CHAPTER ELEVEN
WHILE AANG, SOKKA, AND TOPH WERE OFF doing their own things, Katara and Yan were responsible with discussing the invasion plan for the Day of Black Sun with the Council of Five, a group consisting of the five highest-ranking generals in the Earth Kingdom Army. The two girls stood in a room in a building in the Upper Ring. At the center of the open room was a massive map of the world, the Council of Five sitting across the way while Yan and Katara stood side by side on the other end.
"General Fong's base will serve as the launching point for the attack. In exactly two months, the army and navy will invade the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun." General How said as he used his bending to slide three green rectangular figurines across the map to a single red figurine, representing the Earth Kingdom invading the Fire Nation. As he slid the figurines across the map, Momo jumped up on the table and toppled the chips, causing Katara to chuckle.
"Or we could send in Momo to do some damage." she laughed as Momo continued to run across the map. When she noticed that the generals weren't laughing, she cleared her throat and apologized. Yan, standing at attention, couldn't hold in her chuckle as she too laughed.
General Sung, the general in charge of the Outer Wall defenses, looked over at Yan, looking her up and down. "What is your name, soldier?" he asked as the other generals looked over at Yan.
Yan straightened up and swallowed a lump in her throat as she glanced at Katara. "Yan Qiang, sir," she answered honestly, tired of using her false name. The generals murmured to themselves, Yan using context clues to figure out what they were going to ask her. "To answer your questions, sirs, yes, I am a woman. Yes, I disguised myself as a man to sneak into the military. Yes, I am aware that women are not allowed to fight in the Earth Kingdom military. I am aware that I could be arrested for my dishonesty and insolence but if you were to arrest me now, you would be losing a useful ally."
The generals quieted down once all their questions had been answered, continuing with the battle plan discussion. General How fixed the figurines, Momo screeching in fright and returning to Katara's shoulder. "All we need is the Earth King's seal in order to execute the plan," he said as he slid a rolled scroll across to Katara.
"I'll get these scrolls to him right away. Thank you, General How." Katara thanked the general as she and Yan bowed respectfully and exited the war room.
Katara and Yan walked through the city, Yan's stomach growling with hunger. "Ooh... I guess food wasn't on my mind when I decided to join you in the war room," she said with a small chuckle as she put a hand to her belly. Katara, having heard Yan's stomach loudly growl, chuckled and looked over at Momo who was balancing on her shoulder.
"Momo is probably hungry too. Let's see if we can find anything around here for a quick snack that will hold us over until dinner," she suggested as she scratched Momo behind the ear. The earthbender and waterbender walked around the Upper Ring, trying to find a place to get something quick to eat. Katara spotted a tea shop where an influx of people were filing in and out. "How about here? We can get a cup of tea before delivering these scrolls to the Earth King."
Once Yan nodded, recognizing the tea shop as the Jasmine Dragon, she and Katara began to approach the doors, the smell of pastries and freshly brewed tea beckoning them. "Table for three, please," Yan said to one of the hostesses waiting to greet any guest that entered the doors. As the hostess bowed and walked off to find an available table, Katara suddenly grabbed Yan's arm, causing her to jolt in fright. Before she could ask what was wrong, Katara pulled Yan out of the tea shop and began running down the street.
"Katara, wait! What is it?" Yan called to her, following Katara and Momo. She followed Katara up into the palace, grabbing onto her upper arm and stopping her once they got to the throne room.
"Thank goodness you're here, Suki. Something terrible is going on; I just saw Prince Zuko and his uncle! We have to tell the Earth King right away that the Fire Nation has infiltrated the city!" Katara explained to the three Kyoshi Warriors that had come to Ba Sing Se the day prior. At the mention of Katara knowing who Zuko and Iroh were, Yan's eyes widened. She hadn't told Team Avatar of her previous interaction with Zuko, nor did she know that Katara and Sokka had met the former prince two years prior.
The Kyoshi Warrior in the center rose from her crouched position on the floor. "Oh, don't worry, I'll be sure to let him know." she simply said in a monotone voice. Katara's jaw dropped and she quickly turned to Yan.
