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The Chong Sheng Trilogy: War by rachelthedemon

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The Chong Sheng Trilogy

PART I: War

Chapter 6: Separate Ways

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The fire's crackle was the only sound in that cave, breath and heart silenced by the revelation for the longest half a minute in the world.

It made sense, of course, when actually thought about. But having gone from battle to prison to freedom with a former enemy now a self-confessed ally in less than twelve hours, none of them were ready to think much about anything. At least not without some decent rest first. Sokka broke the crushing vacuum, his voice a little wavery.

"Y-You're kidding, right? You're totally pulling our legs or somebody slipped me cactus juice or something..."

Toph snorted. "Oh I'm sure there's cactus juice involved, but I don't think you're the one they slipped it to."

Aang ignored them, looking straight at Zuko. "If you're going to be Fire Lord, then..."

"...I'm going to need your help. And you'll need mine."

"I repeat," Sokka scoffed, "what the hell kind of help could we possibly need from you?"

Zuko glared at him, but kept his voice even. "You're planning to invade the Fire Nation, correct? How much do you know about them?"

"What could we possibly need to know?" Sokka pouted.

Zuko glared at him, holding on to his temper rather admirably. "Terrain? Layout of the capital city? Army and navy numbers? Hell, your friend here is going to need someone to teach him Firebending, isn't he?"

Aang looked between them both, pausing as though to choose his words carefully. "If you're willing to help us...we'll return the favor. We need all the allies we can get."

"Are you out of your freakin' mind?" Sokka yelled.

"Careful," Toph quipped. "You're implying he has a mind to be out of."

Zuko ignored them both. "What were you doing in Ba Sing Se, anyway? Besides crossing the Dai Li."

"Well... We were trying to find my bison, for starters." His expression fell into that familiar, forlorn look. "He was kidnapped out in the desert. We were told he'd be in Ba Sing Se by now."

"Actually..." Sokka interjected, a nervous hand scratching his nape to compliment the waver in his voice, "we were gonna tell you we found something, but we got sidetracked by Miss Crazypants' sidekicks." All eyes turned to him, attentive and alert. He swallowed hard, looking to Toph first before continuing. "We found his footprint in a secluded part of the city, on a part of the ground that had recently been bended. Toph retraced the bender's actions, and...the street kinda flipped. Like he'd been shoved underground."

"I...guess that would explain why nobody saw him, wouldn't it?" Aang pondered, looking at the ground.

"Very likely," the old man, who'd been observedly silent up to now, agreed. "No doubt the person who bended the street knew exactly where they were putting him."

Toph's eyes narrowed in suspicion, before taking a longer sip. "Who are you?"

Zuko blinked at her as though realizing something, then looked back at the ground, more than a little embarrassed. "Forgive me for the lack of introduction. This is my Uncle Iroh, brother to Fire Lord Ozai."

"I knew your voice was familiar."

Sokka stared at her, torn between bowled over and horrified. "You met each other?"

She nodded. "In the forest when I ran away that time. He gave me some great tea. And even better advice."

Iroh smiled. "Why thank you, young lady."

Zuko lowered his gaze, sighing. "Trying to find your mount could not have angered the Dai Li enough to throw you in prison. What else were you doing there?"

Aang bit his lip, turning to Sokka and Toph, who frowned back hesitantly. Until Katara broke their silence with muted admission.

"We were trying to see the Earth King. We have some important information he needs to hear."

"...And the Dai Li would have none of it," Iroh finished. "What kind of information?"

She closed her eyes, letting out a breath. "An eclipse. Set to happen before Sozin's Comet arrives at the end of Summer."

Zuko blinked, but didn't say a word.

Aang continued after a moment of awkward quiet. "We...found out about it in the desert library. There was a scroll that said the last eclipse was the Fire Nation's 'darkest day.' Aside from the obvious, would you...know what that meant? What happened?"

