Seven ships, and a little over three thousand Domestic Forces personnel a small handful of Marines, and even smaller mixture of Royal Procession and Kyoshi Warriors. Not exactly a Force to be reckoned with, but it was all that could be pulled together on such short notice. Sung stood on the top deck as he usually did on these voyages. He was dressed in a fresh black shirt and he wore a brand new set of black armor with red trim. On his belt was a brand new Jian.
He hated the weapon, the sword he wore now was held in a redwood scabbard, the handle made of the same material, the cross guard was a simple square piece of iron, the same for the Small diamond shaped pommel cap. This was the standard issued sword for the Army, a mass produced piece of junk, unlike his Jian that had been forged by hand. No doubt his ancestors were none too happy with him right now. The first Yang in history to have lost a weapon that had served his House for generations. Though ironically he didn't see losing the weapon as a dishonor as much as he should have.
Yes the sword was full of history, and served as the Houses Badge of Lordship for generations, but at the end of the day it was just a sharp piece of steel with a fancy hilt. He had been taught since he was a boy that only a fool trusted his life to a single weapon. It took more to be lord of Sun Dao than to wield that sword. A lord needed to care about Sun Dao more than they cared about themself, Kurn did not have that trait. The only reason Sung even carried a sword at this moment was he felt naked without it. He was so used to feeling the weight of a sword on his belt that he feared if he didn't wear one now he'd be walking off balanced, that was just classic Sung superstition, but having the sword made him feel better.
Beside him Zuko stood, dressed in Royal armor, a black helmet under his arm with a spike on the brow, on his back he wore the dual broadsword's he favored. He had an uncomfortable look on his face. "Did you have to make the knot so tight under my arms, I can feel it chafing."
"I tied yours the exact way I have tied mine for years." Sung said with a laugh. "Not once has my armor fallen off in battle. That palace living has made you soft."
"Soft in the body perhaps, but not the mind." Zuko replied with a smile. "Juggling tax reports, and whining nobles strengthens one's resolve."
"Makes me happy the only whining noble on Sun Dao is me." Sung joked. "I hate those tax forms you make me fill out though, I don't know who you have writing those out but you should have told them to make it easier to read."
Zuko looked at him. "Ah you ARE a whining noble." He said with a laugh.
"I'm not whining in this instance, just giving constructive criticism." Sung said with a grin. "Way back when Lords like me were the advisors to Fire Lords like you. Tadashi Yang certainly made a name for himself in Zoyru's court. As far as I know he is the only man or woman in the history of our country to not only threaten to kill the Fire Lord, but call him an idiot to his face and live to tell the tale."
"I suppose it helped to have a dragon in his corner." Zuko said.
Sung was caught off guard by that. Yes it was common knowledge that Tadashi had fought off Chins army but what wasn't talked about as much was how exactly he had done it. When dragon hunting became popular during Sozins reign stories about heroic dragons were put on the back burner in favor of stories about blood thirsty dragons. Made killing them more honorable. "You've been brushing up on your history lessons." He said.
"When all this started." Zuko began. "And I went to Sun Dao looking for you, Naomi told me Tadashi's story." Zuko had realization flash across his face for a moment and he laughed. "And Tadashi is not the only person to threaten a Fire Lord and live to tell about it."
Sungs eyes went wide. "Naomi didn't..."
Zuko nodded. "Naomi did. I always liked her." Sung frowned now and Zuko held up a hand. "Not like that, I just enjoyed her company. She is a nice woman. I remember when we were boys she was like our shadow, always following us around to make sure we stayed out of trouble."
"But she was usually the one causing the trouble." Sung said with a laugh. He could think of one instance in particular, somehow Naomi had talked the two of them into filling up water balloons and climbing up to the top of Castle Yang and dropping those balloons on unsuspecting passersby down below, one of those balloons had landed on Sung's fathers head and he looked up at them with an annoyance that Sung had never seen his father express. Sung could hear his father now telling him and Zuko to stay put, that he was going to have a very long talk with them. He and Zuko had turned around and Naomi was nowhere to be found. The two of them had spent the rest of that afternoon scrubbing dishes as punishment, Naomi mocking them for their misfortune...unaware that Sung's father had been close by listening and she two shared in their punishment. "I miss those long summer days when we were children. Things seemed simpler then."
