Wandering Firebender
Eighty Five: Offensive
"My lord, Elio has requested to see you." A guard reported to Fire Lord Zuko, kneeling before his throne out of respect.
"Let him in." Zuko nodded. The guard opened the door for Elio. He approached the throne and knelt down before it like the guard had.
"Good morning, my lord." Elio greeted him.
"Good morning, Elio. I had just sent for you, but it seems you came here first. What do you want to speak to me about?" Zuko asked curiously.
"I wanted to ask about how Azula is doing. Has there been any updates on her treatment?" He questioned. Zuko's eyebrows furrowed and he turned his head strangely at this question.
"What makes you so concerned?" He asked now.
"Azula and I did a lot of talking on the way back here. That is why you sent me, isn't it? To see how I could get through to her?" Elio reminded him.
"Yes...I haven't heard anything. I didn't think that you would want updates after bringing her back." Zuko expressed.
"More than that, I think that it would be best for her condition that I try to help out with her treatment where I can." Elio stated.
"And how do you expect to do that?" Zuko questioned.
"Well, I made some progress by speaking to her. I'm sure there's something I can do to get her to open up, make her less resistant." Elio suggested. However, Zuko shook his head at this.
"I don't think that's a good idea. You did well on this mission and I'm grateful that you brought my sister back home, but now I need you to refocus. I have other missions for you to attend to now." Zuko said.
"Alright...it doesn't have to be all the time either. I'm just wondering if there is a way I can do both." Elio tried to reason with him.
"Elio...I know that you mean well, but you don't know my sister the way I do. If I let you keep speaking to her the way you're asking, you'll eventually find out the hard way that Azula always lies." Zuko said, shaking his head.
"Not to me." Elio responded defensively.
A strange silence swept over the room filled only by the gentle flickering of the fire. Elio swallowed nervously, realizing that he had spoken out of turn. He wanted to apologize, but he also didn't want to appear like he was backtracking, so he lowered his head and awaited a response.
"Elio, put my sister out of your mind for right now. I don't know what she's told you, but I don't like seeing you like this. I have an assignment that I need you on today." Zuko said, saying his piece before changing the subject.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. What do you need me to do?" Elio asked.
"I need you and your team over at Fire Foundation City today. I've ordered that the statue of my father be taken down this afternoon. I want you to keep an eye on the area, make sure things go smoothly and nothing breaks out." Zuko explained.
"Do you expect that there would be pushback?" Elio asked curiously.
"I do. Unfortunately, there are those who still sympathize with my father and the old regime. I'm hoping that you'll only have to deal with some stray hecklers, but I want to play it safe – so you and your team will be there for extra security." Zuko continued.
"I see. I understand. I'll round up my team right now and fill them in." Elio said, standing up now.
"Be careful, Elio. And please...think about what I said. If you need to talk about it more, let me know. My door is open for you." Zuko offered.
"I will...keep that in mind." Elio responded slowly before exiting the throne room...
So Elio went out to retrieve the core members of his team and inform them personally of their mission today. Then he changed into his uniform and gathered his things. Soon he and his crew were en route to Fire Foundation City.
Elio kept to himself for the duration of the short trip, taking time to consider what the Fire Lord had told him. Cindra was especially concerned about how Elio was acting – he hadn't been right since the Azula mission. Alger could only infer what he might be feeling, but he couldn't share this with the others either.
Overall, the atmosphere was very tense and uncertain when Elio's ship landed.
"Is this really still the Fire Nation?" Alger asked as Elio led them through the streets of Fire Foundation City. People stopped to stare at Elio and his men as they passed by. Their expressions were suspicious but unreadable.
"Of course it is. Why do you ask that?" Elio glanced back at him with a confused expression.
"It just feels so...different from everything else we've seen." Alger observed.
"Seems like a meaner place. Reminds me of the outer rings of Ba Sing Se." Sri chimed in, attempting to add some clarity to Alger's comments.
"Yeah, I see what you mean. I'm not the biggest fan of this place either." Elio agreed.
"Where is this statue that we need to take down?" Cindra asked, looking around warily – she was hoping that they would be able to get in and out of the city quickly.
"It's in the center of town. Fire Lord Zuko has already designated a crew to handle taking the statue down. We're just here to keep the area secure, make sure no one tries to cause any trouble." Elio explained.
