Chapter Forty Eight

The Watcher on the Wall

Hot. Dry. Dry and hot. Dusty. That was Zuko's opinion of the Si Wong Desert. He was rather put out over not being allowed entry to the library, but there was nothing to be done. He wasn't about to fight a giant bird spirit to read some books, that was just… not a wise move. All the same, he was disappointed.

"... it's sand," Toph said.

"No. Seventeen." Zuko responded.

Toph glared in his general direction. She scrunched her eyebrows up and said, "Rice?" drawing out the word.

"Yes."

Toph cheered and threw her arms up, accidentally bitch slapping Zuko as she did.

"Agh!" Zuko clutched at his left eye, the one he never seemed to open fully. "Why did you do that?!"

"Oh, sorry," Toph apologized sheepishly, "It's hard to see, the sand makes everything fuzzy, the way that it shifts around so much I hate it."

Appa groaned, seemingly offended by her comments. "Not that there's anything wrong with fuzzy," Toph added, "I'm just not used to being so…blind."

Zuko let his anger melt away at her words, though he still held to his ruined eye. Toph had taken him by surprise, and he hadn't taken the usual care to guard his scar. He was embarrassed by his reaction, but the old burn pained him even when it wasn't being touched. A light touch was almost unbearable, and getting punched by an earthbender, even a tiny one, was agony. He could use his firebending to siphon the heat away, and so only his hands were capable of soothing the melted skin.

"It's fine." Zuko sat back down, this time placing Toph on his right side. "It's your turn."

"Alright, I've got it."

"Is it ali-" Appa groaned louder, this time staring out into the distance. Zuko stood up, his senses alert. He stared out into the distance, and could barely see anything.

"I don't…" He looked at Toph, "Can you make out anything?"

Suddenly, without warning, Toph punched him in the stomach with a pillar of sand, sending him flying.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to! I thought you were further back, I was trying to boost you higher for a better look!" Toph ran over to Zuko and tried to help him up. Eventually, Zuko regained his feet and glared at her, sand covering his entire body, clinging to his sweat.

"Toph." He took a deep breath, "Maybe you should just stand at the tower."

Toph looked a little hurt but then turned towards the library, and Zuko noted in annoyance that she could find that with no issue. He looked back toward the horizon and saw six… shapes coming towards them and moving fast. Their shadows cast far across the desert sands, as if wraiths heralding the coming night, marring the beauty of the setting sun. The shadows rose and fell, dipping between the dunes as might sharks in a stormy sea.

"Something's coming!" Zuko warned Toph, "It looks like some kind of ship, blowing across the desert."

"One?"

"Six."

"Fight?"

"Maybe."

"Cool."

Zuko rolled his eyes. Toph was normally a force of nature, but with all the sand she would likely be a hindrance. Zuko hoped it wouldn't come to it, but he knew that he could win. Unless it was Azula and his father, or uncle. He doubted that. Ozai wouldn't deign to take the field, and Iroh would never turn on him. Unless he had been brainwashed.

Zuko watches as the shapes grow closer, coming to find that they were indeed ships. As they came within range, they threw ropes with weights attached at the end. Zuko was confused, until the ropes went over and around Appa, tying him down. Zuko growled and shot thin bursts of flame at the ropes, freeing the beast. Once free, Appa roared at the attackers, grabbing a rope in his mouth and tugging the man who had thrown it from the vessel.

During the few moments Zuko had been distracted, the vessels surrounded them, leaving them with no escape.

"I told," A younger man pointed at an older one, "A sky bison, a real sky bison!"

"So you were right, big deal."

"It is actually, we'll make a killing selling him."

"You won't be selling anyone," Zuko said, taking a firebending stance.

"Okay, buddy." A third man said and pushed out his fist. A stream of sand rushed at Zuko, who lept over it. Toph, upon hearing the commotion and dialogue, began fighting. Unfortunately, she didn't come close to hitting anything. The sandbender, bandits, and the general group of uncouth brigands, elected to ignore her.

Zuko lashed out with a blast of fire, spooking the sandbenders and winning himself a moment to think. He couldn't fight all of the men, at least thirty of them, and protect Appa at the same time. He needed to get the bison out of harm's way.

