Reports of the new approaching enemy came in, taking a detour to seemingly hit the southern sector of Ba Sing Se’s walls. Rather confusingly, the enemy only consisted of a sole Fire Nation transport tank, proudly flying the banner of the 11th, with a lone driver in it.
The Scorpion Dragon was truly and literally leading the charge it seems.
Initial attempts by the scouts to stop the monster’s approach were swiftly and lethally rebuffed, with four teams already missing and assumed dead. The fifth brave squad to try and stop the Fire Nation’s maverick commander was incinerated down to one survivor, who was given a head start to deliver a simple message.
“I come for Ba Sing Se.”
A nearby army group was immediately dispatched, against the counsel of General Yiu, to intercept the Scorpion Dragon as soon as they could.
Routed stragglers returned to the city days later, bearing news of the boy burning his way through hundreds of men, and leaving the rest to scatter after he incinerated the army commanders down to ash. Some addled survivors even told of the boy diving down from the heavens to suddenly ignite the whole battlefield.
With the nearest army now scattered to the wind and their confidence stamped out, the Earth Kingdom’s Council of Five finally heeded General Yiu’s advice. All available forces would be mustered in front or on top of the walls. A coterie of generals would return to the royal palace to petition the Earth King and his court, who had been reclusive and unreachable for a long time, for permission to draft the populace.
To the concern of everyone present, the generals were still turned away by the palace guards and Dai Li. The Earth King would be notified, they were assured, but he was busy in other matters to receive them for the near future. However, the generals returned with assurances by the Grand Secretariat Long Feng, promising that the issue of a draft would be brought to the Earth King’s attention soon. In the meantime, the defenders of Ba Sing Se were given permission to recruit from refugees living in the Lower Ring.
With that, every able earthbender, man or woman, that was not a citizen of Ba Sing Se, was drafted into an ad hoc force. Non-bending males of age were also part of the draft, to bolster the peasant conscript ranks once reinforcement arrived.
Neither reinforcing armies nor drafted garrison would be ready in time when the defenders finally saw a speck approaching from the distance. Xing, the Scorpion of the Fire Nation, had arrived.
*****
“Well, at least now he’s ready to talk,” General Sung muttered as the defenders could barely see Xing walking confidently towards the walls, the white flag of truce fluttering in his hand.
“Should we just take him out from here?” General Fong asked, drawing a disapproving shake of General Yiu’s head. Aang, Katara and Toph looked a bit confused at that, but Sokka froze and blinked with disbelief.
“Too far. He’ll likely just withdraw out of range or intercept the rocks. Attacking an offer to parley would also doom our armies in the future.”
“If we take him out, the Fire Nation wouldn’t know.”
Sokka didn’t hold back his disdain for the suggestion, understanding the significance of such a heinous act between tribal warriors, let alone between warring armies. Thankfully the Hero of Tai Plains was having none of it.
“Our own men would witness the treachery. Word will inevitably spread. If we do this, dead Scorpion or not, we damn our forces in the future. The Fire Nation will have no reason to accept our own parleys, our cornered troops will not have a chance of negotiating surrenders. We can reject him with words, but do not strike at him while he comes in peace.”
General Sung braved the intense glare of his colleague with a raised finger. “It could be a ruse…”
“No.” General Yiu’s answer was full of conviction, and the way he snapped off the word made even the gang flinch. “The Scorpion is a treacherous combatant and strategist, but at no point has anyone observed him breaking the formalities of war. We’ve ransomed enough nobles to know that.”
General Fong finally acceded with an annoyed snort. “Then we’ll have to meet him then, and see what game he’s trying to play.”
The Avatar and his companions were, of course, welcomed to join the generals, and did so.
They met Xing just within the shadow of the outer walls, and the Scorpion planted the spear used to bear the white flag into the ground before greeting the mixed group of soldiers and young adventurers with a formal bow. Unlike what Sokka was used to seeing him in, Xing only wore a commoner’s attire, with…chopstick boxes?...along with some daggers and a cooking cleaver attached to his belt.
“Good day.”
General Fong interrupted to get straight down to it. “We know how this will play out. What do you want, Scorpion?”
Sokka did not like Xing’s amused smirk at all. “Do we now?” He gave a slow hum, as if in thought, before continuing. “I’ve come to offer the defenders of Ba Sing Se the chance to surrender. Your deaths will not serve any purpose. I am here to capture the city and uncover some wrongs that I’m pretty sure need righting.”