"Yan, get out of here! They're not the real Kyoshi Warriors! Go, and take Momo." she ordered Yan. Yan hesitated for a second before spotting the plea in Katara's blue eyes. She grabbed Momo and raced out of the throne room, leaving Katara behind.
. . .
Yan hurried back to the safe house, panting heavily once she rushed through the doors. Momo chirped nervously at Yan's erratic behavior as the girl paced around, muttering to herself and frequently checking outside to make sure she wasn't followed. She turned to Momo, trying to find her words as the flying lemur looked up at her with a tilt of his head. "We need to get in contact with Sokka and Aang, but I don't know where they are, Momo. Oh, this is bad; what happened to Katara? Who were those girls if they weren't the real Kyoshi Warriors?" she asked desperately, running her hands through her hair. Momo, unsure how to comfort Yan, offered her a moon peach as he sat on her shoulder.
Before she could worry and ask more unanswered questions, Yan heard the familiar sound of Appa's growling and exited the door to the back garden. Lo and behold, she saw Appa, Sokka, Aang, and Toph; just the right people she wanted to see. "Guys, it's Katara. We were in the palace and she-"
"We know, I had a vision and we came rushing back here. Come on, there's no time. We need to get to the palace now and get her back." Aang said urgently as he cut Yan off. She nodded and rushed toward Appa, getting onto his back and sitting in his saddle once the Avatar snapped the reins and headed for the palace.
The quartet wasted no time in hurrying into the palace, rushing into the throne room to inform the king of the current situation. "Katara's fine. You have nothing to worry about. She met with the Council of Five to plan the invasion, and since then, she's been off with your friends, the Kyoshi Warriors." the Earth King tried to reassure the teens but Aang and Yan were beyond consoling.
"See, Aang? She's with Suki. They're probably at our safe house right now talking about makeup or something." Sokka smiled as he reassured Aang who nodded slowly in agreement. They bid goodbye to the Earth King and exited the throne room.
"Guys, I know Katara is in trouble! Why else would she tell me to run, and why would she tell me that the Kyoshi Warriors weren't the real Kyoshi Warriors? I'm not crazy, she wouldn't have told me to get out of there if she wasn't afraid or concerned." Yan tried to get them to understand once they got to the safe house. When Sokka, Aang, and Toph entered the home, they had expected to see either Katara or Suki there, but it was empty. Before they could start their search for Katara, a knock at the door caused the group to stop.
Yan opened the door and was surprised to see Iroh standing in the doorway. "Iroh? What are you doing here? Pardon my manners, but how are you?" she asked as she raised a brow at the enthusiastic tea lover.
"I need your help." Iroh pleaded as he stood outside the door, his hands in his long sleeves. At the sight of the uncle of Zuko, Sokka and Aang gasped and stood in a battle stance, ready to knock the old man off his feet.
"You guys know each other?" Aang gasped as he pointed between Yan and Iroh, his eyes wide. Yan escorted Iroh inside, shutting the door behind him and turning to the group. Aang and Sokka had a short history with Iroh and Zuko, a history that wasn't pleasant or free of any firebending.
"Yes, we do. It's a very long story; I'm surprised you two know him," she commented as she placed her hands on her hips. Sokka scoffed in disbelief and shook his head.
"We met him at the North Pole. How long have you known him? And if you know him, that means you know Zuko! Why didn't you ever tell us you knew them?" Sokka demanded as he stepped closer. Iroh put a hand on the Water Tribe boy's shoulder to calm him down, showing he meant no harm.
Iroh stepped in front of the group, turning to the teenagers. "Please, let us all calm down. We can explain ourselves later when the situation isn't as dire. Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se. She has captured my nephew as well as your friend." he explained. Aang's eyes widened at the news, Yan telling everyone that she was right about the whole situation.
"Then we'll work together to fight Azula and save Katara and Zuko," Aang said determinedly as he crossed his arms, Sokka's jaw dropping in shock.
Iroh, reading the room, sighed heavily. "I know how you must feel about my nephew, but believe me when I tell you there is good inside him."
It was now Yan's turn to scoff in disbelief. "'Good inside him' isn't enough, Iroh. Remember what he said to me? He called me a filthy dirt bender just because I saved him. He's more like a hotheaded asshole to me." she scoffed with crossed arms, shaking her head to deny Iroh's observation of his nephew.
