The Return

by tubendo

The ice of the South Pole hides many things, and when Azula and Sokka are confronted by something far greater than themselves, the strength of their relationship is tested, and the Princess has to decide whose path she will follow: the path of her father or the path of freedom. (Sequel to Into The Fire)

40. Chapter 40

The sun had already fallen, and darkness shrouded the land; Ty Lee knew that scouting was always dangerous, but the passing of day to night only made her more nervous. They didn't have any firebenders with them, relying instead on lanterns to light their path; even then, those had to remain dimly lit, the glass dirtied on purpose so that they wouldn't be spotted by any unwanted scouts working for the other side.

After hearing about what happened at the base, she couldn't help but wonder what was going through the heads of the Fire Nation soldiers recruited by the Dai Li to their side. Betrayal, from one side to another, seemed more common than not, and she knew that Azula was to blame, at least in part; however, the war had been started by Zuko, and even if Ty Lee silently thought the Prince was more than justified, she would never say that to Azula. She loved Mai, and every time she thought about what might have happened to her, she was filled with anguish and rage.

Now, more people were going to suffer, now at the hands of Azula and the Coalition; those soldiers were not innocent by any measure, but they were probably just doing what they thought would keep them safe. That did not justify treason, but it made sense of it; she was sure that Azula might grant mercy, like she had to those soldiers she met back in Shengchang, who had betrayed the Governor and rejoined her cause. She could offer the soldiers something the Dai Li could not: a chance to return to their homeland, to be given the rest they probably wanted, after all the fighting, occupation, and unrest they had been dealing with.

However, before Azula could do that, she needed to find out what exactly they were facing; the reports she received at the base were helpful, but outdated and lacking in detail. More than that, all she had were the names of traitors, not actually telling them why they had betrayed the Fire Nation. So, Ty Lee hoped that she could help alleviate that lack of knowledge, and if able, do them all some good by sabotaging their enemies. Azula had given her some letters, all with her seal, which were to bring her plans to fruition.

The traitors were likely spread around, but Azula assured her that she could probably find a few of them at the encampment they were approaching; Aang had spotted it while flying around, trying to figure out where exactly the Dai Li had their forces. Soldiers had been massing in a camp a bit north of the Outer Walls, which was full of Fire Nation military equipment; it seemed that the Dai Li had been expecting them, and this meant that the traitors would likely be there. Maybe they were trying to test their loyalty, or perhaps they saw them as expendable; whatever the reason, they were going to be there, and that gave Ty Lee the chance to either sway, or destroy the traitors.

She was dressed as a Fire Nation soldier, wearing boots with extra padding at the base to make her seem taller, and wore a full set of armour, though it was the lightest kind that Azula could find for her; she was playing the part of an enemy soldier, and would hopefully be able to enter the base and find the traitor officers that had been referenced by the loyalists. The letters were orders from Azula, which they weren't expected to directly follow; she was well aware that they had chosen their side, and the letters were meant to be found, so that infighting would break out among their enemies. If anyone was a potential traitor, the Dai Li would have to turn their aggression inward, instead of towards the Coalition, the real threat.

She was joined by Water Tribe warriors from the North and South, as well as her chi-blocking trainees, who had all been dressed up in Fire Nation military garb as well. Their disguises would help them blend in, gather intelligence, and sabotage the enemy where possible. By her side was Ji, who she had made fast friends with throughout her training; amusingly enough, she referred to her as Master Ty Lee, or just Master, which she tried not to laugh at. She did not feel very 'masterly', and tried to remain as fair with the trainees as possible, but even then, she was the master of chi-blocking, and they were the sometimes humble, sometimes cocky students.

They followed after the Water Tribe warriors, led by Hakoda and Bato, who remained shrouded in the dark while Ty Lee and her entourage held lanterns, playing the part of a scouting party. They had even gotten a banner, which had been held in storage by the Major's men as they feigned loyalty to Azula. The green, red, and gold banner hung high above them, and despite the fact it represented their foes, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous; it looked cool, and represented the combination of nations in a way that their own banners didn't. They were blue, for the Water Tribes, or for Azula's fire, depending on who one asked.

"We have to be getting close." Ji spoke her mind, "I can smell fire."

Ty Lee sniffed, and nodded, finding that she could distinctly smell wood-fire smoke, and what might have been burnt food. The light from the encampment was growing, but she had already been able to see it for quite some time already; it lit up the clouds that hung above them dimly, though the clouds were no comparison to the near full moon that hung near the horizon to the east. She could make out voices, far off into the distance, but they were so muffled that nobody would ever hope to understand what was being said.

As they climbed to the top of a hill, the warriors stopped, and Ty Lee cautiously approached, holding her lantern down low, in case it might be spotted by somebody on the opposite side of the hill. Hakoda gestured for her to approach, and she did, cresting over the hilltop, where she finally made sight of the encampment. It was massive, sprawling out across a whole valley, making the camp around the old base seem small in comparison. She guessed there were at least a thousand soldiers there, though she doubted all of them would be Fire Nation, given the reasonable fears the Dai Li must have had about them defecting to Azula's side. She could even make out more troops further away, marching down the slope into the valley, away from the walls, probably to reinforce the troop numbers.

She understood at that moment that defeating such an army would be infeasible in a fair fight; on an ordinary battlefield, even with their sizable number of earthbenders, they would be outclassed purely by the numbers the enemy could muster. The ocean was their only real ally, and it was the tool they hoped to wield when the enemy inevitably came to the base.

"This camp is massive." Hakoda spoke his mind, "I doubt we'll be able to do that much." he conceded, "I don't want my warriors getting caught out."

"That's fair." she agreed with his mindset, and glanced behind herself, seeing the mostly obscured mass of Water Tribe men marching through the woodland behind them.

"Are we going to go as far as the walls?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"No, there's no point. We can see their numbers... and I know that the airship will be able to spot their movements if necessary." he argued, before stroking his beard, "I say you enter at once. We'll find what we can to sabotage... but the Fire Lord's orders remain. You need to find whatever you can about their orders, organisation, and then, turn them against each other."

"If they're anywhere near as paranoid as Azula, it won't be hard." she noted, amused by the fact that she would use a strategy that would most likely be just as effective against the Princess; perhaps that was why she thought of it so quickly, afraid that her own men could be tricked to turn on each other.

They had to be proactive, unless they wanted to fall to the Dai Li's own trickery; she was unsure what they might do, and hoped that whatever she could learn from her time in the encampment might give her some insight into their plans. She turned around, and gestured for her group to start moving in; they did so, and she turned back to face the Chief.

"Good luck." she farewelled him, and he gave her a short salute, before gesturing for his men to get moving; so, with that, they split up, and Ty Lee made her way down to her disguised entourage of soldiers.

They were all convincing enough, with helmets, armour, and weapons to boot. None of them were firebenders, so they couldn't dress as them, though some were earthbenders, which was a relief; having a little extra muscle was nothing to complain about. Pacing their way down the slope, she turned to one of the fighters, an earthbender by the name of Haru, who they decided would be the 'leader' of the squad, as he was taller and better built, giving off the aura of somebody who ought to be a commanding officer.

He tapped on the jian sword he had fastened to his belt, "I won't have to use this, will I?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"No, you won't." she reassured him, "Just say what the Fire Lord told you to, and you should be fine." she assured him, "Try and play it serious. If you seem mad, they won't ask you too many questions." she suggested, and he nodded, before putting on a scowl; with such a frustrated look, he seemed far more 'in character than he had been before'.

"Fed up and tired, got it." he agreed to her idea, and paced ahead of the rest of the group.

Ty Lee made sure not to be far behind, and watched as he approached the camp's edge, where a few men were standing or sitting guard, by a few crates and a small campfire; they were Earth Kingdom soldiers, perhaps conscripts, and didn't seem very happy to be there.

"Back from patrol?" one of them asked Haru, who scoffed.

"What does it look like, half-wit?" he retorted, before gesturing at them, "Sitting here like a bunch of lazy noblemen. If you got off your butts, maybe the camp would be a little safer." he mocked the casual way in which they were acting.

The soldiers seemed intimidated enough by his words, and one of them stepped forth, perhaps their leader, "Sorry, sir, I'll make sure they focus more on their duties. It's just late, that's all."

"Yes, exactly. That's why I need a drink." he decided, grabbing the soldier by the scruff of his collar, "Give me a pointer, boy."

That choice of address amused Ty Lee, given that he must have in fact been quite a bit younger than the man he was harassing.

"Th-that way." he clarified, "Please don't-"

"I'm not that mad." he conceded, "Perhaps you ought to reconsider your choice of profession if you're so timid." he warned him, his suggestion perhaps a genuine call out, considering that they didn't seem to want to be out there.

"We're all conscripts, sir." another soldier clarified.

"Well, luck doesn't come easy in these times, does it?" he asked him rhetorically, and all the soldiers seemed even more dour than they had before, "Come on, we need to report in." he gestured for the rest of the group to follow him into the camp.

Ty Lee followed with the others, keeping a keen eye out for anything of interest within the camp. The part they entered into just had some basic defences, such as a palisade and some trenches that must have been dug by earthbenders, given how fresh yet extensive they appeared to be. She wasn't worried about that, as they weren't attempting to assault the encampment, at least not any time soon. The way inside was a winding path surrounded by the palisades, which she guessed would be defended in the case of an attack. When they got to the gates, the soldiers there eyed Haru for a few moments, before opening them up.

Once Ty Lee stepped inside, she glanced around, trying to see if there was anything or anyone of interest; she spotted a couple Dai Li agents at once, noticing that they were discussing something rather casually, which was a far cry from what she had imagined, all while overseeing what must have been a squad of conscripts preparing bags of supplies. The agents briefly eyed them, but paid little attention to them. That was a good sign, telling her that their disguises were convincing. Haru stepped over to her, and dropped the visage he'd been putting on.

"Did I do well?" he asked her, assuming her to be an authority on the matter of infiltration; she was not, and shrugged her shoulders.

"I think you convinced them. We should fan out and find things to report on, and come back here as soon as we can. The kinds of weapons are most important... troop numbers too, and the amount of benders." she whispered, reminding him of what they were there to do, before turning to face her comrades, "Who's coming with me?" she asked, and Smellerbee stepped forward; she almost didn't recognise the girl without her makeup, but did know her eyes.

"I'll go." she decided, using a different speaking voice; they were all pretending to be soldiers, and thus, the girls among them had to pretend to be men, which was harder for some than it was for others.

Ty Lee struggled to speak with a low enough voice, so decided to avoid speaking unless it was necessary. Smellerbee followed after her as she headed deeper into the camp. She knew she needed to find the commanding officers, who would both provide her with intelligence, if she was lucky enough to catch them mid-conversation, as well as the chance to plant her letters.

She and Smellerbee made their way past lines of tents, Ty Lee glancing around between the rows, trying to spot out anyone that would be good to eavesdrop on. She didn't find anyone of interest, and considered going back to listen in on those Dai Li agents she had spotted, but decided against that, thinking that there were no easy spots to stand and listen from without being noticed by either soldiers present, or the agents themselves. The other girl gestured over ahead of them, and Ty Lee realised she had seen a larger tent.

"Maybe that's a commander's tent." she guessed, and Smellerbee nodded.

"Then let's go check it out." she decided, and the two girls paced towards the tent.

They wound around some more lines of tents, before reaching the large tent, which was accompanied by a couple other tents, and nearby there was a makeshift stable, holding komodo rhinos and mongoose lizards, the preferred steeds of Fire Nation officers. She could see that there were men standing guard at the biggest tent, both of them clearly Fire Nation soldiers. There were some more Dai Li agents around, though they weren't at the tents, but instead passing through. Unlike the ones she had seen before, they were dressed in actual armour, like how she knew Earth Kingdom soldiers would, their identity as agents more obvious due to their hairstyles and hats.

"I'm telling you, these ash-makers don't know a ostrich horse egg from a platypus bear egg." one of the agents told the other, who laughed at his insulting description of the Fire Nation soldiers.

"They were smart enough to stay the course. I half-thought they'd rise up in arms with the girl Fire Lord coming our way." the other argued, referring to Azula and her journey towards Ba Sing Se, "What was the rumour... that she massacred a village full of bandits, and got half of Donggu Province to rise up for her cause?" he asked the other agent, who scoffed.

"I don't believe that for a second. Most of the people out there are so poor and desperate that the army couldn't get more than a thousand recruits over the entire war. They're not going to march on the city." the agent declared; he wasn't completely wrong, as Azula had struggled to get all that many people to join her cause, at least in terms of fighting forces, though representatives had joined them on the airship, swearing to aid the Coalition in any way they could.

The agents then walked away, and Ty Lee could no longer hear what they were saying; Smellerbee turned to face her, seeming interested by what they were saying.

"So, they are underestimating us." she concluded, and smirked, "That's a winning strategy."

"I don't think there's much strategy involved." she quietly conceded, knowing that it was mostly luck that the Dai Li remained unaware of the scope of their plans, and how they had been preparing to destroy them.

Ty Lee sighed, before pacing behind one of the tents, trying to remain out of sight of the guards protecting the biggest tent; she turned to Smellerbee, and gestured to the tent they were hiding behind. To the other side were more tents, most of them appearing to be larger ones, which she guessed were for storing supplies. That meant they weren't likely to be seen.

"Go and check inside this tent, I'll see if I can get in the big one."

"Am I looking for anything specific?"

"Anything that says anything about their battleplans." she told her to look for the most obvious, and arguably, the most important kind of information they could gather.

Smellerbee scrunched her lips, before picking up the fabric, peering her head inside, "Nobody's home." she observed with a smirk, "Good luck." she addressed Ty Lee, before snickering, "I wouldn't trust another stinking ash-maker with this."

"I can't firebend." she reminded her, before raising her index fingers, "I have something better... don't forget it, if the worst comes to bear."

"I won't." she assured her, and with that, Ty Lee was left by herself, scurrying behind the tent, before she made her way to the rear of the big tent.

She was now close enough to hear voices inside, and she smirked, pleased that she was going to get some intelligence for Azula. Returning empty handed would have been a bit embarrassing, given how effective Azula's own forays into enemy camps had been in the past. The recent attack on Bahen's bandits came to mind, half of which had just been them scouting out a village, pretending to be bandits. This was different, but she needed to be just as astute and focused; if she wasn't, then she might either get caught, or miss something of vital importance.

"What do you mean, the Eastern Fleet commanders won't even consider our proposal?" she heard an officer speaking; he had a gruff tone of voice, and seemed to be in a dour mood.

"It's not complicated, sir. The Eastern Fleet is loyal to Fire Lord Ozai. Their highest officers are personally loyal, while the rest are staying in line because they're still getting their pay. They have no reason to defect unless the war is turning against Ozai, which it isn't." another officer argued; his higher, softer voice told her that he was some kind of junior officer, maybe fresh out of the academy when the conflict started between Zuko and Azula.

"Then, do we have any good news? What of the bases in the east?"

"It's the same story." the young officer conceded, "They won't join us, because they're being supplied by the Eastern Fleet... I imagine they would sooner turn to the girl than to us."

"Of course they would, she's still the Fire Lord." the older officer retorted; the fact he just agreed with Azula's legitimate status as the Fire Lord surprised her, but she imagined he was just a realist, not wanting to deny what was obviously true, "No matter if she sides with the Water Tribes, that doesn't change the fact that the colonies are folding to her cause one by one. It's only a matter of time before she and Ozai face off in battle."

"I don't think the Fire Lord will be heading into the field any time soon." another officer spoke up; this one didn't sound as young as the other one, but he had an odd, croaky voice, "No matter what you think of the traitor General, Ozai is no Dragon of the West. He is a coward... he mutilated his own son, and then killed him for daring to fight back."

"I don't think you'll find any disagreement here." the older officer retorted, "But he has the industrial base, manpower, and forces that the girl does not. The boy is dead, at least that's what they say."

"What does our great Grand Secretariat have to say about this? He must have some orders." the croaky voiced officer asked, and the older one just laughed.

"The Grand Secretariat is as secretive as ever. He says that all will be revealed in time, whatever that is supposed to mean. He might not even have a plan, though I'm sure the Governing Council does. That plan is to rebuild the army and secure our borders... that cannot be done while we have this rag-tag alliance of savages and rebels breathing down our neck." he explained what he knew, and thought on the matter; the Governing Council, Ty Lee guessed, was the actual power ruling Ba Sing Se, though the Grand Secretariat was not a title she had heard before.

She would have to ask Azula and Sokka for more information, which they would surely provide. However, what he was saying seemed to suggest that they didn't believe they could achieve their goals with the Coalition in the area.

"The rebels won't pose a threat to the city. They can't assault the walls... at least not without casualties that would destroy their morale and unity." the younger officer argued, "Though we don't know their exact numbers, the message from Major Hui told you enough, didn't it?"

"Enough to know that he's either killed the girl or he hasn't. Either way, I expect his head to be mounted on the walls of his own base." the older officer declared with a sense of confidence, "The Major has done us all a service... but I cannot say with confidence that he has achieved anything until we arrive."

"If she is dead, then they must be at each other's throats." the croaky voiced officer guessed, "The Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, and Fire Nation, all under one roof, trying to organise a war against the unconquerable city itself."

"I wouldn't be so sure they would fall so quickly." the younger officer argued, "They are also led by the Avatar. He might just be a boy, but we cannot hope to assassinate him. Unless you've got a nice volcano to toss him into, that is."

The older officer scoffed, and sighed, "We cannot deal with him, but I am sure that he might be able to see reason in time. Peace is peace, he should not be so concerned about who enforces it."

"I think Avatar Kyoshi would have disagreed... as would Roku." the croaky voiced officer warned him, and the older officer just huffed, sounding amused.

"Major Shin, you realise that we are the ones who are doing his job. We made the sacrifice of our own honour for the greater good, and yet, he will come to destroy us, if the pacifist can stomach it. With the girl's influence, he surely could." he argued, "I respected the Fire Lord when she called on us, but she failed. She did not bring an end to her brother, or keep the peace. We are doing what has to be done... the Fire Nation has fallen apart, and somebody has to retain some semblance of order."

"Our men have families in the homeland, in the colonies." the younger officer spoke up, "We should not be so confident in our actions when we have yet to give them any hope of peace."

"We didn't start the war... and it is running its natural course." he acknowledged, "Soon enough, we will have a chance to provide them with the hope we have. I have as much disdain for our allies as any reasonable person would, but they are the only people who are willing to do good on their duties. They serve peace and order in Ba Sing Se... we serve it across the world." he argued, and the other officers remained silent, "In any case, we will deal with these interlopers. They have made a mistake coming here without the full might of the Fire Nation."

"Are you not afraid of Fire Lord Ozai?" the younger officer asked him, and the older laughed.

"Hah! If there's one thing I trust our allies to do, it's to deal with threats like him when the need arises." he argued, before Ty Lee heard some frantic footsteps approaching the tent, before fabric was audibly thrown around.

"G-General Giji!" someone shouted with exasperation, "The scouts have- the Fire Lord's airship!" he exclaimed, and Ty Lee could hear the men getting up from what must have been some seats.

"You're certain it's coming here?" he asked, and the fearful soldier just kept panting.

"The- the squad was torn to pieces by explosives. There's no doubt... they're going to burn this place to the ground."

"Shit." General Giji grumbled, "Well then, I will not sit here any longer. Get my guards. We might just have enough firepower among ourselves to ward the damned machine off."

"Spirits willing." the croaky voiced officer gave his hopes, before she heard him hammering down on something wooden, "We must act at once, General. Before they have a chance to inflict too many casualties on us."