He looked at his uncle for a moment, turning back to them when the old man nodded. "Almost four hundred years ago. At the end of the Fire Nation's last civil war." He sighed. "There was a succession crisis when Fire Lord Rokan's only son died of a fever. At the time, women couldn't inherit the throne and he had no brothers. When he himself died, all Hell broke loose."

"The Fire Lord instead had two nephews, Quing and Yuan, who both claimed heirship," Iroh continued. "War broke out soon after, and the two met on the battlefield. Their fight ended in a victory for Yuan, and the eclipse itself occurred just as Quing fell." He sipped his tea, pausing. "Yuan became the grandfather of Fire Lord Sozin."

Aang bowed his head, thoughtful as Iroh spoke again. "His branch of the Royal Family changed everything. War with the other nations hadn't even been considered before then, and it still took two generations before Sozin made the first move." He shook his head. "And yet, the history before Yuan's time has been all but forgotten, struck from the record. Remembered only by those who risked their tongues to pass it down by word of mouth. You will never hear any modern Fire Nation citizen call that eclipse our darkest day if they want to live."

Sokka stared at his tea, frowning. "And...what about this eclipse?"

Iroh sipped his tea quietly. "A Golden Age. Utter disaster. The end of the world. Or the beginning. Nobody knows for sure, but it's all the same, really. It always means a big change. Sometimes good, sometimes bad."

"So...we really won't know until it happens?" Toph asked. He nodded.

"Well, all I know is that it's the only good shot we have before that comet arrives," Sokka sighed. "We can't afford to miss it."

"In that case, we just take up where we left off before," Aang said. "We tell the Earth King and prepare."

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "That means going back into the city that just tried to arrest you."

Aang grinned. "Hey, we've got a network of underground tunnels on our side. We could dig right into his chambers if we had to, right?"

"Crazy, but he's got a point," Toph snorted. "In any case, I move for a vote of doing absolutely nothing until we all get some sleep. I don't know about you all, but I'm way too tired to find my way through anything but a bedroll."

Iroh nodded. "It's been a long day. We can all use some rest."

"You expect me to sleep in a cave with a couple of Firebenders?" Sokka exclaimed. "One of whom's been trying to kill us for the last few months?"

"Of course not," Zuko said. "You're perfectly welcome to go back to the Dai Li prison and sleep there. I'm sure they'll be happy to have you."

Sokka scowled at him before turning back to the fire in silent concession. Iroh smiled, pouring them all another round of tea. "Relax, all of you. We're a little tense now, but I'm sure that will change once we've rested."

"I think it'll take more than a little shut-eye for me to say this is a good idea."

Zuko turned to the pack of supplies Iroh brought with him, pulling out the extra blankets. "What you think isn't exactly on the list of high priorities, unless it involves a means of contacting the Earth King or finding the bison." He handed a blanket to Aang for him and Toph to share since they were both small, then pitched another at Sokka, who grumblingly caught it in the face.

He dug the last one out for Katara, having to get up and pick his way across the cave to hand it to her, as she sat at the very edge of the firelight. She took it absently, merely folding it in her lap as she stared down at her tea, which had hardly been touched. He arched a brow, only noticing then that she hadn't really moved or spoken a word since mentioning the eclipse. "Is there a good reason you're off brooding in the dark?"

She jumped, looking up at him for a moment before averting her eyes. But she didn't say anything.

"I'm not going to bite, you know."

She sighed, letting her eyes close. "About...About the tea shop. I'm sorry."

He stared for a moment, unable to speak. That certainly wasn't the answer he'd been expecting. "You said that already."

"I know...I want to say it again, ok? I'm sorry. That wasn't my place."

He paused for a moment, mulling over his words carefully, not wanting to admit how awkward it felt to have someone actually apologize to him. His legs folded underneath him, sitting there stiffly in front of her as she shifted the blanket closer to her chest. "It'snothing. Really. We have bigger things to worry about now than angry words."

"What I said hurt you. You don't have to pretend it didn't." She sighed again. "Go ahead and say it if you want. I was being a royal bitch."

