The Chong Sheng Trilogy: War by rachelthedemon

Sundown

Disclaimer: I own not, I make naught, you sue not.

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The Chong Sheng Trilogy

PART I: War

Chapter 3: Sundown

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This had to be Azula's idea of punishing her for not crawling through slurry in hot pursuit. There was no other explanation for sending her out into a city more boring than Omashu to go chase quarry that wasn't even hers; an assignment that it didn't take a degree in engineering from Ba Sing Se University to figure out she was going to hate. The fact that she couldn't even attack the little twerp under Azula's orders didn't help.

But then, Mai knew she should have expected it. The Little Princess always had to have it her way. The biggest piece of cake, the last laugh, the best trainers...and now the Avatar. Because she was Azula, the jewel of the Fire Nation. She was The Best, and therefore deserving of nothing but The Best. In a way, it made her feel sorrier for Zuko than for herself, the way he got sent sprawling into that fountain trying to knock a piece of flaming fruit off her head before it burned her. Always the guy trying his damnedest to impress everyone, and getting nothing but drenched for his trouble.

Not to say he couldn't be an utterly deserving moron at times. But to her, that was part of his charm.

Evening had fallen rather swiftly, and she shook her head as she waded through the sea of people crowding the street, her eyes never leaving the bald tattooed target darting between them. She'd gone with Azula to escape boredom, not be thrown chest-deep in it, ordered to do all the legwork that little snot thought herself too important to bother herself with under pain of electrocution. It made her wonder how Ty Lee was even capable of being her disgustingly perky self under circumstances like these. Did she like taking orders to crawl through sewage just to see Azula smile demonically?

If so, Mai was torn between writing her off as "Most Pathetic Human Alive" and finding that level of crazed devotion mildly interesting.

The boy ahead of her turned a corner into a surprisingly empty side street, shouldering his glider and shielding his eyes from the red glare of the setting sun. She clung to the wall, attempting to move without a sound as she tailed him, yet sorely tempted to be seen on purpose just so something would happen.

That was really what bugged her most about this whole arrangement. Follow Azula. Do what Azula says. Fail. Try again. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was so horribly predictable. Her plans made no sense, and even when they did, she and Ty Lee got stuck with all the boring parts. Such as tailing the Avatar but not being able to fight him. No, that was Little Miss Hot Shot's territory.

It wasn't the first time Mai wished she'd been taken seriously at Omashu. Electrocution was interesting, at least.

He stopped, shoulders slumping in the way her father's always did when things went badly at the office. He leaned against a wall to rest, glider propped beside him like an old man's walking stick.

Lovely. Just lovely. Now she really had nothing to do until the kid decided to start moving again. She braced a hand against her forehead in frustration, trying to count to ten before she did something Azula would definitely make her regret. Oh for heaven's sake, your feet can't be more tired than mine... He didn't move, save for panting against the stone and wiping a hand across his forehead. And from the looks of things, he probably wouldn't be for a good while.

Oh no. This was it. The last straw to break the camule's back. She was not going to wait in a deserted alley for hours with nothing at all to do but admire the little brat's tattoos. Certainly not because the Princess of the Fire Nation told her to.

She readied three blades between her fingers, which were still covered by the too-long sleeves of her tunic, stepping out from the shadows with a purposeful gate. "Looking for something, little boy?"

He tensed, immediately turning to her, seeming to sense the intent in her voice as he braced his glider in front of him. "I know you, don't I?"

She smirked, pulling her hood back with a free hand. "I'd like to think so. Funny meeting you in a place like this, eh Baldy?"

He blinked in surprise before his eyes narrowed again. "You."

"Who else?" She didn't wait another second before launching the blades at him with a sweep of her arm.

He leapt to dodge them, opening his glider with a gust of wind that sent her sliding back on her heels, arm across her face to shield herself from the flying dust and rocks that went with it. She coughed as it died down enough for her to look up, only to find he'd taken off above the rooftops and headed back toward civilization, such as it was.

She cursed inwardly, chasing him down the street in shoes no human should ever be running in, able to feel the edges of cobblestones through the flimsy fabric sole. Now she really couldn't attack him unless she wanted the Dai Whatever-Their-Names-Were breathing down her neck. Lovely. Just lovely.

