The fall of Ba Sing Se did not bring about the complete implosion of the Earth Kingdom as the optimists had speculated, nor did the escaped Earth King raise the hackles of the eastern states enough to form a quick counteroffensive as the pessimists expected.
Instead, with King Bumi's reclaiming of Omashu, the Earth Kingdom seemed to be stuck in a weird stasis. By all reports, the southern states were rallying under Omashu, but the front lines had stabilized into something close to the old borders. Rumors spoke of Omashu rebuilding itself and its allies with the industry left behind by its ousted occupiers. Fire Nation steel to arm conscripts and house guards, and reinforcing walls and their war carriages. It was a sobering thought.
On the other hand, to the east, the young Earth King was being hosted by some lord, and there was some sort of kerfuffle in their suitability as host and prime minister. Earth Kingdom politics bloomed fully as various lords disregarded the authority of the new prime minister, who was nothing but an overambitious peer in their eyes. As such, there was no great resurgence in the Earth Kingdom's fighting spirit, no grand push to reclaim Ba Sing Se.
Most interestingly, both south and east were barely communicating by all accounts. The southern lords looked to King Bumi for leadership, ignoring their Earth King's call beyond the Si Wong Desert to coordinate and cooperate. It meant that the Earth Kingdom was effectively split in two.
For the better, because there was the chance that politics would see them turn on each other and save the Fire Nation the trouble.
For the worst, because they now had to deal with two smaller enemies who could act and react faster thanks to the shedding of bureaucracy and inertia, enemies that would likely have separate agendas to account for. To march south or east might see the other faction take advantage of distraction. Omashu in particular would be a daunting foe if the Mad King decided to take to the field again.
Basically, it meant that things had gotten back to a familiar stagnation. General Sho, now reassigned to oversee southern lines, was content with that. Stagnation meant minimal fighting, which meant he didn't have to send thousands of men and women to an early grave in the hopes the Mad King finally suffered a heart attack or other ailments of old age in the middle of his earthbending.
His current mandate was to reinforce the line and prepare it for an offensive when the time was right, and by the spirits, he would make sure they would be as prepared as possible. Thanks to that food magnate the princess had endowed, food was, perhaps for once, not even in the list of biggest issue the southern lines had to worry about. The crown princess' insight and judge of character was proven true once again as the former cabbage merchant established a supply network that kept silos full with practically none of the usual excuses about barren farms or poor harvest. Food was requested, and from every corner of the colonies (and even beyond the borders according to whispers) food was delivered.
If only the arsenals in the home islands could maintain weapons production and offer timely resupply. Alas, most of the foundries were being diverted to rebuilding what was carelessly lost in the failed attempt to take the North Pole. Not to mention the amount of metal that went to the oversized and impractical drill, but at least that one was slowly being broken down and repurposed by Xing.
Speaking of the lad, if the order for the push came, he'd be petitioning for young Xing to join the advance. The Scorpion Dragon had defeated Crazy Bumi once, he could do it again. At the very least, the lad could occupy the old coot while territory was claimed.
Sho hummed as he regarded the map before him. So many preparations, so many complexities…
"The markers won't change no matter how much you glare at it," came a welcome voice, and the general raised his head to smile at his counterpart entering the command tent.
"There's nothing better to do," Sho replied with a placid smile as met his wife halfway for a quick embrace. "Though now that you are here…"
"Behave," Hwa lightly admonished after a quick peck on his cheeks. The General of the East squeezed his hands affectionately before walking over to the map. "The corridor to Ba Sing Se has been reinforced with barely any interruption."
Sho nodded, unsurprised. "It's the same here as well. Some skirmishes and probing attacks, but nothing serious. It's not the great collapse of the Earth Kingdom, but we might be seeing it slowly crumble."
"Think we'll live long enough to see its end?"
He shook his head after a second's thought. "It probably won't come to that. An eventual parley with the divided realms perhaps. The southlands, at the very least. To take the whole continent would be impractical."
Hwa hummed in agreement. "That would be the most practical play…"
"But when have the courtiers back home ever been practical?" Sho finished for her, smirking. "But I have faith that the crown princess will make the delusional fools see sense. At the very least, she could send them over to help make their desires come true."
The Frostfire gave a derisive snort that Sho couldn't help but find endearing. She looks just as pretty when she's pissed as when she's genuinely smiling. Then again, he might be biased...
"Please, we'll be wasting uniforms and weapons if we send them out to fight."
