown man to climb up and down at ease.
The soldiers secured a ring around the engineers as the later prepared their equipment. When all was ready, the engineers threw a bomb inside. It exploded after a few seconds and caused debris to fall. It wasn't enough.
By nature, it was very easy for an earth bender to unplug a blocked entrance. You needed to build enough pressure on the block, so that the pressure will surpass the earth bending. Therefore, you needed to strategically place the explosives to make sure that the tunnel collapses on the inside. Which was exactly what the engineers did.
As the tunnel crumbled, Sokka looked up to another source of noise. The artillery once again shot and decimated a big building that was most likely housing important assets of the enemy. It was different from the catapults he remembered from his youth, and frighteningly mor terrible, in both range and damage. He supposed that it was a given with how much time had passed, he'd be stupid to think that the fire nation wouldn't try to improve something just because it works.
"Hey." Sokka got the attention of one of the engineers to fish for information. "What can you tell about those new catapults? I remember them being very different when I was little."
A bit on the nose, but the other side had no reason to suspect anything.
"Sure are. Because those are dragons, not catapults."
"Dragons?" One of the soldiers asked. "Aren't they giant flying fire breathing lizards? And extinct?"
Sokka sure hoped so.
"No, not those ones. It's how the instrument is called." The engineer clarified. "It uses explosives to blast away a piece of metal with huge force. The fire that comes out of the mouth as a result got it its name."
"Shooting using explosives?" Sokka asked. "Can't be safe."
"It's more complicated than that, but yes. You need to fix the right amount of the right ingredients to the powder and build the machine from the right materials in the right way. As it is now, however, you have more danger from the sound than from the shot itself."
"Huh."
The group continued their mission. On their way they found a few strugglers, but the problem was quickly solved with the teamwork of the soldiers. Sokka among them. They had met a few kids that much to Sokka's carnage were immediately shot upon. Sokka completely disagreed with the way they were attacking to harm kids, but after the encounter Mi-Dved's group had there was little Sokka could speak up.
And so, the group continued their journey to seal off their respective points.
That was a complete mess, it was the only thing Shen could think of.
An attack on their medical tent in the heart of the camp was disastrous enough and was worthy of a nightmare of a headache, but discovering not only a water bender, but an air bender in their ranks? That was inconceivable. Ignoring the political consequences, just the sheer chance for that to happen…
What next, the dragons aren't extinct? The Avatar is alive? Whatever the case is, it left him with serious problems. By all rights, he should have just executed the two girls on sight. Just as protocol demanded, their relationship with the prince be damned. But that opened another can of worms.
Did the prince know about it? If so, did he know that he was committing an act of treason? Was the fire lord aware? So many questions, so many pitfalls.
He shook his head. Politics later, for now he'll put off the metaphorical fire of the assault.
He walked towards the downed water bender, sparing a glance to the now very dead body of the female bandit. He didn't feel any pity or regret for killing her. She was a part of those criminals willingly, she knew what she was getting into. And judging by the few words he had heard, she had it coming.
The boy with the whip yelled and stroked Shen with his whip, and quite pathetically at that. Shen easily caught the whip in his armored hand and pulled it hard. The boy was sent stumbling forward with a yelp, unbelievable look on his face. Shen used it to hit the boy with his other arm, the fist was enough to bring the boy to his knees with a painful yell.
Not sparing another glance at the boy, letting his men apprehend the problem, he looked at the water bender. She had signs of emotional trauma that made Shen regret not being able to arrive earlier, he knelt so they could be at the same height, more or less.
"Katara, right?" He asked as she nodded. "Think you can get up?"
She tried to, but adrenalin caused her to be unsteady and fall a few times before finally succeeding. Deciding to question her first about the situation and not the bending, he waited a moment for the young girl to gather her wits.
On the background, he could hear the boy wailing nonsense to the soldiers. Yelling about who he is and how important his parents are, as if that was going to help in any way. Shen knew those types of kids, rich and entitled and think the world was created to serve them. Those types of kids were the first to break.
"So what can you tell me about the situation? The attack I mean." Shen decided to clarify, he had to ask the more political concerning questions in a more private setting.
And so she did, she told him about the attack. From the moment it began with a surprise boulder throw up to the moment where Shen arrived. He stopped her a few times or told her to move on where she had to mention her bending, but otherwise kept silent.
She told him everything about the words the Amir kid said, and once again he regretted not getting earlier. Obviously he miscalculated, Amir wasn't just an entitled brat, but truly sadistic monster.