"They were." Zuko said with a nostalgic sigh. "Back when we were young and dumb."
"I don't know about you but I'm still plenty dumb." Sung said as he leaned on the guard rail and watched the front of the ship cut through the waves. "I knew going into the Jungle was most likely a trap...but Kang told me to go and I was so fixated on catching Kurn that I didn't think properly...led my soldier's into a ambush...got my friend killed." Of course if Duru was here he probably wouldn't see it like that, Duru would probably have some witty comment to say, about how someone had to catch a hit meant for Sung, so it might as well have been him. "It was only through Luck that we were able to organize ourselves enough to create a corridor. I stayed behind with a rear guard to give the rest of my army chance to escape, I was the only survivor from that rear guard." Sung sighed. "After this, I'm hanging up the Uniform for good, I'm tired of the soldiers life. Now I want to go back home, settle down...try and start a family of my own."
"I hope you don't hide yourself away this time." Zuko said as he leaned next to Sung. "I may need an advisor in Lordly manners." Zuko said with a elbow to Sung's side.
He shook his head. "No, I'm done running from the past. I think I already said it before, or I heard someone say it or I just imagined it...but the only good thing about this war was that we all reunited, you me, Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula. You're all very important to me in very different ways. I missed you all and we certainly have a lot of lost time to make up for. I expect to be informed when Zuko Junior is born. I want to see my little niece when she comes int the world." Sung said.
Zuko nodded. "Believe me Sung, you'll be one of the first to know, and I expect to be informed when you intend to marry my sister."
"I will." Sung said with a laugh. "I did tell you once that someday I'd be your brother in law."
"I hope that someday is soon." The voice of Azula called from behind them. Sung turned to see her walking up the steps that led below deck, she was still dressed in the armor but she had done away with the crown. She had a rather mischievous smile on her face. "At the rate you take to give me heartfelt confessions we'll both be old."
Sung turned to her and smiled warmly. "What's the rush?" Sung asked her. "They say good things come to those who wait."
Azula tilted her head back and sighed dramatically. "Sung darling, I think I waited long enough, it took you months to tell me that you had feelings for me, am I going to have to wait years before you pop the question?"
What Sung decided to do next was indeed a very spur of the moment affair but she was right, after everything they had been through together, all the good and all the bad...it had been long enough. Sung pushed himself off of the guard rail and walked over to her and took her hands. She leveled her beautiful ember eyes with his. "Azula...will you marry me?" He asked, finishing with a smile.
Instead of a smile in return Sung received a frown. "Well...I was expecting something more...well I don't know what I was expecting." Then she smiled one of her beautiful smiles. "But yes...I'll marry you Sung Yang. I hope you don't expect me to be a stay at home house wife though, if there is an adventure to be had then I want to share it with you."
"With you by my side Azula, every day will be an adventure." Sung said. He then leaned in and kissed her gently.
"I could marry you two right now if you wanted." Zuko chimed up almost as an afterthought. "I am Fire Lord after all and no one's going to tell me I can't."
Azula broke the kiss immediately and looked over Sung's shoulder at Zuko. "Absolutely not Zu Zu, I am not getting married on a Navy ship of all places. I want to get married in the Castle Yang Garden, surrounded by my family and friends." The tone in her voice made it clear that was not a topic for debate, that was fine with Sung, he would much rather be married in that beautiful garden too, surrounded by loved ones.
"Besides." Sung added. "We're sailing into a possible battle" sung said possible because in his mind with all the chaos they had left behind when they fled the Black Cliffs is was quite possible that all those that could put up a fight had killed each other, though he wasn't going to hold his breath in that regard. "Its a bad omen to get married before battle."