"Katara's in trouble. All of Ba Sing Se is in trouble. We have to do something; working together is our best chance." Aang encouraged the group, Sokka and Yan sighing heavily before nodding reluctantly. The boy grinned and turned back to Iroh for a plan.
"I brought someone along who might be able to help us." the old tea lover smiled mischievously as he brushed past the group to head back outside. The teens followed Iroh to the front porch where a Dai Li informant sat, bound and gagged. Toph immediately trapped him in an earth tent to keep him from moving.
Iroh stepped toward the informant and pulled the gag away from his mouth, thick beads of sweat rolling down the Dai Li agent's scarred face. "Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup. They're going to overthrow the Earth King," he said quickly, fearing what would happen if he didn't comply. Sokka pointed his sword at the Dai Li, demanding where his sister was being held. "They're holding your sister and his nephew in the Crystal Catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace."
Leaving the Dai Li informant in the rock tent, the group of teenagers plus the old man set off for the Royal Palace. Luckily for them, the petrified informant was telling the truth about Old Ba Sing Se and the Crystal Catacombs, making their search a bit easier. Aang, Iroh, and Yan went together to find Katara and Zuko ― or the 'angry jerk' as Sokka called him ― while Toph and Sokka went off to warn the Earth King about Azula's coup. Aang and Yan used their earthbending to create a deeper tunnel in the earth to reach the catacombs, Iroh lighting the way with a small plume of fire in his palm.
As Aang continued to forge the long path, he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he gazed at Iroh. "So... Toph thinks you give pretty good advice and great tea. I met with this guru who was supposed to help me master the Avatar State and control this great power but to do it, I had to let go of someone I love. And I just couldn't do it..." he sighed in despair. Yan held in a small laugh at Aang's confession, lightly teasing him while Iroh gave her a stern look.
"Perfection and power are overrated. I think you are very wise to choose happiness and love." Iroh smiled kindly, stopping a bit behind Yan and Aang as they cleared the path to continue further down.
"What happens if we can't save everyone and beat Azula? Without the Avatar State, what if I'm not powerful enough?" Aang continued to worry, his anxiety starting to grow.
"I don't know the answer. Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel; you can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving, you will come to a better place." Iroh advised the Avatar, his flame going out once Aang cleared the last section of rock. When they reached the end of the tunnel, they stepped into a massive room with glowing green crystals all around. Yan gaped in wonder at the beauty of the crystals that were scattered everywhere, almost forgetting the mission at hand.
Aang and Yan continued to push forward as they broke through countless walls of earth. Finally, after one more push, they entered a crystal chamber where Zuko and Katara were being held. Aang and Zuko exchanged glares while they were hugged by their respective loved ones, Yan standing at the center to catch their stares.
"Uncle, I don't understand. What are you doing with the Avatar?" Zuko asked his uncle as he pointed at Aang. Yan rolled her eyes; she could already feel the tension rising in the room as the boys began to squabble back and forth.
"Stop it! You're acting like children! Katara, Aang, let's go. We have to help Toph and Sokka; who knows what's going on up there? Let's leave Hothead to brew with his uncle." Yan ordered the two, squashing their argument to focus on the mission. After exchanging one more hard stare at Zuko, Yan led Katara and Aang back through the tunnel.
As they ran through the square of Old Ba Sing Se, the trio was stopped when a flash of blue fire came flying in their direction. Aang bent a short wall of earth at the last minute to shield himself and his friends from the surprise attack, flying back when the fire easily crumbled the wall. Standing a few feet away was a teenage girl; Yan could already guess she was Azula. She and Katara wasted no time in fighting back, Katara throwing a wave of water which Azula easily evaporated into a cloud of steam with her blue fire.
Aang and Katara bent a shield of water over themselves as Azula used the rocky wall as leverage, shooting fire from her fingertips relentlessly. She pointed her fingers at Katara and Aang while smirking at Yan who was frozen in place; she couldn't attack, Azula would simply deliver the final blow if she took a single step. A fireball of orange fire caused the group to turn with wide eyes. It was Zuko. Zuko looked between Azula and Aang before choosing his target. Aang quickly deflected Zuko's fire blast with a column of air, Azula now focusing on Katara. With anger now rising through her, Yan quickly came to Aang's aid, leaping into the air to deliver a wave of rocks in Zuko's direction. However, when her fists hit the earth, something else was released.