The irony of the situation was certainly not lost on her. She gritted her teeth, pushing past a man carrying several caged chickens in her determination not to lose sight of the boy, ignoring the sqawking in the background as the man tripped with a yelped curse and the cages cracked open. The thought of using her blades to bring down the glider did occur, but she knew better. He was an expert evader -- typical of an Airbender -- and she would likely waste all her knives before she caught up to him that way.

At least, she mused, giving chase was interesting.

* * * *

Running along the rooftops, Ty Lee decided, was far more efficient than doing so through the streets. No traffic, no puddles, no loose cobbles to stick up and trip her, and she didn't have to worry about losing sight of her quarry as they ran. The thought of travelling this way once she got back to the Fire Nation was rather enticing, except for the whole gabled roof thing that most houses in her homeland had going. Because falling off would be almost as bad as that one time Mai tried to cook baozi.

But that would have to wait until Azula captured the Avatar and everyone went home happy. Well, except for the boy, who would be turned over to her father for various war-prolonging political purposes. And Mai, because then there would be nothing to do and she'd have to go back to Omashu and be bored. Though how anyone could be bored in a city where the mail system doubled as a rollercoaster, Ty Lee would never know. Sometimes, she considered the possibility that Mai just made herself bored so she would have something to complain about.

She skipped across the tiled roofs as the Cute Water-Tribe Guy and his companions turned a corner, heading back into the busier sections of the city, teeming with nightlife. The familiar lights and smells wafting up from below did an excellent job of making her realize how very little that bowl of stew on the train had been. She'd have to get herself some dinner once she was done tracking the Avatar.

Speak of the demon...

He was there, flying just below the rooftops, toward the friends she was tailing. She stopped, perched on the flat of a large home complex, having a rather nice vantage point to watch him swoop down and land before them. They stopped, the lemur perched on the Cute Water-Tribe Guy's shoulder as their bald friend muttered frantically at them. She squinted, wondering what could have him so agitated in such a crowning jewel of a city.

The answer came careening around the bend a moment later. Ty Lee's hand shot to her mouth.

Oh God...

* * * *

There were only four hours left of his shift, and each minute seemed to run at a sloth-bear's pace. Waiting and looking and watching his back and half expecting that Water Tribe girl to come back into the shop just to harrass him. And possibly call him out in revenge. And be more believable than Jet, in which case he and his uncle would both be summarily screwed.

Ba Sing Se may have been safe from the Fire Nation. But it wasn't a terribly safe place for Firebenders, even they were traitors to their own country.

At least, he consoled himself, the girl didn't know where he lived. As soon as he was out the door for the night, he'd be safe and sound and catch the carriage back to the apartment and change and crawl into bed and oh God why couldn't it be closing already? Why couldn't time fly just this once when he needed it to?

The lack of business in the shop made it worse. Fewer distractions meant more time to think and fret and be sick to his stomach with the thought of being packed out of Ba Sing Se and having to find another place to hide. He was sick of hiding. But two against the world were bad enough odds that even he, who sucked at Pai Sho worse than a lobotomized squirrel monkey with a broken wrist, wasn't willing to take a chance on. He brought out another pot of black lychee, throwing a nervous glance to the door as the bell tinkled and very nearly dropping the tray he held.

It was rubbish, what his old childhood trainer said. Anticipation did not make the blow any easier to roll with. It only made the impact harder.

He closed his eyes a moment as he returned the teapot to the tray, carrying it to the back with shaking hands for Iroh to refill. "Uncle...she's back."

"You know what to do. You did it well enough last time."

"I know. I just thought you might like a warning in case it turns ugly."

He handed the tray off to another server, before taking a deeper breath than he knew was necessary and heading back out to her table. Time to act again like he didn't know her at all. Natural. She was a customer, he was a servant, all she had to do was order some damned tea and they could both walk away happy. No need for a scene.

She didn't even give him a chance to greet her. "Black ginger peach."