"Is it?" Azula asked him.
Sung laughed. "No, but I don't want to risk it."
*
The landing on the Black Cliffs was an unopposed one. The area was a silent as the day the island had been formed. The only things here to even notice their arrival were large herds of koala sheep. It was truly unsettling how silent it was. The walk to the top of those massive cliffs was an uneventful one. Reaching the top Sung looked out over the ocean, the black plumes of smoke rising out from the smoke stacks attached to the small fleet of warships that waited just off shore. No doubt the crews of those ships looked back at the detachment with their breaths held, thinking at any moment they would see a battle that they could only watch and hope their side won. Sung shook his head, pushing that rather cheery thought to the back of his mind as he looked back at the Regiment as it spread out across the grassy surface. Aside from Zuko and Azula coming along on this "grand adventure" Azula's newest friends Jing and Daichi had joined them, their knowledge of the complex's layout being deemed useful.
"They closed the hole." Jing spoke up, standing over a patch of earth where there was no grass, but only a small circular section of upturned earth, like someone had picked at it with a gardening tool but decided half way through that they would rather plant somewhere else.
"That means someone got out." Daichi chimed in as he kneeled next to the upturned patch and put his hand on it. "Or Kurn won and he fortified his position."
"It doesn't matter." Sung chimed in. "If he's still here he has nowhere to run." Sung then looked out at the gathered Domestic Forces Soldiers, a great many of whom carried back packs. "Set up the blasting blocks." The plan wasn't exactly fool proof but it was simple, blast holes in the complexes roof and then rappel inside, clear the place out as quickly as possible.
The soldiers went to work in silence, teams of three spreading out across the field to set up the charges. As they worked Zuko and Azula who had been dragging up the rear per Sung's recommendation, began approaching. Behind them was that rather small mixture of Royal Procession and Kyoshi warrior's, two of those warriors being their leader Suki and Ty Lee. "It's strange how peaceful it is here now." Azula said as she looked out over the land, walking over to Daichi and Jing. "How calm everything is."
"The calmest places can hide the greatest darkness." Jing said.
Daichi laughed as he stood up."Didn't take you for a poet."
"I'm not." Jing said. "But I have been around the block a time or two. Peaceful exterior does not equal peaceful interior."
"Oooh that gave me chills." Ty Lee chimed in. "You should be a poet."
Jing frowned. "I suppose I'll add amateur poet to my resume then."
"Charges are set General!" A female Domestic Forces Colonel shouted from further down the field.
At that Sung looked at Zuko. "I'll lead the first contingent in, you and Azula bring up the rear."
"I think not Sung." Azula said with a smirk. "I'm going in right beside you. Remember what I said about adventures to be had?" She said it in a way to suggest that the topic wasn't one that was up for discussion, nor did Sung care to argue it with her right now.
"Very well." Sung said returning the smirk. He then looked out at the Domestic Forces Soldiers. "When we get down there all of you keep your heads on a swivel, they have Earthbenders down there and they will be quite literally be in their element. Check your corners and feel for vibrations. If you feel one look down because that means they are coming out of the ground." He then looked to Zuko. "You ready?"
Zuko gave a calming sigh, or what Sung assumed to be his attempt at a calming sigh. "Let get this done."
"Fire in the hole!" A Domestic Forces Soldier shouted. A second later there were a series of explosions, one going off right after another, kicking up dirt...and then silence as a series of holes had been formed. Seconds later Soldiers carrying specifically designed crossbows made to fire metal shafted arrows, approached these holes and aimed at the ground, firing and digging the arrows into the rock below.
Ropes were then tied to these arrows and then dropped into the dark chasms. What struck Sung as odd or better yet surprising was they hadn't started taking Fire the second the explosions had finished. He had at least expected to hear shouts down below, but outside of the soldiers moving about no other sounds could be heard.