"Major, the Governing Council has thousands upon thousands of conscripts to spare. Casualties are of little concern... what is, are our weapons. We do not have the means to produce more tundra tanks, at least not quickly, let alone mass produce explosives. It will take time to get the factories on a war footing... and by then, we might already be facing defeat." the General explained his thoughts on the matter, before shouting, "Lieutenant-Major, get your sorry arse out there! I need my guards now!"

"Yessir!" the younger officer accepted the command, before dashing out of the tent; the Major and General soon followed after him.

That was when Ty Lee had her chance; she slipped through the fabric, inside of the tent. It was big enough, with enough furnishings, that she was easily able to hide herself, in case somebody came inside. She wasn't concerned with stealing all that much from the General, but rather, to put Azula's plans into motion. She rummaged through the bag she had brought along, and whipped out the letters that had been written. She eyed through each, checking the name of the addressees, until she came across General Giji; he was just one of many, but one was a start, and if he was smart enough to see which way the wind would blow, he would actually follow through with Azula's request.

So, she put the letter in the bunching of scrolls that he had, all sitting together on his desk. The fact he had a desk out in an encampment of all places told Ty Lee that he was probably either the commander of the entire army, or one of the highest ranking men, under some Dai Li official. She was tempted to look at the scrolls, so she grabbed a few to peek at. Sitting herself behind a chest, she unfurled one of them, and quickly looked over it. It was a set of commands, directly from the Grand Secretariat. The seal didn't have a name, but just the title, and the orders were oddly vague; they told him to destroy Azula's forces, secure the northern flank, and neutralise the Avatar. How he was able to do the latter was unclear, though she guessed there was some protocol.

Diplomacy wasn't going to work well after their forces had already attacked Aang earlier in the day; defeating him in a fight was possible, but his Avatar State made him very dangerous. The only way she guessed they could actually beat Aang would be by making him pass out, or by blocking his chi pathways so that he couldn't resist. Either would work, but she guessed they had their dangers, given his powers could activate if he got too scared; as a twelve year old, the bar for terrifying him was probably a lot lower than the average soldier.

She dismissed that idea, and opened another scroll; it told her about some scouting operations undertaken in the past few weeks, which had spotted Azula's ships north of the city, and others that had noted their presence in the West Lake. They were expecting attacks from multiple sides, which told her that the army in the camp might have been only half of their capabilities; that concerned her, given how massive the encampment was. Thousands of soldiers, at least, with many conscripts to back up the presumably smaller core of Fire Nation soldiers and Dai Li agents.

The other scrolls were just logistical information, which didn't tell her too much about the actual numbers of soldiers, but simply about the supplies that were required for their mission. She read through it, and noted all the machines, weapons, and additional tools they had; lots of artillery or things that could be used as artillery, as well as supplies for digging, building defences, and most importantly, explosives. The Fire Nation loved their explosives, and she guessed that General Giji wanted to use them to destroy the base and the Coalition forces inside. Unfortunately for him, Azula had already gotten that idea into her head, and would beat him to it in any case.

She was taken from her train of thought by a whistle, "Ty Lee." she heard Smellerbee whisper behind her.

"Did you get any information?" she asked the other girl, who gave her a thumbs up.

"Lots of things about their supply routes, and the defences they have on the walls. They're expecting the Coalition to attack." she told her what she had learnt, and Ty Lee nodded.

"That fits with what I got here too." she nodded, before stuffing some of the scrolls into her bag; she couldn't take so many that Giji would become frantically concerned about a spy, but just that he had misplaced some of them.

With that, she stepped out of the tent, and glanced around, "Should we head back to the others?" she asked the Freedom Fighter, whose head perked up; she seemed to be listening out for something, or trying to spot something.

"I heard them talking about the airship, but I haven't seen it yet."

"I think Azula's just trying to keep them on their toes." Ty Lee argued, knowing that attacking the camp directly might not end well, given how many troops were there, and how they might turn their artillery up at the airship; it would not last very long, and ruin their plans, if it were to even just get damaged.

The two of them made their way back along by the rear of the tents, and then down the path back towards the entrance of the encampment; along the way, they were joined by a few of their comrades, who were still playing their characters well enough. They nodded at each other, and continued along together as a group. As they approached the entrance, she could hear Haru's voice; he was speaking with some officers, the whole lot of them joking around and throwing out insults and curses. The kind of thing she might expect to see from rowdy drunks; she guessed that perhaps some of those men were drunk, and everyone was just playing along. When Haru spotted them, he excused himself, and approached them, staying in character.

"Ah, good, you're ready to leave. It's about time, I'm aching to get some fucking sleep." he declared, before stepping a little closer, "Those guys wouldn't shut up." he softly complained, "Did you get what you wanted?" he asked the group; Ty Lee nodded, and the others did too.

"Good." she whispered, "We'll need to leave the encampment whenever... well, you'll see it." she acknowledged, "Hakoda's got a few tricks, at least that's what he said."

"I'm familiar." Haru admitted, before crossing his arms, "I don't feel safe here."

"Nobody would." Smellerbee agreed with him; Ji stepped up beside Ty Lee, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"So, we did it. It seems that fighting isn't the only thing we're good for." she noted their success with a pleased look, before pointing towards the western horizon, "There."

She turned around, and saw what had to be a flaming arrow being shot through the air; it was fast, as any arrow would be, and after it dropped into the camp, out of sight, there were a few moments of peace. Then the ground shook as an explosion rocked the camp; dust, fire, and smoke shot up into the air, the flames lighting up everyone's faces, which were aghast with awe.

"Okay... that was a lot bigger than I was expecting." Ji gasped out, "So, are we going to 'deal with our enemies', now?" she asked Haru, who drew out the sword he had on his belt.

"Right you are." he declared in his 'soldier voice', before shouting out, "With me!" he called on the group, dashing towards the entrance of the camp.

The soldiers standing guard were confused, but quickly joined the fray, following them down the winding path, heading towards the high ground where the Water Tribe warriors were hiding. Everyone ran as fast as they could, and once they were past the palisades, trenches, and the few tents that lay outside the defences, they were running into the shrubbery. Fire Nation soldiers followed them in, lighting up torches in their hands, brightening the land up from the dead of night into an orange, foreboding hue.

Once they were in the woods, and climbing the slope back up to where she expected the warriors, Ty Lee got lower, and prepared herself for the inevitable. Shouts filled the air as soldiers took formation, shooting out fire streams to light up the wood, followed by the conscripts, who rushed ahead with their polearms and blades. They would be the ones in the line of fire, who would fall in battle, despite having little desire to be there; she empathised with them, but knew there was little she could do out there. The tide had to turn against the Dai Li above for them to have any chance of peace.

When the flames were snuffed out by splashes of water, Ty Lee sprung into action, dashing at the closest firebenders, and immediately began chi-blocking them. Jabbing their guts, legs, and arms, she got them to tumble over, shouting frantically in fear. A few conscripts did the best they could, lunging at her with their polearms, but she was able to weave out of the way, and most of them were too slow to actually pose a threat to any of them. Other chi-blockers jabbed them, and tossed them over, not trying to hurt them, but simply get them out of the way.

More firebenders were coming up the hill, joined by earthbenders, who would certainly be a threat. That wasn't if the ground wasn't opening up beneath them; they had earthbenders among them, and they didn't hesitate to rip the ground apart, causing men to fall down inside. The chance that offered them was not squandered, and they ran up the slope, beelining right for the meeting point. She could see one of the Water Tribe warriors, waving a lantern to get their attention, and she realised that they were about to attack again. Everyone got low, hiding in the shrubs as another round of water streams were sent down hill, like small, but fast flowing creeks, the water threw people off their feet, before they were frozen in place.

The soldiers were frantic, and the conscripts just ran away, not wanting to face them; the earthbenders were a little more confident in themselves, tossing boulders up the slope, but being unable to see their opponents, she doubted they hit anyone. Once they had expended their volleys of earth, presumably tiring themselves out, everyone got back up and kept running up the hill.

Ty Lee didn't waste any time, and once she reached the top, she turned her gaze back down to the camp, seeing that it was already partially alight, tents burning in a quickly growing inferno. That would surely gain more attention than the battle itself, as their supplies were at risk; without that, a fight against the base was unthinkable. She kept running, joining her comrades as they made their way past the waterbenders, who kept reusing the water they had with them to distract the enemy troops. She guessed more of the warriors were still out sabotaging the camp, now abusing the chaos to do so without any intervention.

A few firebenders had made their way up the hill, and were rushing after them, but even with their flames setting the shrubs alight, they weren't a match for the warriors, who drew out their weapons and leapt out from the darkness, clubbing and slashing them up; those few that kept going, trying to attack the apparent traitors, only found themselves chi-blocked, their arms and legs paralysed, falling away beneath them.

"Idiots." Ji mocked their efforts, before kicking one of them over into a burning bush.

"Let's not waste any more time. We need to get out of here." Ty Lee suggested, "We've done everything we could."

"We could have tried to destroy the whole camp." Ji suggested, and she shook her head.

"Everything we could do without losing anyone. We're not going to make any heroic sacrifices." she assured her, knowing this wasn't like some stupid grand tale that soldiers would boast about in the future; they were being sneaky, unfair, and downright manipulating their enemies.

It was not the right way to fight, but it was the way they would win; the Dai Li certainly weren't going to fight fair, using Fire Nation soldiers and conscripts as a weapon against the Coalition. Those people might otherwise side with Azula, but they were probably too afraid to do so, or too full of brainwashed fools to try and make their own path. So, they would open the path, and if they wouldn't take it, then they would fall with the rest of them.

---

The dungeon of the compound was small, smelled of sweat, and did not feel all that secure; the metal bars that lay between Azula and the fools she was interrogating were a bit rusted, and she could not confidently say she was sure they couldn't break through them. The hands of her prisoners weren't bound, given they were in cells. Most of the prisoners were actually on the ships she had brought over from the base, with only the most important officers afforded places in the cells in the compound. That was partly because she was staying in the compound while they prepared to leave for the city, and partly because she wanted them in a position where their deaths were all but certain if their comrades attacked the base.

She could hear the distant sound of earth cracking and crumbling, and felt the ground beneath her shake ever so slightly as a new part of the trench was dug out. She expected the earthbenders to be at it all night, and though she was confident it would be complete before the enemy decided to attack, she was unsure if it was a smart move to exhaust them all so thoroughly. If a battle erupted on the way to the walls, she was unsure if they would have the energy to fight on to victory, even if they had the numbers to overcome their foes.

The prisoners were being quite uncooperative, but they had been there for a few hours, allowing them to mull over and consider their fates; she could only hope that rationality overcame their stubborn desire to do good by their men. She didn't intend to lose, so any mercy the Dai Li might give to their men for their failure was a non issue; they might earn favour with their masters by remaining silent, but it could only do so much good. They might end up losing their lives for nothing, and Azula did not want that. Wastefulness was something she disdained, and although she did not like the idea of working with traitors, she could at least appreciate when they might help her prevent further suffering, on the behalf of themselves, and their comrades who had joined the Dai Li.

"How many soldiers serve your so-called Governing Council?" Renshu pressed the prisoner, arms crossed and nostrils flared.

He was losing his patience, and though she would prefer he didn't attack the prisoners, it might expedite the process of gaining the intelligence she so desperately needed. Ty Le and the others would be back at the base soon enough, with more information; if that could be tested against Hui's word, then she could at least gauge how genuine he was with any cooperation he might give.

"Hey Captain, calm it, buddy. You look ready to set the whole place on fire." Sokka warned the Imperial Firebender, who ignored his words.

"Shut it, moron." he snapped back at Sokka, "We need answers, now! Everyone here is as good as dead if you don't tell us... and if I have nothing to lose, then what's the harm in burning you and all your men alive." he threatened the Major; that threat was extreme, and he did not even have the authority to go through with it.

Azula might allow something that rash, if she thought it necessary; however, making their foes think they were that desperate was better than trying to play soft and nice. They had tried to murder her, so it would be hilariously weak of her to even consider being considerate. She might not have come to Ba Sing Se a conqueror, but she was no weak-willed moralist; she wanted to solve problems, and Hui and his stubbornness stood right in her way.

"You cannot scare me." Major Hui retorted calmly, but with a stern, almost disappointed sounding voice; he was bandaged up after getting beaten up earlier in the day, but didn't seem to be in much pain, so his mind was as clear as it could be.

"Okay, let me rephrase that question for you." Azula decided, stepping closer to the bars, "How many men broke their oaths that they swore to me? I remember your face. You were there in the Palace. There when I was proclaimed Fire Lord."

"I don't recall the Fire Sages being there... not that it would have mattered." he noted the legal requirements of becoming the Fire Lord, "I don't care for your title... I serve my men. They have sacrificed enough today... why should I let them sacrifice any more?"

"They won't be sacrificing anything."

"Their honour, and their lives... once General Giji arrives and slaughters the lot of you. Your trap won't work." he argued, turning his eyes towards the wall, "That's what I'm hearing out there... isn't it? A trap."

"I won't go into detail... even I don't expect you to escape." she said all she had to about that; she wasn't going to bother explaining her plans, "All you need to know is that your comrades will not defeat the Coalition. Your men will be taken away on my ships, back to the colonies, where they'll serve in chain gangs with the rest of the traitors. Building my railways, rebuilding the infrastructure that my father's warring has destroyed."

"And do you think that offers me any comfort?" he asked, "We are free here, even if you don't realise it. We no longer have to fight a pointless war... I believe we can both agree on that much."

"Yeah, I'm interested how you came to that conclusion." Sokka spoke his mind, stepping up beside Azula, "You all betrayed Azula and the Fire Nation, for the Dai Li. The people you came to suppress, to destroy." he reminded them what their orders were.

"Yet, we didn't massacre civilians. We didn't have to fight a real insurrection, not until her majesty upped and vanished." he argued, "We were ordered to keep the peace... and that was your doing, wasn't it?"

Azula turned her gaze to her boyfriend, who seemed a bit unnerved by his words.

"It- was it?" he asked, and Azula shrugged her shoulders.

"I can barely remember those days. It was all a blur." she admitted her own lack of memory when it came to the time after her father's apparent death, "You did pester me about being less iron fisted... so I believe the Major is being truthful."

"Is... is it a compliment?" Sokka asked with a confused look, and Hui just huffed.

"Peace is peace. We kept it until we couldn't... and my superiors made the deal I preferred they didn't. But it kept us safe, it kept things... good." he admitted, "We held those walls for months after the Dai Li forced us to withdraw. You never came back, no reinforcements. Not even Admiral Zhao bothered to send us supplies or men. We had little choice."

"You decided to tell us why... but that isn't a how." Azula observed, "That's what I care for. Your treason is the least of my concerns... this new situation, that is what I care for."

"I will not." he refused, "You cannot win. It is not possible... not without a real army, which you are sorely lacking. A few Water Tribe ships full of rebels and upstart peasants. I doubt you'll even get past the Outer Walls." he mocked their efforts, and Sokka seemed annoyed by that.

Before he could cuss the Major out, Azula took matters into her own hands, "We shall see." she declared, confident in her own plans, and the people she trusted to enact them, "It is ironic that we seek to achieve the same goals... just with different means." she acknowledged, "And you actually listened to this idiot." she gestured to Sokka, "No wonder my uncle liked him." she noted with a snicker, knowing that Iroh was probably a better judge of character than most people.

"I might believe the Fire Nation is the strongest, but I never would say I thought it was because of our martial prowess or elemental superiority." Hui argued, gesturing towards her, "It is because we had the means to achieve victory, and the willpower. Do you?"

"More than you could ever know." she retorted coldly, knowing what she was fighting for; for all the grandstanding, she was still motivated by her base urges to protect those she loved.

The old Azula would have looked upon her with disgust, but even then, she still had those motivations; she didn't want to harm Mai, and certainly cared enough for her father. It was not just the principle of the matter; of course, her love was bound to his control, to his respect that she so desired to attain. Now, she did still want respect, but for different reasons; not to feel that if somebody, just anyone, loved her, but so she could prove that she was worthy. Zuko had had the same problem, and it had gotten him scarred; he never gave up, and took the throne when he couldn't see any other choice. She had no other choice.

"Major, do you know the difference between my brother and I?" she asked, and his eyes lit up, and he was not confused, but afraid; Hui might have made some poor decisions, but that didn't make him stupid.

"Y-your majesty, please, don't-" he tried to beg, imagining that she was about to shoot him full of lightning; though part of her desperately wanted to do so, to assert her authority over the traitor, she was in a war of wits, not a war of strength.

"I am capable of mercy, but I do not hand it out to those who do not deserve it." she retorted, leaning closer to the bars, "Are you worthy? Do you have a reason for me to keep you alive?"

"I thought I already made that clear."

"That you won't answer my questions... not that you cannot." she retorted, before raising her chin, "Starve them." she decided, "If the enemy doesn't destroy this place, then you'll eventually tell one of my subordinates what I need to know."

"I- I won't break that easy."

"The men you claim to protect might. These men, who have refused to speak in your presence, what happens when it's their lives on the line as well, not just your own." she indicated to the other prisoners, and they seemed to realise that she wanted them to give the answers that Hui refused to give.

"The Dai Li are coming." one of them warned her, and Hui nodded along.

"Exactly. If any of us speak the truth, how would they even be able to tell which of us broke our oaths?"

"You've already broken enough oaths." she retorted, "And if they do not reach this base in the next few days, they probably never will. I do have reinforcements... and they will not just stand around and wait to be attacked." she argued, and lit a flame in her palm, "You do realise that if we lose, you will die no matter what. Therefore, it is in your interest that you tell me what you know." she gave him the logic of the dilemma before him, "Captain Renshu, what are my orders concerning these prisoners?"

"That the prisoners are to be summarily executed if the base was to be breached by enemy forces." he repeated what she had told him.

"Exactly." she nodded, before pointing her index finger at Hui, "I will give you a few more hours to consider your decision... but trust me, you will not see any mercy if you do not become of use to me. So, savour your next meal, it will be the last for some time." she suggested, before turning her heels; she eyed Renshu momentarily, before snuffing out the flame in her palm, "If you so desire to force an answer, I will not stop you."

"I don't think they'll be truthful." he conceded, "But there's only one way to test it... if Lady Ty Lee succeeded in her task." he added, before turning back to face the Major; he opened the doors of the cell, "One of you is going to break first, and for the sake of the rest, I hope that person is the one I choose first."

With that, Azula didn't say anything else, and she made her way to the exit, Sokka following right behind her. He shut the door once they were out of the dungeon, and did not seem pleased by the outcome.

"I feel bad for those guys." he admitted, and she scoffed; they had tried to murder her, and were only as useful to their cause as the knowledge they held in their minds.

"You feel empathy for the people who tried to have me blown to bits?" she asked, and Sokka cringed.

"I mean, no, I'm pretty mad about that." he admitted, before sighing, "But I'm just thinking about why they did this. They're thinking about things the same way we are... they just ended up on the wrong side."

"And that was their mistake. I cannot pity a man just because we have the same thoughts about a problem, when his solutions involve killing me and everyone I hold dear." she retorted coldly, grabbing Sokka by the wrist, "I won't let them hurt you... or anyone else."

"You can't protect everyone." he argued, softly pulling his hand free of her grip, "What about the body double?"

"She is receiving treatment for a mild concussion and some grazes. She will be fine." she answered his question as quickly as she could; though she appreciated the help of the body double, she held no real personal care for her recovery, other than on the principle that she had greatly aided Azula's cause, "I am talking about you. Aang, Katara. Your father." she made clear the people she was referring to, "Even Renshu and the men. They deserve my help wherever they can receive it."