He didn't even hear himself confirm the order, or even go back and relay it to Iroh. Nor did he hear himself speak as he checked on the other handful of customers while it brewed, or go back to retrieve it once it was done. Only when he was back at her table, pouring her a cup and setting out all the extras, did his attention return.

"I'm sorry about earlier."

For the third time that evening, he came dangerously close to scalding his foot by dropping a pot full of very hot water on it. "Don't mention it."

"I had no--"

"I said don't mention it. I have work to do." Even though a good look around the nearly empty shop said otherwise, and he knew it. He supposed he got points for trying.

"Oh really? Looks like an awfully slow day to me."

He tried very hard to keep his voice low without growling. "There's work in the back to do. Unless you're planning to order something else, let me get back to my job."

She pursed her lips, glaring at him. "Green pomegranate."

He had the sudden urge to toss that pot of scalding hot water in her face, tempered only by the knowledge that she was quite capable of throwing it right back into his.

His steps nearly clicked as he stormed back to the kitchen. "Green pomegranate for the second corner."

Iroh raised a brow. "Somebody's trying awfully hard."

"Don't ask. Please."

"Of course." He handed him the small pot he'd made earlier. "Here you are."

Zuko brought it back to her, teeth gritted as he poured the cup. "Happy now?"

She took it, nodding. "I was out of line. I know I hit a nerve some place, and I had no right to say what I did."

He paused, nearly shaking at that argument, which hadn't ceased to stop replaying in his head all day as he worked. "Why do you insist on making such a pest of yourself?"

"It's called 'humility.' I made a mistake, I know I made a mistake, and I'd like to take responsibility for it."

He suddenly felt cold. Not the usual kind he'd been feeling lately, being so far from his homeland's roasting oven of a climate, but an inner cold. The kind of damp, creeping chill, like icy fingers snaking across his gut. He resisted the overwhelming urge to bite his lip and run, knowing that would only tip her off further. Instead, he simply lowered his head and his voice, fists clenched on the tray to stop his hands shaking.

"Anything else?"

She looked to the side, fingers folded in front of her lips in thought. "Chamomile."

He nodded, heading into the back again to relay the order. Iroh looked up, frowning at the expression Zuko knew he was wearing and hadn't thought to wipe before leaving her table. "May I ask now?"

"I think it's her last order."

"And why would that make you--"

"Please, Uncle," he said, "just make the tea."

"Very well."

Zuko brought it out to her once again when it was ready, setting the tray down without a sound and carefully pouring out her cup, setting it down with the previous two, neither of which had been touched yet. She picked up the first one to sip, quiet for a moment. "I'm not asking for anything. Just to be heard."

He almost didn't want to speak, not trusting what his voice would sound like with so much nervous adrenaline flooding his system. "Well...I heard you."

Heavy silence rushed in to fill the void, the one that had just been torn through his chest, never feeling so empty and conflicted and downright sick in his life. He forced himself to meet her eyes for the first time since she walked in, a contact he'd always tried to avoid when unnerved but found more calming this time despite the charge in the air.

The tinkling of the door bell made him look up with a start at the new arrival, and for the second time that day his heart jumped up into his throat and crashed back down to his gut.

Oh hell...

Even in the shabby disguise she wore -- a shen yi that virtually concealed her form beneath swirling robes that made him wonder how she didn't trip -- he knew that face anywhere. The high-bred features, blood-red lips, flashing eyes, and even at rest that haughty expression that let everyone know she knew her station; above all else. Even God, if there was one.

It took her not even two seconds to recognize him, though he supposed it was kind of hard to miss someone with half their face burned off. She smirked that wicked smirk she always did before she unleashed whatever crazy plans she'd been cooking upon her unsuspecting victim.

"Well, well, what have we here? Not quite who I was expecting to find, but I can't really complain, now can I?"

All ten shop patrons, including the Water Tribe girl, had their attention glued on her. He felt torn between letting his legs shake and rushing her out the door where it was safe to fight, not quite wanting to endanger the bystanders -- or his cover -- with such a scene. But both of those choices seemed pretty impossible at the moment, what with his legs refusing to move at all.

