99 A.G
Azula had decided, by the ninth day, that there were few indignities in the world more intolerable than being trained by Toph Beifong in the dark. The blindfold itself was not the problem. She had endured specialized training before, with weights on her wrists, suffering chi-exhaustion, or that one time training in mud, preventing her from moving freely.
A proper prodigy did not complain because training was difficult, and she was the crown princess of the Fire Nation, her pride kept her going. Azula was one of the most disciplined soldiers twice her age, and she understood that sometimes training was painful but rewarding.
The problem was that Toph enjoyed it too much.
"Too slow, princess!" the earthbender called from somewhere ahead of her, her voice echoing through the chamber as stone shifted beneath their feet. "I can't believe a little bit of darkness bothers you so much." she said, laughing.
It was infuriating that they had lost again to the small blind menace. At least, she had been the last one to go out that round.
"Form at the back once more, we will try again." Lin said, calmly.
Azula's jaw tightened behind the strip of dark cloth over her eyes. Around her, officers groaned as they dragged themselves upright, their armor scraping against the stone floor after another failed attempt.
Lin had built, with Toph's help, a lower chamber for the exercise, one with thick walls, packed earth, and enough open space for Toph to attack from every direction. The goal was simple, to cross the training ground from one end to the other while being attacked by the earthbender randomly.
The air smelled of dust, sweat, and scorched fabric. The group of firebenders had been trying to predict the attacks or react as fast as possiblee, throwing fireballs in different directions, sometimes hitting their teammates.
Lin had explained the purpose of the exercise, but most now believed it was not possible. Firebenders have the ability to put out the flames in their vicinity. Using that advantage, infiltrating at night into any enemy position would be easy if they could navigate in the dark themselves as well.
If at any moment the earthbenders attacked blindly they would be ready to dodge and survive to continue the mission or escape into hiding again. Azula respected the argument, and at first welcomed the challenge.
With the amount of bruising the young girl left on her body, she was beginning to hate her more every day.
As the exercise began again she sprinted forward. She felt the wind of a boulder pass close to her head, then another ripple passed through the floor. Azula focused on it too late, but still changed her weight to spin around as something cut across her path and struck her shin guard hard enough to mess with her balance.
She caught herself with one hand against the ground, rolled away before a second stone could hit her ribs, and came up with blue fire gathering at her fingertips, pushing it outwards to stop a third attack. The flame gave her nothing through the blindfold except heat against her palm, but no rock hit her so she guessed she got it this time.
"At this point no one will make it today either." Toph said, sounding almost disappointed. "Are you even trying?"
One of the captains muttered something under his breath which Azula heard to her right. A rock immediately struck his shoulder plate and knocked him sideways. Azula smiled at the gasp of pain for half a breath before forcing the expression away.
Lin stood somewhere along the edge of the chamber, also blindfolded, participating in the exercise as well, but usually she would move slowly, her body making a lot of noise made her an easy target.
She had been struck less often than the others even then, though she had failed enough to prove the exercise was genuinely difficult. That fact was the only thing keeping Azula from deciding the training was beneath her and storming out of the place.
Toph laughed softly as another boulder attack hit another officer. "Come on, cowards!"
The princess felt the ground move again, and sprang into motion, stepping left as stone cracked upward where her foot had been, then twisting aside when another projectile cut through the air toward her chest.
Then a rock slammed into her armor and drove the breath from her lungs, sending her backward until her boots scraped hard against the floor and her shoulder struck the wall. For one sharp instant, rage consumed her.
Blue fire surged along her hands, too hot and too eager, and Azula nearly tore the blindfold from her face out of sheer fury. She stopped herself because Toph would just laugh at her, and she didn't want to disappoint Lin either; even if it was a pointless exercise.
Then the darkness changed in her vision, making Azula freeze in the spot. Azula's hand raised toward the blindfold, but the cloth still covered her eyes, yet the chamber was no longer in complete darkness.
Shapes stood inside the blackness, faint and uneven, outlined by different shades of red, orange and yellow. Instead of complete darkness, now a blue hue surrounded most of her vision. The outlines began to unblur and she could see that the other colors were the people inside this room with her.