"What's the statue look like?" Sri asked.
"It's that giant Fire Lord Ozai statue up there." Elio pointed ahead to it as they neared the center of the city.
"Oh..." Sri swallowed when she saw it.
There in the very center of Fire Foundation city was the statue of Ozai: a gigantic statue that towered over anyone walking past it. It depicted a muscular Ozai standing straight with his head towards the sky, shooting fire out of his fists and his mouth.
It was intimidating, almost monstrous in form – the very embodiment of all the evils associated with Fire Nation. Alger shook his head when he saw it.
"I'd be happy to take that down for you." Alger offered, speaking in a light tone but also voicing a legitimate desire.
"No, Zuko already has a crew ready," Elio said again. "We'll let them do their work. The statue will be taken down, but it will be done in an orderly, safe, and respectful way." He stated.
"Which is more than this guy deserves." Sri commented, staring up at the statue with her arms folded.
"Touche," Elio shrugged before speaking to his men. "Alright everyone, fan out and make a perimeter around the plaza. The crew is coming now, so let's let them do their work in peace." He ordered.
Following his instructions, his men spread out to guard each entrance into the plaza. They directed any civilians within the plaza out so that the area would be clear for the crew. As their work began, Elio and his men started to get comfortable standing and watching.
As the men worked and Elio's crew watched idly, Elio rested his chin on his hand, allowing himself to drift off into thought. It was in this spot just a year ago that he met Princess Azula for the first time. Whatever there was to say about their indescribable dynamic, this is where it all began...
Elio found it worth noting that things could have been wildly different for him had he chosen another path – he could have gone with Azula that day, or he could've chosen never to run away from home at all. Maybe he could've gotten what he wanted back then, but what did he want now?
"I guess at the end of the day, I'm just glad that what I do helps people." Elio reasoned within himself.
"Hey...everything okay?" Cindra asked slowly, inching up next to Elio and looking at him with a concerned expression. Shaken out of this thoughts, Elio looked at her and tilted his head slightly.
"Hm? Oh, I'm okay, Cindra. Why do you ask?"
"You just seem...you seem like you're upset about something." She shared her observation.
"Ah. No, I'm just deep in thought is all." He said in reply.
"Oh okay. What're you...thinking about?" Cindra asked slowly. She didn't want to pry and annoy him, but she was still worried about him. Elio glanced at the base of the statue again.
"I've just been feeling weird lately...things in the Fire Nation are changing very drastically now, and while there's been a lot of pushback, I've seen people accepting the changes too. I guess more people were tired of the war than I thought." He said.
"But that's a good thing, right?" Cindra pointed out.
"It is, but it just has me thinking. You see big moments like this – the statue coming down – and now I'm realizing that we're in a crazy time right now. It's kinda giving an existential crisis." Elio admitted with a faint laugh.
"Heheh, I guess I hadn't thought of it like that – you don't really think of being a part of history while you're living in it." She commented.
"Yeah. I guess this whole thing with Princess Azula got me thinking about it a little more." Elio revealed.
"Yeah...ever since she escaped, you've seemed...unnerved. What happened between you two?" She asked.
"What happened...?" Elio asked, looking at her oddly.
"I thought that you two had just fought a bunch of times, but now I'm pretty sure there's more to it than that, right?" Cindra guessed, "I wanted to ask you about it before, but..." She trailed off, thinking back to the terrifying threats that Azula had made to her about him.
"I guess I just don't understand what it is between you two. Did she...say something to you when you both were trapped?" She asked.
"Yeah. We did a lot of talking in there. She's really messed up mentally. She was angry then she was panicking and crying. I've never...seen anyone that distraught before, and I would've never imagined I'd see her like that." Elio said, looking down at the ground with furrowed eyebrows.
"No wonder you're so concerned. Is there anything you can do?" She asked.
"Not right now. I wanted to try, but Zuko isn't letting me see her again right now." He revealed.
"Why not?"
"I guess she affected me more than I realized, because everyone seems to be worried about how I'm doing lately." Elio commented as an aside, indirectly answering her question.
"Yeah. Well, Azula's really dangerous. She likes to target people's weaknesses. You should've heard what she said to me..." Cindra sighed.
"What she said to you? When did you two talk?" Elio asked.
