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Kingdom of War	By : Jayrich Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female Views: 28040 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Kingdom of War 4
The Opening Gambit…
“…and no one could stop them!”
At the Jasmine Dragon in Ba Sing Se, three teenaged women chatted about the recent events that occurred at the prison; namely Long Feng’s escape. The shop was full, and the three just received their order of tea as a young woman with somewhat spiky hair and pigtails served it to them
“Here you are, ma’am.” said the Waitress, setting down their cups.
“Humph! About time!” One of them scowls, a young woman wearing expensive clothing and her hair in ox horns style.
“Come on Star, lay off.” Another one interjects. “I mean, she is the help.”
The three girls began to laugh heartily at the insult, as the waitress slowly left their table, embarrassed. She clenched her hands into fists, wanting desperately to sock one of them out cold. But a stunt like that might cost her this job, and she loved it. Payback would arrive though, as suddenly, through the front doors of the cabin stormed a large shirshu. It trampled past several tables, before coming to a stop right in front of the 3 girls, frightening them. Their eyes slowly moved upward to spot the rider of the large beast…a strong-looking woman whose hair covered her right eye. She was dressed as a bounty hunter, and her face exhibited the demeanor of one as well.
“H-H…How DARE you come at me with that beast!” Star told the woman. “Do you know who my family is!? I have half a mind to…”
The rest of her threat died in her mouth as she felt a strange sensation pass under her chin. Casting her eyes down, she saw it came from the shirshu’s tongue, which zipped back into its mouth. She also realized something else…she couldn’t move.
Falling lifelessly to the ground, she let out a stifled cry for help as her two friends ran to her side. “I’d worry about other matters if I were you.” The woman on the shirshu told Star, as her two friends quickly picked her up and rushed out of the Tea Shop. The woman then hopped off of her mount and walked towards the counter, as an old man emerged from the back of the shop.
“You know, that young woman comes from a very wealthy family, June.” The old man said to the woman.
“So she told me.” June replied, smirking as she leaned against the counter. “Hope I didn’t ruin business for you, Iroh.”
The old man, now identified as the Dragon of the West, smirked right back. “They were lousy tippers anyway. So what brings you back to my shop? Last time you were here, you said my tea was awful.”
“Let’s just say I had worse.” June replied. “Speaking of awful, I’m guessing you’ve heard about the breakout?”
Iroh nodded his head. “Yes. I always felt it was a mistake for Azula not to have him imprisoned in Boiling Rock. I expected his jailbreak to have come sooner.”
“Well, here’s something that should be soon enough for you.” June responded, spreading out a wanted poster of Long Feng, with the reward being $2 million. “The higher-ups in the Earth Kingdom have put a hefty price on his head…one that can be split 50-50. And since I’ve just recently heard of your help in liberating the Kingdom, ‘Dragon of the West’, I figured we should get first crack.”
Iroh smiled, almost embarrassed by the respect paid to him from the Bounty Hunter. “I am honored you would consider me for such a task…and in my younger days, I would’ve jumped at the opportunity, knowing how easy I could disable Feng. But I am an old man now; one that is retired and content running his own shop. Matters such as those are better left for the young. In fact, I would not be surprised if my nephew was already taking action.”
June smiled back at the Tea Shop owner and shrugged. “Well, it was worth a shot.” She motioned away from the bar, when she spotted the young waitress from earlier, smiling graciously at her.
“I just wanted to say…thanks for what you did.”
“Oh, where are my manners?” Iroh interjected. “This is my newest hire, Jin. She used to frequent the old shop where I worked, so I decided to hire her here.”
“Oh…” June said, turning to Jin. “No problem. Well, just don’t let snobby types like that boss you around. Remember, show them their place.”
Jin smiled and nodded as June began toward her shirshu. She stopped in mid-step though as she spotted over 8 young women entering the shop, all dressed the same with face paint to match, but with unique hair styles. The Kyoshi Warriors have arrived.
“Ah, I was wondering when you girls would pay my shop a visit again.” Iroh welcomed.
“It’s good to see you, Iroh.” Suki replied. “We’re just in town to see the blacksmith here, but we could use some tea.”
“Have you heard any word from Mai or Zuko?” Ty Lee inquired, joining her leader at the bar.
Iroh walked over to a whistling tea kettle and grabbed it, preparing their orders. “I’m afraid I haven’t heard from them since their visit four months ago. I’m sorry you missed it.”
“Oh…” Ty Lee sighed with sorrow. Iroh poured them each a cup, and placed it in front of them.
“Don’t worry about it.” He told her. “I find that it is impossible to separate good friends for too long. I am sure you & Mai will see each other again, soon.”