Fortunately, the other girl's legs could. She rose from her chair hard enough to shove it back a teetering five inches, striking her bending stance. "I can give you something to complain about if you want it bad enough."

Azula smirked wider, readying a nicely sized fireblast. "I believe we have a deal."

* * * *

"Aang! We were just about to--"

"No time, guys! We've got company!"

"What company?"

A dagger whizzed past Sokka's ear to confirm it, and he looked up in time to see an eerily familiar face rounding the corner with another blade at the ready. He groaned, starting to draw his club. "I had to ask."

He ducked another pair of blades that flew dangerously close to his neck, wincing at the rush of air as he swiped them away. Aang's staff made that unmistakeable rushing sound as he opened it, a heavy gust racing forward as he swiped it in front of him. The daggers that would've impaled his shoulders flew harmlessly aside, embedding themselves in a lantern post instead. Their assailant growled, readying another blade, but barely had the time to launch it before the ground beneath her feet heaved up, tripping her into a tumble.

Sokka smirked, raising his club to go after her. And that smirk melted into his patented "oh hell" expression as he felt a sharp poke to the shoulder. His arm fell limp, club clattering to the ground and that all too familiar dread rising in the pit of his stomach.

"Long time no see, cutie. Miss me?"

He gulped. "Yeah. Like I miss getting hit with bricks." He spun on a heel, planting a swift kick to her side that sent her tumbling.

"It's about time you showed!" her partner yelled, launching another dagger at Toph only to have it bounce off a conviently raised shield of rock.

"What in the hell were you doing?" Ty Lee shrieked, picking herself up. "You know what she--"

"Not now! We have him, let's do something that makes sense for a change!"

Ty Lee's face went visibly pale as she complied, leaping into a somersault behind Sokka, who met her with a club brandished in front of him. "You've gotten better," she remarked, working around his rather impressive one-armed parrying.

"I'd like to think so." He launched a foot at her chin, which she caught, throwing him into a flip and aiming a point attack for his side. He grimaced, feeling his hip wrench painfully as his leg fell deadweight, cheek meeting the ground with a sore grunt. Damn.

"Not nearly enough, though."

He wanted to punch that smirk off her face. With a battering ram. Though his one functioning leg would have to do as he twisted himself up to use it, catching the back of her knee with a hooked ankle and taking far too much delight in watching her sprawl with a look of panic on her face.

Of course, if the ground itself suddenly wrapped around his wrists and ankles in rock solid shackles, he supposed he would be a little bit panicky, too.

"You okay there?"

"Yeah, Toph. The ability to move would be nice, but I'll settle for being alive."

The sound of roaring windblasts got his attention, as he looked up helplessly to see Aang deflecting the other girl's mercilessly hurled daggers with the aid of his glider. Momo circled them as Toph tried to catch the girl's ankles like she'd just done to her partner, though the scary one proved to be a little more focused on her feet.

"You're still new at this, aren't you?" Aang asked between dodging some disturbingly accurate throws.

She smirked. "Some awfully big words coming from a child."

"Technically speaking," he quipped, tossing his head back to avoid getting his throat sliced open, "I'm a hundred and twelve."

"Then I hope you've lived the life you wanted. Because it's about to end very shortly."

No sooner did the words leave her mouth then the ground at her feet suddenly heaved up into a solid wall around her, towering a good three feet over her head. Her screams of surprise and frustration came muffled through the rock, and Sokka couldn't help the grin on his face.

"I doubt that," Toph growled.

"I wouldn't go quite that far, little girl." Sokka gulped, looking to where Ty Lee was supposed to be pinned to the ground, but finding her folded beside the rock restraints and putting her contorted limbs back into place. "You can see people on the ground..." She leapt into somersault, toward one of the lamp-posts. "...But you're useless when they're in the air!"

Aang twirled his staff for a huge gust as Sokka watched her swing from the post back toward them, straightening into the wind with her toes pointed, slicing through the current like a dolphin through choppy waves, her foot catching him in the forehead. He staggered back, just in time to miss a jab to his shoulder.

Sokka bit his lip, growling. Why us?