"They're meant to protect you." he reminded her, "But I'm glad you... well, acknowledge it. They're putting their lives in danger every day for you."

"As are you... but they are paid well for their efforts." she argued, and Sokka tilted his head.

"Wait, you're paying them?" he asked, and she nodded; she was amused that she thought they were just serving her out of the goodness of their hearts, and while they certainly had some personal loyalty to her, it was through her authority that they received the pay deserving of Imperial Firebenders, even if they couldn't receive all the benefits being away from their home base in the capital.

"Well, I would be a terrible employer if I didn't offer them compensation. At this very moment, I can't pay them, but since we've taken over the base, I've been sure to provide them with their pay for the time spent protecting me." she argued, "The taxes are sparse... given how many soldiers they pay for, but I make sure they receive their pay."

"That's- uh, kind of you." he awkwardly responded, before gesturing down the hallway, "Should we go to bed now? It's getting very late... and we'll need to get up early."

"You're the one who usually has an issue with that, not me." she snapped back at him, and then considered her own fatigue, "But you're not wrong."

"And we weren't even the ones who fought today." he noted, before laughing, "Katara's already dead asleep."

"What about Aang?" she asked him, as she hadn't seen him for a few hours, not since they had dinner, just before the departure of the scouting parties from the base.

"He's asleep too, from what I can tell. He's out on Appa's saddle, last I saw." he answered her question, before scrunching his lips, "He doesn't seem to be in a good mood either. Probably a bit scared after what happened earlier."

"I don't blame him. Traitors jump out at us constantly, but he probably wasn't ready for it, after having to fight the enemy already."

"They nearly cooked Appa, that's what Katara told me." Sokka recalled, "It must have come as a shock." he noted, "If we're lucky, the other traitors won't be nearly as loyal as Hui. If he's... normal, then I think we're going to have some problems."

"Not if Ty Lee has put my letters in the right spots." she countered, "If they're that dogmatic, they'll accuse each other of treason or trying to undermine each other. Getting them at each other's throats is the easiest path to victory."

"Maybe we should just stop thinking about this big plan of yours for a bit." he suggested, placing his hands on her shoulders; she looked down, knowing that her near obsessive focus on preparing them for the inevitable showdown with the Dai Li was probably making it hard for either of them to have a proper conversation.

To simply talk, and not have to worry about the next threat over the horizon.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, and he hugged her tightly.

"I'm not mad... I'm just- uh, afraid." he admitted quietly, sounding ashamed of the feeling, "I want to be strong. I want to be like you... but I'm just not."

"No, you're being rational." she whispered back, "I love that about you."

"You love a lot of things about me." he mumbled back with a lascivious smirk.

She smirked, and puffed out a small burst of fire from her mouth, making him flinch back in fear, if only for a few moments; the flames dissipated as quickly as they appeared, and she kissed him on the cheek.

"I do." she agreed with his comment, even if she found it inappropriate; there was nobody around to see him say it, so she would let it slide.

"Of course." he smiled back at her with a sheepish look, before grabbing her by the wrist, "Come on, I've got something to show you." he told her, and Azula looked at him with suspicion.

"Don't tell me you're about to strip down." she warned him, making the Water Tribesman laugh, telling her that wasn't his intention.

Even if she wouldn't disapprove, she found his manner of referring to it quite forward; she preferred a little more plausible deniability.

"No, no, just follow me." he reassured her, and Azula eyed his grip on her wrist.

"I can't do much else with you holding me like this." she retorted, before grabbing his wrist herself, doing so tightly so he softened his own grip and readjusted; instead of dragging her along, they would hold hands as equals.

"Have you got to be in charge with everything?" he questioned her rhetorically, and Azula just laughed.

"I just want to hold your hand, and not be pulled." she corrected him, and with that, he accepted the proposition, holding her hand as they paced down towards the staircase; they climbed up it, reaching the ground floor, before Sokka led her out towards the front entrance of the compound.

"Where exactly are we going? To the others?" she asked, and Sokka shook his head.

"Just wait." he responded softly, and she scrunched her lips, realising that she was being impatient; she didn't like surprises, but then again, she wouldn't refuse being treated by him.

The two of them made their way out the door, where a pair of her guards were waiting for her; she pulled her grip off of Sokka's hand and gestured to them, "You may follow, at a distance." she clarified, and one of the guards stepped forward.

"Your majesty, I understand your desire for privacy, but the Dai Li could be out there." he explained his concerns, his voice identifying him as Ken.

"If they were, Toph would sense them. If she can't... then there's little hope that we could stop them, isn't there?" she asked him, both guards seeming unnerved; they bowed, implicitly accepting her orders without a word, and followed after her and Sokka.

Azula stepped through the gates, which were being held by a pair of Fire Nation soldiers; they bowed to the Fire Lord as she walked past them. She nodded at their deference, not having the energy to make any stronger a gesture; it was so normal to her that she barely cared, but at least she could be confident that their respect was founded upon her worth as a leader, and not just upon mere loyalty to oaths, which she realised could no longer be trusted.

"Are you sure we are safe?" Sokka asked her calmly, not sounding afraid; Azula scoffed, and sighed.

"As much as we can be." she admitted quietly.

She was confident in Toph's skills, and the fact that they had earthbenders all around doing earthworks, which would likely disrupt the movement of any agents who were trying to infiltrate the base. However, Azula could not say that she was wholly sure that that would protect them.

"If they come for us here... at least it will be to end our lives... not to enslave us." she spoke her mind on the matter, and Sokka's grip on her wrist tightened.

"Once we're done here, I want to make sure my people are safe." he spoke up, his voice cracking as he tried to force a smile, "I wish I had done it first... then I wouldn't worry for the village. For Gran-Gran... for everyone else." he explained how he was feeling, his mind on the Southern Raiders, instead of the Dai Li; she understood why, because they had haunted him his entire life, while the Dai Li were merely an obstacle.

"I promised you." she assured him, "I would help you bring justice to those who wronged you. By your hand, Yon Rha's blood shall stain the earth." she proclaimed, knowing that Sokka, despite any misgivings about murder, or vengeance, would certainly relish in that justice, "You are doing the same for me."

Sokka smiled at her before snickering to himself, "I won't kill Zuko, if he is alive." he admitted quietly, and she punched him in the arm.

"What a caring boyfriend you are." she mocked him, though she was herself doubtful if she truly hated her brother.

"In hindsight... knowing what I know, I can't say he was a bad guy. What can you say you disagree with him on at this point?" he asked her, and Azula rolled her eyes and sighed.

"That my father can be allowed to live." she admitted, "I don't even hate him..." she added, as if it were surprising; her father had raised her, praised her, and made her into the formidable warrior and leader that stood before him, "At least, not in the way that Zuko must have." she added, before narrowing her eyes, confident in her feelings, more so than she had been all those months ago in the South Pole, "I just know that he stands in the way of what I want... just like Zuko had."

"But Zuko wasn't going to kill me." Sokka argued, and Azula shrugged her shoulders, and glanced around at the water that lay out before them; he had led her out of the camp, right to the start of the pier.

"It doesn't matter anymore." she retorted, before gesturing at the ships that lined the pier, "Why are we here?" she asked, and Sokka hummed softly.

"Fire is your strength... but do you ever think how it makes everything so bright?" he asked her, and Azula just looked at him, slack jawed and confused by his oddly dull question.

"What are you on about?" she asked slowly, as if his head had been muddled, "Sokka, are you okay?" she asked, raising a hand to his cheek.

He looked ready to burst out laughing, "I'm not stupid, or crazy." he tried to reassure her, "I meant that literally... like, fire, it makes everything bright. Like the sun." he suggested, and Azula scoffed.

"I understand how light works, Sokka. I'm not Lady Badgermole, the dirt eater." she gestured back towards the camp; Sokka understood her reference, smiled and winked.

"Good one... but don't say it to her face. Toph doesn't seem the type to take an insult like that."

"I acknowledged her nobility." she retorted, "Despite my better judgement... I must concede she isn't a peasant, even if she acts like one."

"Hey, didn't you call me a peasant?"

"I retract that." she raised her index finger, "You are the renowned son of a mighty, respected Chief, in a society that lacks any classes to speak of. You are as close to a Prince as you could get, given your circumstances." she argued, and Sokka just looked smug, not even saying a word, "I did not mean to stroke your ego, idiot. I'm simply stating the facts as they stand."

"Lord Sokka." he proclaimed himself, hands on hips, before she grabbed his wrist once more.

"Back to the matter at hand." she demanded his attention, "What about fire, you slow-witted philosopher?" she prodded him, and Sokka rolled his eyes.

"You aren't looking at the big picture... or should I say, the horizon." he gestured out, and she scrunched her lips.

"Boats?" she acknowledged what she could see, and Sokka sighed, before pulling out a piece of fabric.

"Alright, we're gonna do this my way." he decided, and pulled the fabric up towards her eyes; she flinched back, before looking him up and down.

"What is this?" she asked him, suspicious of what he was intending to do; it was obviously meant to be some kind of surprise, "Are you trying to get back at me after all this time?" she asked him, and Sokka snickered.

"Heh, just trust me." he reassured her, and she sighed, letting him tie the bandage around her eyes, "Don't worry guys, we're just walking down the pier." he spoke up, addressing the guards; the fact they didn't vocalise their concerns told her that they trusted his intent.

So, with that, he tied the bandage up, and grabbed hold of her hand once more. The two of them then started walking, Azula a little uneasy as she was unable to see a thing, beyond the very dimmed light of the campfires and torches behind her.

"Why are you going out of your way to do this?" she asked him softly, still confused what he wanted.

"I know you're stressed out... trust me, I am too. So, I thought of a way to help us calm down... just relax. Try to forget about the danger, the fighting, the plans. All of that." he explained himself a bit awkwardly, but she understood immediately what he meant; Sokka knew her better than most people, and knew that she was forcing herself into the work before her.

She could have left the interrogation to Renshu, who she had trusted to do so before, but she made sure she was there. She wanted to make sure Hui understood his mistakes, and to make sure he told her what she wanted to know; she might have failed, but that failure might not have meant much in the long term. She had proclaimed that defeat was certain without his knowledge, as to indicate her willingness to use brutal force against him and his men if they wouldn't cooperate.

However, it was half a farce; she knew reinforcements were coming, and trusted both the capabilities of the scouting parties and the fighters who were setting the trap for her. Her confidence in them exceeded her fears of defeat, even if she knew it was certainly a possibility. The one thing she did not know was the extent of the Dai Li's preparedness for her arrival; the more they were prepared for her potential tricks and plots, then the more likely she would be caught out.

So, now, she was done for the evening; she knew she needed to rest and sleep, so she was completely prepared for what the next day would bring. Azula didn't expect to sleep for long, and Sokka must have understood this, and thought up some plan to relax her. She knew it wasn't anything lascivious or crude, because if it was, they would have gone upstairs into the quarters that had been set aside for them within the base. That left her curious, and her interest was piqued further when he forced them to stop after quite a long walk down the pier; they hadn't gotten to the end, but she guessed there was some boat he wanted them to get on.

"Your father's boat?" she guessed, and Sokka hummed approvingly.

"I should never underestimate your deduction skills." he complimented her skill, before turning her around, "There's a plank, just walk right over it and stop" he told her, and Azula sighed.

"If I fall in the water, I'm going to set your hair on fire."

"I'll hold on, I promise." he whispered to her, and she stepped forward, Sokka's hands on her shoulders; she strode over the rickety plank slowly, not wanting to accidentally slip.

Once she stepped down onto the deck of the boat, which sat a little lower than the plank, Azula stood still, listening as Sokka stepped along behind her. He stepped beside her, and then grabbed hold of her hand once more; he didn't say a word, and she followed his direction, stepping further across the deck, before he made her stop, placing his hand by her waist.

He turned her around, and stepped down on the wooden deck, making it creak, "Lie down."

"I'm not lying on wood." she retorted, "That just sounds like a worse version of Appa's saddle."

"It's not wood." he reassured her; she slowly lowered herself down, and reached her hands down behind herself, feeling that there was a sleeping roll laid out.

Aware that she would be able to lie without issue, she moved from a seated position to lay flat on her back, feeling the boat rock ever so slightly from her motions, though it was already moving slowly with the water beneath. Sokka laid down beside her, and tugged on the knot he'd tied in the fabric. She took that as a direction to unveil her eyes, and she did; her eyes had to adjust for a few moments, but she immediately saw what he had wanted her to.

Fire did blot out light, and out away from the camp, it was completely dark; the moon was out, low on the horizon, but not high enough to obscure the stars. They shone brightly above her, sparkling like the water itself would when the moon or sun lit it. Azula smiled, pleasantly surprised by the sight; it was something that she didn't pay all that much attention to, so concerned with worldly affairs that she was ignorant of the beauty that was to be held in the sky above. Nobody really knew what the stars were, and that mystique made them only more beautiful.

"Thank you." she softly acknowledged his achievement; she was calmer, from the very moment she opened her eyes, far from the sounds of the camp, from the chaos and hurry that filled their hearts, "I wish I wasn't so... hard on myself." she admitted, knowing that her nature was not something she could just shake off, "I have to always be in control. Perfection feels better than peace."

"How about good enough?" he suggested, and Azula just laughed.

"You've been more than good enough. Too good." she conceded how he had been so kind, despite her arrogance, malice, and obsession with control and power.

She justified it now to protect him, to protect everyone and everything she loved and cared about, but even then, she did like it. Feeling like she could direct fate to her desired outcome made her feel stronger. It made her feel less concerned about the potential ways in which things could fall apart, because she felt they were impossible. That was a lie, perhaps the biggest she could tell herself.

"Is it better to think of myself as undefeatable... than to cower as a mortal?" she asked Sokka, who snickered; he might not have had a real answer, but he understood where she was coming from.

"You can't be defeated if you always have another path to victory." he noted, "But I'm not here to think about victory."

"No, you just want me to look at the stars and try and fathom what they are." she whispered, "They're unknowable."

"Fires in the sky." he gave his own idea, "I wonder what they burn with."

"Maybe they are like me. Firebenders don't need wood, or coal, we can just bend."

"Chi?" he asked, "Is it chi?"

"How would I know?" she retorted, frustrated that he was even asking, "Are you saying they're alive?" she asked, and Sokka just snickered.

"I don't know. I don't know if anyone will ever know." he admitted with a sheepish smile, "So, what do you think?"

"I already said. They're unknowable. Maybe it's fire, maybe it's something else. Nobody's ever tried to bend them, that's all I know."

"I think they must be very far away." he gave his own idea, "Whatever... I just think they're cool." he admitted, and Azula rolled her eyes.

"Yes, they are." she admitted quietly, before turning her head to face his own, "Is this all you wanted to do? Show me the stars?"

"That's as far as I got in my head." he replied curtly, as if there was no issue with that; she silently chided herself for demanding there must be a plan, but she found it shortsighted of him not to have anything else to say or do.

The stars were pretty, but soon enough, she would need to sleep; she felt the sleeping roll beneath her, and scrunched her lips.

"You're planning for us to sleep here?" she questioned his intentions, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's safer out here... if you really are worried the Dai Li could get into the base." he suggested, and she let herself smile.

"No, you're right." she agreed to his point, before paying more attention to how the boat was rocking with the coming and going of the water beneath them, "The rocking is a nuisance, but it's not something we haven't had to deal with before." she admitted, "That trip was painfully long."

"Hey, I've sailed around with the warriors... I think we actually were pretty quick." he countered against her opinion, as if an argument on the matter was obligatory, "The waters were rough in some bits, but I can't complain about it... we were by the coast most of the time."

"I don't want to have to do that again." she added quietly, feeling that if they really did fail, that would be the outcome; either that or taking as many people on Appa as they could.

"We won't, unless you say you never want to sail for fun." he argued, before smiling, "I'm looking forward to when I have to teach our kids ice-dodging." he explained, and Azula furrowed a brow, recalling that he had mentioned that ritual event a few times.

Sailing in dangerous conditions to prove oneself's worth sounded awfully extreme to Azula; however, in coming from a society where people killed each other in firebending duels over petty grievances, she had weak ground to stand on. She had almost completely missed the more important words he had uttered: 'our kids'. She blinked a few times, wondering what to say to that, before shrugging her shoulders; she didn't have time to think or even argue about the matter of children.

They were so far from her mind, that she felt as if they could never even possibly exist, even if she knew from a purely physical perspective, they could have children any time they liked. In that regard, she was unsure if it was her naivety towards relationships and family, or simply her obsession with her duties and goals that made the idea seem so alien to her.

"As long as nobody dies, I won't complain." she gave her opinion, which was half a joke to emphasise the dangerous nature of the ice-dodging he was talking about, and to indicate her willingness to support his own wants, "And if somebody does, you best hope it's you." she warned him, the Water Tribe warrior making a sheepish laugh.

"Don't worry!" he tried to reassure her, "I would never put anyone I cared about in danger I wouldn't put myself in."

"I would prefer not to think about it." she admitted, and Sokka's expression softened.

"Danger, or kids?" he questioned her, and Azula wished he hadn't.

"Please, I'm not even eighteen." she reminded him of her age, and by extension his own, "Children are the least of concerns."

"Well, I mean- yeah, fair enough." he conceded, "Sorry if you're- uh, worried about that."

"Worried is the wrong word." she corrected him, "I just am concerned more about what we face now, rather than what we might have to deal with in the future." she clarified her feelings, and he leaned closer.

"But do you- uh... want them?" he asked, "Just... in general?" he added, understanding that it wouldn't happen any time soon.

"My feelings towards both my parents make me less than hopeful that I'll be half good." she admitted, "Spirits willing, I can do better."

"You will. I don't think it would be that hard. I mean, parenting- that sounds like a challenge, but being better than your parents. Just don't call them freaks or monsters, and don't hurt them... and we're good." he reassured her with a cheery look, "You'll do fine... if you want to."

"Maybe just to one up them both, and prove that I'm the superior person."

"You wouldn't be Azula if you didn't make it a competition."

---

Aang had not had the best sleep, tossing and turning as his mind had gone over the events of the day prior, and all his fears about what might happen to his friends did not leave him when he slept, they only got worse. So, for the good of everyone, and himself, he tried to push those to the side when he woke up. Katara wasn't in a good mood, but after the previous day's events, he could not blame her for feeling down, if not angry. They went to breakfast with the others, which consisted of soups and some ration flatbreads, neither of which looked very nice; the former at least had some nice spices, and there was a vegetarian option made, so he could eat without feeling that he was doing the wrong thing.

So as Aang sat himself down, he wished that he could have slept in; he licked his lips, and eyed the unappetising meal, "So, this is how Sokka feels every day." he mumbled, and Ty Lee hummed, seeming confused by his words; he glanced up at her, and noted that she two had bags under her eyes, though she was in a far better mood than him.

"What about Sokka?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"Nevermind." he decided not to elaborate, preferring to start eating.

The food was at least hot, so he couldn't complain about that; the dim light of torches filled the eating area, and it was probably the coldest part of the day; Aang didn't worry too much about the cold, as he could keep it off him with his airbending, but that was usually something he did actively while he wasn't occupied. Eating, it seemed, was a little too much for his body to focus on, and his airbending wasn't up to the task. He stopped himself for a moment, bent away the cold air as softly as he could, before continuing to eat his meal.

"He means that Sokka can't stand getting up in the morning." Katara answered her question as she sat down beside him, "Are you... cold?" she asked Aang, who shook his head, glad that the food was keeping him warm.