"Yip yip.!" He shouted, and Appa took off and circled around the top of the tower. Zuko gave a self-satisfied smile. He felt that was really a rather clever idea, and was quite pleased with himself. He thought Sokka would have done the same thing.

"If you value your lives, you will leave!" He shouted, igniting the fire in both hands as the last vestiges of the day's light faded over the horizon, "I am Zuko! Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai! A firebender of the highest order, long descended from Agni himself!"

"You?!" The leader, the man who had ignored the younger one, mocked, "You are the rebel son? He who would by force steal the Dragon Throne? The banished Prince turned warlord?"

"Yes."

"Well, what do you think, boys? Is he a liar or a fool?"

"He looks like the poster."

"That he does… Perhaps we should sell him to Zhao, the doofus with sideburns?"

"Collect the bounty, and then live like kings? Why, that's an excellent idea."

Without warning, the men attacked as one, blasting Zuko off his feet. He flipped in the air and rolled, coming to a standing position. Zuko took a breath and as quick as thinking, a line of fire traced from his eye. The concentrated beam split the night and shed the darkness. It destroyed one of the sand-ships and shook the earth.

Sokka stepped onto the window sill, looking down at the empty space. The dessert night was cool and dry. He turned his gaze below and in the complete dark, he saw Toph, fighting… empty air. Around the tower were four smoking husks of some kind of sled. The rustle of wind threw the distant sound of her voice up to him. A base groan alerted him, and he found Appa circling above the tower.

"Appa," he said, his voice carried by the shadow though he spoke softly, "Come here."

He stepped lightly onto the bison's back and in seconds he found himself beside Toph, who was still valiantly fighting the ghosts of her enemies.

"What happened?" He said and lightly spun to the side to avoid the column of sand she sent his way.

"Toph, it's me. Sokka."

"I know that!" the earthbender grunted. "Don't ask stupid questions! We were attacked. Sand benders, they were after Appa."

"Where's Zuko?"

"They took him when they couldn't get to Appa. They recognized him and said they were going to give him to somebody named Zhao."

Sokka looked at her, and saying nothing he climbed again on the bison. With a brief effort of will, he pulled fast The Mantle of Koh's power and searched the horizon.

It was a dark and wind-swept night as Azula, her friends, and the Kyoshi Warriors left their inn. They rode through the empty streets in a comfortable silence. They had hours left before dawn, and the amber light of the lanterns illuminated the road before them. Azula rode at the head of the procession, with Suki on her left. Mai and Ty Lee rode behind them and were followed by the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors. Azula thought it odd, as she found herself enjoying the quiet windy Earth Kingdom morning, as the blue-tinged light that heralded the coming of dawn began to reveal their surroundings.

They had left the village, and Azula basked in the peace and tranquility of the new day, feeling Agni's warmth approaching from beyond the horizon. And then, as a matter of dignity, Ty Lee ruined it by being herself.

"Did we really have to leave so early? We've been riding for hours!"

"We would have ridden the same amount of time regardless of when we left. And more of it would've been spent in the heat. On top of that, the earlier we get to Ba Sing Se the fewer people will be in line before us." Mai said, rolling her eyes.

Azula looked over her shoulder at Mai, a touch surprised. Mai had always been a rather avid complainer, so her response had been unanticipated.

"But you're right, the birds stink, it's cold, and I'm tired. There are countless reasons for us to have left when we did and I care for none of them." Mai sighed.

Well, Azula thought, that made more sense.

"Oh, quit complaining." Sara said, "You're big girls, you'll be okay."

Ty Lee and Mai looked at each other and crossed their arms. In doing so, they tugged on their reigns and their mounts veered off the road and towards the fences on either side. The girls quickly righted their ostritch-horses, but not before a chorus of laughter erupted through the group. Azula herself had to crack a smile.

From that point on, the companionable silence was no more. The road was filled with the sound of banter and laughter as the girls talked among themselves.

"How much farther until we reach the city?" Azula asked.

"I've never been there." Suki answered, "But based on the landmarks on the map we should be there just after dawn."

Azula nodded. "So we'll be parting ways soon."

"Not necessarily." Suki said slowly, "You could stick with us."

"What do you mean?"