He regarded her for a moment, the way the glow of the fire flickered across her features, which had grown older than they ever should have since he first stormed her village that fall. It slipped out before he could stop himself, the only remotely intelligent thing he could think of. "You'll have to try a lot harder than that to outdo my sister."

She looked up, meeting his eyes for a moment, as though to process the words and their speaker. A hand covered her mouth to muffle an avalanche of laughter, her eyes clenched shut and her shoulders hunching up tight. For some reason, the sight made him feel.... He couldn't quite call it happy, but it was definitely satisfying. As though he'd just made an important accomplishment.

For the first time in a very long time, he smiled.

* * * *


The next morning found them leaving not long after sunrise, having drunk their fill of strong black tea and eaten some of the provisions Jin gave them. Iroh shoved the last of the blankets into the pack, following at their backs as they exited the cave into the sunlight. It was much easier to see how high up they were in the daytime, the rocky face of the cliffs tumbling below their feet into sprawling forest that didn't stop until it hit the first wall of Ba Sing Se. Sokka sucked in a breath as grasped for a handhold, picking his way carefully down the rock. They reached the bottom with no small amount of help from Toph, staring off into the dark woods that towered before them.

"So...now where to?" he asked, looking to Zuko, who stared intently down a deep path of trees.

"The tunnel entrance is this way." He shouldered the supply pack, the others following him in turn.

The leaves were thick above their heads, blocking enough of the light that it seemed closer to evening than late morning, although it kept the sun safely off their backs. Not for the first time did Sokka wonder how on earth he'd been talked into this. Well, screamed at, insulted, and cracked upside the head into it would be more accurate, but who was he to argue semantics? The end result was the same: he was trusting his back to a Firebender. And not just any Firebender. The very same one who'd been doggedly chasing his friends for not quite six months. Oh, and he was the crown prince of the nation behind the war.

Yeah. That guy.

He supposed it came with being the only sane member of the group. Or so it felt most of the time, what with everyone completely ignoring him only to find out he was right later. He watched for gnarled tree roots that seemed bent on tripping him up, picking his way through the rather unstable ground. Here they went again, following someone that nobody with two brain cells to rub together would trust to guard a pig farm, and just like last time, he was going to be left bailing everyone else out of trouble when Zuko led them straight onto a Fire Nation prison rig. At least he had the sense to stay behind Zuko; it was a lot more difficult to sneak attack someone from the front.

Well, it seemed like a good idea. Until Zuko stopped short, making the rest of them have to follow suit on an arrowpoint. Sokka flailed for a moment, catching the tree for support. "Couldn't you have warned--"

Toph hushed him from in front of Zuko. "There's someone ahead of us. I can feel it."

All of them stopped, holding still as she bent down to press her palm to the earth, listening. None of them could hear anything, but Sokka knew better than to doubt the girl's gift.

Toph stood up, venturing ahead a little bit. "...Suki?"

No sooner did she say so then the familiar figure stepped out into their path, Kyoshi uniform torn and dirtied, face scratched up through the makeup, and her hair lightly singed at the ends. She looked up at them all, before running at Sokka and nearly tackling him with a hug. Not that he minded or anything.

"Thank God I found you guys! We have a problem. A big one."

Sokka looked her over, fingering a burned spot on her shoulder. "You don't say. What happened to you?"

"More like who happened." She backed up, turning to Aang. "We were attacked out in the woods. Some girl who was looking for you. She was Fire Nation... Said there was a large-scale attack coming, but she clobbered me and ran before I could get anything else out of her."

"What did she look like?" Zuko asked, suddenly alert.

"Well, she was wearing a topknot and some rich-looking clothes, as were her two friends..." Suki frowned. "Who the hell are you?"

Sokka grinned, unable to resist it. "You remember that guy who attacked your island looking for Aang...?"

She blinked, then turned a glare upon him that Sokka swore could have frozen certain parts of his anatomy clean off. The look on Zuko's face at her gloved fingers reaching for the razor-edged fan at her belt only made it better.