Sung stared down into the darkness of the nearest hole, when he had last been here the rebels had the complex lit up with lanterns, but now he was staring into pure pitch black darkness and he couldn't see if something was staring back at him. It was the dark that man was scared of...it's what hid in the dark that they feared.
"Let's go." Sung said as he grabbed onto the rope and began to slide into the hole, others around him doing the same. He tried to keep his breathing under control as the light from above grew more and more distant, the air getting cooler by the second.
There was a thirty second time span where Sung slid down the rope until his feet landed on something soft. Letting go of the rope he held a hand up and conjured a red flame for light, realizing quickly that he was standing on a man's body, they laid face down, a Dao just out of reach. He let out an involuntary gasp as he stepped off.
By now others had joined him from the other holes and the firebenders among them conjured their own flames adding to the light. Sung and the others realized quickly that they were in a graveyard. All around the large chamber the bodies of rebels laid like a giant child had gotten angry at his toy soldiers and threw them around the room.
Sung looked around and saw the parked rows of tanks that had once been a force to be reckoned with, all destroyed and abandoned. The ground under them charred black. "By the Goddess..." Azula said as she stepped beside him. He had noticed that recently she had been referencing Amaterasu in the same way that he did, not once since he had known her had he tried to convert her, he had never pushed his religion onto others. But Sung recalled that Azula had said that before leaving Sun Dao she had taken part in her own cleansing ritual, maybe she had seen something in her vision to make her believe? He knew strange things happened during those rituals that couldn't be explained by science. "Who won?" She asked looking over the bodies.
"I don't think anyone did..." Sung replied. Sung looked up at the hole he had entered from he could see the dark figures of people looking down at him. "The way is clear, bring down some lights."
*
The lanterns did no justice to the horror, only making it more visible. If there was a way for a person to get killed, it had happened in this chamber. Some of the tanks had been turned over, under one Sung could see a pair of legs sticking out. Other bodies were sitting against tanks with their heads drooping, others laid in strange positions clutching their spears or swords, a great many were burned beyond recognition. Ty Lee looked sick as she looked around the chamber and he couldn't blame her and she was by means not the only one, this fight had been a pointless one. This entire war had been pointless.
Domestic Forces personnel went about the chamber looking over the bodies to see if any still drew breath, others had moved further into the complex to clear it. Sung moved about the chamber quickly noticing that the Airships that had been here were gone, so were the war balloons...that meant someone had gotten out. No doubt it was Kurn, that bastard had a habit for slipping away. But where would he run to now? Ember Island, Ma'inka? Wherever it was he wouldn't be able to hide for long, his forces fighting amongst themselves would get out to others before long.
Sung turned and across the chamber he could see Azula and Zuko standing together, looking down at one of the bodies. The closer he walked he realized they were staring at Ozai. His robes were singed from where Azula had hit him with lightning, his eyes closed. Sung couldn't help but wonder what Ozai's last thought had been before the darkness, had he been surprised his own daughter had been the one to end him? "He...looks so peaceful." Azula said.
"This is probably the most at peace he has felt in a very long time." Zuko replied to her. He actually reached out and put an arm around her, as if to comfort her. "I don't know...but for some reason I feel...I don't know...sad."
Azula leaned her head on her brother's shoulder. "I know what you mean...I feel the same way. I don't know if killing him was the right choice, but I couldn't stop myself... he was cruel...but he was still our father, he will always be our father. No matter how much we wish he wasn't."
Sung stopped his walking now and turned and headed in a different direction, decided that it was best if the siblings had a moment to "grieve" alone. Instead he walked over to where Ty Lee and Suki stood Ty Lee was keeled over her hands on her knees, Suki was gently patting her on the back. "You okay?" Sung asked.
"F-fine." Ty Lee said, her voice strained. "It's just...there's so many people in here, the aura in here is so black, it's strong."
"You can leave if you need to." Sung said to her. "I think we've got the situation under control."
Ty Lee stood up and looked at him. "I'll be fine...I just need a minute to process, this is like what we saw on Ma'inka...all those bodies just thrown all over the place."