The officers were broad, dim masses, and their hands shone in clear red colors. She could recognize Lin by her shape but the colors were all wrong, probably because of her metal parts. Azula's shock lasted only long enough for her to confirm the blindfold was still in place and that she was indeed experiencing a new vision using firebending.
She focused on the shapes in the room. Toph was the smallest one after all. When she found her, she grinned like a maniac.
Her arm snapped forward, using two fingers for precision. Blue fire exploded from their tips in a narrow, controlled burst aimed at the smallest shape before anyone could shout a warning. For a moment, the flame overwhelmed her new awareness, filling the chamber with colors so bright it almost became entirely white.
Toph gasped and she could see her moving quickly sideways just before the blast struck the wall. That single sound was worth every bruise.
Azula got into stance, satisfaction settling through her with clean certainty. She still could not see faces, expressions, or the fine details of the room, and the shapes wavered whenever she used her firebending, but the impossible had already happened.
"Oh revenge will be sweet, the prodigy strikes again." Azula said, her voice smooth with triumph.
----0000----
Lin had never believed in miracles, but she really was having some of the best timing with the good news she received this morning.
General Shu would arrive before sunset, and with him came the largest concentration of Fire Nation soldiers the southern campaign had ever seen. Infantry, engineers, sappers, artillery crews, supply trains, medical detachments, smiths, signal officers, and all the machinery required to besiege the mountain city would soon spread across her camp.
It would take a week to position them properly, perhaps more as the terrain was not ideal, but the campaign was coming to a close. Omashu was the last objective the southern region had. Once done, they would be recognized as colonies officially and they would focus on expanding the railway constructions towards the north to aid the Ba Sing Se campaign.
It was an exciting thought, and she was filled with anticipation and eagerness to win the last fight against the Earth Kingdom presence in the south. Another piece of good news was that Minister Qin's newest weapons were finally arriving with them as well.
She stood inside the temporary command pavilion overlooking the prepared landing grounds, reading the latest inventory report while officers moved around her quietly. Case ammunition had been confirmed in the shipment, the first true step away from awkward, slow-loading prototypes and toward weapons that would boost infantrymen to the next level.
True, they had to train with the new guns first to be truly effective, but case ammunition gave the flexibility to load faster and reuse the case a few times, bringing production cost down and making her unit more combat effective for a longer period of time.
Bullets seated inside prepared cases meant rifles and pistols could be smaller, faster, cleaner, and more reliable. Reliability mattered a lot after all, the Fire Nation didn't have the production for guns polished yet. They were getting there, it was an ugly kind of progress, and Lin loved it anyway.
The rifles and pistols would be impressive enough, but the artillery made her chest feel almost light. Real artillery, not old cannons and crude metal balls or tubes that punished their own crews almost as often as they were fired.
These were field guns and heavy mortars designed for striking from a long distance, mobility, with proper shells that could be changed to serve different purposes. Qin's reports suggested that several fuse configurations had been tested before departure, with shells prepared for different timings, different explosion sizes, and different battlefield needs.
The walls of Omashu wouldn't matter at all. Now she just needed to induct some people into learning physics so that they could make the calculations to angle the guns correctly and they would be unstoppable, the war was almost won already.
Their enemies were still so backwards and it didn't seem they would advance much to counter their superior firepower.
Beside the artillery inventory were notes on handheld bombs, the name the engineers had chosen because the minister refused to adopt Lin's preferred terminology because he argued the soldiers wouldn't be scared enough at the moment of using them.
It is true that there was no fruit that would resemble them in this world, but grenade was such a cool term to use. Handheld bombs sounded like something a nervous quartermaster had named while imagining every accident that could happen before the first battle.
He would not be entirely wrong, however. Explosives placed in the hands of ordinary infantrymen would injure careless, frightened, curious, and arrogant soldiers who could mess around with them.
Ignoring the potential problems, Lin could see the focus on the benders would begin to diminish. An infantryman with a rifle and a handheld explosive could break a barricade, clear a tunnel mouth, disrupt an earthbender position, or force defenders out of cover all alone, without needing even a weak spark out of their hands.