Ty Lee took the cup into her hands and grinned, grateful for Iroh’s words. As she went to drink though, she noticed something on the bar under her arm, the wanted poster of Long Feng. Both she and Suki read the poster, along with several other Kyoshi members.
“Is this true, Iroh?” Suki asked.
“I’m afraid it is.” He answered. “He escaped his prison holdings some days ago…”
Suki shook her head. “This isn’t good…”
“You don’t think he’ll attack the island again, do you?” One Kyoshi Warrior with dual chopsticks in her hair asked.
Iroh raised a curious eyebrow. “You’ve had dealings with him before?”
“Not him directly, but his men.” Suki explained. “The Dai Li came to Kyoshi Island a couple of years back, ‘requesting’ to form another base of operations here. We fought them off, but they did some serious damage to the island’s landscape. We had to ask for King Bumi’s assistance in reforming the land.”
“Do you think he’ll try something now?” Ty Lee asked.
Suki didn’t reply right away. Instead, she took a sip of her tea, placed the cup down, and turned to her troops. “I don’t think, I know. Let’s head over to the Blacksmith Shop! We need to get back to the island…and prepare for the worst.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________The lush landscape of Capitol City seemed to glow under the full moon, not unlike the flicker of a blue flame. Zuko stood on the balcony of his room at the palace and took in the sight, breathing deeply before exhaling. Over the past year as Fire Lord, he had come out here many times to collect his thoughts. Tonight was different, though. There was no new law to decide, no criminal to incarcerate, not even a grand opening to attend. In truth, it was truly peaceful in the Fire Nation…peaceful & boring.
“What are you doing out here?”
Zuko turned back into his room to see Mai coming out to join him. “Just…enjoying the air…”
“You’re a terrible liar.” She told him, her hands huddled together in her robe sleeves. “What’s wrong?”
Zuko gave off a half-grin. He never could hide a thing from Mai. “Well…I think I’ve been hanging around you too long. Lately, things have been just…boring. I mean, I know being the Fire Lord isn’t supposed to be glamorous or anything, but everyday is just feeling more humdrum.”
“I know how you feel.” Mai said genuinely. “I mean, with everything we went through in our lives, all of our journeys and adventures; stuff like this would seem boring in comparison.”
Zuko nodded his head in agreement, right before an idea popped into his head. “Well…there’s one thing we could do that isn’t boring…”
Mai grinned back at him as she moved closer. “Is that all that’s on your mind?”
Zuko didn’t answer. Instead he took his love into his arms, leaned in close and…
“A thousand pardons, Lord Zuko.”
The two turned back into the room and walked inside to see Li standing in the doorway. “I could not help but overhear your feelings about you daily royal duties.”
Zuko’s face turned a slight shade of red. “Look, I didn’t mean…”
Li put her hand up, stopping him. “I understand. Your grandfather had great disdain for the duties as well. But there is one thing you must remember about being the Fire Lord…there will always be a time when you are called upon to take action; if not just your nation, for the allies of your nation.”
She held up a small, rolled-up scroll and handed it to Zuko, who took it with confusion. “What’s this?”
“Something that I believe requires the Fire Lord’s attention…” Li answered. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I am an old woman who needs her beauty sleep.”
With that said, Li slowly walked off down the hallway towards her room, as Zuko moved towards the fireplace in his. Rolling open the scroll, he began to read every word scribed onto it. And with each passing word, his face began to light up. He grinned widely as he read on, puzzling Mai by his sudden change of attitude.
“Uh, Zuko? Are you OK?”
The Fire Lord finished his reading and rolled the scroll back up. “Actually…I’m feeling good.” He replied, before turning to her. “Hey, you up for a trip?”
_________________________________________________________________________________________“You must be an idiot…”
Those were the words Azula told Jet as she continued to wrap bandages around his lower chest & stomach. It had been nearly a week since the jailbreak which gave Long Feng his freedom, and Azula & Jet’s ‘attempt’ to stop him didn’t go unnoticed by the Warden. They were granted more leniencies during their incarceration, as evident by the two being outside, free from their cells at the moment.
“Taking on an expert Earthbender with nothing but curved knives? You’re either too brave or too stupid to know better.” She continued.
“Is this whole day gonna be you throwing insults at me about what happened?” Jet asked sarcastically. “AAAGGGHHH…” He got his answer when Azula abruptly tightened his bandages.
“It’s not wise to antagonize the one who can heal you.” She warned him.
Jet let off a subtle grin, liking the spunk Azula as shown. “Speaking of healing…any news on your Firebending?”
