Chapter 77

Remaining unseen indoors was trickier than it sounded, but Zuko had a wealth of experience when it came to sneaking around palaces.

It hadn't taken too long to make his may down into the crystal cave, and once there he began searching for the large green crystal Yung had described.

Finally he'd found it, and more importantly had been able to feel a slight breeze coming from a crack between it and the wall of stone that it covered. The governor's men hadn't discovered the secret escape tunnel after all! That meant the rebellion, and with them The Avatar, still had a chance to escape this city!

With that information confirmed, Zuko headed back to his meeting point with Sokka: one of the rooms used by the palace servants for storage. When he arrived Sokka was already there, scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment with such fervour that he didn't even notice Zuko enter. It wasn't until he put a hand on his shoulder that Sokka jumped and finally noticed him.

"Blue! You're back!" He cried, his voice torn between surprise and desperation. Hastily he folded up the note he'd been writing and stuffed it into his hands.

"There's no time! Tanya's discovered a way to the rebel headquarters, and in gathering a force to wipe them out as we speak! She'll be there within the hour! You need to get this note back to HQ as fast as you can: if they leave and begin the attack now, there's a chance they can all get out before Tanya and her extermination squad arrive! That also means that the most elite firebenders in Omashu won't be guarding the palace! It's the best shot we'll ever have of getting to the escape tunnel! It is still undiscovered, right?"

Zuko nodded, and Sokka sighed in relief. "Good. This may be our only chance, otherwise Omashu will end up just like Agna Qel'a and it'll all be my fault." He picked up a fire soldier helmet and placed it upon his head, the bristles of the ridiculous fake beard glued to his face sticking out the bottom.

"I'll stay here. When the rebels arrive I can open the palace door from the inside. We need to do everything we can to move as quickly as possible, otherwise the extermination squad will return and attack from behind."

There was no time to waste on pointless conversation. The clock was ticking, and every second wasted brought Tanya closer to the final victory she desperately desired. Without another word Zuko turned and ran, his mind already planning the optimal balance between stealth and speed he'd need to return to the rebels as soon as possible.

In one hour war would arrive at Omashu. And if they played their cards right, perhaps this time Tanya wouldn't get her way after all.

...

Night had fallen on Omashu.

The city was deathly silent. With the civilians confined to their homes, the only ones out and about were the patrolling guards, who listened warily for the sounds of trouble. Even the governor's palace was quieter than usual now that many of its strongest troops had gone with Tanya to the quarantine zone.

The first sign of trouble came in the form of a single pinprick of orange light appearing from around the corner of an alley. Nothing unusual in itself; patrols often conjured small flames in their hands to help themselves see in the dark. Nor was it unusual to see the second such light appear, or even the third.

But by the time a dozen lights had appeared, the guards were starting to panic. More and more lights appeared by the second, the combined dull glow enough to highlight the silhouettes of a hundred shadowy figures heading their way. The drumming of countless footsteps on the dusty ground grew louder and louder, drowning out the silence.

"Sound the alarm!" One of the soldiers shouted as he turned and ran back inside. "The rebels are coming!"

The clanging of bells erupted across the palace, waking all who slept and warning them to take up battle positions. Red and black soldiers scurried about like ants, grabbing weapons and setting up crude barricades, while those who had been patrolling the perimeter sprinted inside.

As the last of the soldiers made it into the safety of the palace, the captain in charge of organising the defence in the foyer looked up to the floor above, where a lone soldier stood before a heavy winch. "Close the portcullis!"

The soldier braced his arms against the handle, leant his weight against it, and pushed. He strained and he strained, the hairs of his luxurious beard bristling as he grit his teeth with effort.

Yet nothing moved.

"What's going on?" The captain shouted. "Private Fire! Get that grate shut!"

"It's jammed, captain! Won't move!"

There was a sudden cacophony outside as the approaching mob reached the stairs, and a hundred voices erupted into furious war cries at once. The pounding of their heavy steps could be felt through the ground.

"CLOSE IT!" The captain yelled.

Private Fire, who was perhaps suspiciously nonchalant about the whole thing if anyone cared to look closely, shrugged as if to say "what can you do?"

Panic flashed across the captain's face as the incoming horde drew ever closer. "RETREAT!"

The fire nation soldiers scattered, fleeing down smaller hallways and corridors. For those who'd been right at the front, such as the captain, there were too many bodies to push their way through to safety in time.

Stones and screams began to fly as the Omashu rebels burst through the open doors like a tidal wave and washed into the palace, falling atop the last of the fleeing soldiers.