"Listen closely now." He told her. "Take your friend with you and follow those two men to your room. From there speak to no one, and I repeat no one, until either I or the prince arrive. We can think of something up, but only if you follow the instructions. Do you understand?"
The girl nodded frantically, good.
She left, taking by the hand her still unresponsive friend, and the two men he assigned followed. They will not be disturbed. With one problem postponed for later, he turned to the man who will be responsible for the prisoner interrogation.
"Squeeze from the little monster everything you can, as long as he stays alive everything goes. When you're done with him, execute him through rat torture."
The man saluted and went to work.
Shen stayed a little to put things to order to things. Making sure that all the injured were getting treatment, having patrols surround the area in case they missed something and getting debriefs.
"Sir, we have found the tunnel where they came through." The lieutenant he was talking to said.
"And is it secured?"
"Yes sir. There was only one body at the entrance, unnaturally disfigured and clearly tortured. The healers say that it's fresh, as in less than an hour."
"Do you know anything about it?" Shen asked.
"We think that it was the guide of the group. From the confessions we already have, this was a smuggling operation to get the kid, Amir, out of Amora. The fact that the exit of the tunnel they used was next to the medical tent was a pure coincidence."
"Really?" Shen raised an eyebrow. "The act speak highly against them."
"Apparently, the two kids have a few screws loose. And unfortunately, they were in charge." The men said. "Because of the camp, Amir and Zia had the guide killed in brutal fashion for failure and entertainment. Afterwards, they decided to use shock attack instead of waiting for the night to sneak out because they were impatient. After that, the two ordered the others to stay to finish the butchering and to kidnap ladies Jasmine and Katara."
"Good grief, what is wrong with them?" Shen questioned. "Now I'm actually glad that I burned this Zia alive."
"About that, apparently Amir is considered a nobility of some kind. By protocol, he should be held for ransom. What are your orders, sir?"
"Override protocol." Shen ordered. "His crimes are too severe. Besides, protocol is for prisoners of war, a category that he was excused from the moment he ordered and participated in the butchering of injured and non-combatant healers for fun."
"And if a higher authority gets involved?"
"The orders stay the same. Once the interrogation is over, dress him in the iron maiden and make sure that the cell with the spider rats is above his stomach. All things considered, my orders are absolute in this case."
With his piece of mind and orders known, he walked back to the girls. A conversation that will be much more complicated than this.
"Hey, you okay?" Katara asked her still unresponsive friend.
Fine, it was probably a stupid question, but all she needed was a reaction of some kind. Argh, why was it so hard? Unlike her brother, she actually was the more rational one. Jasmine needed to snap out of it. She missed Xing, the fur ball had a talent for making depressed people happier. And wasn't it a hit to her pride that a dog is better than her.
She needed something that Jasmine couldn't resist, but what? She tried talking about clothes, she tried talking about medical things. Heck she even involved Jasmine's fantasies about Zuko for crying out loud. What could she do now?
Wait, Jasmine already had broken off from this before during the battle. But it was the reaction to Zia, something Katara isn't (thank the spirits). But maybe…
"Hey, Jasmine…" Katara asked, trying a different angle. "Do you mind if I marry your brother? We'll have a happy big family in the south pole, I promise you could visit from time to time."
"Don't you dare take him to that spirit forgotten hole!" Finally, a reaction. Also, rude. "He's mine! You hear it, mine mine mine!"
Ok… maybe too much reaction. Katara had a big brother as well, so she knew that this reaction was not normal. In any case, it made her friend blink a few times and return to reality.
"Sorry. I was… not in control." Jasmine made an apology.
"It's fine, I'm just happy to have you again…" Katara said evenly before uncertainly adding. "Do… do you want to talk about it?"
"No, no." The other girl waived her off. "I was just in a dark place, so I was overly sensitive. In any case, I'm glad that this is behind us."
"Amm… not to rain on your parade." Katara said. "But the two of us kinda revealed our bending. By the way, I'm a bit angry about you not telling me about your air bending, but I understand."
"I didn't even think I was until today." Jasmine admitted. "It came as a complete surprise."
"Really?! Is it even possible?"
All Katara got as an answer was a shrug.
"It doesn't matter, we just need to wait for Zuko to arrive and fix things up." Jasmine said.
"You think he will?" Katara asked. "It would be much easier for him to just cut off dead weight and turn us in. Heck, he may even turn off his banishment if he hands you over."
And wasn't that the truth. For all that Zuko had done for her, she knew that she was just another pi sho tile for him. As much as she hoped that she managed to get in his good graces, she had no delusions that between her and his ambitions, Zuko would choose his ambitions. No matter how she hoped otherwise.