It would never replace bending as it was so deeply rooted into their culture, but it would give ordinary men the same level of danger that a bender could pose. If she could ever introduce meritocracy in the military, everyone would be important. It was wishful thinking though, for now.
Alongside the weapons came the glider reports. She had sent Qin the rough theory of an aerial bomb months ago, shaped explosive loads that could be carried, released, and detonated on impact. It would be an improvement from the barrels of blasting jelly and alcohol shoved from the glider with prayers and eye judgement.
She still did not know whether they had solved the ignition problem using only a controlled portion of blasting jelly, but Qin's engineers were clever when given proper pressure, generous funding, and fear of disappointing him.
A shadow crossed the pavilion entrance, and Captain Zhou stepped inside with a salute.
"Scouts report General Shu's vanguard less than two hours from the outer camps, Commander. The engineers say the runway is stable enough for the first glider rotation by morning."
"Good." Lin said, folding the inventory report and setting it beside the map of Omashu. "Have the cannon crews schedule a routine cleaning of their equipment when they arrive. It will stop them from going near the new field guns. No curious officer is to inspect Qin's equipment without approval, and no crew is to demonstrate anything until I have spoken with their commander and briefed them on how we are going to use it. I know they get excited with new equipment."
Zhou's mouth displayed a small smile with the faintest suggestion of amusement. "You expect someone to mess up already?"
"I expect several people actually. It only takes one idiot to touch something that he shouldn't because he believes they know what they are doing, endangering everyone else."
"I will make the order clear."
Lin nodded once, then looked down at her notes and the map of the city. Her spies had already confirmed that King Bumi's people were expanding underground shelters and tunnels, preparing civilians for siege or evacuation, perhaps both. It was sensible but it could potentially be dangerous as well.
Her plan to deal with that had three phases. The first would begin with a parlay; she would enter the city at sunset under the pretext of establishing rules of engagement, including civilian protection, prisoner treatment, medical crossings, surrender signals, and all the civilized lies armies told each other before trying to kill one another.
A few officers would accompany her, along with Toph, whose presence could be justified as a personal request. Lin would then request a friendly duel between Toph and King Bumi, framed as indulgence for the blind girl's ambition to challenge the greatest earthbender alive.
It could potentially help with how the citizens of Omashu see the Fire Nation once they conquer them. At the moment, she was sure that the citizens of Omashu thought them monsters after the events at Shen Guan.
If she could prove she was just another soldier following orders after a war that her previous generation had started, then it would help the transition of power and reduce riots or rebel movements. She wasn't sure how successful she would be with that.
If the king accepted the challenge, Toph's feet would do the work of a spy. Every chamber beneath and outside the main palace, every hollow space, the amount of people around, every tunnel close enough to feel would be mapped by her, then shared with the rest of the officers.
Phase two would happen under that distraction. Azula and her team would enter the city while attention remained at the gates and inside the palace. Their training in darkness had been uncomfortable, and Azula's new heat-sight had been an unexpected gift. She didn't have it in mind at the beginning, but now she would use it to their advantage.
Firebenders could smother light as easily as they made it. In narrow passages, cellars, and unfinished tunnels, darkness could become a weapon if her soldiers could navigate them as clearly as day.
Azula's orders would be to find the main shelter hubs. Once found, mark them on their map, trace the tunnel routes, then identify exits beyond the city walls. Her next objectives would be to confirm whether Bumi intended to protect civilians, move fighters through hidden paths, or collapse whole districts into traps if the siege turned desperate. If necessary, those shelter hubs would become targets for concentrated fire later.
Lin did not enjoy the thought, though she wrote it down anyway. Above the city, the new scout-gliders were already mapping strong positions and weak ones from high altitude, beyond the reach of casual earthbending and most thrown projectiles.
Their engineers had built the runway, installed the lenses prepared for the gliders, assembled repair crews, and gathered every available unit these last two weeks. An impressive amount of work, done in record time.