"When we were chasing her. She made some threats about you then." Cindra shared, choosing to leave out the other conversation they had.
"I see. She seems to like doing that." Elio said with a dry chuckle.
"So you can understand why we're all a little worried about you wanting to get so involved with her." Cindra finished her thought.
"I guess that's for the best...it just feels weird. She has such a distinct personality and yet she's always treated me different." Elio thought aloud.
"Different how?" Cindra continued to ask more questions.
"Well..." Elio hesitated, unsure of how to even begin to explain their dynamic to Cindra. Cindra could see that Elio was falling deep into thought again, but no words were coming out of his mouth.
"Elio...do you have feelings for her?" Cindra finally asked. Elio looked at her in surprise.
"Did someone say something?" Elio asked, resisting the urge to look back at Alger.
"Huh? No...is there something to be said?! Do you actually-do you actually like that psycho?" Cindra asked, speaking loudly and then lowering her voice and asking the full question.
"No! No, it's just...it's complicated." Elio answered, speaking in a whisper.
"Complicated?! How is it complicated?!" Cindra questioned him, speaking in a low but forceful whisper with widened eyes.
"It's just...we've fought a lot but we also kissed, okay?" Elio finally just came out and admitted it.
"You two...so you two did have feelings for each other back then, but now..." Cindra started putting the pieces together, assuming that this kiss between him and Azula had happened in the past. Elio swallowed nervously.
"It's kinda the other way around, I guess...the kiss happened back when those earthbenders had us trapped." Elio elaborated.
"On the mission?! Elio, are you crazy?! Why would you do that?!" Cindra wanted to chastise him right then and there, but she was keeping her voice down for his sake and giving him chance to explain himself.
"I...it just happened. I don't know how to explain it. But I'm still the one in the best position to help her. I don't see anyone else trying to." Elio shared his thoughts.
"Yeah? You don't think the doctors trying to evaluate her are? Or is their help not adequate enough for you because they're not tryna make out with her." Cindra said in a judgmental way.
"Cindra." Elio's eyebrows furrowed at this.
"Don't give me that. I can't believe you, Elio! You're always so careful! Why would you throw all that out of the window for her?! Do you have any idea how stupid that was?! She could've really hurt you! What are we supposed to do with that?!" She scolded him.
"Cindra, I didn't want to bring this up to anyone because it isn't something the rest of you have to deal with. I just...don't know what to think about it." Elio said quietly.
"Well that makes two of us." Cindra folded her arms and looked away from him with a dejected expression.
"Hey, lovebirds," Sri called as she walked over to them. "There's something going on over there." Sri pointed to the other side of the plaza. Elio looked over and saw that a crowd was gathering near one of the entrances to the plaza.
"Um...be on standby, guys, I'll take it look." Elio said, taking a moment to catch his breath and fix his uniform before hastily walking across the plaza. Three of his men were already there to keep the forming crowd at bay.
"What's going on here?" Elio asked, but his men didn't hear him.
"What're you doing to the statue? Is it being removed?" A man in the crowd asked in confusion.
"That is correct, sir, yes. Please take a step back." One of Elio's soldiers answered in response, gesturing for him to step back while taking a step forward.
"Wait, you're removing Fire Lord Ozai's statue?! Did Zuko order that?!" Another man in the crowd asked in shock.
"That statue is our landmark! It's been here for years!" Someone else in the crowd shouted right after.
"Can we get some more men over here?!" Elio called for a few more soldiers to press in.
As Elio was still speaking, suddenly a man dressed all in black jumped over the soldiers, landing behind them and rolling to his feet right in front of Elio. He wore a dark tattered cloak and a mask that was black on one side and white on the other with a line right down the middle.
This striking figure caused Elio to freeze up momentarily, his eyes widening in surprise. He barely had time to process what he was seeing before the masked figure pulled out a weapon and attacked him.
Elio felt something cut him across his right cheek. He stumbled back in surprise, grabbing his face with his other hand. He looked down and saw blood on his fingers. The masked man pulled a curved knife back into his hand by a chain that was attached to the end of the hilt.
Elio pulled his staff out, but he was again distracted by the sounds of yelling off to the side.
"For Fire Lord Ozai!"