There was a hectic energy in the air: a feeling of frenzy that promised violence. Yet before it could infect the rebels and lead them to give chase, General Yung's commanding voice cut through the commotion. "Don't get distracted! Hold positions!"

The members who'd once belonged to Omashu's army, disciplined by experience, came to a stop, and once they realised that backup wasn't following the civilian volunteers stopped running too.

All eyes turned to General Yung as he stood upon the plinth of a nearby statue to gain some height. He checked to confirm that all the rebels had made it inside, and then nodded towards Private Fire, who still stood next to the winch.

With a cheeky grin, Private Fire pushed the winch, which this time moved easily. The portcullis rattled as it closed, sealing off the palace from the city outside.

The fire nation captain and the other soldiers who'd been captured in the initial incursion howled in outrage as they realised what had happened. "Traitor!" The captain yelled at Private Fire. "You'd sell out your nation to these rebels?!"

Private Fire took off his helmet to reveal the heavily tanned skin of a young water tribesman. "Wrong nation." Sokka replied, twirling the hairs of the fake beard glued to his face between his fingers.

The captured soldiers were bound and gagged as Sokka climbed a ladder down to the ground floor, meeting up with Aang and Katara as the crowd let them through to stand in front of General Yung.

"Okay everyone, listen up!" The general shouted. "As we speak, The Demon of the North is arriving at our headquarters with her most elite soldiers. When she realises we're not there she'll no doubt figure out what's happening and come running back. We can't afford to be caught between her soldiers and the palace guards, so it is imperative that we escape the city before then."

He nodded gratefully towards the Blue Spirit. "Our agent has confirmed that the king's secret escape tunnel has yet to be discovered.

All we have to do is make it to the crystal caverns beneath the palace and we'll be in the clear. However, the guards here will have fallen back to secondary defensive positions, and have no doubt also realised that their best chance at winning is to hold out for reinforcements.

If their commanders have any sense at all, they'll be trying to block us from progressing forwards along the corridors, where the limited space will prevent us from rushing them all at once. There's no point in us sticking together if we're all just going to get bogged down in a single corridor."

Yung unfurled a map of the palace interior, which had three red lines drawn along it all leading from where they were now to the caverns.

"There are three paths to the caves. Everyone here will split into three teams and each take a different route. When one group manages to clear a path all the way to the caves, they send messengers to the other groups to abandon their own fights and join them. That way we only need to win one battle to secure victory. Any questions?"

"Umm-… general!" One of the rebels by the portcullis spoke up nervously. "We may have a problem."

All heads turned to peek outside. Far away, quickly rising in the night sky like a shooting star, was a dot of fire-orange light. As if summoned by their gaze the dot twirled and began heading straight for them.

"It's her! The demon's coming!" Another rebel exclaimed. "She must have left her army to catch up alone!"

"Run!" A younger rebel shrieked.

"No, idiot! Stand together! We outnumber her, this could be our chance to take her down!"

"Enough!" Yung cut in, silencing the panic beginning to spread. "She won't be foolish enough to engage us all as a group. Chances are she's hoping she can delay us. We don't have the time to wait around for her trickery! We press onwards!"

"But she'll attack us from behind!" Someone shouted.

"Then I'll stop her."

Katara stepped forwards, her face set in stone, and her blue eyes blazing with an icy fury.

Yung gave her an appraising look. "Are you sure about this?"

Katara nodded."Yes." She replied tersely. "She and I have a score to settle."

Yung held her gaze for a moment, searching her face for any sign of doubt or weakness. When he found none, he nodded back. "Someone get this young lady some water. The rest of you, let's get moving! We're racing against time tonight!"

The rebels began to bustle around, organising themselves loosely into three groups. As Katara went to wait by the portcullis, a hand reached out and grabbed her forearm.

"What are you doing?!" Sokka hissed, naked fear in his eyes. Aang, standing at his side, nodded in agreement.

"Standing up to her." Katara shot back. "I am sick and tired of running away whenever she turns up."

"She's dangerous, Katara." Aang interjected.

Katara looked at him, her frosty expression curling into a growl. "So am I."

"Then we'll stay with you." Sokka argued. "We'll fight her together."

"No." Katara snatched her arm out of Sokka's hand. "The rebels need you and Blue to lead them through the palace, and Aang needs to go and rescue Bumi. I can handle this alone."

Aang and Sokka shared a worried glance, but it was clear that Katara wasn't going to be swayed. "Alright..." Aang finally relented. "Just please, be careful. Pakku wouldn't have wanted you to get yourself killed in his memory."

"I won't." Katara assured him, a glint of steel flashing dangerously in her eyes. "The one getting hurt this time around won't be me."

...

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