It was... lava?
Yan looked at her hands in shock, never seeing lava emerging from her bending. She didn't have any time to wonder what had happened as she was fighting two different fights and defending two friends from two very skilled firebenders. She aided Katara while Aang handled Azula to the best of his abilities; he too was overpowered, Azula and Zuko tag-teaming and knocking Yan and Katara back into a crystal column.
"Katara, get up." Yan prompted her as she shook Katara awake. Many Dai Li agents entered the catacomb, many surrounding Aang. A group separated Katara and Yan on opposite sides of the courtyard, none of them moving as they prepared to defend Azula and Zuko.
A loud rumbling and the shattering of crystals caused everyone to look where Aang was. Aang's blue arrow tattoos glowed white along with his eyes as he floated into a white column of pure energy, heading toward the ceiling. Yan and Katara looked with hope, knowing that Aang would be unstoppable when he entered the Avatar State. However, a flash of lightning caused the girls to look on in shock as Azula used her lightning to electrocute Aang.
The Avatar fell to the earth, the girls looking on with tears filling their eyes. Yan locked her gaze with Katara, telepathically telling her to hurry to Aang's aid. Before she could defend her friends, a second flash of orange fire caused everyone to look toward the wall. Iroh rushed into the fight, standing in front of Katara and an unconscious Aang, ordering her to leave and to leave the fight to him.
Yan and Iroh worked together to fight off as many Dai Li agents as they could, Iroh continuously telling Yan to follow after Katara and Aang, but she was not leaving her oldest friend. The fight lasted for a few minutes, Iroh lowering his fighting stance once Aang and Katara had exited the Crystal Catacombs.
"Yan, surrender now. You cannot fight them all." Iroh ordered Yan as she continued to fight after he stopped. Yan stopped, looking around at the Dai Li agents that surrounded her. She panted heavily in anger and exhaustion before dropping her hands, the agents rushing forward and trapping her and Iroh in crystal to arrest them.
Yan looked at Zuko, anger and hatred in her eyes. "You're a fucking traitor! I trusted you! You are just like your father!" she shouted, devastated at Zuko's choice. Zuko looked away from her and his uncle, ashamed of what he had done. He had betrayed his uncle and a girl who had seen good in him. All for his father to see him as worthy enough to fight in the war. All for his own personal gain.
. . .
Yan kept a stern and straight face as she and Iroh were escorted onto a Fire Nation ship, their hands and ankles shackled. They were placed in separate rooms as Zuko, Azula, and their guards prepared the voyage to head home to the Fire Nation. As she sat in her metal cell, Yan could hear the guards gossiping outside the room, talking about her and Iroh.
"I can't believe General Iroh is a prisoner now. A member of the Royal Family ― Fire Lord Ozai's own brother! I served under his command during the first Siege of Ba Sing Se. He was a great leader and a great man. I also heard that we have an Earth Kingdom girl as our prisoner too; at least I think she's a girl, she looks like a boy. Apparently, she was aiding Iroh and was part of the Earth Kingdom military. Looks like it's our lucky day, huh? The great General Iroh and a soldier of the Earth Kingdom." one guard said to his buddy.
"You two don't know what you're talking about. General Iroh is a traitor to his country! Get back to work!" Zuko ordered the guards as he walked into the prison hold. Once the guards got back to guarding the cells, it was quiet again.
The journey back to the Fire Nation on a ship was a quiet one with a bit of gossip coming from the guards who were trying to understand how Yan was significant enough to be taken to the Capital City Prison which was mostly used for highly prioritized prisoners; they saw her as just a simple soldier, nothing more. Their questions remained unanswered as Yan and Iroh were escorted to the prison where they were dressed in rags and thrown into cells.
It was at this moment that Yan finally allowed herself to cry. She curled into a ball in a corner of the cage inside the cell, weeping to herself as her current situation sunk in. She was never going to see her parents again, she didn't know if her friends were okay, and she was betrayed by someone that she allowed herself to trust.
She was a fool, and she was going to die in a prison far from her home. All her efforts to prove herself were in vain.