Book Four: Air, Part Two

"Good idea," Sokka said with nod as they entered into the village. He was tempted to say, "Stay Close", but he knew how Toph felt about that sort of thing. He instead asked, "I'm guessing you want to be the bad cop?"

IC: Jerrel

The drunk and his friends looked up at Jerrel. "Who the hell are you? Buzz off!"

"That's my woman, you've got you mits on, and if she says let her go, you let her go." Jerrel grabbing Suki's wrist with one hand, and twisting the drunks hand with the other. Jerrel pulled Suki toward him. "Don't say anything, you can thank me once I take care of the trash." He whispered to Suki as she moved behind him.

***

IC: Suki

She was surprised by Jerrel's actions, but even more surprised at the lie that he told the drunks. She remained silent as she was asked, and played the part of the frail young woman.

Akemi just smiled and ate her food. Although she wouldn't admit it, she enjoyed being able to relax, even if for a little while. Shallowing Akemi carefully asked the question she wanted to know.

"I know right. I mean even his captured wife is eating better, but only because we're so nice," she said with a slight hint of sarcasm.

Zuko walked slowly down the small town's dirt road. The citizens bowed to him as he walked by. Zuko responded with a warm smile and bowed his head every time. The smile was true and grateful, though hard for him to manage. His worry for Mai and his anger for the bastard the rebels call the 'general' were hard to hide. His eyes sometimes drifted left an right. He stopped when he noticed a familiar tea shop. He brought Mai here on one of their holidays.

He turned around and faced the villagers and his friends.
"Honorable Residents of Guan Dai, I must ask a favor of you all. There is an rebel uprising trying to dethrone me, as I am sure you heard. I know not why they would want to end the peace so suddenly, but I swear to you all they shall be found and brought to justice. These rebels not only kidnapped my beloved Mai, but they also wish to destroy our hard-earned peace. I beg of you, if you know anything about these rebels, than please tell me or my friends here. Any information is greatly appreciated and I shall reward those brave enough to step forward. Honored citizens of the great Fire Nation, I thank you all"
Zuko hopped that his sincere words would help to wield results.


Hiruki walked into the tea shop and took a seat. He put his hands in his robes and pulled out a beautiful tobacco pipe made of oak and a map of the Fire Nation. A jade dragon was etched and painted around the pipe. He ordered some Lao and White Lemon Tea. While he waited he looked over the map. He looked up at Ty Lee
"So....You got any idea what to do?"

IC: General Narrative

There were murmurs coming from the crowd after Zuko had said his piece. Katara hoped someone would come forward and assist them, but she was not holding out for much. In this area of the Fire Nation, there was a lot of rebel activity. These people were probably terrified of retribution, should they help the Fire Lord the rebellion so despised.

But one man did speak up. He walked up to Zuko and nodded.

"Come see me later tonight, at the old inn," he said.

***

IC: Rebel

The rebels laughed. Their banter would have continued, had not another rebel burst into the tent with news.

"The Fire Lord has been spotted!"

***

IC: Toph

"Oh, that sounds like fun," said Toph, grinning almost evilly. "I'll have to keep that in mind."

They made their way to the dockside of the small town. There, they looked for Hahn's boat, or even a sign of Hahn and his men.

Akemi's small smile was quickly wiped from her face when she heard that the Fire Lord was spotted. She stood, her heart beating faster. When she first joined the rebellion she was unsure of what she was doing. But now she knew better. Her heart raced not from fear, but from excitement. Akemi approached the rebel.

"Where has he been spotted? Does the General know?"

Zuko smiled at the man and nodded, "Of course. Thank you." He bowed his head, turned and began walking away slowly. He looked up to the clouds and declared, "By the Gods, these rebels will learn to fear my fire and broadswords.....Wait for me, Mai."

Aang watched Zuko speak, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. From years of being the Avatar, he wasn't one to seek out extra attention. He looked over at Katara and spoke, "I haven't seen him like this since he was hunting me."

*

Sokka grinned at his girlfriend with a smile. He certainly knew how to motivate her, he'd give himself that. He just needed to practice not being scared of her evilness... His eyes widened when he spotted a Water Tribe ship with tell-tale signs of earthbending damage.

"Over there!" he exclaimed, pointing at it.

IC: Rebels

"A message has been sent to the General," said the man, all in one breath. "As for the Fire Lord... He and a small group just passed into a town a few miles north of here. A few more of his team is headed this way!"

***

IC: Toph

"I'll have to take your word for it," said Toph, shrugging. "Let's go check it out. Maybe we'll find somebody over there to help us."

***

IC: Katara

"He is worried about Mai," said Katara, shrugging. "Love makes us all a little crazy."

Aang smiled wryly, remembering all the times that statement applied to him. He nodded, "That's true."

*

Sokka grinned at Toph sheepishly, remembering once again that she was technically blind. He grabbed her hand and headed towards the docks, easily spotting the foreman.

"Whose ship is that?" he asked.

Akemi nodded and glanced back quickly at her food. She wasn't going to be able to eat right now.