"Relax, he's on our side now," Aang jumped in, stilling her hand. "It's okay."

Suki looked between him and Zuko, then turned back to Sokka as though to ask if he'd been hitting the cactus juice again. He felt his cheeks pinken, rubbing the back of his head. "Um...long story."

"Which it doesnt look like we have time for," Toph cut him off, turning to Zuko. "You know her?"

He lowered his head, thoughtful. "If she's after the Avatar... It has to be my sister."

"And her flunkerettes? As in those three chicks who chased us all the way to the Serpent's Pass?" Sokka asked, brow quirked in interest.

Zuko nodded. "Don't take what she says too heavily. Azula always lies."

"Perhaps," Iroh agreed, stroking his chin. "But consider for a moment that she's not. Is that a risk you're willing to take?"

Silence settled over them like a pall, as though the air itself awaited an answer to that question. Zuko looked around at all of them, then lowered his gaze to the ground. "No. I'm not."

"Then we need to check it out," Sokka said. "And quickly. We're on a time limit, here."

"And I guess Appa can just stay lost?" Toph piped up.

Aang shook his head. "We can do both in teams. One will head off to check out this story, the other will follow me to go look for Appa."

"Well, you're gonna need me underground, no bones about it. Especially if we can't find His Highness' little friend again."

Aang turned to Zuko. "You and your uncle should go check out that girl's story. You'll know more about what people tell you than any of us will."

"I'm assuming we won't be by ourselves, right?"

Aang frowned. "I hope not." He turned to the rest of them expectantly. "Any takers?"

"I can go with you," Katara said. "I'm a lot more useful above ground than under it."

"Then you'd better believe I'm coming, too," Sokka growled, before he could think better of it, "No way in hell am I letting my sister go alone with you guys."

"Sokka, I'm not--"

"Are you crazy? Have you seen--"

"Let him come with you, Katara," Aang cut them off. "He won't be much help on our side if he's too busy worrying about you."

She sighed, flashing her brother an exasperated look. "Fine. Whatever. Just try to remember that we're not enemies, and I'm not defenseless, ok?"

He snorted. "No guarantees on the first part. You got the second one covered, though."

"I guess that settles it," Toph said. "Team Aang, this way!"

They each shouldered a share of the supplies, heading onto their chosen paths. One back to the city that no longer welcomed them, and one into an even more hostile outskirts.

* * * *


The tunnel entrance wasn't nearly so hard to locate on the second try, and they found themselves shrouded in darkness and cold, wet dirt once again. Suki had her lantern lit for the rest of them who were unfortunate enough not to be the best Earthbenders to ever breathe, while Toph felt more than comfortable at the group's head.

"So...Where do you think the city's center is?" Aang asked.

"The tunnel entrance we came in was at the Northern Wall," Suki said. "Means we need to head south."

He looked around, noting the yawning mouth of tunnel before and aft of them. "And south would be...?"

"The way we're going," Toph snapped. "You think I'd be ahead of you two if I were lost?" Before he could ask, she turned around, cutting him off. "I don't need to see to know which way's south. The ground knows that. It always pulls to the north."

Aang and Suki echanged confused glances before looking back at her.

"You're a walking compass?"

"You could say that" she growled. "I just listen to the rocks, ok?"

Suki's eyes narrowed at the darkness. "Do rocks make footsteps?"

Aang looked up, following her gaze into the pitch black path ahead of them. There was no mistaking the rustle of shoes and skirts against stone, the same one they'd heard back in the city before that girl showed up to help them. He squinted, able to pick out the rhythmic bobbing of a lantern some distance away, calling out warily. "...Jin?"

The light bobbed faster, coming steadily closer to them, until the glow revealed that familiar rounded face and pulled-up hair. She stopped, holding the lantern aloft and breathing hard. "What are you doing back here? I thought you were gonna go find Li's uncle..."