"This is nothing like the North Pole." he recalled what it had been like there, "I'm good." he reassured her with a forced smile, before continuing his meal.

He heard a loud, obnoxious yawn as he was about half way through the soup, and glanced over to see Toph approaching with her own meal, "I can't see yet I can tell you're all wishing you were still in bed." he observed their dour moods, before gesturing to Ty Lee, "Not her though, but she's always happy."

"That's not true." she countered, "I am just happy that I did my job. Any moment now, those officers are gonna be at each other's throats!" she proclaimed, and Katara hummed, seeming amused.

"Never did I think I'd hear her getting giddy about people deciding to try and kill each other." she admitted, "Though, I doubt they'd do that... just dob each other in to the Dai Li." she guessed, and Toph snapped a finger at her.

"Right you are, Sugar Queen." she agreed with her analysis, before turning to Ty Lee, "I am a bit interested though. What exactly could you tell them to make them fight each other?"

"That they have orders from Azula." she clarified, "If they actually decide to follow it, then the army falls apart. If they don't, and the letters are found, then all the soldiers will think they're traitors anyway."

"Traitors, traitors, traitors." Aang heard another voice speak up, and saw Azula approaching with a pair of guards and Sokka, the couple with their meals while the other two remained on watch, "I think even if they'd never turn against their brothers, they already did it." she explained her thoughts on the matter before sitting herself down beside Ty Lee.

"So, do you think they'll betray the Dai Li to rejoin you?" Toph pressed her, and the Princess shook her head.

"If Hui's behaviour is any indication, they'd rather stay on the sinking ship they've chosen."

"Heh." Sokka snickered, and then, Katara laughed as well; Aang was confused, though it clicked quickly enough- the shipwreck that had stuck Azula and Sokka together in the first place.

"Yes, you know a lot about sinking ships." Ty Lee noted with a bemused smile, the Princess rolling her eyes.

"Very funny." she sarcastically retorted, "Just the peak of humour." she exhorted her with a raising of her arms, before shaking her head and beginning her meal.

Aang was eating all the way throughout, and once he was done with the soup, he turned to the flatbreads; they were dry, but seemed to have been cooked with a decent amount of seasoning, making it them a little better to eat. As he ate them, he heard Sokka whisper something to his sister, who seemed a little amused, but he couldn't hear what either of them were saying. Once Aang was nearly done, Azula spoke up once more.

"What I was trying to say was that those defectors do not seem willing to join our cause. That is the officers, of course. When I meet face to face with the common soldiers, I'm sure they will think differently."

"Let's just hope it isn't in the other direction." Sokka suggested, raising his flatbread up before taking a bite out of it.

"As if." Azula scoffed, "Those men likely had brothers, friends, even fathers, who would have died in the Six Hundred Day Siege. Their acquiescence to the Dai Li is a mere formality to keep themselves safe, as I imagine most of the colonists would feel."

"The siege is half the reason I think we're gonna run into some hiccups, Sparky." Toph spoke up, "The people there probably still hate the Fire Nation, not to mention all the refugees. They'd hate them even more than the people forced under their boots in the colonies." she reminded them of the nature of the relationship of the Fire Nation and its subject peoples; Aang found the whole situation disturbing, and couldn't blame those under Fire Nation rule for despising them, even if he hoped that they could one day cooperate and live in peace.

Even if they disagreed on the details, that was something he and Azula couldn't disagree on; the conflict between the Four Nations was not the norm, and he knew it could thus be ended, hopefully much quicker than in was started. Once his flatbread was finished, he stood up from his seat, deciding he'd go out and get some fresh air. The torch filled canteen area smelled of soot and sweat, and he didn't like it very much.

"I'm gonna go- uh, just wait." he decided, and Katara glanced his way.

"On Appa?" she asked, and he scrunched his lips.

"Well, you are all walking, right?" he asked, and she nodded, "Then no, I'll go to the edge of camp. I can get Appa when we leave." he explained his thoughts, before pacing away.

He was still a bit out of it, only having got up shortly before to pack up his things, put them on Appa's saddle, and then go to have breakfast. When he stepped away from the canteen, he fixed up his robes, checking them momentarily; he was dressed in an Earth Kingdom disguise, which really just meant he was wearing the clothes of a peasant, with a headband to cover up his arrow. His hair had grown enough that he didn't need nearly as thick of a bandana to cover it up, which was nice, as he would prefer as little covering it as possible.

Everyone else was in their disguises as well, and he expected they'd stay in them for a while; there was no reason to wear anything else while they were trying to remain hidden from the Dai Li. He was unsure if they'd actually be able to reach the walls without being spotted, but he knew that they had a lot of fighters, who weren't disguised, ready to counter and keep them occupied, so they wouldn't realise what was going on under their noses.

The airship was an even bigger distraction, and as he paced past it, he stopped himself, eyeing the massive balloon and the heavy engines that hung beneath it. The Mechanist was already up and about, doing inspections on the machine, which he had quickly grown familiar with. He was speaking with one of the engineers, but once he spotted Aang, he turned to address him.

"Ah, Aang, it's good to see you. You're dressed for the occasion." he observed his disguise, "Will you be keeping an eye on this behemoth?" he asked with a gesture towards the airship.

"That is the plan." he confirmed his suspicions, "Hopefully this one doesn't get broken as easily as the first."

"You saw that happen?" he asked, and Aang nodded.

"Azula shot it out of the sky with a lightning bolt." he answered his question, and grimaced, "It was impressive... but pretty scary. The people onboard were worse."

"Hm." he murmured, before placing his hands behind himself, "I realise I'm distracting you, and myself. I promised the Fire Lord that I would make sure everything was in order before it launched. I would prefer to fly aboard, but she says I will be needed in the city."

"Yeah, I think your advice might be helpful." Aang acknowledged, gesturing to the airship, "You know a lot more about machines and stuff than anyone I've ever met. I don't really understand them... but they will be important after the war."

"Yes, that's true." the Mechanist nodded, "Machinery must be so strange to an Air Nomad, but I believe your Air Temples had complex contraptions, using air to move parts." he explained, and Aang crossed his arms.

"Yes, yes they do." he confirmed, recalling what he had done to the Northern Air Temple, "What you did to the Temple... I will make things return to the way they were before."

"I- uh, I wasn't intending to return to the place." the Mechanist conceded, seeming a little unnerved, "I didn't intend to disrespect the de-" he cut himself off, and cringed, "My apologies, Avatar."

"You must have seen what things were like before you lived there." he realised, "I don't want to be the last Air Nomad. One day, maybe monks will live there again." he acknowledged what he wanted; he knew he couldn't replace the people who the Fire Nation had killed, but he could make sure that the Air Nomads would not end with him.

"For the sake of all our nations, I hope so as well." the Mechanist acknowledged with a bow, "The Air Nomads wisdom shouldn't be lost... I hope you can teach me more about your people and their way of life, if you have the time."

"Uh, I guess I could." he decided, knowing that it would not hurt to recall the better memories he had of his home, and of the things he had learnt as a child in the temple, "You must have read scrolls at the Northern Air Temple."

"I did, but that is nothing compared to what you know, having lived in a place like that." he acknowledged, "A people who can reach anywhere through the air. That freedom is what made me think to make the airship in the first place."

"I understand." he smiled, "Flying is great."

Aang turned around, and decided he ought to get to the entrance, and watch the horizon; in any case, he might have to get into the air and distract their enemies. He could not know for certain how far away they were, and as much as he dispreferred fighting, he knew what was at stake. At the very least, he had to keep them occupied so that their fighters could reach the walls.

"I'll see you around." Aang farewelled the Mechanist, who raised a hand to wave goodbye.

With that, he paced off into the camp; the whole place was quite lively, despite the sun still being under the horizon, and the sky itself only dimly lit with an orange hue ringing the eastern flank of the sky. The camp, which was formerly coalesced by the seaside end of the Fire Navy base, was mostly disassembled, barring the section where the Northern Water Tribe fighters were staying, as they were going to remain behind at the base.

The tents were packed away into bags, as were all the supplies that they were going to bring with them; Aang did not expect them to be camping out in the wilderness, as they were going to enter Ba Sing Se, but he had peered over the walls; the space between the Outer Walls and the city itself was expansive, meaning that they would have ample space to set up campsites before they would even have to enter. He knew that bringing everyone in at once would be dangerous, not just because the Dai Li could catch them all and ruin their plans, but because they needed to keep their attention off them.

He was not even half way over to the walls of the base when he was interrupted by Jet; he always walked around with a sense of self-importance, and though he thought he was helpful, Aang couldn't help but feel a little concerned about his pride and arrogance. He was nowhere near as bad as Azula, but the loyalty and respect he instilled in people that didn't even know him, without having any actual strength to back it up, was both inspiring and concerning. Aang knew that acting like that was not right, at least without a good reason, and he, even as the Avatar, could not argue that he ought to act as if he knew better than anyone else.

"Good morning, Aang." he addressed him, "Did you sleep alright?"

"Not really." he admitted bluntly, "After what happened yesterday, I'm- uh, not feeling very safe."

"Neither am I. I slept with a dagger by my side." he acknowledged, "The enemy could strike at any moment, flame or stone. It disgusts me to see the supposed defenders of the Earth Kingdom side with the Fire Nation, but I can't be that mad, given what we're doing at this very moment." he admitted, his reflectiveness indicative that he had mostly gotten over his anger towards Azula specifically, and the Fire Nation more generally, which had typified him in any of the retellings that were made about Sokka's interactions with him.

"I think that people do need to work together, but Azula wants to do the right thing." he gave his own opinion, "I know you might not agree, but, I mean, she is going to help your nation have a new government. A voice." he suggested what would come of their efforts, hoping that Jet now agreed with that sentiment; Aang wasn't in the job of persuading him, but he wanted to know if he should be worried about being betrayed because of his great dislike towards the Fire Nation.

"I know that." he admitted quietly, "I'm about to head off with my friends, maybe I can join you up to the gates." he suggested, and Aang nodded.

"That's fine." he accepted his request, and with that, Jet followed after him.

"So, how did everything end up going in the mountains?" he asked, "I heard a rumour... that you ended up destroying some bandit warlord."

"Not me." he corrected him, before grimacing, "But yes, we beat him. They had been raiding villages, and Azula decided we had to put a stop to it." he explained, though he felt uncomfortable recalling the memories of the massive destruction they had inflicted upon the bandits; he was a pacifist, and even if he thought defeating them in battle was the right idea, he knew that how things had gone had not been fair or merciful in the slightest.

"Good." Jet made his own views clear, "I only wish me and my Freedom Fighters had been there to inflict some justice." he admitted, seeming disappointed that he had missed a fight, "Those villages, are they safe now?"

"As much as they can be." he conceded, "We forced the bandits up into the mountains. I don't know if they'll try anything again, but I hope they don't."

"Yeah, I imagine once we win... they'd have no hope. I can already see Toph commanding an army of earthbenders to destroy them."

Aang scrunched his lips, remembering that Toph had said she had given promises that she would go and deal with bandits once they were done in Ba Sing Se, "Yeah, I think she wants to do that." he admitted, and Jet chuckled.

"Well, I have to ask to join along." he decided, "The Freedom Fighters are never comfortable being tied down to one place for too long."

A question entered Aang's mind, only having known what the Freedom Fighters had done since they left Ba Sing Se, "Where did you live... I mean, before you came to Ba Sing Se?"

"We lived near the colonies, in a forest." he clarified, "We fought the Fire Nation hard for a few years, but after we... well, actually beat them, they sent a proper army to get rid of us. We had to run away."

"Maybe you could go back there some day." he admitted, and Jet grimaced.

"N-no... I don't think I will." he shook his head, "Sometimes you make stupid decisions... and you can't undo them." he made a vague comment, but Aang understood the sentiment well enough.

"Well, it can't be as stupid as what I did." he admitted, and Jet shook his head.

"You're just a kid. The whole... disappearing for a century thing, I can't blame you for that. You didn't choose it." he retorted, his expression cold and solemn, "I made my choice... and now I have to live with it."

"So, you'll keep fighting for what you think is right."

"That's all I know." he admitted, "Fighting is my life. If I don't have a fight, I don't know what I'd do otherwise."

"Maybe you should talk with somebody about this... I'm just a kid. I might have lived all those past lives, but I don't really have any of their wisdom... I wish I did."

"I think you'll be a good Avatar." he admitted with a small smile, "Most people wouldn't be suited to it."

"Th-thanks, Jet."

"No, don't thank me, I'm just telling you the truth. You should just keep doing what you're doing... making people realise that working together is better than just hating each other. I still don't trust the Fire Nation, but I have to do something, and this is the only way." he admitted his own feelings about the situation, "Sokka was right... I can't deny it anymore."

"About Azula?"

"About everything." he clarified, before gesturing to the bridge ahead of them, where the other Freedom Fighters were waiting for him, with their bags of supplies.

"Jet!" Pipsqueak called out to him, and he raised a hand to acknowledge his friends.

"Where were you if they were here?" Aang asked, and Jet chuckled.

"Oh, just talking with Hakoda and Bato. I wanted to know what their battleplans were... in case things go sideways." he clarified, before offering him a hand to shake, "Good luck."

"You too." he accepted the handshake, and waved over to the others; they waved back, except Longshot, who was ever serious, and just nodded; Aang didn't understand him, but then again, it was hard to understand anyone if they didn't speak.

Jet and his friends made their way over the bridge, leaving him to stand there waiting. The bridge itself covered the gap formed by the massive trench the earthbenders had dug overnight, which was meant to impede any potential attackers. They were expected to have earthbenders among them, making the trench less useful than it might have otherwise been, but if the earthbenders exposed themselves to build their own crossings, he guessed they would get attacked by the defenders at once.

He glanced over at the eastern horizon, which had grown a little brighter in the time since he woke up. While he stood there, the earthbenders and other fighters paced across into the wilds. They had some tunnels they had already dug after scouting out earlier, giving them a relatively safe path, which Aang had pointed out to them the night prior. The landscape was quite flat, but had some prominent hills and streams, which divided up the land; by following one of the valleys, the fighters could reach the walls by avoiding all of the soldiers who were encamped north of the walls. However, those forces were already on the move, according to the last scouting party that had returned just after Aang woke up.

He was worried they might get caught on the way, but he knew that with his glider he could at least distract some of them. Knowing how violently they reacted to his and Katara's appearance the day prior, he knew that they would want to attack him again. Though he would much prefer to avoid a fight, he wanted to keep the others safe more than he wanted to avoid the army itself.

His attention was drawn away from the slow moving line of fighters as Toph approached him, whistling out to get his attention, "Twinkletoes!" she called out, and he sighed, still not liking the nickname, but he tolerated it, as she was his earthbending master after all.

"So, are you going to go straight for the walls?" he guessed her destination, and she placed her hands on her hips.

"Yep, gotta get there before I fall asleep again." she admitted, before letting out a curt yawn, "The ground kept shaking when I was trying to sleep." she added with a stiff lip, clearly frustrated.

"Did you try to get your feet off the ground?" he asked, and she chuckled.

"Yep, I made myself a hammock... It worked like a charm, except I kept swinging whenever the ground shook." she added, sounding to approve of that more than the original plan of sleeping on the ground, "Breakfast could have been better."

"Uh... yeah." he agreed with her opinion, and she smirked, stepping closer.

"What, is it because you like Katara's cooking better?" she queried, and Aang's face flushed red; he didn't want Toph making fun of him, and he knew she would, so he had to try and think of a way to say he did, without making him seem to be desperate for Katara's approval.

He certainly wanted it, but he wanted everyone to like him and approve of how he acted; he wanted to sate his own morals as well, above that, but he couldn't help but feel the need to please others. He liked seeing them happy, and to see others get along with each other. He was glad that over the weeks they had now spent together, Katara and Toph had grown closer, just as Katara had with Azula before.

"Uh, she makes stuff that's nicer than that." he argued, "You like her food as well, don't you?"

"It's a bit better than what I make for myself, so, I'll never complain." he argued, before crossing her arms, "But if she tells me to put up a tent again, I'm going to knock her lights out."

"If we're hiding underground, that won't be a problem." he realised, and Toph snapped a finger at him.

"Exactly!" she agreed, "I'm looking forward to hearing her moan and groan about how it's so dark, it smells weird, I have to crouch." she imitated Katara, sounding as if she would enjoy her misfortune; however, Aang didn't think so lowly of her, knowing that Toph just wanted the chance to have a good laugh when she was proven right, which he thought she would be.

"She was in the sewers with us, remember?" he recalled when they were in Shengchang, sneaking about by using the sewers to avoid the city's garrison.

"Yes, and I remember her being pretty grossed out." she countered, crossing her arms, before shaking her head, "Don't ruin my fun."

He was confused how she would find it so fun, though he couldn't really argue with her; he liked having fun, and people would complain about it when he got distracted, instead of doing what had to be done. So, he'd let her have her fun, even if it was unusual and a bit mean-spirited. He couldn't say it was any meaner than Azula and Sokka taking enjoyment out of beating up each other and her guards.

"Speaking of the Sugar Queen." Toph spoke up, and Aang guessed that she had to be approaching them; Aang couldn't see her, but she appeared not long after, coming around the corner accompanied by her father and a few of the Water Tribe warriors.

Like the rest of them, she was disguised in the garbs of an Earth Kingdom peasant. The clothes they had were either spare outfits they were given by some of the fighters, or clothes that they had gathered along the course of their journey. The fighters, with a few exceptions, were basically all peasants themselves, meaning they didn't have to try hard to disguise themselves; the soldiers among them put on robes over the top of their armour, and then, they were indistinguishable from the rest of the peasant fighters.

"You're seeming more upbeat than usual." Katara observed both of them, before eyeing Toph, "Did you get any sleep?"

"Barely any." she admitted, "That's why we've got to get going... seeing that I'll be digging under the walls, I better hurry up." she decided, and waved them off, "Good luck. Don't get crushed, Aang... that would be very embarrassing for me."

"I won't, Sifu Toph." he assured her with a bow, and she snickered.

"Yeah, we'll see." she said the last word, indicating she was less confident than he was in his abilities; however, maybe she was just trying to get him to one up her and prove himself.

He wouldn't be goaded into doing something brash; he had enough experience with his earthbending to know he had his limits.

"I'm strong enough." he proclaimed, and turned to Katara, "Did you want to head out?" he asked her, and her father stepped closer.

"We should wait for Azula and the rest. I think we'll be safer in numbers." he argued, and Katara nodded, though she seemed a little concerned about the idea.

"I agree... maybe not too close. As much as I think she was just trying to scare Aang, earthbenders might try and crush us."

"Well, I'll stick to my glider, that should keep us safe."

"What about Appa?" Katara asked, and Aang cringed.

"Well, I think he's a little too obvious. I think we should wait until we're on the other side, and then I can whistle him over."

"Wouldn't he give away our position?" Hakoda asked, and Aang cringed.

"Maybe I can do it tonight. He's hard to spot in the dark." he argued, and Katara nodded.

"Good idea... we don't want him getting hurt." she argued, before scrunching her lips, "But maybe it would be better for him to follow us on foot." she suggested, "It's not like we're going to be running... so he should be fast enough, right?"

"Uh... yeah, he can." Aang nodded, and glanced around, "I better go find him then."

"Maybe just wait a bit, I'm sure Azula will have something to say about it." Katara suggested, and he stopped himself; after standing there awkwardly for a few moments, he turned his attention back to Katara and the others.