Phase three would ignite the fighting. Once Lin and her officers withdrew from the parlay, one of the city entrances would come under a sharp, limited assault, enough fire and noise to pull eyes toward the walls and away from the extraction point Azula's team would use to escape.
The attack would look like impatience, perhaps even a failed attempt to storm the gates quickly. Bumi was eccentric, dangerous, and far too old to be underestimated, but his officers were not that talented enough to realize the true purpose.
Zhou studied the marked routes in silence.
"If they discover Princess Azula inside the city, the parlay will become impossible to defend."
"Yes, that is true." Lin said.
"You would have to surrender, it would be impossible to fight inside the palace and escape alive."
"Yes, most likely I will be captured. You would be in charge if that happens." Lin said without a shred of doubt in her voice.
"And if they capture the princess as well, the Fire Lord will demand your head."
"Yes, true again."
"You don't look worried."
Lin glanced at him and smiled.
"I'm confident she will succeed."
----0000----
"General Shu, it's an honor to meet you finally." Lin said.
"I can say the same, Commander." he replied gently.
"I'm sure they have briefed you already on my initial plan as your men prepare to besiege the city."
"They did. I say, it's a very bold plan. One that depends on the honor of our enemies."
"Yes, but I believe we can pull it off. I also trust in your capabilities in leading my men to victory in the event of my capture."
General Shu chuckled amused. "I won't disappoint you, Commander." His amused face suddenly got serious. "However, you are risking capture of the Crown Princess as well. I don't think it wise."
"General, with all due respect, Princess Azula is one of the most competent firebenders you will ever meet, she is a talented tactician and her mind for strategy is astonishing. I wouldn't worry too much. That said, it is also healthy to guide her through her more reckless behaviours… You see, if she so wanted she could ignore orders completely. Mine or yours. I have found out that if, at any point, she grows restless, or if she is coddled too much, she will come up with a plan of her own. They are usually quite risky and bolder than my own. With that in mind, I usually come up with a plan where she has an important and challenging role that doesn't endanger her too much. I believe this is the best plan I could come up with." Lin explained, with a hint of exasperation.
"I see. I will have that in mind. In any case, the responsibility falls in your hands, Commander. For your sake, I hope all goes well." Shu finished.
"She hasn't let me down once, General. I'm not worried."
----0000----
King Bumi had always tried to find a positive perspective in everything. Even when things were dire, his humor would always lighten the mood around him. Sadly, the moment for jokes was long gone. With the arrival of an entire army at his doorstep, the mood in his palace was gloomy.
There seemed to be an endless streak of bad news.
"The tunnel crews cannot reach the mountain in time, Your Majesty." General Guo said, his helmet tucked beneath one arm while gray dust still clung to the edges of his armor. "The lower stone is denser than our first survey indicated, our benders grow tired quickly. We can continue digging, but the pace will be too slow to matter before the Fire Nation starts the siege, which we expect will be soon by the position of their armies."
Bumi sat behind the council table with his fingers curled loosely around the end of his chair, watching the map as if it was suddenly going to be different and a solution would present itself. The inked routes had looked promising when they were first drawn, slipping from the lower districts through the old foundations and toward the mountain beyond the city's edge.
Omashu had many entrances and secret tunnels and he had hoped to find a path outside, one that would give his civilians a way out before the fire around his walls started rising.
"And if we dig upward before reaching the mountain?" he asked, although the general's face had already given him most of the answer.
Guo lowered his gaze. "The exits would open too close to the Fire Nation patrol routes. Their scouts have been widening their search area, and any civilian group emerging there would be exposed before we could hide them. If the enemy discovers the exits, the civilians would be in the crossfire, not to mention if they are taken, it would give the enemy a way into the city."
A heavy silence settled over the chamber. Captains stared in the distance in contemplation. Engineers looked at their hands. One of the younger officers swallowed hard enough for Bumi to hear it from across the table, which was impressive in its own small and miserable way.
The shelters had been completed, at least. Thousands could be moved beneath the city if the bombardment began, protected from flame and falling stone. Food stores had been placed in the larger chambers, water channels had been diverted towards them, anyone with first-aid training had been assigned, and they had even carried out a census to organize the evacuation.