"You could join our group, and become a Kyoshi Warrior. All three of you." Suki offered.

Azula was silent, thinking over the possibilities, and how that might further the Fire Nation's cause. She could get inside information on the city's defenses, infrastructure, watch schedules, and entry points. They might even gain access to the Earth King himself.

"I…" Azula paused, for a moment. She had been about to accept, to say she would join them. But then something in her chest felt… off. That by doing so, accepting her offer, Azula would be doing something... Foul. "I'll have to discuss it with my friends."

"Mai, Ty Lee," Azula said crisply, slowing Sugar Foot and letting the Kyoshi Warriors pass them. Once the three had fallen a dozen feet behind the group, Azula said: "Suki has asked us to join the Kyoshi Warriors."

"Really?" Ty Lee grinned broadly, but her smile fell as she thought about what that meant.

"What are we going to do then?" Mai asked.

"Accept of course," Azula said. "We've gained their trust, certainly, and now we can use that to bring down the Earth Kingdom once and for all." Azula tried to quash the budding flower of doubt in her mind and speak with her old conviction. Ty Lee nodded in assent, and Mai met her eyes for just an instant too long before doing the same.

"I've received a message from Zhao," Azula said. "We have a contact set up in Ba Sing Se."

South. The sandbenders had turned south. Sokka could smell it in the wind. Fire, sweat, burned cloth. Anger. Was that Zuko, he idly wondered, or the sandbenders? He supposed it didn't matter, as one would lead him to the other.

Appa sailed through the sky, Sokka directing him as the need arose. He pondered what to do when he met the Earth King. Should he tell Zuko of the secret he had found? Of the eclipse? Perhaps he should keep it from him. No, nothing good would come of that. Better to have empty and clean air between them.

In the void, he saw it with perfect clarity. What must be done? Lives would be lost, but war is war, and the sooner it ends the less would suffer for it. He thought it was odd, the things he was willing to do now. Not so long ago, taking a life would have shattered him. Now, void or no, he found it was not so large a thing as it once had been. Such a little thing.

Well, for others. They would be brought into the afterlife. Some would be born again. Not him, though. The thought had once bothered him, devastated him, but now it was just a fact. As if it were nothing more than a stone by the roadside, or a tree in the forest. Was that void? Or was it the Face Stealer? Was the great emptiness what made him so indifferent? Or the rush of power that came with the Mantle? Sokka decided that it didn't really matter. When joined, the two were a thought he found hard to resist. When he resided as himself, weak and filled with distraction and worry, hope and love, grief, and misery, he found often the call of void and shadow whispering in his ear. He couldn't remember why he denied it.

Sokka perked up as a light appeared on the horizon, and he urged Appa to fly as the winter winds. In minutes, he was above them. It was a dramatic scene.

Zuko, son of Ursa and Firelord Ozai, heir to the Dragon Throne stood panting, swords burning in the night. Surrounded on all sides by those who would sell them to his father. Sokka drew his Regret and leapt from the saddle, the Moonlight Sword leaving a tail through the air like a thunderbolt.

He landed in silence and was greeted by fear, the sour smell wafting towards him as he stood beside Zuko. The scarred man did not react and took Sokka's arrival in stride. They met each other's eyes.

"The others?" Zuko asked, shifting to stand at Sokka's back, "Are they coming?"

"Only me," Sokka answered, "Waiting was pointless. They do not have the heart for what we must do."

Zuko stared at Sokka, and the two of them ignored the shouting of their foes. Sokka cocked his head at Zuko and spoke, "Do you doubt it?"

"I- Yes!" Zuko said, "We don't-"

"I can see into your heart, Zuko. And into theirs, they're not good people. The rot has settled in them so deeply that it is all that is left, there is no hope of salvation in this life. They are not human anymore."

Zuko looked away from the First Son, and wondered what had become of the man he had met in the South Pole a few months earlier. What kind of a Spirit was Koh, that he could have wrought such a change? He had been quick to joke, even in battle when they had met as enemies, and now… Was it just the loss of Yue that had changed him? Uncle had said that such loss could transform a soul in unpredictable ways. But this? Zuko had killed in battle, he was no stranger to war. But the lack of mercy, the absence of compassion was frightening. How could these men not be human?