* * * *

Zuko ducked a stream of bright blue flames, nearly putting his face in the tea tray to avoid it. Azula's shouts of frustration rose above the hissing of a water stream meeting her next blast, and he had just enough sense to hold his breath until the steam dispersed. When he dared to look up again, the Water Tribe girl had pulled a handful of ice shards from the skin at her belt, hurling them under Azula's attacks.

But of course, Zuko knew his sister wouldn't stand for getting scratched in the face ny a mere peasant. A redirected fireblast took care of them nicely, singeing the girl's hair in the process.

He looked around, his stomach tying itself into a sick knot as he watched the women leap over tables and send blasts of ice and fire at each other while the shop patrons did their best to stay out of the way. His sister was likely going to end up killing someone here in her quest to get to him. And it was going to be his fault for not doing something, anything to at least defend the shop patrons. And yet... She wasn't Jet. There was no way in Heaven or Hell that he could fight her without Firebending.

Without outing himself and his uncle, and getting them both thrown out of the last refuge they possibly could've had.

The girl herself was putting up a valiant effort, backing herself into the left of the shop, within two arms' reach of six tables along the wall. He watched as she swept a graceful arm down the length of the aisle, water following the motion. Right out the soupts of the teapots, still steaming. Her hands did that crazy twisting thing that he remembered so well from the Oasis at the Northern Siege, flinging the stream of scalding hot water directly for Azula's face with all the speed and force of lightning itself.

He never thought that shrill scream would be music to the ears someday.

And yet, it was short-lived as Azula recovered from the burn, face a reddened mask of fury. Her arms circled in that move he knew all too well. The move he'd watched Iroh demonstrate on that cliff, bandaged shoulder be damned, while the Water Tribe girl gathered herself an ice shield. One which he knew would not do a damn blasted thing against what was about to hit her.

He barely felt his legs move as he dashed between them, just in time for Azula to unleash crackling blue death at them both. His arm flung out, fingertips catching the head of the lightning bolt, his other hand guiding the energy down through his stomach and up the other arm. He could feel it surging through him, tightening his muscles with the most godawful stinging and that horrid pins-and-needles sensation that felt like he'd slept on his hands wrong. But instead of aiming his hand for the roof, he pointed those now deadly fingers right back at his sister, the giant spark leaping right from the tips toward her.

She ducked, but not before he caught the look of utter disbelief on her face. She wore it even as she looked up at him again, too stunned to wipe it and save her pride. "What in the name of Heaven was that!"

He fought the urge to grin, not wanting the cockiness to get too contagious. "Your match, Azula." He flicked his eyes to the equally flabbergasted Water Tribe girl. "You. Run."

"But--"

"I said run! Get out of here. Now!"

She argued no more, her footsteps pounding as she raced from the shop.

Azula growled. "You're a disgrace."

He didn't bother dignifying her with a response. Not a verbal one, at any rate, deciding a pair of flame daggers would be much more effective than words. He knew he'd just done it. An irreversible act that sealed his and his uncle's fates as outcasts to the entire world. There was no place to hide anymore. Should he survive this battle, the Dai Li would likely haul them both off to be executed. But at the moment, he didn't care.

He didn't have a choice.

* * * *

"You've got to be kidding me."

Long Feng glanced up from the report, features hardened. "Fire Nation? In my city?"

Joo Dee bowed, though her legs visibly shook. "It seems more likely than we thought."

He scowled, staring back at the fire. "They're after the Avatar. Wherever he goes, they follow. At this rate, he'll be leading the Fire Lord himself straight to my doorstep."

"But he is--"

"I know what he is, Joo Dee. And we don't need him in this city, as he'll cause nothing but trouble. A hundred years have passed without the Fire Nation able to topple us. Fire Lord Ozai will pass. His heir will pass. His heir's heir will pass, and Ba Sing Se will be known as the City That Never Fell. Because unlike Omashu, it's not just the walls that protect us, but the order within them. There is a delicate balance that must be kept here. I will not let anyone, not even the Avatar himself, weaken it."

"Then..."

"Arrest them all," he growled. "The Avatar, his companions, the Fire Nation intruders... Everyone."

"And what then?"

"I will deal with them...personally."

TO BE CONTINUED...

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