It was a half measure that could keep his people hidden, but it could not get them free from harm. Especially if the walls fell, they would be found eventually.
Bumi had defended Omashu for most of his lifetime. He loved the city's pride, its height, its laughter, its impossible roads, and its hilariously fun delivery system. Yet he realized now that it was just fancy rocky buildings in a mountain. It was not worth defending if its people were killed in the process.
Reports from other towns had reached him for months. There were a few towns that resisted most heavily and had been mostly wiped out. Most of the small settlements around Omashu though lacked forces to defend themselves and surrendered quickly, only suffering a hit to their pride. But it seemed that the Fire Nation had been quite merciful in their occupation of the southern territories overall.
He had not decided yet whether Omashu would surrender, but he was tempted to just not engage in a fight at all. Shen Guan had shaken his resolve. It felt like a door he might have to open because every other one had been sealed from the outside.
"Stop the tunnel work, at this point they won't be able to make their way to the mountain range." Bumi said, letting his voice remain light enough that the frightened men could breathe around it. "Strengthen the shelters, confirm food and water counts again, and make sure every family knows where to go if the horns sound. If we cannot move them through the mountain, then we will at least make certain they are not wandering the streets when the battle begins."
The officers bowed, and the motion had barely finished when the chamber doors opened with enough force to startle a few of the ministers. A young runner stumbled inside, flushed from sprinting.
"Your Majesty." the boy said, bending so quickly that he nearly lost his balance, "There are Fire Nation soldiers at the lower gate asking for parley. Four of them, under a white banner."
The room shifted around the words. Fear became attention, and attention became suspicion.
Bumi raised one brow. "Only four?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"How mysterious of them…" Bumi murmured, tapping one finger against his chin.
The timing was strange. The Fire Nation's main force had arrived already, though every scout report said they were still getting into position. They currently had enough soldiers to test the city defenses properly. Moreover, they had been encircled for two weeks already, they had plenty of opportunities to talk in that time.
Asking for parley when the inevitable attack was about to hit them was odd. How rude of them to bring this dilemma when he had already been having a perfectly good crisis before they interrupted.
"Let them through." Bumi said as he rose from his chair. "Escort them properly, and tell the reception guard to look scary for me, please." he said, laughing.
The runner bowed and vanished back through the doors. Bumi took his time walking to the reception hall, allowing his officers to trail behind him while he was still wondering what they would want and how to take advantage of it.
By the time he reached the raised stone seat at the end of the hall, his face had settled into the wide, curious expression that had convinced many foolish visitors he was less attentive than he was. The guards arranged themselves along the walls, spears upright, expressions stern enough that he nearly complimented them.
A few minutes later, the outer doors opened. A platoon of Omashu guards entered first, surrounding four figures in Fire Nation colors. Bumi's smile remained in place as his eyes settled on the young woman at the front.
The infamous commander was smaller than rumor had suggested, pale-haired and composed beneath her armor, with metal limbs that caught the hall's light and a calmness that made her seem far more dangerous than any officer he had faced before.
Fire Nation commanders of importance usually sent disposable men to enemy gates when words needed to be exchanged between each other. This one had come in person and it set off a huge alarm in his head.
On either side of her walked a soldier. In his eyes everyone was young these days, but the oldest of them all was a man probably in his late twenties and the younger one a girl of similar stature to the commander.
The fourth figure drew Bumi's attention most of all. The small girl was clearly a child, wearing an ornate green dress, a huge contrast with the red and black armor from the rest of this small party. She was also barefoot for some reason.
What surprised the king was that she had a dark green linen blindfold tied across her eyes. She could be a wealthy prisoner who they wanted to exchange but she was too calm to be a hostage. Bumi quickly noticed that the blindfold didn't bother her movements at all, as if she could see just as well as anyone else.
Her makeup had been applied with careful hands, her bare feet touched the stone with easy confidence, and an excited smile decorated her face. Bumi watched them approach, his smile widening. This was looking quite interesting indeed.
"Welcome. I was not expecting the infamous Commander Lin herself to show up." Bumi said, laughing.