The Water Tribe warriors seemed impatient, and one of them turned to Hakoda, "Chief, how about we go ahead, check the flanks? We can meet back up along the way." he suggested; the Chief offered the man a handshake, which was rough and quick.

"Good idea, Gilak. You lead the others ahead, check the flanks. I expect we'll be at the rear with the Fire Lord." he explained, and the warriors nodded along.

"Well then, since the Fire Lord has her own guards, we can all just go ahead." Bato realised, before placing a hand on Hakoda's shoulder, "But I'll stick beside you. I think you'll prefer somebody to talk to on the march."

"I would." the Chief quietly admitted, "Plus, I can't spend my time trying to get the Northerners on our side if they're not coming along."

"What do you mean, on our side?" Katara asked, and her father cleared his throat.

"Well, you remember Pakku's plan I told you about?" he asked her, and she nodded; Aang was confused, not recalling what they were discussing, though he assumed it had something to do with Master Pakku's intention to take some people to aid the Southern Water Tribe.

"What is his plan?" Aang spoke up, "Is he going to the South?"

"Not just yet." he clarified, "And we don't know who will join him. I hope that I can sway the Northern warriors to see that they might be welcome in our land. We could use the manpower and skill to rebuild our tribe." he explained what the plan was, before grimacing, "Some of my warriors aren't so eager about it, but I've promised them that we'll make sure that the only people coming are those who want to integrate into our tribe, not the other way around."

"Like Azula." Aang suggested, making Katara snicker.

"Heh, you're not even wrong." she admitted, "It's just weird to hear that be said aloud." she added, before crossing her arms, "I do think we could use the help, Dad." she spoke her mind.

Hakoda hummed, seeming pensive, and turned to face the bridge, "I just wish this all hadn't been necessary in the first place."

"The Fire Nation started it." Katara argued, "We'll finish it."

"I heard, even from Earth Kingdom people, that they thought the war was done with Ba Sing Se. Part of me wishes it was... but then, we would have never had a chance to save our tribe. To fix things."

"That would not have been peace." Aang gave his own opinion, "I've seen how angry everyone is about how the Earth Kingdom is." he recalled, remembering how refugees, fighters, and civilians alike all spoke about their grievances, and how nothing had really gotten better, even with the Fire Nation in disarray; certainly for some people, it had only gotten worse.

"Was the Earth Kingdom better before the war?" Katara asked, "I don't mean the violence part... I mean the rest." she clarified, and he looked down.

"I think people were more hopeful... but life wasn't as easy out here as it was back at the temple." he admitted, before cringing, "I think they thought things were just going to stay the same. Nobody was thinking about changing things."

"Just like in the North." she observed, "Then, maybe this is our chance, Dad." she turned her attention to her father, "We can help the North see there's another way of doing things."

"That's what I hope. I always thought we were meant to care for each other, help each other when we're down. The North has hid and ignored everything, and I guess it wasn't all that different inside Ba Sing Se before the Fire Nation took it." he acknowledged, "I can only hope that all this chaos reminds people that hiding can only do so much."

"That's why we're here." he heard Azula speak up, having come to the bridge with Ty Lee, Sokka, and her assortment of guards; like the rest of them, they were also in disguise, but the Princess still had a regal feel about her, hands on hips with her head high, "The South Pole was a place to hide for me... but I chose to act." she acknowledged, before gesturing to Aang, "You know that hiding, running away, that doesn't help anyone but yourself." she reminded Aang of his greatest mistake; the words felt biting, but they were wholly true.

He had accepted that a long time ago; he was not going to hide, and he wouldn't run when he could help people. Despite their differences, Katara and Azula both ran that point home, every time they talked about the war, and the chaos that had followed. Monk Gyatso wouldn't have wanted him to hide, even if he didn't want him to be forced into his duties as the Avatar, and take away from his freedom. Air Nomads only wanted to be free, and at peace, and he knew that could deliver at least a semblance of that to the rest of the world. His people had never cared to really help, and really change things; as the Avatar, it was his job, whether he liked it or not.

"I won't." he reassured her, before opening his glider, "Should I go and check things again? Make sure the path is safe?"

"There're already scouts on foot scouring the land." Captain Renshu spoke up, "You won't have to do that... but it might help." he gave his opinion, and Azula stepped closer to the young Avatar.

"If that's what you think will help, do so. I will need your help if they attack, however." she argued, "We don't have Toph to back us up right now."

"We won't need her here if we have the best fighters around." Ty Lee declared with a grin, "You're all pretty tough, even Aang, and he's twelve." she gestured to him, before raising a finger, "But I do think you should go flying. They might be smart enough to try and sneak up on us."

"They haven't tried it yet." Katara observed, before huffing, "Cowards."

"The Dai Li prefer subterfuge. I'm more concerned that my former supporters will play this game with a Fire Nation mentality."

"Burn and destroy." Hakoda noted with a grimace, "They have the numbers to win if they draw the whole army onto our convoy."

"I know that." Azula nodded, before gesturing back into the base, "That's why we're keeping them occupied." she argued, and Aang heard the rumbling of an engine in the distance.

"We were just checking that the airship was ready to attack." Sokka clarified what they had been doing, "And she's ready to show off." he declared with a cocky look, "We've got a new attack strategy." he added, "Earthbenders are going to fly aboard; when they get to the walls, they'll be able to keep everyone up there busy, so we can get through below."

"How did you get anyone to volunteer for that?" Katara asked him, and he just smirked.

"Well, there's a few people here who used to serve in the army here. Defending the city against the Fire Nation. They said it'd be nice to get back at them after all this time."

"What's to say it's the Fire Nation up there?" Hakoda asked, and Azula drew her hands apart to indicate some kind of distance.

"Range. Boulders can keep ground forces at bay, but flames will keep even Appa away." she argued, and Aang tilted his head.

"I dunno... I can toss a boulder pretty far." he argued, and the Princess huffed, amused by his suggestion, and gestured out in the generation direction of the Outer Walls.

"Be my guest." she requested, and Aang obliged.

He slammed down his left foot and moved into form, before throwing his right arm forward, shooting a boulder out of the ground beside himself. It careened up into the air, soaring above the trench, and then over the wilderness that surrounded the base; it flew for a while, before striking some woodland nearby, the boulder shattering into a cloud of dust.

"I stand corrected." she admitted, "The pilots best remain at a distance."

"Never did I expect Aang to flex earthbending of all things." Sokka admitted with an impressed look, "Good job."

"I've been practising a lot." he conceded with a sheepish smile, "Mastering the elements, and all that."

"There's no great urgency... but it does help." Azula acknowledged, before tapping her index finger on his sternum, "I will have to start your firebending instruction at once."

"Inside the city?" he asked, and she raised her chin up, seeming enticed by the idea.

"Well, if you lack self-control, you will be unable to firebend. I expect if you are capable of practising there, without anyone noticing, then you're ready to learn proper forms and sets." she clarified, before her gaze turned over the bridge, "Let's get a move on. The sun will be up soon enough, and I do not want to be caught... especially when we're near the walls."

"Because that'll ruin the plan." Sokka made clear what she was implying, "The Dai Li might not know how we plan to attack them yet, but they'll surely figure it out."

"My letter, if it doesn't have the desired effect, will at least be a little misdirection. They believe we're aiming to conquer the walls, but I couldn't care less about controlling them. The city and its people are what matters." Azula clarified what exactly she was trying to trick the enemy leadership into thinking.

"If we're lucky, they might actually defect." Ty Lee argued, and Azula tilted her head.

"Hui tells me they won't, and I believe that mass defection might cause us more problems down the line. The Fire Nation forces inside the city itself may be our best chance at turning the whole regime in on itself." she explained her line of thinking, "If they decide to turn to our side now, that will just cause a bloodbath."

"Well, you sent those letters." Katara reminded her, and Ty Lee raised a finger.

"I only placed one of them." she clarified, "So, only that General and his subordinates will even know about the 'offer'."

"Which causes just the right amount of chaos." Azula argued, "The army out there is our biggest threat at the moment."

At that moment, Aang glanced up, seeing that the airship had finished its preparations and had launched into the air; one of the pilots was glancing out an open window, and saluted Azula below; she returned the gesture, and pointed ahead, "We best get moving."

"I'll go get Appa to come follow, and then I'll keep an eye out up there." he gestured up into the air, and the Princess nodded.

"Stay safe... and if possible, draw them this way. We want them away from our convoy for as long as possible." she gave him some orders, though her way of phrasing them was more of a suggestion, with her concern more so being about Aang getting himself caught; though he knew it was possible, he knew to stay in the air and keep his distance, unless he had no choice but to fight.

He glanced momentarily at the others, and Katara nodded, telling him to go; he didn't waste another moment, launching his glider into the air so he could go locate Appa. He rose up and past the airship, so he could get a good look of the whole base, and spotted that Appa was out by the shoreline, eating some grass. He reoriented the glider and moved down that way, before closing the glider as he drew near; Aang gracefully dropped on the saddle, and reached to pat his sky-bison on the head.

"Hey, buddy. Sorry, but you won't be doing much flying today. I don't want you or me getting caught... these guys don't like airbenders." he spoke to Appa, even if he knew he really couldn't understand his words; the soothing tone, however, he must have understood, and he let out a low growl, almost sounding sad.

Aang glanced around and checked for Momo, who he found sleeping on Appa's tail; he whistled to get the flying lemur's attention, and Momo leapt up onto his shoulder, "Do you wanna come with me little guy?" he asked, and the lemur chirped eagerly, "I don't know if we'll be finding any more food for you to eat, but who knows, there's a lot of trees and bushes out there." he noted, glancing back towards the wilderness that surrounded the base.

He grasped Appa's reins, knowing he ought to fly him over to the bridge to save some time; he was familiar enough with the others that he would follow them if they got his attention.

"Yip-yip!" he called on the flying bison, who let out a low roar, before launching himself up into the air.

Aang pulled on the reins, turning him away from the water, and back towards the land; he quickly crossed over the base, and he pulled down on the reins as they approached the other side of the bridge, where the group was waiting for them. Once low enough, Aang pulled on the reins tightly, telling him to drop to the ground. He did so, and the Avatar leapt from the bison's saddle, back onto solid ground.

"Okay, Appa, stay with the others. You keep them safe, and they'll keep you safe." he told the sky-bison, patting his face before eyeing the others, "Good luck."

"Good luck." Sokka replied back, giving him a quick salute, "Be as annoying as you can. I'm sure that will make them even more eager to attack this place." he suggested, and Aang laughed; he wasn't going to take that advice literally, but he knew what he had to do.

Keep an eye out, and get their attention; if they thought Aang was scouting ahead for their army, then they'd move to try and attack it. He opened his glider once more and ran past them.

"See ya!" he farewelled them, before leaping up into the air, soaring up with the aid of his airbending.

Aang didn't waste any time, and picked up more speed as he then dropped, trying to glide close to the treetops so he wouldn't be spotted just yet. The rolling hills gave him a few chances to lower, gain more speed, and then soar back up, staying out of sight and keeping up his momentum. Aang was used to gliding around, but it was usually not for a practical purpose like scouting. He preferred to fly up and high, so he could look around, but he knew where the base was from his earlier attempts at checking it out, so he would remain low until he got closer.

If the report Ty Lee and Hakoda had given were any indication, the army was probably already on the move, and if they were lucky enough to head slightly to the east of the most direct route, they might accidentally run into their own forces. The only way to avoid that was to gain their attention; he would prefer above all else to stay at a distance, but he had learnt that going straight for the proverbial throat was a good way to get everyone to focus on him.

As he approached the airship, Aang could see some of the earthbenders out on the railing that hang alongside the gondola, and watched as they used their earthbending to send rocks off ahead of the airship. Aang guessed that meant he was approaching the army, though he couldn't yet see the encampment. He flew up and above the airship, before landing on top of the massive balloon; glancing out, he could see a few tundra tanks, as well as some mounted soldiers, peering out of the woodlands, but he couldn't see anyone else.

Boulders flew up towards the airship, and then, they were met with flames, though Aang could not see their source. The airship continued to climb up, and he decided he would get off and make sure nobody had a chance to actually take it down. He ran along the length of the balloon, before leaping off the front, opening his glider back up and soaring back down towards the ground. He could see a group of earthbenders, pelting off boulders, and decided to go down and keep them busy.

His glider was so fast that they barely had time to register his sudden appearance, and once he was on the ground, he stomped his right foot down, bursting dust up into the air; he didn't need to see to beat them. In a flurry of hits, he threw up pillars from beneath the earthbenders, striking them down, before Aang pulled up some walls to protect himself from the inevitable counterattack. He couldn't sense the flames, but the heat was just noticeable to his skin; he shot the walls out and made sure to snag down any soldiers he could.

With his protection gone and the dust settled, Aang turned around, ready to launch himself up into the air once more. That was when he watched balls of fire appear, followed by smoke, thundering booms; the airship dropped at least six bombs in succession, setting the woods into an inferno. The flames were still far away, but he could feel the heat of the explosion on his skin. The soldiers closer by ran away frantically, and some of them were on fire; Aang felt a shiver down his spine, and hoped that he could scare enough of them off. He did not care for the soldiers who might otherwise try to capture or kill him, but he couldn't stand around and watch anyone be destroyed so brutally.

"Please, be worth it."

---

The morning sun was still quite low in the sky as the walls of Ba Sing Se drew nearer, growing taller on the horizon like mountains would when Sokka was atop Appa's saddle. He was tired, having gotten little sleep, but he mustered the energy to keep moving, and keep his attention on his flanks. The path they were taking towards the wall was through a narrow valley that was dry, with sharp slopes on either side, covered entirely in trees and shrubs.

The whole route had varied between gulleys like that, and some trenches and tunnels that the earthbenders had dug ahead of them. They couldn't reasonably dig the entire way, and he knew that trying might as well be a death trap. One attack from earthbenders, and the tunnel could collapse down upon them and leave them all trapped, or worse. He had been trying to listen out for any signs of interlopers, but he couldn't confidently nail anything down. They had scouts on either side, keeping watch as they all made their way towards the walls; once they split up into sections, each heading for a specific crossing at the walls, some of them would inevitably be safer, while others would be in more danger.

The walls were already peering up on the horizon, though he knew it would take some time until they reached them, a hill sat in the way; he guessed that they would have some tunnels to take through it, to avoid being spotted climbing over it. He had tried to make conversation with Azula and the others, but everyone was as nervous as he was, and was trying to stay ready and focused.

It was hard after all that time; he was already tired from having woken up so early, but now he was finding what little energy he had gotten from breakfast draining away. Though he could not tell when he would need to rest, he was sure he would have to, and just hoped it would come before they got to the walls. That thought stuck with him, so he felt the urge to ask.

"Azula... are we going to stop to rest?" he asked, and she sighed.

"If you need to slow the pace, we can, but I am not stopping until we are under cover or at the walls." she gave her decision on the matter; though he could just as easily stop, sit down and let some people pass by him, he didn't want to leave Azula to go ahead.

Even if he trusted the guards with her life, and even with his own, he could not fathom just leaving her to potential danger, knowing that there was a whole army marching on the base, and for all he knew, they could attack their long convoy of fighters at any moment.

"Then we will." he agreed with her, and she made a small smile, before turning her gaze back ahead of them.

"I know you're not a morning person... so if you manage to get into the walls without nodding off, I'll be impressed." she noted, leaving him unsure if she was just trying to prod him, or if she was genuinely thinking he might fall asleep if they were just to stop for a moment.

He wouldn't, knowing the danger that hung over them; the nervousness was like having an uncomfortable tunic on. It felt like an itch, but it wasn't physical, but rather in his mind, constantly telling him to check the edges of the gully, to listen for anything that would sound like voices out to their right. He knew that the footsteps he could hear were from them, but if he heard shouting or screaming, then he could only assume they were under attack.

His eyes darted up the gully, having noticed some footsteps pacing along, and he realised it was just Aang, having returned from a scout; he slid down the sharp slope, landing right down beside them.

"Anything of interest?" Azula asked him, and he shook his head.

"Only that I can't see anyone coming in this direction. It looks like they've got a place to spot on a hill over there, but I can't tell if they've seen any of us."

"No signals?" Sokka asked, guessing they would have some way to tell the rest of the army of their presence, beyond merely relying on things like messenger hawks.

"Not that I can see... I didn't try to get too close. I was afraid they might have soldiers watching."

"They almost certainly do." Azula nodded, "They are probably expecting an ambush, not us to sneak past their whole army.

"I could see some smoke coming from closer to the base last time I was in the air. I think they might already be there."

"Then we ought to hurry up." Azula warned him, "We cannot waste anymore time while the enemy might still find us."

Aang nodded, and paced in front of them, "I'll go look ahead again." he clarified, and Sokka scrunched his lips.

"Will you check on Toph?" he asked, and he made a sheepish smile.

"Uh... she's pretty far ahead with the other earthbenders. I'm sure she's fine." he answered his question rather indirectly, before raising a finger, "I can't sense anyone walking over this way. I would if they were."

"Good to hear." the Princess acknowledged his words with a smile, and with that, Aang went on his way, briefly greeting the others as he made his way up the path.

Once he was out of earshot, he turned to Azula, eyeing her as they continued walking, "Are you worried about him?"

"Aang isn't dumb." she argued, "He's been told what to expect, and what to do."

"But that doesn't mean he's safe." he countered, and she didn't seem pleased.

"None of us are. Him keeping a look out will keep us safe." she retorted, her cold, serious tone reminding him that she was still thinking of herself as the leader, rather than as Aang's friend.

"I know." he assured her that he wasn't unawares of their situation, "I mean... about him, specifically."

"I don't think you need to ask that to know the answer." she cryptically responded, though her tone was telling; she did care, but she did not want to publicly make her concerns while they were accompanied by her guards, as well as a few other elite fighters, whom she was trying to gain the confidence of.

Most of them were people they were unfamiliar with, picked up along the journey and assembled as part of their coalition. New people to ingratiate and sway to her side, though she obviously was wanting to assure their safety as well; the coalition needed its strongest fighters and leaders ready to stand against the Dai Li, and they couldn't do that if they couldn't even get inside the city.

"Fair enough." he accepted her response, and turned his eyes ahead, "How long do you think this will take?"

"The march, or the plot?" she questioned his words, and Sokka tilted his head toward her own.

"The plot." he clarified, knowing that they would be at the walls soon enough; the fact he could see them approaching by the moment was telling enough.

"I cannot be certain." she admitted, sounding frustrated by the fact, "I wish I had a timeline, given I have my concerns about what might be happening back west, but we cannot start a landslide... without some rain."

"Huh... so, in the metaphor, are we the rain, the landslide, or the clouds?" he asked, and she looked ready to laugh.

"I did not expect you to read that hard into a proverb." she conceded, before scrunching her lips, "We are the wind. The clouds are the coalition, the rain is our work, and the landslide, that is everything falling apart."

"Huh." he murmured, intrigued by her idea, if only for how it made him consider what each aspect of their plans would correlate to, "So what does that make the airship?"

"Thunder. It simply scares, it doesn't make the ground fall from beneath you." she argued, before smirking, "The waves erode away the coast, and the waterbenders will force their attention there." she provided another metaphor, though it only half a metaphor; the waterbenders would quite literally erode away the land in a wave, as that was part of their trap to inflict as much damage on the enemy army as possible.

Sokka cautiously nodded, understanding her cryptic phrasing, "Well, I'm just glad we had a plan. Running for the walls was the first thing I thought of."

"If we were alone, I would say taking Appa would be the smartest move, in the dead of night." she explained what she might have otherwise done, "But no matter how much pride I have in my skills, no one girl can overthrow the Dai Li, not without a lot of luck and planning, which we don't have the time for. The enemy will eventually catch on, it's inevitable."