"We could write a letter to Omashu…?"
Hwa smirked in turn. "I thought King Bumi was mad, not stupid?"
Before they could trade more jokes, a messenger stumbled into the tent, covered in dust and sweat and gasping heavily for breath as he swayed. His hand trembled from fatigue as he offered a scroll tube sealed in red and gold .
"Message, general…er, generals… From Ba Sing Se."
Sho frowned as he accepted the package and nodded to dismiss the messenger. "Get some rest. Have someone else ready, in case we need to deliver a hasty reply."
"That doesn't look like it bodes well," Hwa commented after the messenger left, walking up to Sho to watch him open the container.
He nodded curtly as he studied the wax seal, and his frown deepened as he saw not just the emblem of the newly minted Prince of Ba Sing Se, but that of Prince Iroh as well. "It's not. The messenger must've rode all the way from Ba Sing Se. Otherwise we'd just be receiving a hawk, or a fresher relay messenger."
Hwa did not comment, no doubt already piecing together the urgency and sensitivity of the message being sent.
After carefully cracking the wax to preserve the emblems as much as possible, Sho finally withdrew a rather plain slip of paper.
To General Sho, the true successor to my grandfather Lidai Wen,
Do not read this in open company.
Do not voice this unless you are sure of discretion.
Do confirm that the seal on this message's container showed no signs of tampering. The messenger offering you this message…
Sho blinked at the details being offered. A novel security measure; he hoped that the poor messenger who rode for days would be up for questioning after this…
An attempt has been made on me and Prince Iroh, almost disrupting our goal most severely. After intense questioning, I must admit confusion and regret to say that the perpetrator was under the employ of Fire Lord Ozai.
I will not offer false flattery, nor debase our association by calling upon our kinship. Your mind is keen enough to ascertain the truth in the mad words I've written.
I hope, as events unravel, that I will have the pleasure to fight alongside you, rather than the anguish of facing you. For of all possible foes, you are the most dangerous.
He finished reading before turning to Hwa, and credit to his stalwart wife she only shared a shocked glance with him. Sho calmly stepped to the tent's entrance and gave his guards outside even, measured orders. Thank the spirits that the frontlines were quiet today…
"Call for Colonels Dao, Koda, and Yashen. And the messenger from earlier."
His friends joined him and Hwa almost two hours later, taking the summons with all seriousness as they left their positions on the front lines. Sho waited until the last of them - Yashen - entered, and then had his guards to create some distance and bar all entry.
"What's going on?" Dao asked in a soft rumble. For all the appearance of brutishness, he was a keen enough commander to not think that this meeting was related to war.
Sho offered the message to his friends, who all wore their shock openly as they read it.
Koda was the first to close his mouth and form words. "The seals…?"
"Are as authentic as far as I can figure," Sho replied grimly. "The messenger came straight from Ba Sing Se, and his description fits what was written within. If it's a forgery, it's a damned good one." Xing had described the messenger's uniform down to the finest detail, including the little scraps of colored paper hidden under the belt, pauldrons, and glove. If it was an impostor who killed the original rider and took his uniform, that last detail would've been impossible to duplicate without breaking the tube's wax seal.
And if the message itself was a forgery, then it was an amazing forger indeed who could get both Xing's and Prince Iroh's personal seals, and replicate the younger prince's mannerisms on brushstrokes.
The usually laconic Yashen shook his head, still struggling with the implications. "It makes no sense."
"It's outright insane," Dao mumbled. "But who would write such a thing if it's not true? A good lie has to be believable."
Hwa spoke up with the coldness that honored her nickname. "I will not pretend to know Prince Xing as you four do, but even if I cannot fathom any need to fabricate such a claim. To say nothing of Prince Iroh's seal on the message..."
"And the messenger confirmed that both princes were present when he received the scroll tube," Sho added.
"So, we're looking at madness, then," Koda said too calmly. "Madness, or treason."
Dao huffed. "Why not both?" His voice actually dropped to a proper whisper for once, his gaze sharpening. "We all know which brother should have taken the throne."
Everyone grimaced, and Yashen was the one to speak for them. "Those are not words that should be spoken."
"But they're what everyone, everyone here at least, thinks," Dao rumbled.
Sho shook his head. "Back to the point at hand. Is there any doubt?" He met the gazes of his friends, friends he'd served and bled alongside for more than a decade now. Even his wife beside him, who he only knew for a few years, shared the same steely resolve.