From the looks on his officers' and ministers' faces gathered, he could see the hatred everyone had for the young girl. It said a lot about how truly famous she had become this last year.
"Thank you. Allow me to introduce ourselves and our purpose here. I'm Commander Lin Renshi as you already know, behind me are Captains Aiku and Kaida, and the young earthbender is Toph Beifong. We-"
"What?! Beifong!" shouted Captain Yung.
"You dare kidnap a child of one of the most important noble families and bring her as a bargaining chip?!" screamed Captain Buro.
Bumi frowned, it was clear to him that the child was not here against her will. "Gentlemen, lower your voice, and do not interrupt our guests, or I will be forced to take this conversation privately." he said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Toph is here of her own will and will be leaving with us, she is not part of the negotiations in any way. Regarding our purpose-"
"Wait, she chooses to be with the Fire Nation!? Traitor!" continued Captain Buro.
"What a cranky old man." Toph commented, amused, infuriating the captain further. Bumi had to interject again.
"Captain, leave us." Bumi ordered, giving his captain one of his famous looks. The "don't test me or I will stick Flopsie on you" face. He left quickly after that.
"Now… you were saying, Commander."
"Right, our purpose here is to establish the rules of engagement for the upcoming battle. We know that in Omashu the number of civilians is much higher than what we have engaged so far, and thus want to offer a few concessions. This is done in the hopes of not killing those that are inevitably caught in the conflict. We also do not want to lose men unnecessarily just because you believe you have to fight to the last man."
"You did not seem to consider that when you destroyed Shen Guan, Ash maker." General Guo said.
"That is right. Those were different orders, however. We have been ordered to take Omashu, not to obliterate the city. Bringing down the mountain, killing thousands, would be easy for us to do. But that is the last thing we want right now." Commander Lin countered, calmly.
For Bumi, that meant if they were forced to desperation, they might want to, in the name of preserving their soldiers' lives.
"Interesting, in that case, give me an example and we can work on those rules of engagement you are talking about." Bumi said, chuckling.
"We have ordered our men to accept surrender from combatants as well as civilians. They won't be harmed once they have done so. We will have field hospitals deployed in key zones and the injured can be brought there, no one will attack you close to the field hospitals and we expect the same. We will treat both our soldiers and your civies there. We don't extend that to your soldiers as we have limited healers in our ranks, we won't endanger them." continued the girl. "Any attack in those zones, any false surrender, will be short-lived and all rules will be forfeited. Do not force our hand into a no quarter war."
"We can agree on those rules and I invite you to place your hospital on our map." Bumi said, surprised.
"Excellent." Lin said, with a small smile.
As the young captains stepped up and marked the positions on their map, commander Lin continued laying down rules left and right, discussed mostly by him and his general.
Captain Kaida was writing nonstop so that both sides could have a copy. It was plain to anyone with eyes that they were very diligent fellows, and they held a lot of respect for their commander, not interrupting her once but giving counsel whenever it was needed.
An hour later, having finished Commander Lin placed a hand on the shoulder of the young Beifong, who seemed to be shaking for some reason.
"Thank you for being patient, I know that took effort, Toph." Commander Lin said. "Our second purpose is to propose a friendly duel between King Bumi and Toph."
Before General Guo could say anything Lin glared at him.
"Emphasis on friendship, meaning more like a spar, we don't want any of you to get injured. In the case that you do, we will give you a few days to recover before launching any attack."
Bumi laughed loudly. "I was getting bored and disappointed with your visit, now you make it interesting again!"
"My King, you cannot seriously be considering engaging in a duel before a siege!" General Guo objected.
"Bah, you worry too much, do you believe I could lose, general?"
"Oh you will lose old man, I will be the greatest earthbender in the world!" Toph proclaimed loudly.
Bumi was amused, at the beginning he had wondered why they had brought the young blind girl, worried that she was kidnapped against her will or brainwashed to support the Fire Nation. But to think she had such an aspiration and didn't seem to care one bit about what the commander had wanted to talk about earlier.