"No, I don't think so." Jasmine shook her head. "He had many opportunities to throw either of us to the bat wolves, but he didn't. Besides, I consider myself rather good at reading people. Zuko is honorable at heart, oh he may use tricks and underhanded measures yes, but once he makes a promise, he will do everything to keep it."
"And if you're wrong?"
"And if I'm wrong… what more could we do?"
There was a knock on the door.
"Miss Katara, miss Jasmine, it's Shen. May I enter?"
With little choice, Katara proclaimed that he may. Shen entered the room, alone, and closed behind him the door. He sat on a stool and gestured them to sit next to him.
"First of all." He started. "I want to know how you're coping up. No one should have gone through what you did, especially in a supposedly safe place."
"We're a bit shaken, but are better now." Jasmine said. "If I may, what will happen to the attackers? It will put my mind at ease."
"After a through interrogation, the convicts were judged to death by the rat. Does this answer your question?"
"Yes, sir." Jasmine bowed with a smile on her face. "Thank you."
Katara didn't understand something.
"What do you mean by that?"
"If you don't know, than it may be-"
Jasmine, however, cut off the old man.
"It's when you lock someone inside a metal suit, immobilizing him. Only the catch is, that the suit has a chamber with a rodent inside. Once locked, the chamber opens, and the animal has direct access to the flesh. With air holes to breathe, the trapped creature has only one way to both eat and get out."
This… Katara shivered. This was a long and painful to go. She was torn. On the one hand, it was cruel and barbaric, and she never thought someone deserved such a fate. But on the other hand, from the little she knew about the people, they were the lowest of the low. And they did kill for fun. Looking at the gleeful face of her friend, Katara decided to trust Jasmine this one time.
"Ahm, yes. Now for the more important part of this meeting, your bending." Shen's words stopped any other thought that ran in the heads of both girls. "Let's start it simple, does the prince know?"
Jasmine was about to talk, but Shen held a finger to stop her.
"No, not you. Putting your bending aside, you're an expert con and deceiver. I can't trust your words, She's the one who talks." He pointed at her.
"Zuko knew I was a water bender." Katara answered. "It's the main reason he hired me. As for Jasmine, none of us knew she was a bender, less of all an air bender. She didn't know herself until today."
The old army man looked at her intensely in the eyes for a few moments, until he relented and sighed.
"Very well, you speak truth. If the prince is aware, then I have little to do. I'll send him a falcon explaining the situation, he'll decide what to do. It's now above my pay grade."
"So you're not going to imprison us and take us to a cell in the fire nation? Or execute Jasmine?" Katara asked in a hopeful tone.
"Ha! As if." Shen laughed. "You may not be aware of it, but the two of you are very popular among the soldiers. Especially if they were patients of yours. No, and execute Jasmine? Half of the men will think of revolting!"
Shen shook his head before continuing.
"What I'm trying to say is that you have nothing to fear from the people of the camp. What will happen now will be decided between the prince and his father."
"So you're saying we have a chance?" Katara asked hopefully.
"A chance, yes." Shen said with caution. "But remember the last time the prince tried to act against his father's orders. Right now, there is only one question to ask, how much is the prince is willing to burn for you?"
Zuko looked at the city beneath him, an ugly thing really. A quarter of it was already burned to the ground, which was a good pace. Zuko knew, however, that resistance will only grow stronger as the rats are cornered.
"As victories mount, so too will resistance. I suggest calling it a day, the sun is about to set, and overextension is fetal in this environment."
"Fair enough. What does your scanners see?"
Zuko immediately saw a window popping up in front of his eyes. It showed the signals of his forces, as well as threats and tunnel openings.
"There is a large increase in the insentient life forms, I suggest to mark the border with camp fires to ward them off. Let our enemies kill and feast on each other."
"Agreed." Zuko said as he flew down to the main camp the soldiers made inside the city to deliver the orders.
Once done, he went to see how things are going around the camp. By all rights, he didn't have to. He had people that it was their job and as a prince it may be beneath him, but this had more to do with maintaining presence. Small things like calling soldiers by name (and Sai always told him their names) made them more willing to do things for him, it goes double if he talks to them and asks how they're doing.
"Zuko!" A familiar voice called out."
"Mi-Dved, how are you?" Zuko asked as the towering man walked to him. "I see much less buildings than there should be, and rubble everywhere. I can't help but be disappointed as a tourist, you wouldn't know who I should file my complaint to right?"