It didn't even take a second before Koda answered. "None. You have a plan on how to proceed, I assume?"
Sho nodded. "Aye. We'll need to figure out a few things first, like which commanders we can call friends when the time comes. Then, there's some reorganizing to be done…"
*****
Their journey across the ocean was without incident, and in hindsight, it was to be expected. News couldn't have spread beyond the capital city so quickly, which meant that they passed by clueless patrols without slowing down. That did not mean that the ship slowed, though. Its captain had erred on the side of urgency, hoping to make it to the colonies with enough time for Azula to either establish herself or flee.
His hopes were dashed when lookouts spotted a flotilla racing up from behind them. They were small and incredibly fast things, churning out a far angrier trail of smoke than usual. Against their worst expectations, the speeding boats zipped past the cruiser, and Ty Lee had to look over the rails to get a glimpse of at least six firebenders at the stern of each boat, heating up a boiler with a horizontal chimney that spat a furious tongue of fire.
"The new ship propulsion systems," one of the former officials muttered in awe. "I thought the War Ministry was still figuring out the new 'loud boiler' engines, but it seems that there's enough working prototypes…"
"To serve as message boats," Azula finished with a scowl. "We might find Zilang and the rest of the colonies hostile to us by the time we arrive."
As such, plans were quickly drawn. Detours were suggested, but quickly discarded due to the unknown dangers of docking in Earth Kingdom or Water Tribe territory. Simply parking the ship and sneaking through a quieter coast was also deemed too risky as it left Azula no easy withdrawal if they ran into trouble.
They were still debating over the best course of action when the lookouts brought curious news: Land was sighted, and it was leaking smoke.
As they drew closer, it became apparent that Zilang was not in any shape to receive Azula with any hostility. Even from a distance, Ty Lee could see buildings burning, and small figures spurting flame at each other.
"Well, looks like all is not lost, princess," Su-Wei commented with a smirk.
"So I see."
The sounds of fiery violence began to reach Ty Lee's ears as they drew closer, and it took a while before she could pick out the war cries.
"For the Fire Lord! Kill these treasonous scum!"
"For the princess! Down with the Fire Lord!"
It was heartening to hear more of the latter than the former filling the air, and it gladdened Ty Lee to find that disparity in support was filling Azula with her old, confident reds and yellows again. Just for added effect, Ty Lee grinned at her friend.
"You hear that, Azula? You've got people fighting for you!"
An invisible burden lifted off the princess as she stood straighter and nodded with renewed resolve. "Indeed… But it'd be a shame if I lost any more of them to the paltry scum serving my…my father." Everyone ignored the brief stumble in her words, and even Ty Lee felt the buzzing expectation making her stand straighter as Azula turned to address them with all the authority of a defiant and unbowed crown princess.
"I'll be going down there to show them how to conduct a proper fight. If any of you are following, don't you dare shame me by dying to those sniveling cowards."
It was possible that the whole ship shuddered from the cheers as Azula took off with a burst of blue fire. The other firebenders followed after her, many leaping instead of rocketing through the air, carrying her name on their lips as they landed on the beach and immediately began charging into the fray.
Only Zuko showed some hesitation, hues of orange and brown as the more compassionate sibling no doubt felt some conflict at killing his own people. But then, he was seeing his own people kill his own people, so he too joined the fray after a few seconds of frowning and uncertainty.
Ty Lee and the other non-benders restrained their eagerness right until the ship crashed deep into the docks (conveniently breaking a tight formation of palace soldiers in the process. On a side note, the palatial troops really looked out of place out here…). Some didn't wait for the boarding ramp to drop before they were jumping off the ship's sides. Ty Lee was one of them, finding a convenient landing pad in the form of a couple of soldiers harassing a group of earthbenders.
The fighting that followed was not as chaotic as the one in Ba Sing Se, but the carnage was far, far worse. Pretty much the entirety of the colony was up in arms against the administration recently installed by the Fire Lord, the division rather helpfully marked out from the former being in more worn and simple attire and armor, compared to the latter's more shiny and ornamented look.
Outnumbered and clearly unprepared for a whole colony to turn on them, the Fire Lord's loyalists were quickly being overrun. Firebender and earthbender colonists worked together to corral and then brutally crush the Fire Lord loyalists without a second thought. Even the one-armed Overseer Dae was thick in the fighting, covered in soot and wielding a broadsword to (literally) single-handedly lop off limbs and heads. His nephew, the former governor Hanh, fought with him, his spearwork rather reminiscent of the 11th's own forms.