"We did," Aang told her. "But...stuff came up." At her expression, he sighed. "We need to find my bison and get under the Earth King's chambers."

"In that order," Toph added.

"...I see," she said, pausing thoughtfully. "And you have reason to believe your bison is underground?"

"Let's just say that when the section of the street you're standing on flips over, there aren't too many other places you could be," Toph answered.

Jin frowned. "If that's the case, he would have to have been right over one of the venting tunnels. He could be anywhere by now... What part of the city were you in when you found the bended street?"

"It was...a really crappy part of town. Away from all the restaurants and shops and stuff. Smelled like hay and rotten things."

Jin stroked her chin thoughtfully, brows narrowed. "That sounds like Quing East in the Middle Ring. The industrial district, where all the...uglier...aspects of the city are housed. It's always deserted compared to everything else, because the only people who go there are workers for the city."

"Perfect place to hide a flying bison, then. Right?"

"I guess so. Yeah."

Aang sighed. "Which way is Quing East?"

Jin looked around them, swinging the lantern to illuminate certain walls of rock. "This is the North Pau entrance, so we should be heading east."

"Then let's go," Toph said. "We don't have all year."

Aang nodded, muttering under his breath as Jin lead them into the darkness. "We don't even have half of it..."

* * * *


"I still don't know how the hell I let you talk me into this," Sokka growled, hanging back a ways behind Zuko and Iroh. Mostly to talk to his sister, but there was also the part of him that preferred their new "allies" in front where he could see them.

"Because having someone that close to the Fire Lord on our side is too good an opportunity to pass up and you know it?" Katara replied, low enough that their companions wouldn't hear. "We need all the help we can get."

"How many times do I have to say it? They're not on our side. He's waiting for the right moment to--"

"--Capture Aang with nothing but his mind and his good looks? In case you didn't notice, he opted to travel with us, not the Avatar."

Sokka crossed his arms, pouting. "How do you know he's not a ninja?"

"Sokka? Ninjas move silently in the dark, not kidnap people miles away from them." She paused. "Which would make him a really lousy one."

Indeed, Zuko didn't seem to care much about moving silently in the daylight, either, sheaths of his broadswords clacking in rhythm with his heavy gait. For that matter, neither did Iroh. He supposed it was the vestiges of the Fire Nation manifesto. They owned the world and they knew it. There was no need for stealth when everyone knew better than to atack you.

Not that it was the case anymore, but old habits die hard.

He finally took in a deeper, psyching breath, loping up closer behind them. "So...if we're supposed to be expecting a huge shock-and-awe attack that will leave us begging for mercy, is there a reason we're heading north when the closest Fire Nation stronghold is southwest?"

Iroh shook his head. "If Azula's story is true, the attack will not come from Omashu. Not the kind of resources needed for such an operation."

"But there's just the coastline north of here," Katara said, on Sokka's heels. "Are they coming by sea?"

Iroh turned to her, serious and a touch cryptic. "There is the Northern Air Temple east of here."

"What's that got to do with it?" Zuko asked. "The Air Temples are deserted, aren't they?"

Katara frowned, looking to Sokka. "Not entirely."

He met her gaze, feeling a sick, cold knot settle in his stomach before turning to Iroh. "You don't think..."

"I don't know," the old man replied. "But if any attack is to befall Ba Sing Se and have even a chance at success... It would be using the latest engineering and strategy, not the same infantry marches that have been failing for the last hundred years."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at him. "What's this have to do with the Northern Air Temple?"

Katara glanced at her brother, face hardening, before turning to Zuko. "The Fire Nation captured it, and forced the engineer to develop weaponry for them. We liberated it just before the Northern Siege, but... We haven't been back there in months."

Iroh nodded. "If Omashu fell, it's highly likely the temple has, too. There is no way my brother would fail to have a place that valuable recaptured."

"Then we really don't have a lot of time," Sokka said. "Let's get a move on, and hope to hell we're wrong."


TO BE CONTINUED...


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