"I accept, I have a lovely arena we can go to." Bumi said, laughing. "Let's raise the stakes though. It is clear Young Beifong is traveling with the Fire Nation willingly. She is on your side, so let's make a deal, commander. If I win, you will let the civilians of Omashu evacuate before any attack is launched."
The commander went into deep thought.
"And if Toph wins?" Captain Aiku asked.
"We will surrender peacefully and not put up a fight at all. I will only have you decree that you won't disrupt or harm the citizens of Omashu and I will personally open the gates of the city." Bumi finished.
"W-what?!" Commander Lin asked, perplexed. Bumi couldn't contain his laughter at her stunned face. So her calmness could be broken after all.
"My King, what are you saying? We cannot surrender without a fight!" Several captains and the general voiced their opinions, looking shocked.
"I'm your King. My word is final, is it not?" Bumi asked.
"King Bumi, please think it through." begged the general.
"I have, this is a good course of action. So what do you say?" Bumi pressed, looking at the still bewildered commander.
"I-... I never intended to put pressure on Toph at all! This was just a light duel in hopes of building a friendly relationship." Lin sputtered.
"I can do it, I do better under pressure!" shouted Toph. "If you want to scare me you have to do better than that, grandpa."
"Insolent girl, show-" began one of his captains.
Bumi just laughed, silencing him.
"Are you certain you want your fight to have these terms, Toph?" Lin asked softly, looking worried. When the blind girl nodded at her, she relaxed again. "Know that whatever the outcome, you are still cherished, my friend."
"Thanks, but I got this, no need to get so chummy with me, Metalsticks." replied Toph, making Bumi snort.
"Alright, we will accept your terms, King Bumi. We don't lose anything by letting your citizens leave the city before the attack." Lin said, ignoring the silly nickname.
Bumi thought that in any case, it was a loss for them; his soldiers wouldn't fight as hard as they could if they didn't have someone to protect, but at least their minds would be more at ease.
"Could you allow Captain Kaida here to return and let everyone know of the arrangement? We don't want anyone to get anxious and begin an attack that can be avoided."
"Yes, of course, it's settled." Bumi replied.
As the young captain departed and they started moving to the arena.
"You are going down, old man." Toph taunted, a clear smirk on her face.
----0000----
Katara stared at the shape inside the iceberg, her breath catching in her throat as the blue glow pulsed through the frozen wall. For a moment, she forgot the cold biting at her cheeks and the wind pulling at the loose strands of her hair, because the boy opened his eyes right at that moment, it was not her imagination anymore.
"He is alive! We have to help!" she said, grabbing her brother's club from him.
"Katara! Get back here, we don't know what that thing is!" Sokka objected, but she was not listening anymore.
She moved carefully across the uneven ice, watching where she placed her boots even as urgency pressed against every thought. The iceberg rose above her in a strange, smooth curve, its surface glowing from within, blue light trapped beneath layers of frost.
She could see him more clearly now, suspended in the center with his eyes opened and shining blue. No one should have been alive in that thick ice, yet Katara was not thinking anymore. She lifted the club with both hands and struck it.
The impact jarred her arms, but the wall barely marked. She struck again, harder, her boots sliding slightly beneath her as the sound cracked across the empty sea. She kept her eyes on the boy and swung a third time, then a fourth, each blow driven in the same spot. On the fifth strike, the ice cracked.
The sound split through the air, sharp and sudden, and before Katara could step back, a gust of wind exploded from the iceberg with enough force to throw her off her feet. She crashed backward toward Sokka, the club slipping from her hands as snow and broken frost swept around them.
When she opened her eyes again, the crack was spreading across the entire iceberg, racing through the glowing surface until the frozen shell could no longer hold together. The iceberg collapsed, and Katara shielded her eyes with her sleeve as a beam of blue light pierced the sky.
It rose higher than anything she had ever seen, cutting through the sky while waves of color shimmered around it like the southern lights had fallen close enough to touch. Wind kept striking her clothes and pulling at her hair, and Katara could only stare through the brightness, frightened and amazed at once, unable to understand what she had released.
Then, from the broken walls of ice, a boy climbed out, his body and eyes glowing blue as the light around him slowly began to fade.
----0000----
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