"We just have to keep them guessing." Sokka realised, and smirked as a thought came to mind, "Be unpredictable."

"That is the plan. I have ideas that I cannot share with everyone, as that might endanger any plans that come of them."

"Do you think that there's a chance they've figured it out?" he asked; though he knew the Fire Nation could be very arrogant at times, he was not confident enough to dismiss their abilities.

"If they have, they'll corner us before we reach the walls... but Toph will see that coming. I told you about the signal." she reminded him, and he gestured ahead.

"Yeah a smoking firework being shot into the sky." she recalled, before turning his gaze over to his father and sister, who were quietly talking about something, which he couldn't hear, "I think we're prepared."

"Whatchu talking about?" he heard Ty Lee's voice behind them, and Sokka turned his head, noting she had a giddy look on her face.

"What have you been doing?" Azula asked her, sounding suspicious of her; the acrobat just shrugged her shoulders and smiled at them.

"Oh, nothing much, I was just chatting with some of the friends I've made. My- uh, my students." she explained herself, and Azula narrowed her eyes at her, before turning her gaze ahead.

"Don't flirt too hard." she warned her, and Ty Lee laughed her words off.

"What?! No, I wasn't flirting." she assured her, and the Princess clearly didn't believe her.

"There's a large number of physically able young men in our presence, if you weren't flirting, I'd be more impressed than anything." she gave her own view on the matter, before leaning closer, "So, were you?"

"I mean... maybe not intentionally." she argued, "I'm just trying to pass the time, and socialising is an easy way to do that."

"Listening to everyone's life stories or what they ate for breakfast?" the Princess asked her, making a cocky look, "I expect the answers would all be about the same. Aggrieved, dispossessed peasants, and some stew and flatbread." she told her what she thought would be said about both matters; Sokka didn't want to deny that every person had suffered individually, but he did agree that the stories they would tell would all mirror each other.

"You're not wrong." Sokka acknowledged, before scrunching his lips, "I won't make fun of her for actually trying to enjoy this." he gestured ahead of them, "Because I'm certainly not."

"War isn't fun, and marching is less than boring, but it is necessary; if it were not, we would not be here." Azula chided him, and he didn't complain any further; there was no point in it, if he did, it would just serve to annoy her- she had never liked whining.

Ty Lee usually didn't stay quiet for very long, and that moment was no exception.

"So, did you want to hear what I found out?" she asked them, and Sokka shrugged.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt if you're not repeating yourself." he gave a condition of his attention, and she nodded eagerly.

"Got it!" she accepted his words, before scrunching her lips, "So, some of these fighters have had... well, more than a bad time before the Coalition found them." she admitted, seeming nearly disturbed, "Some of them were serving on prison rigs in the colonies."

Azula didn't seem surprised by that information, and kept a straight face. For Sokka, it was much harder, filled with disgust and disdain; he already was guessing the Fire Nation was using such despicable tactics against their strongest enemies, and guessed that the rigs were for those who dared to stand against them.

"Were they earthbenders?" he asked, and she nodded, making him cringe.

"No earth to bend means no earthbending." he observed, before shaking his head, "There's no end to what some people will do to break their enemies."

"The Fire Nation took its war seriously." Azula admitted bluntly, "There were no half-measures. Earthbenders, waterbenders, they are the strongest foes we could face. Do you expect the Fire Nation to just let them run free?"

"No." Sokka agreed, before spitting on the ground, "But I know you don't agree with it. You were the one who set the Southern Raider ship adrift for all of the crew to starve to death." he reminded her of what she had done to protect his village, or as she might see it, her village, "We can't let anyone suffer that again."

"I do not disagree. That was a half-measure." she acknowledged, before clenching her fists, "Just like we had with taking Long Feng. We will bend all that remain of the-" she began, before she was cut off by a shout on the slope above them.

"Enemy scouts!" a fighter warned them, "They've spotted us!" he warned them, and Azula sighed, before turning around to face the elite fighters who had accompanied her; they were not just there to protect her but to help protect each other.

"Earthbenders! We need some defences at once!" she ordered them, and some of them raised their hands up, drawing out slabs of earth from each side of the gully, tenting over them, and covering up their positions.

More slabs were raised up, and Sokka knelt down to take cover, sitting himself down beside Azula; her eyes met his own, before she scrunched her lips, the anger clear in her eyes.

"Dai Li. They will bend to the provisional government, or they will die. I will not have anyone stand to perpetuate their rule any longer."

"I can't believe you're willing to do that." Ty Lee admitted, "That's so many people... I mean, I'm just guessing that most of them won't be willing to just give up."

Azula turned her eyes away, and she didn't answer as the ground around them shook violently; the Princess didn't need to really tell her what she thought. Much of the Dai Li would be destroyed in whatever conflict Azula concocted, forced to fight each other for scraps, and once the smoke settled, those that were left would have a choice: side with them, and join the ranks of the new Earth Nation, or be made outlaws, destined to hide and wither away. Sokka was not even that confident they could defeat the Dai Li in the coming conflict, and wholly expected some compromise, just as he expected some compromises to be made with Iroh in time so that they could defeat Ozai and place Azula in her rightful place.

Sokka's mind turned back to the situation at hand, and he sighed, grabbing his boomerang from its sheath, "So, whose head do I need to hit this time?"

"This is the point where you wish Toph was here, right?" Ty Lee asked Azula, both questions remaining unanswered as the Princess waited out the shelling.

The enemy had found their positions, but the shaking wasn't so violent that he could say their actual positions were under fire, but more so that they had decided to start shelling the general area.

"What do we do?" Sokka asked the Princess, "Do we need to feign a retreat?"

"That will be necessary if we can't expel them, but expulsion will attract an equal response. We must not let them think we are here to reach the walls."

"Then send us forth." Renshu spoke up, addressing his master, "I will lead my men into their camp if need be."

"We cannot continue to be shelled." she decided, before gesturing out of the cover the earthbenders had made them, "As soon as the shelling ends, we will enact a counterattack. Prevent any further attacks, and scatter before returning to our path. The tunnels under that hill will be the best point to return to." she explained her orders, before gesturing to Renshu, "Do not go any further than their shelling positions, it is unnecessary. We simply need to make sure we can continue our march to the walls unimpeded."

"That's all I need to hear." Sokka decided, before climbing out from the cover; he paced over to where his father and sister were covering, and gestured up the slope, "We need to get rid of this problem, and pretend to lose."

"Sounds doable." Hakoda responded, before readying his weapon, "But I'm not losing a single man. We're fighting smart, not hard."

"I concur." Azula spoke up, having climbed out of cover behind him, and she raised her hands up towards the woods that sat at the top of the gully, "The easiest way to keep them occupied is the same as always... fire."

"You needn't say more, your majesty." Renshu accepted her implicit order, and gestured to the guards behind him, "Half of us will stay here to keep her majesty safe, the rest will go up and deal with the interlopers." he ordered his men, who saluted him, having gotten out of cover; it was pulled apart quickly enough, and one of the earthbenders stepped forward.

"Fire Lord... I assume you'll want our help with this?" he asked, and Azula just smiled.

"Be my guest. The more, the deadlier." she declared, twisting a usual idiom to a much darker form; it fit with her intent, as they were no longer playing around, fighting a few ragtag bandits with some funny weapons.

This was a real battle, and Sokka was ready, at least as ready as he could be after a few hours of sleep.

"Well then, let's get them." Hakoda spoke up, raising his club into the air, "With me!" he called on the warriors, guards, and Earth Kingdom Fighters; they cheered and ran behind him, Katara and Ty Lee following suit, while Azula kept still, understanding that endangering herself was not a smart idea.

She could come up once they had secured a position, but before that, she would need to prepare some kind of retreat with those who weren't going to fight; the convoy had to break up, at least temporarily, once the enemy inevitably pushed them back, and they had to feign a retreat. Sokka joined in with the others, running up the slope as fast as he could, scampering once he reached the sharpest part; once he crossed over, he immediately took cover behind some trees, unsure if the enemy would have archers, firebenders, or some other kind of ranged forces ready to attack them.

Glancing ahead, his view was obscured by masses of low shrubbery, bushes, and trees, with a few low hilltops peaking above the foliage. There he could make out what had to be the enemy position, which he assumed was the same one Aang had been referring to after returning from his scouting; there were some earthen defences protecting the hilltop, which looked rather makeshift, but he couldn't see behind them. He guessed there had to be some soldiers spotting from there, and he assumed, firing off the boulders that he had heard striking all around them.

Another volley of boulders followed soon after he reached his cover, and he heard Renshu call down, "Take cover!"

He saw as more stone defences were pulled up to protect Azula and the remaining forces down on the path, but up where he was, there was little cover to be had, besides the trees themselves. That issue resolved itself as a few of the earthbenders who had joined them deflected the boulders away as they drew near. It was as if their motion was slowed by falling in some viscous liquid, before they were pelted back in the direction they came from.

"Aha! Take that!" Ty Lee exclaimed eagerly, before turning her gaze to Sokka, "Well, what are you waiting for? Are we gonna beat their butts or what?"

"Stay under the trees!" he told her, and dashed ahead with his boomerang in hand; he tried to stay on a level path, heading towards the hill, but struggled to avoid the craters that had been formed by the bombardment they had already inflicted on the grounds surrounding their path.

Once he got past them, he made sight of the first enemy troops, which appeared to be conscripts; skinny, undertrained young men, who were clearly frightened. They held spears by what looked to be a shallow trench on the hillside, ready to hold them off. He though they were stupid for just sitting there, but he quickly realised why exactly they were in the way; further up the hill, obscured partially by bushes, were a group of earthbenders, who began to pelt at them with smaller boulders. He knew they weren't the ones responsible for the larger boulders being tossed down, and guessed those men were still hiding up at the hilltop, using the walls to keep themselves safe from counterattacks.

None of the earthbenders by his side were close enough to directly attack the enemy troops, and had to rely on throwing rocks at them, but Sokka had no issue with the range; he feigned falling over, waiting for one of the earthbenders to get out of cover to toss a boulder at him, only for Sokka to return the favour with his boomerang. The plan worked well enough, and he knocked one of them out, before the boomerang was flung down, careening down in front of the spear-wielding conscripts.

"Go home if you know what's good for you!" he warned them, before raising a fist, "Fire!" he called on the guards, and they sent out synchronised fire streams, setting the bushes alight and forcing the earthbenders out of their cover.

The conscripts were terrified, and were unsure whether to get out of the trench and flee, or hold the position they had been given; however, as the earthbenders themselves fleed, they must have realised there was no point, and scattered. Before one of the earthbenders behind him was about to strike them directly with his bending, he grabbed the fighters' arm.

"No, they're just going to run away. That causes more problems for the enemy." he argued, and the fighter held himself back, even if he clearly seemed disappointed to not be able to land a hit.

He and his comrades didn't have to wait long, however, as they made their way to the trench and started throwing boulders up the hill in quick succession.

"Have at them!" he heard Yi call on the guards, and fire streams coursed over his head, covering the hillside with a bright burst of flames; when they had dispersed, all the flora was alight, and the earthbenders had broken rank as well, running around the side of the hill to get out of sight.

Ty Lee was about to run past, but he stopped her, knowing that the enemy giving up as quickly as they had, without the expected response from those up the hill, was quite suspicious.

"We need to hold." he warned her, "They're probably gonna try and hit us when we're climbing up the hill."

"Then let's get rid of their defences." Katara spoke up, making her presence known; she drew out water from her waterskin, and flung it up the hill, the mass of water reaching the walls, before splashing into it, and then seeping inside.

"That's... that's not a lot of water." Ty Lee warned her, and the Water Tribe girl just smirked.

"I don't need much." she assured her, before closing her eyes, "Protect me for a second." she requested, and both of them stood around her, ready to hold off anyone who tried to attack them.

An attack did come, a hole opening up in the ground, and a few earthbenders jumping out; Sokka scooped up his boomerang, and tossed it right at one of them. He knocked that soldier off balance, and threw him into another earthbender. The other two rushed down the slope, only to find themselves bombarded by attacks; the guards firebending coursed out, surrounding them on all sides with flames, before his father and the warriors rushed out and began to beat down on them while they were momentarily blinded, jumping through the gaps in the fire. When the flames dissipated, the earthbenders were beaten down, but playing along, his father grabbed one of them by the collar.

"Tell your masters we're coming for them." he forebodingly warned, and shoved him towards the hole he had jumped out of.

"Wh-why aren't you killing me?" he asked, now clearly nervous.

"That isn't the plan." Katara answered his question, her eyes still shut; a moment later, Sokka heard a cracking noise, and felt the ground shake slightly, glancing up to see that the wall was caving in, forming a mudslide.

More of the wall followed, and the earthbenders who were with them raised up a small levy to hold back the mud while Sokka watched as a few of the enemy troops were swept up by the wave of mud, sticks, and rock. He was amused by how quickly everything fell apart, and the look on the soldiers' faces as they tried to get back up, now surrounded by firebenders and earthbenders.

"Probably should have made it out of metal." one of the earthbenders suggested to the soldiers before using his bending to pelt them into the air with a few earthen pillars; once they struck the ground, most of them appeared to be unconscious, while those remaining up the hill seemed terrified.

They didn't stop fighting, however, and Sokka was forced to cover behind some burnt out bushes from the boulders. He glanced over to Ty Lee and smirked at her, knowing they would have their chance while the enemy was focused on the benders.

"They always underestimate a non-bender." he argued, before handing her his bone blade, "To play the part." he offered, and she nodded, understanding his plan.

So, with that, he and Ty Lee began pacing around the hillside, while the rest of the fighters were pelting boulders and fireballs at each other. There seemed to be a few firebenders among the enemy troops, but they were up on the walls, too far away to be struck by Sokka's boomerang. He didn't want to intentionally disarm himself before he could easily retrieve it. The fires that the guards had started were already spreading to other trees, forcing them to hastily move past them so they could get higher up.

There seemed to be an entrance to the hilltop encampment, but it was held by a sheer stone gate, presumably only to be opened by earthbenders; however, the walls were not that sharp, meaning that they could scale them. Ty Lee, with her acrobatic skills, would have little issue getting up there. He gestured to the walls, and a thicket that lay nearby, providing decent cover.

"I'll get their attention, you climb up the walls. I'll follow as soon as I can." he suggested, and she nodded, spinning the dagger in her hand.

"I'll try and give them a good scare... but no chi-blocking yet." she decided, before snickering, "I don't want you to lose a chance to practise. You're my student too." she argued, making him shake his head.

"If you say so." he mumbled, and gestured for her to go; she did so, dashing into the thicket, leaving Sokka to his own devices.

His eyes turned up to the gates, and that was when he started his stupid plan; he strode out of cover, revealed himself, and let out a roar.

"Come and get me!" he called on them, "The Fire Lord will be really desperate to get me back!" he prodded, revealing his boomerang and pointing it towards the walls, "Or are you really that afraid?" he asked; that seemed to be enough, as he saw a spurt of earth rise up on the ground, forming a line as it approached him.

Sokka was no Ty Lee, but he was fast enough to jump into the air, weaving to the side of the pillar of earth that shot up, before he tossed the boomerang up at the walls, narrowly missing the earthbender who had tried to strike him. He rolled out of the way of another pillar, before grabbing the boomerang as it returned to his position. He didn't bother throwing it again, instead jumping around maniacally, hoping that they wouldn't land a hit. A flurry of pillars rose up, and Sokka rushed closer to the walls, hoping to get them solely focused on him, knowing that Ty Lee was about to scale up the side.

He was close enough that he could throw the boomerang right up at one of them, and waited for them to look down; they bent out a pillar from the wall, which Sokka leaned out of the way of, before tossing the boomerang up, striking the man in the face. He let out a snicker as he watched him reel back in pain, and grabbed his weapon as it fell down towards him. Suddenly, the gates of the base were blasted apart, which surprised him, the rubble spraying him with dust. Once that had settled, he stumbled back, hoping that he wasn't about to get jumped at by a dozen earthbenders.

Instead, he saw Aang, with his staff in hand, with a confused expression, "What are you doing here?" he asked, and Sokka cringed.

"Uh, being annoying." he admitted truthfully, before he heard the grunts of the earthbenders as they were jabbed and paralysed by Ty Lee in quick succession, one of them stumbling over and falling off the wall.

Aang was kind enough to use his airbending to levitate the man's limp body, before letting him fall flat down onto the ground.

"Th-the Avatar!" the soldier exclaimed in fear, and a few moments later, Sokka heard a horn go off.

"Well, that's a good sign." he observed, knowing that they would be calling reinforcements over, which was an excuse for them to flee.

Stepping through the gates, he could see that soldiers were frantically trying to get away, noting that some trebuchets that they must have been using were all but destroyed by firebending. Fists were flying, and so were flames; each side was beating down on the other, but his allies had the immediate advantage, if only because of their numbers and the destruction Katara had laid upon their walls. The soldiers were already fleeing before he could even try to intervene, and just ended up chi-blocking a few stragglers before he approached his father and Renshu, who had led the fighters through the breach.

"Secure the walls!" Renshu called on those alongside him, and a few earthbenders pulled out boulders from the ground to beat down on the soldiers who were trying to hold the walls, and keep them from spilling into the base.

The enemy soldiers were flushed out or knocked down quickly enough, and Sokka nodded in approval.

"That went better than I expected." he acknowledged, and his father placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That was just the beginning. As shameful as it might seem, we have to fail." he reminded him of the next step, and turned to face the warriors who had accompanied him, "Get ready to fight a little longer. That horn must have told them to bring in more reinforcements."

Sokka paced over to the walls that faced the opposite direction from where the breach was made, closer to the encampment that the enemy army was based from. Once he got to the top of the walls, he was disappointed that he didn't get a much better view of the area, only seeing treetops, and some open plains beyond that. He made out a few frantic troops on ostrich horses, presumably going to inform their closest allies of the unfolding events.

The warrior let out a sigh, before he narrowed his eyes at what looked like a large group of earthbenders, flanked on all sides by armed non-benders. They were marching across the plain, presumably breaking off from the rest of the advancing army. The group spread out, perhaps to keep themselves safer from any potential attacks they might make, though they lacked the equipment to do so. Their earthbenders could fire off some boulders, but that was a lot of effort, and he doubted they had enough men with them at that very moment to actually beat down the enemy soldiers. That was never their intention, but to feign a defeat.

Azula must have been withdrawing the rest of the convoy westward, so that the enemy wouldn't catch them on their march to the walls. He hoped that there weren't more men coming their way, especially mounted ones, as they would be much harder to run from than a battalion of earthbenders. The earthbenders did as he expected, taking formation and drawing out large boulders in small groups, before tossing them into the air.

"Boulders incoming!" one of the fighters warned them, and Sokka covered under the battlements, while the rest of those below covered under the height of the walls.

A few boulders struck the walls themselves, while others landed in the central courtyard, which was now a burnt out campsite flanked with some trebuchets. He cringed from the violent shaking, and turned to face his father and sister, who were covering nearby.

"I mean, this is what we wanted, right?" he asked, and his father cautiously nodded.

His sister was far less composed, and looked quite frightened with all the shaking, and shook her head.

"I'd feel a lot safer if Toph was here." she admitted, making him smirk, amused by her comment.

"So, you do miss her." he realised, and she rolled her eyes.

"Please don't tell her that... I'd like her to think I can handle myself." she argued, and Hakoda placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, we know you're more than capable. You're certainly stronger than either of us when it comes to a real battle."