The bigger man let a bark of laughter at the, frankly awful, joke. Taking it as praise to his fine job at demolishing the surrounding. Which it was.
"So how was your day?" Zuko asked.
"Ah, you know, the usual. Destroy this building, crush that thug, nothing too much exciting." Mi-Dved said as he remembered something. "Oh, I did kill an enforcer by the way. Put my axe through his skull and everything, quite cathartic by the way."
"Good job!" Zuko complimented. "Same here, one of them thought that he could take me in the closed spaces inside the walls. Didn't go so well for him, I shish kebab-ed him and threw him away."
"Ha! Sounds fun. You know, part of me still can't believe that we're actually doing it. It's poetic, you know. I ran off from here to escape this place, only to end up returning to destroy completely."
"Funny how things are." Zuko agreed.
The two had continued their small talk until a falcon flew towards Zuko and landed on his armored arm. Zuko petted it as he started to read the letter. He cursed as he read the content.
"We need to go back to camp, now." With little time to lose, Zuko held Mi-Dved from behind by the armpits and flew the two of them with his fire bending.
"Not that I'm complaining being carried high in the air like dead weight." Mi-Dved started. "But what happened?"
"There was an attack from the inside on the medical tent, both Jasmine and Katara are safe." Zuko immediately calmed the heavier man down. "Unfortunately, during the attack Katara had to reveal herself as a water bender."
"Damn." Mi-Dved said. "That's going to be one hell of a headache."
"It's not even our biggest problem right now." Zuko said. "Apparently your sister discovered that she's an air bender."
"What?!"
"When the thugs were about to kidnap her, she released a scream with a blast of air that banished them away." Zuko explained.
"She does have a strong voice…" Mi-Dved didn't know how to take the revelation. "What are we going to do?"
"I need some quiet time to think, let's just meet the girls first and then decide, ok?"
Mi-Dved nodded under him, preoccupied with his own thoughts.
'Sai, what are we going to do?!'
"As it stands, too many people already know. If there was a small group, I would have suggested a few accidents or duties from which they wouldn't return. But it's obviously out of the question now. As much as it pains to admit, our best course of action will be to confess to your father."
'Are you crazy?! He'll banish me for good! At best!'
"If he hears it from you first, he may be more lenient in his punishment then if hears it from someone else."
'It's father! He's never lenient in anything, ever!'
"In any case it's best to write him as soon as possible. That way we'll have the narrative at least before opportunists like Zhao could vulture on it."
'This is a complete mess up…'
"Agreed, and one that will bleed us dearly, in one way or another, but not a killing blow. We'll pull through, like we did before. Trust me."
And he did. If there was anyone Zuko could trust, it was Sai. The guy/helmet/thing had always been truthful to him, and always stayed true to its words.
Both too soon, and too long, Zuko and his passenger reached the room where the girls were being kept. Zuko ordered the guards to let them through and to not be disturbed unless it's a letter from his father or a life-or-death matter.
"Zuko!" The two girls called.
"How are you two?" He asked as Mi-Dved hugged his sister.
"Could be better." Katara said. "Say, have you seen Sokka?"
"He didn't come to see you?!" Zuko asked bewildered, only to get angrier when he received a shake to the sides. "He'll have a lot to answer for when I find him… No, not now. Explain what happened?"
The girls told him and Mi-Dved everything. From the beginning when the assault started, to the moment Shen left their room. Jasmine was disturbingly gleeful when they reached the part where Zia died.
"AMIR!" Mi-Dved yelled in rage as he hit the metal table with a fist, denting it with pure strength alone. "I will skin thar $ #!#$%#& alive!"
"Easy brother, commander Shen has promised to give him the rat." Jasmine calmed her brother down. "You'll have as much time to gloat as you'll like."
Zuko didn't like any of the smirks the sand sibling shared but decided to ignore it this time considering the situation.
"What are we going to do?" Katara asked with concern. "You wouldn't let them take us, right?"
Zuko had a really really hard time ignoring the pleading look the water bending girl gave him.
"Don't worry, I'll grease things up with dad." Zuko calmed her down. "I promised you that you'll be back with all your family, I stand by my word."
Her blue eyes shined in gratitude and some other emotion that Zuko didn't recognize.
"Unbelievable… Why are they all either extremely dense, extremely sadistic, or extremely masochistic?"
'Not now, Sai.'
"Amm… Not to be the party popper." Mi-Dved began. "But the last time you tried to 'grease hands' with your father about people's life, you literally got burned and banished. And they died anyway."
"True, but now I have more ground to stand on. Besides, he wouldn't maim me in a way that will hurt my fighting capabilities for long now, He still has use for me."