"I know what you mean." Sung said, absentmindedly resting his wrist on the pommel of "his" sword. "You alright Suki?" He then asked.
"I wouldn't say I'm "alright" but...I'm coping." Suki said. "I've never seen anything like this."
"I've learned that no matter how many times you see things like this, you never get use to it."
"Thanks for the cheerful thought." Suki scoffed. "I'm glad you put it in my mind."
"Sorry." Sung said, rather embarrassed. "I'm not very good at...small talk with new people. Just know wherever you're feeling right now, I'm feeling it to."
Suki gave a small smile. "At least we're not the only ones in here feeling uneasy."
"I imagine everyone here is feeling uneasy." Sung said with a sigh. "I just keep praying with every day this gets closer to ending, but every time I think the finish line is around the next bend, it gets moved." Foot steps approaching caused Sung to look up, he saw Jing, Daichi and a group of Domestic Forces soldiers walking back into the chamber from a nearby hallway. He noted that Jing and Daichi both had somber looks on their faces, Daichi holding a piece of paper in his hand.
"The base is deserted." Jing said. "No one alive is here."
"But we found this." Daichi spoke up as they walked over to Zuko and Azula. Daichi handing over the paper he held to Zuko.
Seeing this Sung walked over to join them. Zuko had a grim look on his face as he handed the paper to Azula. Seconds later she had the same look on her face. "What is it?" Sung asked.
"You're not going to believe it." Azula said, handing him the paper.
Sung took it and she was right, he didn't believe it. It was a letter of sorts though it didn't say who it was addressed to it didn't matter, what mattered was what the letter was about.
Find me on Hing Wa Island, Tawakonai Valley.
Kurn.
This was completely out of character for Kurn, to tell them exactly where he was. He had told Sung once that he had nothing to gain from telling Zuko what he was doing, so why would he start doing it now all of a sudden? Maybe with Ozai's death, and Azula refusing to pick up the mantle, mixed with how his forces here had turned on each other, Kurn was pulling everything he had into an all or nothing fight. He knew that without Ozai and Azula a large portion of what he had used of as a rallying cry was cut. Kurn knew that the threads holding his rebellion together were being cut one by one. Sung knew one thing for sure, despite everything Kurn had done he was a warrior first and foremost, he knew everything he had been working to accomplish was never to be...so his only choice now was to die in battle, Sung knew this because it was how he had once thought, warriors didn't allow themselves to be captured.
"This has to be another trap." Zuko said.
"I don't think it is." Sung said. "Everything he had was riding on Ozai and Azula, Kurn may have built this but a majority of the rebels were rebelling because of Ozai and the message that they perceived Ozai to be. I imagine many won't see the point in continuing to fight, especially after what Azula did. When Ozai died Kurns core message was destroyed. I suspect there will be some who continue to fight, fight for Ozai like he's a martyr...but Kurn has been dealt a blow that he can't hope to come back from."
"He told me himself Zuko." Azula spoke up. "Kurn said he isn't capable of being a ruler, he says he just a soldier. When word gets out that Ozais own daughter doesn't want the crown the rebels will begin to break apart, it won't happen over night but it will happen." Azula pointed at the letter. "That right there is the final throws of a wounded animal who knows it's death is fast approaching. We can finally end this, we can actually end it!" She was getting excited now, trying to get Zuko to see what Sung and her saw.
Zuko paused and looked around the chamber. At the Domestic Forces Soldier's who watched the interactions. Sung could see the hope on their faces, hope that the fighting would finally stop. "When we get back to the capital I will begin to send messenger hawks to my commanders in the field...we end this! We end this rebellion!" Even surrounded by all the death and all the destruction the Soldiers present began to cheer.
Finally that finishing line had stopped moving, Sung had this strong feeling that he couldn't explain that Kurn was on his last leg, and the only thing left to do was to kick him over. End this once and for all. "See you soon Kurn...." Sung said, balling the paper up and dropping it on the ground. "See you soon."