"But we don't like those." Sokka conceded, "Sneak attacks and tricks are much better... as dishonourable as they are."

"Hold your ground!" Renshu shouted out, before pointing up, "Earthbenders, give them hell!"

A few earthbenders pulled out boulders, and began to throw them up and away from the hilltop, in the general direction of the enemy troops; as most of them were below the walls, they were only guessing where the enemy soldiers had massed, slowly moving forward towards their position. Sokka cringed as he saw that all the boulders missed, falling short of the enemy lines.

"Keep it up!" the Captain ordered them, before turning around, "Everyone else, get out of here! We need to withdraw to safe ground." he ordered them, and Sokka sighed, wanting to fight, but knowing that it was pointless; their goal was the walls, not a victory.

He had grown so accustomed to fighting and strategy that he felt that victory was necessary; it was almost sickening to just give up, even if he knew it was needed for them to achieve their goals. He knew the others were still making their way to the walls. Everything they had just done was merely a diversion.

Ty Lee got up onto the walls, and grabbed Sokka by the arm, "Don't actually do what she would do." she pleaded, "We need to go."

"I know." he mumbled, before shaking his head, "Aang!" he called out to the Avatar, who had landed back down in the centre of the outpost.

"What is it, Sokka?"

"Are they the only ones coming our way?" he asked, and the Air Nomad nodded.

"Yeah, just those guys. I didn't see anyone else. The rest of the army is still marching to the base."

"Then we should be fine." he realised, even if he was afraid of getting caught by the enemy forces.

"Fall back!" Hakoda called on his warriors, and Sokka, Ty Lee, and Katara followed after them, making their way off of the walls towards the breach.

The injured, mostly incapacitated enemy soldiers that were strewn about were confused by their sudden retreat, and some of them tried to get back up.

"Cowards!" one of them accused them, only to get knocked out by one of Azula's guards.

"It is as the Fire Lord wills. We derive our honour from enacting her will." Geng declared with a commanding tone, "Now, are we ready, brothers?" he asked his fellow guards, who cheered.

Sokka cringed, and hoped they would persevere and make it out alive; he knew they were wilfully putting themselves in danger, but they had to keep up appearances. Losing the battle was a necessary danger, and though he wished it wasn't, he did not think Azula was wrong; the enemy had to believe they were winning, otherwise they would relentlessly pursue them, believing they had yet to shatter their resolve, or that they had greater goals than merely fighting the enemy army.

He followed the others out of the breach, and made his way down the ruined hillside, filled with debris from the earlier fighting; a few scouts remained off in the distance, watching them from afar, signalling for the fighters to follow them back to the main group. Sokka heard a gust of wind, and glanced up to watch Aang glide down the hillside before soaring back up into the air, remaining their sentinel in the sky. He circled around the hilltop like a bird might, all while the rest of them were almost running; they went as fast as they could, the earthbenders among them flattening out a path for them to take, instead of being forced to weave around craters, bushes, and trees.

"This is exhausting." Katara gasped out as the slope flattened out and they began running back towards the gully.

"We must persevere." his father told her, "We did not expect this to be without struggle."

"Here's hoping Jet's insane idea at the base actually works." Sokka exclaimed, "I don't want all that effort to have been for nothing."

"The sea is relentless." Katara calmly noted, before cringing, "I wish we didn't need to be so destructive. It seems... wrong."

"War is wrong... but that doesn't mean it will not be fought." Hakoda declared, before slowing as they approached the edge of the gully, "Where is the Fire Lord?" he asked one of the scouts, who gestured across the gully.

"The convoy has moved to another gully to make their way south. Just cross over the bridge."

"Bridge?" Sokka asked, before stepping past, taking note of the massive makeshift stone bridge that must have been bent into place while he was away, "Ah, earthbending really is a treat."

"Hurry now!" he heard Bato call out, "The guards won't be holding the hill down for long."

"He's right, come on!" Hakoda agreed with him, and led the warriors across the bridge; Sokka held himself back for a moment, wondering if he ought to go back and make sure Renshu and the others made it back safely.

He didn't even like them all that much, but he knew that they would protect him, if only because Azula demanded it.

Ty Lee realised that he was hesitating, and she grabbed him by the wrist, "No, you're coming. I don't want Azula to have a breakdown because you're missing!" she proclaimed, and he cringed, knowing she was right; if Sokka was to disappear, he could only imagine the ends to which she would go to return him.

"I've already pissed off enough Fire Lords for one lifetime."

---

Reaching the walls of Ba Sing Se was simply the first step in the plan; Toph knew that getting through was the easy part, but getting through without the Dai Li knowing was something else entirely. From what Aang had told her, the Fire Nation were the ones manning the walls, along with additional back up from some conscripts and a few earthbenders that they were willing to spare; most of the earthbenders, it seemed, were in the army marching on their base by the north coast.

It had taken them hours, from before dawn, to just get to the walls, and that wasn't considering the process of digging a tunnel under it. Most earthbenders, like herself, were more than familiar with it, but it took time, given how large the walls were and how they were trying their best to avoid detection. That involved them digging from well away from the actual walls themselves and then digging underneath them, before coming out on the surface by a location that was covered and not easily noticed. She and the others, for their tunnel, elected what appeared to be an abandoned farmhouse, ruined in a fire, perhaps from back when the Dai Li and Fire Nation occupiers were fighting each other over control of the city.

So, now she waited patiently by the cover of some trees, at the entrance of their tunnel. The convoy must have already split up, so she was waiting for her section; unsurprisingly, she was assigned to the group that consisted of her friends, the Southern Water Tribe warriors, as well as a few elite fighters and those fighters who came all the way from New Omashu. She was accompanied at that moment by Jianren, as well as a few other earthbenders who had gone ahead to dig the tunnel; all of them were quite tired after all the digging, and were spending the time they were given to rest well.

Most were eating, drinking tea, and a few even were comfortable enough to pull out Pai Sho sets and start playing with each other. However, Toph, being as sensitive as she was to movements on the ground, remained ever present as their sentinel, watching over without eyes, but with her feet. That left her in a dour mood, which had been only mildly improved by the rations she had eaten, which had been prepared by Katara for her; the Water Tribe girl's cooking was good enough that it let her mind drift back to simpler times.

The journey from Omashu to Azula's base had taken quite some time, and though they had their fair share of escapades along the way, they mostly spent the time training and getting to know each other. Though Katara and Aang were far from the toughest or most committed fighters she had ever met, they were stalwart in their beliefs and desire to do good; that was admirable, and differed from her own enjoyment of fighting and training.

"Toph, are you alright?" Jianren asked her, taking her from her thoughts; she nodded, almost instinctively, and turned her face up so she was looking at him, mostly for his comfort, not because she actually cared for it.

"I am fine." she reassured him, "I'm just getting a little impatient sitting here."

"We've spotted the convoy approaching. A signal from the last tunnel through the hills. I even saw the Avatar with his glider." he explained, and Toph cringed.

"I hope he was flying low. I'm pretty sure whoever's up on the walls might have been able to see him." she made her concerns clear, "But they haven't tried to attack anyone, so I think we must be fine."

"I doubt their artillery would be accurate enough to hit them from such a distance." Jianren argued, before turning around, "I think the Avatar is smart enough to realise the danger he puts us in when he flies around."

"It's also how he can see enemy forces coming from afar. I can sense them with my feet, but my skill has its limits... far enough away, and footsteps are no different to rain." she argued, knowing that even if her seismic sense allowed her to 'see' much further than seeing people could, its accuracy decreased over large distances, making it effectively useless.

The kinds of things she could sense at larger distances were the things anyone else could either see, hear, or feel without the aid of such a sense, such as earthquakes, landslides, explosions, and stormy weather. Toph turned her mind away from that, and to her senses; she could feel the convoy drawing closer, even before Jianren told her, but the fact he could see them told her that they would be arriving in short order. She sat herself back down on a log, and scratched at her slightly matted hair.

"Just distract me for a bit... this lack of action is killing my mind." she requested, and the fighter laughed, before sitting down beside her.

"Alright, how about I tell you a story?" he suggested, and she cringed.

"I'm not a little kid." she retorted, and he laughed, patting her on the back.

"I know that, you're a capable fighter... but everyone can enjoy stories, young and old."

"Is it a real one? Or something that's been mixed and torn apart over time. Like some legend of an ancient king or something." she asked, knowing that the former would be less interesting, though it might actually tell her more useful things than some ancient tale, unless the latter had something to do with the politics of subversion and propaganda.

"The story is about my great-grandfather." he clarified, "My grandfather told me this story when I was a little boy."

"A real story then." she observed, before crossing her arms, "Fine, what's the story?" she asked, giving him a chance to explain away.

"My great-grandfather lived a long time ago, in a city called Taku." he explained, and she furrowed a brow.

"He lived there before the war?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Well, yes, he was a little boy when Sozin's Comet passed over our world... the time before last time." he clarified, and hummed, "His father was a bureaucrat. A powerful man who served as a magistrate in the city." he explained, before shaking his head, "That was of little importance when the war began. Taku had been on the border of the first colonies and the rest of the Earth Kingdom. It was a very wealthy city, and even grew richer due to the colonisation, as it brought a lot of trade into the city."

"So, your family was rich then?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"By the standards of Taku, no, but compared to what I've had to live with, certainly." he clarified, before raising a hand, "My great-great-grandfather wanted to keep the peace between the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, and tried his hardest to negotiate. However, one day, there was some provocation, but we don't know what, not anymore; the city's guards started killing Fire Nation merchants, and expelled the rest from the city."

"And why is that interesting? I'm pretty sure the Fire Nation did the same to Earth Kingdom merchants. That's what my father said, at least."

"I heard that too. Maybe that was why it happened. But then the Fire Nation decided to siege the city. It lasted over a year." he explained what followed, "They demanded justice, and the mayor refused. My great-great-grandfather tried to negotiate with the enemy, but he was killed. My great-grandfather's family was left with only a pension to keep them fed, and they eventually had to flee, with some earthbenders who broke through the walls and fled in the dead of night. Hundreds of people died just on the road to the closest Earth Kingdom city."

"Sounds... pretty bad." she admitted, "But that's normal, isn't it? The Fire Nation attacks, the governors refuse to surrender or negotiate, and the common people suffer."

"Yes." he nodded, "My great-grandfather grew up in a refugee camp, and eventually, he became a soldier."

"Did he go to fight for his old home?" she asked, and Jianren sighed.

"He did. By the time he returned to Taku, it was in ruins, and abandoned. The Fire Nation didn't even set up a colony, just leaving the place to rot as an example. He fought over the scraps with a meagre garrison, and did the rites for the dead. All of the people who died, he didn't even know how many had starved there."

"What then happened?" she asked, prodding him for a conclusion, "What happened to your great-grandfather?"

"He wanted to bring the Fire Nation to justice. So, one day, he and some other soldiers abandoned their posts on the frontlines, and began raiding Fire Nation colonies. They killed indiscriminately, burned their houses down, and any Fire Nation soldiers they found, they had them sold off to nobles to work as slaves." he explained, the story getting darker and more disturbing as it went on.

"Your great-grandfather doesn't sound like the kindest man." she gave the only comment she could, and Jianren just laughed.

"Certainly. He was filled with hatred, so much so that he lost everything, twice. My great-grandfather died in some shitty little village near Yu Dao, and one of his comrades brought only ashes and a piece of armour home. My grandfather and his siblings mourned him, but they knew what killed their father. It wasn't war, it was revenge. He was blinded by it." he explained, sounding frustrated by the whole story, "I wish his life had turned out better... but I could say the same about my own. I tried to do the right thing, and not choose violence, but the Fire Nation forced my hand. Somebody needed to protect our villages."

"I understand." she acknowledged, before cringing, "I mean, not the growing up a peasant bit."

"It was not easy, but the life of the land is honest. I cannot say that I haven't worked for most of the meals I've eaten." he acknowledged, before chuckling, "This one was just a march." he admitted, tapping the bowl he had in his hands.

"A march is still hard." she admitted, "I always wanted to fight... but I feel that I didn't have a choice."

"Because you felt obligated?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"No, because my parents treated me like I was a porcelain doll. Like I was weak and vulnerable, and I wanted to prove them wrong. That made me into a tough warrior... an outcast." she explained; she did not regret leaving home, but she did regret making such a conflict with her parents.

When she had left, she was just thinking about herself, and not about how it would make them feel; however, they had never taken much care to her feelings, just assuming, based on their views of her, what she needed, and how she must have felt. Toph was strong-willed, but even she could realise that sometimes she went too far.

"So you had something to prove. I'd say you've certainly proven them wrong." he acknowledged, "I guess I ought to thank them for being such shitty parents then."

"Sometimes I think that's what I'd do when I get back to Gaoling some day." she admitted with a smirk, "The idiots thought I was weak, but I'm about to change the fate of my nation... no weak little girl could ever do that."

"With her words, maybe." Jianren suggested, and she shrugged.

"I guess Bumi has been pushing me to become a leader, but I- uh, I don't feel ready for it yet. Not really." she explained what she thought about that, and he laughed.

"There's no need to push when you're already there. If the Fire Lord wasn't here, I'd suggest you lead. You've certainly got the education and wit to back up your martial prowess." he acknowledged her virtue in being a leader, and hummed, "You're actually quite alike, if we ignore the way you dress."

"Hey... I like my outfit."

"I'm not holding issue with it, but a commander needs some nice armour and robes." he argued, and she tilted her head.

"Maybe I'll get some." she suggested, before turning her attention towards the quickly approaching convoy; at its head was Hakoda, who was flanked by a few of his warriors, and Aang and Katara were right behind him.

"Toph!" the Avatar addressed her, "Am I glad to see you. That was a long walk." he admitted, and Katara elbowed him.

"You were gliding around half the time."

"Bending takes energy too." he countered, and Hakoda stepped forward.

"Jianren." he addressed the leader of the earthbenders present, "Is the tunnel secure?"

"Yes, we've got some men on the other side keeping watch. But, I'd be a bit worried about us being spotted by those men up on the walls." he gestured up above them.

"Then we should deal with them... or at least, provide a distraction." Hakoda argued, and Aang stepped forward.

"I can do that."

"You're just one person." Jianren countered, "A strong bender, but alone they'll think it's a distraction. It needs to look real."

"Then let's do a little sabotage." Toph suggested, before pointing over to the walls, "We get to the top, and make their lives hell for a bit, while everyone crosses through." she explained her idea, and Hakoda nodded.

"Good. We'll need some volunteers. Preferably earthbenders... given the location." he gestured up to the sheer face of the walls.

"We can go up." one of the earthbenders, Ran, a soldier who had come from New Omashu with the Water Tribe ships, made his own position clear; he was a bit of a greenie, freshly recruited from among the local refugees in New Omashu, but he had supposedly shown his knack during the battle at the base, though she hadn't seen it, "We're all earthbenders here, and we'll need to come back down to close off the tunnel." he explained, and Jianren sighed.

"We could, but that might leave this position vulnerable."

"There are strong earthbenders among the Fire Lord's vanguard." Hakoda clarified, "They will protect this position while you're gone."

"That's good." Jianren accepted his point, before pointing towards the walls, "Then we shouldn't waste any time. I wish you all luck."

"I should come too." Aang spoke up, and Toph sighed.

"I won't stop you... I don't think I physically can, given you can fly." she conceded, and she heard another voice from the group.

"We'll come up!" she heard Jet shout out, and she raised a brow.

"Why do a bunch of non-benders want to help?"

"Because we have a lot of experience doing sabotage... and we've snuck through the walls before. In fact, I can probably find the entrance for you." he explained, and Jianren gestured towards him.

"The boy has a point. He and his friends should come along." he decided, and Toph cringed, thinking that Jet and the Freedom Fighters, no matter their skill, might just be putting themselves in needless danger against a bunch of firebenders and earthbenders.

She didn't, and couldn't refuse them; when she turned her heels and began pacing towards the walls, she was followed by her fellow earthbenders. When she moved out from the cover of the trees, she cracked the ground apart in as many places as she could, all the way to the walls, before forcing it back together; the motion caused dust to spurt up from the ground, which splattered her and the others, presumably making it very hard for them to see.

"Shit, Toph!" Ran exclaimed, "Are you sure that'll keep us safe?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Just stay in a straight line, and follow me. If the dust settles, I'll throw it up again." she explained; nobody spoke against her, and with that, they were on their way.

It was all quite simple, and that pleased her. The steady pacing of her feet on the solid ground, interrupted by a quick succession of cracks and squeezes of the ground to keep the dust flying. Her blindness made the dust a non-issue, and her seismic sense meant she could watch those up on the walls, probably too far away for the others to see, if they were close enough to the edge of the walls to even be spotted. Nobody seemed to be moving about with any urgency up on the walls; they were holding their positions, probably awaiting the return of the flying behemoth.

Everyone kept to her path, following after her in single or double file; they didn't even complain about the dust, though she heard a few coughs as some of them must have inhaled the dust he had thrown up. When they drew close enough to the walls, she turned around, and gestured back to those following.

"Drop the dust." she ordered them, and she felt it fall down onto her skin, layering her like she had just gotten out of some mud bath after letting herself dry; with the dust gone, and them so close to the walls that nobody would spot them without peering right over the edge, she could let Jet prove his worth.

"Alright, Mister Hook Swords, I can sense some tunnels inside the walls, but I'm not familiar with how we open any of this up." she explained what she knew, providing him with a chance to explain the way inside.

Jet sped up his pacing, making his way to the front of the group, and then past her, to approach the walls themselves. He pointed to what might have looked like an ordinary bit of the wall, but she could sense the cavities behind it.

"Okay, and how do I open this without breaking it?" she asked, and he made an awkward laugh.

"Uh... the stone in front is pulled back inside, and then drawn into a cavity to... uh, I think it's the left side from this direction." he explained, and Toph followed his instructions; she pushed her hand forward, forcing the panel inward, before swiping her hand to the left, forcing the panel into its spot.

"Okay, that's that, now what?" she asked, "There's still more panels."

"Yeah, that's the reinforcement, so... well, you know about the Siege." he answered her question by reference, which she did understand; the Siege of Ba Sing Se meant that the walls had to be reinforced in any spots that the defenders might use to sally forth.

"And how do I open these?" she asked, and he placed his hand on the walls.

"Each goes into a cavity to the left or right, but it alternates randomly. You'll just have to-" he began, and she ignored his words, quickly swiping her hands where she could sense the cavities.

"The person who made this obviously wasn't ready for someone like me." she acknowledged with a smirk; the pattern of the panels was indeed random, but that didn't stop a girl who could literally see every single cavity without having to test the panels, "Let's get inside. Do you know how we would get up, beyond just digging, that is?" she asked, and he nodded.

"There's some kind of shaft inside the walls, going from the bottom to the top. You should be able to operate it with your earthbending."

"Do you think somebody might be standing around to sense if we're moving the panels?" Jianren asked her, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I doubt I invented seismic sense, but I don't know if they'd have enough people who know it to actually hold down the entire wall. It's huge." she argued against the idea.

She knew that they'd have to simply have pure bad luck to run into some soldier or Dai Li agent who happened to either be blind, and have developed the skill convergently, or simply been that prodigious an earthbender that they figured it out with eyes. She liked their chances, so she felt no fear stepping through the hallway. The others followed, seeming to believe her, or at least, they did not want to go against the plan they had decided upon.