Azula slowly her wrapping pace, as she glanced down at her hands. “No…the Doctor in the ward said that at my age, my Firebending should be at its peak…not disappearing.”
Her look displayed genuine concern over this development. Without her Firebending, she felt powerless; more so than when her brother placed her here for her ‘own good’. Even though she was an accomplished fighter, her bending is what instilled fear & forced respect into her foes. Without it…well, if not for fate and Long Feng’s mercy, she possibly wouldn’t be here today.
She was suddenly taken out of her thought train as she felt Jet hold her hand. She glanced at him, and their eyes met. “Don’t worry, you’ll get it back.” He assured her. “Someone as stubborn as you can’t lose their powers for too long.” Usually comments like that would make Azula want to strike down their source in retaliation, but she smiled & giggled today, knowing it was a joke from him. “Besides…you know I’m here for you.”
She did know that. She didn’t know how she knew, but Azula felt that Jet was indeed here for her. In fact, since they’ve met, she’s known nothing but calming peace & happiness…besides the Long Feng incident. As they looked at each other, they became lost in each other’s gazes. Unknowingly their heads began to drift closer, and Azula slowly closed her eyes. She puckered her lips slightly, expected to be treated to one of life’s sweetest moments, her first kiss. Unfortunately…
“Azula!”
The sound of a familiar voice rang throughout the air. The two turned back toward the main building to see the Head Doctor of the Infirmary standing there. “I need you! Several more patients have come in!”
The Fire Princess’ first instinct was to tell him ‘let them heal themselves’. But since that would possibly cause her to lose the increased freedom she just gained, she went with her better judgment and turned to Jet. “I…I better…get going…”
“Yeah…” Jet replied with a smile. “I’ll see you later…”
Azula stood up from the bench and backed away from the young rebel, making her way toward the building. She found herself unable to take her eyes off of him until finally the threat of tripping and falling made her turn forward. The Doctor ventured back into the building, heading towards the Medical Ward with Azula following reluctantly after him. As she made it into the hallway though, she passed another prisoner, a young female, who bumped into her.
“Oh! My deepest apologies Princess!” She quickly said, almost cowering in fear.
Azula paused for a moment, before shrugging. “It’s fine…it’s nothing.”
The young woman was shocked to hear those words come from the cold Fire Princess’ lips. “It’s nothing? So it’s true…he has changed you.”
It was then that Azula shot her a look of confusion. “What do you mean? Who has changed me?”
“The man outside.” The young woman explained. “The time you’ve spent with him…it has made you soft. I did not—AAACCKK!!!”
The woman suddenly found words & air unable to escape her throat, as Azula clenched her hand around her neck. “You mind saying that again?” She asked coldly.
“My apologies!” The woman pleaded, fear in her eyes. “I did not mean…”
“Silence!” Azula commanded with her fierce royal demeanor on show. “You dare to tell me about a change in my attitude?”
“No! It’s just…that man!” The woman choked out. “Why would you associate with him? Knowing who he is?”
“What are you talking about?”
“That young man is Jet, a former Freedom Fighter from the Earth Kingdom!” The woman revealed. “He has sworn to destroy all who align themselves with the Fire Nation! I was in a village that he tried to flood. If not for the Avatar & his friends…I would have died.”
“Liar!” Azula scowled. “Do you think I would not know if scum like that were in my presence?”
“It’s the truth!” The woman exclaimed. “Ask him about his past, or the company he formerly kept! He is dedicated only to the destruction of our beloved Fire Nation. I tell you this because you are still Fire Nation royalty…and I do not want him to corrupt you.”
Azula paused, thinking over the words the female prisoner just spoke to her. She released her grip on her neck and began to ponder about Jet. Even through the weeks they’ve spent together, he hasn’t revealed anything about her past. In face, when asked about why he was incarcerated, he only replied by saying ‘he made bad mistakes’. Perhaps the young woman was telling the truth…
“Get out of my sight.” Azula snapped, and the young woman immediately obeyed. The Fire Princess then started down the hall again, but this time with her mind racked around the situation with Jet.
“I think it’s time for Jet to answer a few questions…” She told herself. “…and for his sake, he better give the right answers.”
At that moment, Jet stood up from the bench where he sat and decided to take a walk. That was, until a large prison inmate approached him. He sensed the convict behind him, bided his time, and then turned to face him, ready for battle.
“Hey, hey, whoa, whoa!” The large man said, holding his hands up. “I’m not here to start a fight! Besides, I learned my lesson after what happened a couple of weeks back. My name’s Po.”