"They are to me." He said, even as the battle commenced.

Azula rode Sugar Foot, coming to the crest of a large hill. She had accepted Suki's offer and joined their team. For now. She idly wondered if there could be some use for them in the new order, once the Fire Nation conquered the Earth Kingdom. Azula mused that the superior agility of the Kyoshi warriors would be advantageous when they returned to the Northern Water Tribe. A night raid on the spirit oasis would mean victory in one fell swoop.

Azula came to the top of the hill, and the sight of Ba Sing Se nearly took her breath away. It filled nearly the entire horizon, from far in the north to far in the south was nothing but the wall. It wound, lazy, massive. Encompassing a space so vast that it was hard to conceive of the scale. The guards that stood atop it seemed like ants on a paving stone.

Azula pushed her awe aside and continued down the road, listening to the others chit-chat idly as they drew nearer to the city. As they traveled, she noticed one figure on the wall did not seem to move, nor look away as they drew nearer. Other men would come to his side from time to time, but all that Azula could tell from that distance was they wore robes and broad hats.

Eventually, Azula had had enough of feeling watched. She took out a spyglass from her saddlebag and trained it on the figure. As she did so, a shaft of morning light reflected off the lens. By the time she had gotten the spyglass to her eye, the watcher had turned away. As the man walked away, his long braid swinging back and forth with every step, a pair of uniformed men fell in step behind him. A third turned and fixed his gaze on her before falling into formation.

Azula lowered her spyglass and narrowed her eyes. Dark green robes with gold trim, and broad conical hats. Were they looking at her? Or just in her direction? They were too far away to be able to see anything but an outline without a spyglass of their own, but even still, she wondered: Who was the watcher on the wall?

Dawn broke in the east, as it was prone to do. Aang had been searching through the night and had no luck. He sat beside the library tower with Toph and Katara.

"What was the point of rationing and saving so much water if we don't have it with us?" Toph asked.

Nobody answered.

"How long should we wait?"

Aang glanced towards Katara as she spoke.

"They'll come back." The Avatar said with confidence he didn't feel, "Sokka's got his creepy spirit thing, and Zuko can blow stuff up with his eye. They're fine."

"He couldn't have waited for half an hour? Sokka knows he's the only one who can find people like that. In the dark and without a trail."

"I doubt he thought it was a good idea to wait for us. We could've been gone for another day for as far as he knew." Aang soothed.

"I know." Katara said, "But now we've just got to sit here and wonder if they're… if he's…"

"Sokka is pretty much unkillable, as far as I am concerned." Aang said, "He heals fast, and he doesn't bleed like the rest of us."

"What about Zuko?" Toph asked quietly, her voice small and unsteady. Aang snorted.

"Zuko's too angry to die. He is resourceful, nobody can hold him for long."

"What about Sokka? Do you think they took him prisoner?" Katara asked.

"Not unless his girlfriend was leading them."

"Sokka has a girlfriend?" Toph asked, and it made Aang and Katara laugh.

"It's a long story, but basically yes."

"...okay."

"Ignore them, Toph." Sokka said, "I do not have a girlfriend, they speak in lies and half-truths."

"Sokka! You're back!" Katara ran to him. "Where's Zuko and Appa?"

The bison roared and landed seconds after she asked. "Did you jump? That's so dangerous!"

"I told you he's indestructible."

"You said unkillable."

"It doesn't matter." Sokka said, "It's time to go."

"Where?" Toph asked, "And where's Zuko?"

"I'm on the bison," Zuko said, his eyes distant and his demeanor stoic.

"What happened?" Toph asked.

Zuko glanced at Sokka and spoke softly. "It doesn't matter."

"Then why so sulky? We're not gonna find a bunch of bodies in the desert are we?"

"There were no bodies."

Author's Note.

Well, I suppose more time has passed than I realized. The days of my life seem to have gotten away from me, and I know I should take more attention to invest time in my hobbies.

It's been a rollercoaster to be sure, and that is all that needs saying on the matter.

We're nearing the conclusion of part two. There will be pain, consider yourself warned.

Also; I've been listening to the farseer trilogy, so pardon the melodrama

Charlemagne.

8/5/2024