"Ok. Some of us should head into town to make sure the Fire Lord doesn't find this place," Akemi said, trying to surpress the anger she felt. "I'll go as well."
----------------
Mai frowned as she heard some kind of commotion. She wanted to see what was happening, but sadly there was no way for her to do so. Taking a chance she walked over to the door.

"Hey! Can any of you morons out there tell me what's happening?"

IC: General Narrative

"What? That one?" The foreman nodded at the Water Tribe ship. "Oh. Belongs to a real weird group. Their leader claimed to be some prince, or something, from the Northern Water Tribe. He had a real nasty looking crew, though. They all went into town for supplies, I think. They're shipping out tonight. Too late, if you ask me."

"Did they say where they were going to get supplies?" said Toph.

The man shrugged. "Beats me. All the stores here carry what you need. Cheapest is on Knockabout Alley, though. Folks there don't ask questions, even with illegal stuff."

***

IC: Katara

She smiled warmly at Aang. "We should help out as much as we can, then," she said. To Zuko, she added, "Zuko, let's get to that tavern. I'm sure that man is waiting for you now."

***

IC: Guard

A man glanced back and looked into Mai's cell. He grinned.

"Your boy's been spotted."

"Let's just try to be careful," Aang noted, "It's not everyday the Fire Lord visits a local tavern. It could cause a commotion.
*
"We should check there first and then a tavern," Sokka suggested to his girlfriend, "Those are the places Hahn or his men are bound to be."

Zuko half-smiled at Aang's comment. "It's not that strange, is it?" He though back to his days working in thew tea house as he walked into the tavern. He looked around, hoping to catch sight of the man that he spoke to before.

IC: Katara

"There he is, Zuko," said Katara. She pointed to the back of the room. "Over there."

The old man was sitting at one of the far tables. He nodded at the newcomers, but otherwise did not stop drinking his mug of ale.

***

IC: Toph

"Good idea," said Toph. Then, in a rare soft moment, she added, "And let's be careful. This guy still wants to kill you."

Not that she would ever let that happen, but still. She felt as if she should remind him to be cautious. This was serious.

They walked from the docks into the town itself. It was late, but the narrow streets were still packed and flowing with travelers.

Mai sucked in air when the guard told her that Zuko had been spotted. She didn't try to let the guards know that she was surprised and so Mai scoffed and went back to the cot. But laying on it, the girl felt herself smile.

"Agni please let Zuko save me. I beg of you."
---------------------------
Akemi headed into town, her weapon concealed beneath her robe. Moving casually, the rebel scanned the place for Zuko. Spotting him, Akemi scowled, but then sneered. She entered the tavern, appearing to look like any other girl there.

"I know," Sokka told her with a grim expression. No one had actually tried to kill him before, at least purposefully. People did try to kill him in battle but that was in the heat of the conflict. No one exactly premeditated it.

He grinned a little at Toph, "Like he'll ever succeed. Come on."

With that said, he headed towards a group of sailors playing some sort of dice game.

IC: Man

Once Zuko, Aang, and Katara had sat down at the table, the man set his mug to the side. He looked them all in the eye.

"I think I might have some idea as to where your rebels might be," he said.

"Really?" said Katara, excited. "Where?"

"It's not exact, mind you... Just an idea." The man cleared his throat. "Out in the hills, there are some caves. They all connect, so it's like some big underground fortress. I live out there, close by, and I've been seeing some strange things."

***

IC: Toph

She tailed after Sokka. They soon came across a group of men playing, it sounded like, dice. Toph almost joined in, thinking it would make for some fun, but she held back. They were on a mission, and they could not afford to get distracted.

"Thank you for telling us this," Aang told the man gratefully, reaching into his pocket and handing some coins to the man, "It can't have been easy to tell us this with all the rebels around."

*

"So, any of you guys, know anything about that Water Tribe ship," Sokka asked the gamblers.
One of them looked up before looking back down at the game, "What's it to you, ponytail. Take your girlfriend with you and leave us alone."

"Tell you what," said Toph, not in the mood for these guys. "Tell us what you know, and we'll make it worth your while. Or we could just beat the pants off you in a game, and you tell us what you know after we win."

The same man chuckled, "Okay. You can join in. But if I win, I get a kiss."
As if to emphasize this, he opened his mouth, exposing his rotting gums.

Toph didn't need to see in order to know that was something she really did not feel like doing. She shrugged and sat down close to the game. "Sure, whatever. You can keep on dreaming though, buddy, 'cause I'm gonna win."

The man grunted and gestured to the board, "This is called Liar's Dice. We each bid on what we got and what the others have instead. For example..."
He shook a couple of dice in a cup and carefully opened it to reveal it only to him, or so he thought. He got three waters, but he spoke, "Two of a kind."

IC: Toph

She snorted. "I'll bid a gold piece against you, and that, 'cause it's a lie," she said, bluntly. To prove her point, she dug around in her pouch and tossed over a gold piece.

The man growled and revealed his dice before tossing her a gold piece, "Fine. You win this round. Your turn."