The man held out his hand and, though he was reluctant to do so, Jet shook it. “Jet…and what happened a couple of weeks back?”
“Let’s just say I have a new reason to hate Long Feng.” Po answered.
Jet smirked in response. “Join the club.”
Po couldn’t help but to let out a hearty laugh at that comment. “Oh yeah, you’ll find a lot of guys who hate that man here! But I just wanna come over and say that you got guts, kid! I mean, fighting Long Feng is one thing, but courtin’ the high & mighty Fire Princess? Man!”
“Yeah, Azula.” Jet gave off a half-smile upon saying her name. “Her temper can be hard to deal with, but it comes with her being a Firebender.”
“Oh, she’s just not a Firebender, she is THE Firebender!” Po replied.
Jet grew confused after hearing that. “Wha-what are you talking about?”
Po drew up a curious eyebrow. “You really don’t know, do ya? HA! Let me fill you in, buddy. Your girlfriend is royalty; she’s the Princess of the Fire Nation.”
“That’s not funny.” Jet quickly replied, not amused.
“It’s the truth.” Po told him. “Your sweetheart is the daughter of former Fire Lord Ozai. And she’s daddy’s little girl right down to the number!”
Jet didn’t want to believe it, but couldn’t help but to think of the possibility; until he realized what else Po told him. “Wait, what do you mean former Fire Lord?”
“Geez, where’ve you been, under a rock?” Po asked. Jet wanted to reply ‘under a lake’, but held back from doing so. “Anyway, about over a year ago, Ozai got this crazy idea to lay waste to all the Earth Kingdom during some comet rush in the sky or something. Basically, he wanted scorched earth over Ba Sing Se so he could build his own city. Luckily, the Avatar smacked him down, but he had to strip him of his bending to do so. And your sweetie pie…takes right after daddy dearest.”
Jet clenched his hand in a fist, still mulling over the information presented to him. “Tell me…if Ozai’s not the Fire Lord anymore, who is?”
Po grinned somewhat deviously as he answered. “Her big brother, Zuko. Heh, and he might be your brother-in-law the way you two lovebirds were looking at each other!”
It was then that shock bolted throughout Jet’s body. His memories may have still been jumbled from his recovery, but he remembered the name Zuko. In his former life he tried his best to reveal Zuko & his uncle’s cover while they hid out in the Earth Kingdom. He began to recall even more, as he thought of a moment just several days ago, when he asked about Azula’s family and she mentioned Zuko. He kicked himself for not paying more attention to it. Multiple feelings raged inside of him. He felt hurt, crushed…betrayed.
“Huh…I think it’s time Azula & I had a heart to heart talk…
_________________________________________________________________________________________The sun hit the earth directly from above, indicating it was high noon as Appa flew majestically through the clear blue sky. Aang was seated on his back as always, and riding along on the saddle were Katara, Toph & Sokka. All three were searching the earth beneath them. They ventured into the Earth Kingdom hours earlier, but decided to take a topside view to see if Long Feng had struck already.
“It all looks the same to me.” Katara said. “I don’t see a change.”
“No sign of any rogue secret Earthbending Army from here, either.” Sokka quipped.
“Maybe we should land to get a closer look.” Aang suggested.
“Finally!” Toph lamented.
With a quick gesture, Aang relayed the message to Appa, and the flying bison swooped down low and made his landing in the middle of a village. Toph was the first one to hop off, and she immediately reveled in the joy of feeling the earth between her toes.
“Ah yeah! This is what I need.” She said joyfully, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Katara was the next to dismount. “This is supposed to be Chin Village. But…it’s so empty.”
“Maybe we caught them during naptime?” Sokka jokingly suggested, hopping off of Appa.
Aang was the final one to hit the ground, as he cautiously looked around. “No, there’s something wrong here. It’s a great day and no one’s out here. Not even the mayor. Toph?”
“They’re here.” Toph quickly replied. “I can sense them in their homes…especially the Mayor cowering in his. Don’t ask me why, though.”
“I believe it may be because of us.”
The four immediately turn their attention back towards the entrance of the village, where they spotted three lone men calmly walking toward them. The men wore jet-black robes with an Earth-style emblem on the front, and conical hats. The clothing helped instantly to identify them as…
“…the Dai Li. What have you done to the people of this village?” Katara demanded.
“Nothing, yet.” The leader answered. “In fact we just arrived 5 minutes before you. I guess news of our leader’s liberation has spread. My name is Tsung…” He looked over the four young warriors across from him, before coming to a stop when spotting Aang. “…and you must be the Avatar.”
“Why are you here?” Aang addressed them, gripping his staff firmly.