The hallway was quite long, leading through to the other side of the Outer Wall, though the exit, as expected, was blocked off by another set of stone panels. At the very centre there was a tunnel running perpendicular to the hallway, following the length of the walls; she could sense more hallways running from the outside to inside to either side, but she had no concern about crossing through. Instead she wanted to get to the shaft Jet had spoken of. She could sense some shafts, closed up at the top of the walls but otherwise open from the top to the bottom, but was unsure which one they ought to head to. There was one right by them, but a few more that were progressively closer to the enemy position, and one that was directly under it.

"How much do we want to surprise them?" she asked her comrades, who seemed unsure of themselves; nobody spoke to begin with, but Jianren decided to take a stance.

"I think we need to make as big a distraction as possible." he made his point, "Is there a way up into their position?" he asked, and Toph smirked.

"I can sense one. There's nobody occupying the area at the base of the shaft, so we should be able to get up just fine." she acknowledged their path of attack, which would usually be a concern; with the walls being so massive, nobody could guard every single point of attack, and she doubted the Fire Nation defectors were expecting somebody to so brazenly approach their garrisons on the wall.

Toph was more than brazen, she was smart; she knew that simply taking an elevator up and fighting them on the walls would draw them out of their fortifications, and make the battle one of a ranged back and forth of flames and boulders. That would mean they would likely assume reinforcements would be attacking them by rising up the side of the walls, giving them reason to spot around the wilderness outside the walls, where the others were. She wanted them to be completely focused on defending themselves, so they wouldn't even have a chance to consider spotting for the rest of their army.

So, she began moving down the length of the wall, approaching the shaft she sought to use; she could still sense those soldiers in the fortifications, holding their positions. They had artillery pieces that they were firing off, presumably at the airship, which, like anything that flew, she could not sense. She could hear the explosions far off in the distance, heavily muffled by the walls around her, turning the explosions into a low, indiscernible rumble.

"How long will it take them all to cross under the walls?" Jet asked her, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"As quickly as they can. They're not going to be looking on the inside of the walls... it's the tunnel entrance that's the issue. We could have tried to make it further away, but we weren't going to waste anyone's time waiting. Time waiting is time you spend getting seen, and that's how we'll lose." she argued, before turning around, stopping herself, "I know you think you're tough, but the earthbenders will take the charge. We're the ones who can use the walls as a weapon. You just have... actual weapons." she warned him.

Toph was not trying to make it seem like she was concerned for his safety, though she was. Non-benders were, by their nature, vulnerable to bending, and all kinds of weapons; Toph on the other hand was able to hide and defend herself with any and all earth she could find. The other earthbenders were equally capable of using their element for defence and offence, but Jet's rag-tag group of fighters were only good at abushes. It was just their luck that they were planning to do one.

When she finally reached the shaft she was looking for, she stepped out onto the stone panel that would take them up, and readied herself; the others stepped onto it, and Smellerbee gestured up above them.

"Uh, Toph, there's... earth in the way. I can't see any light." she explained, and Toph just chuckled.

"Yep, that's what makes it a surprise attack." she replied with a grin, before pulling out pieces of stone from the wall to act as a leverage, in case she and the earthbenders stopped bending the panel part way, so they wouldn't just fall down to their doom, "You all ready?" she asked the other benders, who dropped their hands down and steadied their stances.

"Ready when you are." Jianren reassured her, and she raised her hand to count down with her fingers, though she was unsure if they could see it, given that she imagined it was very dark inside the depths of the walls; she usually wasn't cognizant of it, but now when she was trying to communicate visually it became an issue.

So, Toph just spoke as she counted down, "Three, two, one... go!" she shouted, and pulled the leverages up as hard as she could, along with the stone panel, which shot up with such speed that it felt like they had just been hit by a windstorm or some kind of cyclone; the power was so forceful that some of them had to lower themselves to stop themselves from falling over.

Toph remained steady, and kept her senses keenly focused on the stone panel that covered the shaft, which was fast approaching, "Five... four... three... two..." she counted down again as it drew nearer and nearer, before she threw her hands up, bending through the walls of the shaft, up to the panel.

"One!" she shouted out, and at that moment, her bending reached the panel, exploding it at once, blasting dust and stone everywhere in the room above them.

She could hear shouts as their panel reached the top, and sensed the soldiers there frantically moving about, trying to avoid the rubble; they only realised they were there when they started attacking. The Freedom Fighters leapt off of the panel and began beating down on those soldiers they could reach, while Toph used her bending to restrain or incapacitate those closest to them. The other earthbender pulled up small walls before shooting them out at their opponents, who hadn't even gotten into defensive positions. Everyone in the room was either downed or running for their lives within a short period, allowing her to take a quick breath and ready herself for the inevitable counterattack.

"That was easier than I thought it would be." Jet admitted with a cocky tone, "Take that, you stupid ash-makers!" he mocked his opponents, before approaching the closest doors, "Should we get rid of their catapults?" he asked, and Toph laughed.

"Don't bother, I'll handle that. The rest of you need to keep the enemy occupied. Withdraw when it's necessary."

"That sounds harder than you might think it is." Jianren warned her, and she shook her head.

"We'll take one of the shafts further back down the wall." she explained, "Just be ready to run." she warned them, and with that, everyone ran off to go fight some of the defenders.

Toph pulled up some walls around herself, and closed them over her head, to keep herself safe while she dealt with the artillery pieces they had on the walls. There were a few things to deal with: the catapults themselves, which were made of metal and wood, but she could break them with her earthbending, and some stores that kept the oil and projectiles they would use with them. The munitions store was nearby, hidden within the walls, underneath the catapults, so they could draw the projectiles out with some kind of lever before placing them in the bucket. Toph didn't even need to destroy the projectiles, instead reaching a hand forward to carve a hole in the storage hold, and dipped it down so that they all poured right out of the walls. She laughed at their screams of confusion, which were soon followed by the sounds of the fighting beginning outside.

She was interrupted by one of the downed soldiers speaking up, "There's only one of them in here!" he declared, "Get her!" he ordered the others, who had been struggling to get back up after their sudden thrashing.

Toph let out a sigh, frustrated to be distracted from her task, and threw her walls away, allowing the enemy to strike at her, at the expense of them being battered by the fragments of stone. The walls were made of a very solid kind of stone, meaning that everything she bent was immediately dense, hard, and brittle, making the shards more like tiny blades than the pebbles or dirt that would usually result when she broke apart her earthen defences.

They let out cries and grunts from the battering and cuts they received, before Toph stomped her right foot down; it caused a pillar to shoot out in front of each soldier that had gotten back to their feet, before blasting them off of their feet, some of them being thrown into the walls of the room. She then picked up the fragments she had hit them with earlier, and shot them around her in a circle, forming a spinning shield of earth; she couldn't actually see the fragments once they were off the ground, but as she was consciously bending them, it was effectively the same kind of strategy, even if didn't work the same way. Each fragment got smaller as it struck the armour of a soldier, before it became dust.

"Now, do we have any more volunteers?" she asked them, and the soldiers who were still standing stumbled back and made a break for the closest doors, not wanting to even try to form some kind of counterattack.

Perhaps they intended to reorganise and attack her, but she knew that would take them too long. By the time they could beat her, if that was possible, she would have already utterly destroyed their offensive capabilities. The catapults were the real danger, not the men on the walls. Toph paced away, not wanting to remain in the room if it meant endangering herself again, and made a straight path towards the catapults, ripping walls open where necessary.

The soldiers she encountered along the way were terrified, and scampered away instead of trying to stand against her, and when she reached the catapults, she could sense that her comrades had already gotten to the task, one of them having been partially crushed by a party of earthbenders. She whistled to get their attention, before raising her hands, preparing herself to do what she had said she would. The earthbenders got out of her way, and then, she proceeded to use her earthbending to throw one of the catapults onto another, and then repeated the process again, crushing each with the other, one by one. When she was done with that, she made sure they got the message and bent up a slope, causing the remaining debris to slide straight off of the walls, down towards the ground below.

"Toph!" she heard Jianren's voice, and she turned around, noticing that he had gotten to a higher point, where he could look over to the other side of the walls, towards the city proper.

"What is it?" she asked out, and his tone alone was telling.

"There's some vehicle moving along a bridge, from the city towards this fortification." he explained, "Or... multiple of them."

She could sense the vehicles moving along the bridge, one after the other; they were moving quite fast, telling her they wouldn't have much time to prepare themselves, but that was what she had expected. Ba Sing Se's massive infrastructure network was the means by which the defenders could protect every part of the walls, moving men and resources around where needed. That was why they weren't going to fruitlessly attack the wall with the intent to hold it, but instead were just there to play a role; terrorise the enemy, and keep their eyes all on them. The airship was already doing its own part, but unlike them, that craft could actually make a real dent in their forces, only limited by a lack of munitions.

"We've really got their attention now." she realised with a laugh, clapping her hands together, "Let's hope the airship takes note. I'm sure Azula would be happy if we end up destroying some elite division of the Dai Li here."

She turned her attention to the other earthbenders, and gestured towards the fortress, "Get back inside, we'll need to hold them off." she directed them; they followed her order, and made her way after her as she returned to the shaft by which they had entered the place.

The firebenders and non-bending soldiers had apparently scattered away, and she couldn't see anyone except a few unconscious soldiers who were still slumped over on the ground. Facing towards the inside of the walls, she noted a doorway, behind which was a staircase that led down to the bridge that the enemy was using to transport their men. The craft they were riding upon, which reminded her somewhat of the postal system they used in Old Omashu, was slowing down, coming towards a halt at the end of the bridge. She could sense that a few of the soldiers had retreated to that spot, where they presumably would reorganise and prepare a counterattack. She thought to try and attack them before they even got up the stairs, but decided against that; they were probably mostly earthbenders.

She waited for them to get out of the craft, and then, she reached her hands out, "We're keeping them here." she decided, before ripping a section of the bridge apart, taking out a single support, and the arches that it held up; she could hear confused shouts down below, but that didn't stop them from marching up the stairs.

Everyone was readying themselves by the doors, and Jet stepped over to her, his heartbeat telling her that he was concerned, "That sounds like a lot of people, should we get out of here?" he asked, and she scrunched her lips.

"It's going to take a while for everyone to get through. We can't let them chase us out yet... if they see our friends... then they'll know exactly what we're doing." she explained her rationale, and Jianren raised a hand.

"Ready!" he called on the others, and Toph followed by pulling up a wall to defend herself and the non-benders.

"You get them from behind." Toph told Jet, using her left hand to open up a hole in the wall, leading into the section where the staircase was located, "Got it?" she asked, turning her head to emphasise her directions; she couldn't see him, but he could see her.

"Y-yeah, got it." he nodded, "Alright, stay quiet." he told his fellow Freedom Fighters, stepping over to the hole in the wall she had dug, putting their backs up against the wall to keep themselves steady and out of sight once the enemy breached the doorway.

There were a few moments of calm, Toph only focusing on her breathing as she sensed all the feet climbing the stairs; she could sense their outfits only vaguely, but she could make out something of importance. The fighters were mostly dressed as soldiers, though she couldn't tell if they were conscripts or professional fighters; that was less interesting than who was leading them, a trio of Dai Li agents.

"If you surrender, we will treat you with mercy!" she heard somebody call out from behind the doors, "You can see that we are willing to cooperate with our enemies... and you are not the Fire Nation." he tried to persuade them, though the words did nothing for her.

"And you'll scramble our minds!" Ran retorted, "We know who you are!" he shouted at him, "We choose death, you fucking monkeys!"

"Oh... damn." Toph grimaced, knowing that he was just trying to prod them into attacking, but thought that insulting them that badly might backfire.

"For the people!" Jianren shouted out, and the doors swung open; the agents rushed forward, and shot out their stone gloves, trying to restrain them.

She couldn't sense them, but knew their trajectories, weaving out of the way of a pair that were aimed at her; she then shot the wall she had bent from the ground at them. The agents shattered the walls, before they reached their hands out, shooting something out of their robes. She shot out a pillar, hoping to intercept it, and she heard the sound of metal clanging.

"What the-" she heard one of the fighters shout out, before making a gurgling, gasping noise; that could never be good.

"Cai!" another exclaimed that fighter's name, and pillars were shot out, one of them successfully pulling Cai free of whatever had grabbed him; he fell down onto his back, and Toph grimaced, realising that they might not have been prepared for the fight as she would have hoped.

She threw up as many pillars as she could, trying to incapacitate the other fighters before they could make it through the doorway. She could hear some more grunts and shouts as Jet and his friends leapt down through the hole she had carved, providing a vital distraction while she and the other earthbenders took on the Dai Li. Toph did not waste any time, and pulled up a wall, cutting off most of the soldiers from the Dai Li agents. Even if they could bend it open, the lack of visuals would confuse them and force them to focus on the Freedom Fighters.

Then, she pulled up some earth to use as armour, allowing herself to rush forward, beating down on the soldiers as they tried to defend themselves, while the agents stood back, letting them take the brunt of their attacks. Boulders were thrown into them, breaking their stances, before most of them were restrained or knocked unconscious. They might have been capable earthbenders, but they had none of the combat experience they all did.

When there were no more soldiers between her and the Dai Li agents, she threw up some walls to divide each of them from their comrades, allowing her to target a single agent. If she was going to fight them, she wouldn't miss the opportunity to gather some intel on their operations. The agent in front of her was fast, throwing a gauntlet at her to try and grab her head, but she was able to block it with a pillar, before dropping it to get the gauntlet out of the way. She was grabbed on the leg by a chain, which had a pair of hooks at the end, forcing to remain still.

She knew he was going to try and pull her off her feet, so Toph preempted his move. She grit her teeth, stepping forward and shooting a pillar into an agent's back, throwing him forward before she ripped the stone gauntlets from the ground. She launched them at his throat, and gripped his neck and shoulders tightly; the other agents were far too distracted to help him as she dragged his body toward her.

"Wh-who the-" he gasped out, gasping out for air as his body twitched.

"Who's in charge? Is it that Long Feng guy? Or is he dead?" she asked him what she thought were rather simple questions.

"Long-" he gasped out, and she forced him down, giving him a chance to speak as she loosened the grip on his throat, "Long Feng is- you will never find him." he warned her, and she rolled her eyes, pulling him from the ground.

"I know where you hide, idiot." she warned him, "So, you still answered my question." she pointed out that he had made Long Feng's presence, and relevance, known; Azula did not know what had happened to him, but assumed that he might have escaped imprisonment in the chaos following her defeat.

"The Council will find you... wherever you hide." he warned her, and Toph sighed, before throwing his body over her head with her earthbending, landing him on the panel that covered the shaft; he must have realised what was going on, and screamed out in terror, "Brothers!" he called out to the other agents.

"Thank you for your cooperation." she farewelled him with a smirk.

She broke the chain that he had tied to her foot before shattering the panel, causing him to fall through. She could sense him frantically earthbending, ripping out parts of the walls of the shaft to try and land safely, but all she sensed was a few hard thumps before he came to a stop some way down.

"Good luck getting back up, idiot." she mocked her opponent, before she used the walls she pulled up to either side of the agents into them, knocking them unconscious before they could further injure her comrades; then, Toph pulled down the walls she made between them and the staircase.

She could see that the Freedom Fighters were still fighting the earthbending soldiers, but they were not winning. She ended that fight quickly by shooting out pillars in quick succession to knock all the earthbenders off their feet. She gestured for the Freedom Fighters to hurry along, and though they were hurt, they did so, Pipsqueak carrying a battered Smellerbee over his shoulder.

"So, how did that chi-blocking training go?" she asked the clearly exhausted fighter, who looked away with embarrassment.

"Come on." Jianren addressed them all, "We need to get a move on before these men get back up."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Jet reassured him, "Down there?" he gestured to the shaft, making Toph snicker.

"No, not that way." she shook her head, before she sensed that the agent down the shaft had regained his footing and was quickly scaling up back to the top.

But he could do so, Toph shot out a pillar, striking him up out of the shaft and into a wall; as he slid down to the floor, he let out a long, pained groan, and then slumped over.

"What the!" The Duke exclaimed, "How- where-" he began, trying to comprehend what she had just done.

"I'll explain later." she reassured him, before pointing the way they had come, that being down the walls, towards the entrance of their tunnel, "That way!" she told them.

The earthbenders were already moving outside as she was speaking with Jet and his friends, and nobody stood around on ceremony; everyone began to run, making their way out of the fortress, and then along the open length of the wall. She wouldn't have felt so concerned usually, but she could hear shouts behind them, and before they had even gotten halfway back to the tunnel, boulders started to get lopped down the length of the wall. She began to return the favour, throwing boulders that she caught, and pulling some large bricks out of the battlements and tossing them at the enemy.

When they reached the shaft they needed to take down to the base of the walls, she pulled up parts of the battlements and the wall itself into defences to surround them, not wanting to have to worry about boulders falling into the shaft itself.

"Go!" she shouted at the other earthbenders who broke the holds on the stone panel, causing them to begin a freefall.

The screams from the Freedom Fighters were pretty funny in her opinion, but their fall slowed as they drew closer to the bottom, Toph and the other earthbenders slowly strengthening their grips on the panel, forcing it to come to a complete halt at the base of the shaft. Once it stopped, they all climbed off of it, and ran for the tunnel they had used to enter the walls. She was relieved they had left it open, instead of forcing Toph to redo the task of sliding each panel out of its hole so they could exit.

When they were back outside, everyone started running even faster, and Toph pulled some of the panels shut behind her, in case somebody was crazy enough to follow them down the shaft. However, she could sense that the enemy forces were assembled at the battlements above them, and were pulling out pieces of earth from the walls, tossing them down in successive volleys, each landing further away from the walls than the last one.

She slowed her pace as they got closer to the entrance, knowing that she needed to keep the enemy's attention occupied, "Go!" she told the others, and some of them were a little hesitant to leave her, but she raised a hand up, trying to make her intent clear, "I'll meet you down there!" she reassured them.

"They won't be watching you for long." Jianren warned her, and pointed over to what must have been the western horizon, "The airship is already moving towards them."

"Hah. Well, they wanted a fight... there's a real fight." she acknowledged with a grin, before raising her hands up, waving at the line of enemy soldiers, "Hit me!" she prodded them with as loud a shout as she could muster, before she pulled up walls to protect herself.

They were quickly broken apart by boulders, forcing her to raise up new ones after each volley. However, their attention remained intently on her, while the rest of her little expeditionary force had gone through the entrance to the tunnel and closed it behind themselves. She then began to return the attacks in kind, throwing up the remains of the boulders as forcefully as she could, sensing them colliding with the walls and damaging them slightly. However, she realised that even if the damage was minor on the walls as a whole, they posed a serious threat as parts of the wall gave way from her successive strikes, forcing the enemy to step back to save themselves from falling or being struck by debris.

Toph grinned, knowing her plan was working, and sensed the fortress she had been in before shaking and breaking apart due to explosions, presumably from the airship, "Looks like my work is done." she acknowledged with a smirk, before readying herself for the last barrage of boulders.

A few more were tossed down at her, and Toph timed it so that just before they were to strike her, she pulled herself into the ground beneath herself; plunged underground, in a hole not much bigger than herself, it wasn't very comfortable, but she had no intention of staying there. Sensing beneath herself, she felt the roof of the tunnel they had dug earlier, and caved it open, allowing the dirt beneath her to fall through. She dropped down right into the tunnel, and she heard somebody shout out in fear.

She could sense everyone standing nearby, seeming utterly perplexed by her arrival; Jet stepped forward, and gestured to her, "Uh, you're covered in dirt."

"Yeah..." she agreed with the observation, dusting herself off before she sensed the explosions hitting the walls above.

"But they're covered in flames. I prefer the dirt."