"THAT'S NOT HELPING!" all the three yelled together at once.
"OK, ok! Sorry…" Zuko held his hands up before changing the subject. "So how did it feel to air bend for the first time?"
"It was… something." Jasmine said. "Sorry, it's just that so many things happened at once…"
"It's fine." Zuko held his hand as a pacifier. "But how do you feel now?
"Strang… as if a body part that I didn't know I have is suddenly acting up. Which is basically what happened." The raven-haired girl said before asking a question he hoped to avoid. "Zuko… Mi-Sha is our father, isn't he?"
The room fell silent.
"I'm not stupid." The enchantress continued. "There can't be too many air benders, and Mi-Dved's size speak for itself. How does it change… everything?"
Zuko walked closer to the duo and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Between us, absolutely nothing." Zuko said before looking at each of them. "Mi-Dved, you're still the guy I released from slavery and helped to find his sister. Jasmine, you're still the girl that I reunited with her brother. Your sperm donor doesn't matter to me, it could be Mi-Sha, the earth king or the damn Avatar, it doesn't change all that we've been through together."
He honestly didn't expect the hug that Jasmine suddenly gave him as she cried on his shoulders. A pure sincere hug with no ulterior motives. She was soon joined by Katara and Mi-Dved, making a group hug with him at its center. He already wasn't strange to acts of friendship, not like he was seven months ago, but this sheer honest affection… he hadn't experienced something like that with anyone bar mom and uncle.
He allowed himself to relax and for the moment, forget about the future. He was loved, and whatever may come, he wouldn't be alone.
AN
Another chapter as the Saga continues. While our heroes have their moment of rest, the stakes will only rise higher. Next chapter we'll finally meet Mr. Pickles, as well as have another POV of Mi-Sha.
now for the reviews:
Engineer1869:
Thanks!
I wanted to note how all the characters in this story grew during it, part of that is in fighting power and morals.
Poor Sokka, he isn't having a good time now, and he'll certainly be more jaded, if prepared, when Aang comes along.
At this bit with Jasmine and Katara I wanted to show how different people can be, even if they interact with each other daily. I also wanted to show the depth of the depravity of Amora and of the society that built it, and the need to destroy it. There will be no rebuilding or reforming something so rotten, it's a cancer that only knows how to feed itself on the ruin of those around it. Amora must be destroyed to never be rebuilt again, root and stem, or else it will continue to eat everything around it.
Considering that in Legend of Korra Tanzyn wanted to shave the heads of the new air benders... yeah, it will be a HELL NO! from Jasmine. It also wouldn't help that the two of them are the last male and female air benders, which may give Aang's puberty influenced mind ideas thar Jasmine wouldn't appreciate.
the bit with Iroh, Sai and Mi-Dved made me chuckle.
J4M35W1NZ:
Thank you!
deniswanheda :
Thank you!
As things are, Zuko my get his wish and return home temporarily earlier then usual, but not for a good reason. It will only ,make the birthday arc even more chaotic.
Yes, Sokka had grown a lot in this arc. He is also aware, as you mentioned, about the differences between him and Zuko in the expectation that burden them.
Zuko did and will do everything in his power to make sure that both Katara and Jasmine are safe, but with the ever worsening stability of Ozai (that Zuko isn't aware of) things will get bloody.
Lord Lelouch:
Thank you, and yes. We'll see the progress in all the people Zuko interacted with, and sooner rather than later.
I completely agree with you, the Zuko we see here is already a different person from the one in the show, both before and after redemption. Much to the surprise and shock of those that know him at home.
Aerys was exactly the inspiration I took. Sai knew that getting on Ozai's good graces isn't worth the cost, and Zuko will never grow to be what he needs to under the shadow of his father. Ozai has to go, but in a way that will make Zuko see the truth as well as not pushing him away from the influence of Sai. Zuko also needed to rule, and being banished by his mad father will help nullify his banishment as well.
02cjdg:
Thank you, I played with the idea of giving Jasmine bending or not, but decided to do it. It will cause much more mess later, especially when Aang will return. That's the gist of the plan Sai cooked for Ozai, yes. of course, nothing is ever easy.
One of my main ideas for the story was the changes each character makes. Idles change all the time, especially in times of turmoil. As for Zuko, I can't tell without ruining the story.
Katara was at the medic tent because, like you said, shews a healer at heart. As well as the fact that without her water bending, it's not logical for her to be in the front. She's still as feisty and ready to fight as ever.
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Anyway, I'm more than happy to read all your reviews.