“Simply to spread a message from our leader.” Tsung told him, before addressing the entire town. “People of this village, consider yourselves fortunate, for you are part of a new change for the Earth Kingdom! The Earth King is an embarrassment to our nation, and shall be ousted and banished beyond this land! Your new rule shall be Long Feng, and in celebration this village will now & forever be known as Feng Village! And you, the loyal subjects of the Earth Kingdom, shall rest comfortably, knowing you are under the protection of the Great Long Feng!”
“And what if the people don’t want him as the leader?” Katara boldly challenged.
Tsung chuckled to himself in response. “I get it…you four are here to try and stop us. I recognize your clothing; tell me, what business is it of Water Tribe People what occurs in our land?”
“We have friends here.” Katara answered. “And we’re not just gonna stand by and let you take over.”
“We’re gonna fight.” Sokka added, backing his sister’s sentiments.
Tsung looked unimpressed. “Really? Do you honestly think you can defeat…”
“Alright, enough talk!”
Toph took the moment to step to the fore line, right in front of Aang. “I’ve tangled with Dai Li before, and I’ll bury you three right here.”
“Who do you think you are talking—!?”
Tsung quickly quieted his cohort, recognizing Toph’s face. “The Blind Bandit.”
Aang, Katara & Sokka were taken aback after hearing that name. “He knows you?” Sokka asked.
“Not closely.” Tsung explained. “But I fought her before, numerous times in the Earth Rumble when I was a beginner at Earthbending.”
“Heh, my guess is you haven’t changed.” Toph shot at him, angering the Dai Li agent.
“Oh, but I have. Observe my superiority.” Tsung made a simple gesture with his hand across his chest, and caused the ground beneath Toph to toss her into the air. She hit the ground, but quickly bounced back to her feet.
“Nice one.” She commented, grinning deviously. “Now it’s my turn.”
Toph countered with a leg sweep and hand gesture of her own that caused the ground to split open beneath Tsung, dropping him into an impromptu, and painful, full leg split. His two partners quickly brought him back upright, as Aang & Sokka snickered at the move.
“Oh man, that’s gotta hurt.” Sokka laughed.
Tsung obviously, was not amused. “Prepare to experience true pain!”
In unison, the three agents stomped the ground with their back legs, sending a large chunk of earth into the air. They then sent the chunks forward with simultaneous thrust kicks. However, Toph & Aang didn’t back down. Together, they stomped the ground with their front legs, drawing up a barrier of earth which blocked the attack successfully. From there, Sokka took action by jumping to the top of the barrier and launching his boomerang. But the Dai Li quickly shot it down, using the rock from their earthen gloves. They continued their attack, gracefully drawing up blocks of earth and forcefully shooting them at the barrier, breaking it down with each blow.
The barrier was close to crumbling when Katara decided to step in. Opening her side pouch, she bended out a stream of water. She then darted out from behind the barrier and launched it forward, splitting the stream in two. The dual streams of water made impact with two Dai Li agents on their legs, and instantly froze, locking them in place. Katara went for a final stream to ensnare Tsung, but the experienced agent made a twisting gesture with his wrists, and Katara found herself plummeting into the ground. In the blink of an eye, she was buried up to her neck.
“Katara!” Sokka went on the attack again, but suffered the same fate. Aang & Toph followed soon after, and all four found themselves sticking out of the ground from their neck up. Tsung even accounted for Appa, bending the earth underneath him so that all 6 of his paws were constricted, leaving him near motionless.
Tsung waved his hand and pushed the barrier aside before confidently strolling over to his fallen foes. “An admirable effort, but fruitless.” He shuffled his leg and drew up a tall pillar of earth, one nearly twice the size of Appa. “How glorious this will look on my part, as I deliver the news to Long Feng that I have destroyed his greatest threat…the Avatar!”
A sinister smirk crossed his face, as he prepared to drop the pillar down onto the four. But suddenly, a mysterious projectile from the sky struck Tsung in his sleeve, pinning him to the pillar. “What the—What’s the meaning of this!?”
Katara spotted the object that had Tsung pinned. It was a throwing dart, one that put a smile on her face. “Hey, I know that dart!”
Before Tsung could question her, a large ball of fire made impact with the pillar, crumbling it and sending him flying backwards. He skidded against the ground, but quickly jumped back to his feet. “Who would DARE interfere with Dai Li business!?”
Tsung got his answer, as now standing in front of Aang & his friends, were the Fire Lord and his woman. “The Avatar is an honorary member of the Fire Nation, and now under Fire Nation Protection!” Zuko announced. “You want him…you go through me.”
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Kingdom of War