When Ty Lee had the time to think about it, the colony's guards were pretty much a less refined mirror of the 11th Regiment, thanks to the close association. They charged right up to firebenders with spears and swords and clubs, forcing their opponents to abort their movements and move out of the way. They also worked in packs, picking apart their foes by isolating them before working through the more heavily armed soldiers at their leisure.
The daring attacks cost several of the colonists their lives, but they seemed more than willing to pay it as they continued beating back the Fire Lord's troops. Laborers clearly having come from the teahouse were swinging away with stools and benches and tables. Food vendors were harassing some soldiers with cleavers. A cart was barreled straight into a small huddle of soldiers, before the mob descended on the men as they inevitably broke formation.
And then Azula made her appearance by engulfing a quartet of palace firebenders in her blue flames. Their dying screams were quickly drowned out as the colonists' fury was further stoked.
"Princess Azula! For Princess Azula!"
Azula gave a theatrical sigh. "Fools. Don't just fight for me. Fight for yourselves! Fight for your homes! Fight for Zilang!"
"For Zilang! For the princess!"
That more or less sealed the end for the remaining supporters of the Fire Lord.
Zuko's appearance raised another cheer, though he didn't offer any speech. He simply picked up a dead soldier's spear and went to work with a grim frown. Unlike the colonial guards, the prince was fully trained in the 11th's ways of war, and it showed. He looked almost bored as he parried and lunged with his weapon, skewering throats and armpits and thighs with unerring accuracy. For all his doubts, he was still making a show of his kills, ensuring that his victims had the chance to scream and whimper to further demoralize their comrades.
Mai landed alongside Ty Lee, her throwing knives clearing a comfortable landing spot for them both. The escape from the palace must have really changed her, because now she was hurling her weapons with the intention to kill and maim, not just to incapacitate. Men fell with metal jutting out of their eye sockets or throats. Others fell or dropped their weapons as blades severed tendons or pierced particular joints.
Ty Lee idly elbowed a pitiful official armed with a decorative blade (the thing was poorly sharpened, but clearly unbalanced and too…blinged up) in the back of his neck before she paused to appreciate the mood. The whole town was radiating an outraged red, swirling with relieved and joyous blues and yellows. It was a far more intense experience than watching Tanto the Knife-Thrower catch his signature 'not-so-broad' sword via sword-swallowing in his final act.
And it was far more stirring as well, obviously.
Ty Lee caught a glimpse of a small mob dragging Governor Seo and his lackeys out into the streets. And then her view was obscured by more colonists swarming the doomed official. There was a lot of earthbending and firebending before they dispersed, and Ty Lee couldn't see any signs of the governor or his people after that.
Just a corner away, Overseer Dae ignored the pleas of a former colleague and ran the man through with his sword. And a few paces away, his nephew was hacking away at more robed officials, screaming back the derogatory insults that were probably once flung at him.
The mood was rather intoxicating, really, and Ty Lee let herself bask in it for now. She could deal with the horrors of such bloody violence later. Maybe ask if Azula could help hold her hair up once the realization really hit her.
The slaughter was over in a matter of minutes, marked by Azula's triumphant flames blasting into the sky.
Dae was the first to drop to his knees before her, sword tip buried into the ground. "Princess! We thought the worst when those mewling idiots dared declare you a mere criminal to be hunted down and returned to the palace, dead or alive."
Hanh offered up a formal salute as the bloodied men and women of Zilang too knelt before their princess. "Princess Azula. Zilang does not forget its true ruler. What would you have of us?"
For a few precious seconds, Ty Lee spied a spike of uncharacteristic cyan in Azula's aura. She was genuinely touched by the colony's loyalty. She glanced at Zuko, who only shrugged nonchalantly, seemingly content to play soldier and let his sister do all the boring stuff.
It took a second before Azula formed a reply. "My father…my father will be sending his armies to claim the colonies. We can fight, but that would be a futile thing. Zilang and the other colonies were built to keep earthbenders from entering from land, we are all easy prey for a naval invasion."
Her blunt words threatened the giddiness of the colonists, but the grin that followed kept their hopes up. "So we will not fight. Not yet. Colonial… No, Administrator Dae, Administrator Hanh, organize the people for an evacuation. And prepare the messenger hawks. We will make for the safety of Ba Sing Se."
Lady Su-Wei walked up beside the princess with a snarky grin. "And spirits save anyone who dares get in our way once word reaches the Scorpion."