The man in the mask threw his knife at Elio again. Elio dodged it this time and moved to the side. He spun his staff and swung it right at the man's head, but the man ducked under it and kicked Elio in the side. Elio tripped and fell on his back. He looked up and saw that a small crowd of people were pushing through and fanning out.
"Protect the statue!" One of them shouted.
Elio's eyes widened again. Out of all things to encounter resistance for, he did not expect this to be a reason. The man in the mask threw his knife at Elio's face. Elio reacted just in time to move out of the way.
Elio used his staff to catch the knife by its chain. He spun it to pull the weapon out of the man's hands before getting to his feet and dropping the staff altogether, disarming them both.
"Everyone move in! Drive these people out!" Elio ordered, gesturing for his men to come help him out.
"What's going on?" Cindra wondered aloud. She could hear a crowd yelling, but she was unable to see the confrontation from the other side of the massive statue.
"Not sure, but we should go. I think that was Elio I heard just now." Sri suggested before hurrying ahead first.
With his men focused on corralling the sudden mob, Elio for the moment was left alone to contend with this mystery man in the mask. With both of them now without their weapons, Elio balled his fists and threw a quick fire punch. The masked man ducked underneath the flames and quickly closed the distance between them.
The man threw a quick punch at Elio's chest. Elio deflected it, throwing a punch at his face. The man moved to the side, spun around, and hit Elio in the side of his stomach with a left hook. Elio doubled over in surprise.
The man pushed him back against the base of the statue, punching him in the stomach again once his back hit the foundation of the statue.
This guy was fast – abnormally fast.
"Hello, traitor." The man said in a lower voice like he was speaking just above a whisper. He threw another punch at Elio's head, which Elio ducked under. The man accidentally punched the foundation of the statue. He growled in pain and clutched his hand.
Elio was able to slip out from in front of him and kicked him away, pushing his foot into his side. The man stumbled sideways and fell into a sideways roll before getting right back to his feet in a crouched position. Elio let out a breath.
"Do I know you?" Elio asks, creating two fire sticks in his hand.
"If you did, you'd already be dead." The man responded in a cocky way, tilting his head to the side before lunging forward again.
Elio jumped back and dodged another punch, throwing a downwards fire punch at the man. The man spun to avoid it. He got to his feet and jumped off the foundation of the statue, pushing off of it and punching Elio in the face, making Elio fall to the ground again.
Sri jumped in now, approaching from behind the man. He reacted in time to avoid her first few jabs. The man turned and thew a kick at her head. Sri ducked under it. They both threw a punch at the same time, awkwardly hitting each other.
The man threw several more quick punches at Sri. She dodged one, got hit in the shoulder by another, and then finally was able to get a chi-blocking strike on the man's arm during the third punch. The man yelped and stepped back, his left arm hanging limply at his side.
"Urgh...that's a neat trick. See ya." The man in the mask turned around, scooping his weapon from the floor before rushing off.
"Hey!" Elio shouted, getting to his feet and running after him. He threw a fireball at the man, but he disappeared into the crowd and was gone before Elio could even figure out which way he had gone.
He couldn't worry about it now. He had to focus on stopping the other rebels. With Alger and Cindra now getting involved, it didn't take much to gather the rest of them. However, the rest of the day was spent incarcerating these men, so the taking down of Fire Lord Ozai's statue had to be postponed.
That night, once all this was taken care of, Elio and his men returned to their ship. Elio sighed to himself, knowing that he would have to write up an official report. More than that though, that man in the mask called him a traitor...who was he? What was his deal?
Elio had a nervous feeling that one way or another he was going to find out.
On his way back to his quarters, he noticed Cindra opening the door to her room. He quickly hurried over to her, catching her just before she closed her the door.
"Hey, Cindra! Wait up a minute." Elio said, pressing his hand on the door to stop her. Cindra looked up at him and started to glare at him.
"What is it, Elio?" She asked coldly.
"Can we talk for a minute? Please? Give me a chance to explain...?" He requested.
"You said enough, Elio. I don't want to talk right now." Cindra shook her head. She tried to close the door, but Elio kept his hand on the door.
"Cindra, please." He insisted.
"I said I don't want to talk to you, Elio! Can you stop?" She demanded. Elio sighed and removed his hand from the door now. She proceeded to slam it shut in his face.
"Cindra...I'm sorry. I'm an idiot..." Elio thought to himself...