“Hah! At least try to make the joke funny.”
The Fire Nation commander sighed, but Aang spoke next. “You mentioned that before. What do you mean?”
Xing looked at Aang, and then his gaze flickered to the generals and their entourage. “I cannot tell you, not when I’m unsure of everyone’s true allegiances.”
Sokka tried to figure out what that meant. Was there a traitor amongst them? But then the traitor would be on the Fire Nation’s side, right? And Xing wouldn’t be giving that away…
“Enough with this nonsense,” General Sung said. “Your reputation precedes you, but we’re not that cowed by it, colonel.”
Xing regarded the group for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “Then the deaths of your men will be on you.”
General Yiu finally joined in the conversation, speaking with a wariness that silenced everyone. “Why did you call for a parley, Colonel Xing, if you likely knew what the outcome would be?”
“Hm. Consider me…entertaining my optimism. Either that you might be open to negotiations, or that someone would be stupid enough to try attacking me regardless of my offer of parley.”
Xing’s gaze then turned to Sokka and his friends with a ghost of a smile on his face. “Also, to confirm the Avatar’s presence in Ba Sing Se.”
“He’s with us, as you can see,” General Sung crowed. “You stand no chance of victory here. I suggest you hurry on back home and we’ll pretend you didn’t drop by.”
“That’s not an option for me. I will do my best to minimize losses… I would need witnesses, after all.”
As Xing turned to leave, Aang, who was sporting a frown, cut in again. For some reason, Sokka’s back tingled in anticipation of something potentially bad following.
“Wait. What…what if I challenged you for the city?”
Okay, Sokka’s instincts were wrong. He expected bad, this was plain stupid.
“I will fight you. Duel you. If I win, you leave, and if you-”
Xing fixed a stare on Aang for a moment - an Aang that looked very serious amidst a small crowd of shocked soldiers and friends - and then shook his head. “A duel between us would be useless. I might be persuaded to withdraw, but the generals here would not agree to even allow me past the walls, nevermind surrendering the city, if you lose.”
“You’re only saying that because you know you’ll lose.” Sokka looked at his sister with incredulity, and then back to Xing who was smirking. Please don’t let her taunt work on the crazy psychopath. Please…
“I’m only saying that because it’s true.” The Scorpion looked past the gang and to the soldiers. “Isn’t it, generals?”
All three generals nodded, with General Yiu answering gravely. “No offense to the Avatar’s intentions and abilities, but we cannot- will not wager our home on such a duel. There will be no chance of Ba Sing Se willingly submitting to your demands, colonel.”
“Well said.” Before Aang could look too downcast, Xing grew a smile, like an idea just came to him. “Though, now that you mentioned it, perhaps I could accept a challenge for a different outcome…”
Sokka stared at the enemy commander, but he quickly realized what Xing meant. “Aang, don’t list-”
The Scorpion spoke above his plea, fixing Aang with a dark grin. “Here’s my counteroffer: You win, and I leave. I win, and you and your friends will stand aside and leave Ba Sing Se to its fate.”
Another heavy silence descended, and this time Katara had the courtesy to be shocked and worried by the amended challenge. The defenders of Ba Sing Se were frowning with suspicion, while Toph wore a face of silent concern. Sokka himself was very, very worried.
“Don’t do it, Aang.”
Xing’s grin grew. “Of course, our duel will be nonlethal. I can promise that my attacks will cause no permanent harm or fatal damage. No need to roll for…ah, nevermind.”
“Aang, it’s gotta be a trap.”
He saw the airbender’s face and instantly knew it was a lost cause. Damnit! This was not the time to stand your ground, Aang!
The others thought so too, though worryingly, not as completely as Sokka did. Katara was clearly torn between her faith in Aang and her worry for him, Toph was urging Aang to take Sokka’s advice, and the generals and their group were wary, but still confident enough in the Avatar to not weigh in.
Just great.
“Also. I heard about your missing bison. If I win, I’ll promise to return him to you once I find him. If I lose, I’ll tell you where he is so you can find him yourself.”
Ah. Crap.
Of course Aang immediately went fully serious. “You know where Appa is?” Xing’s taunting nod completed the trap. “I accept your challenge.”
There was no getting Aang out of it, not with Appa being used as bait. Toph unfortunately confirmed that Xing seemed to be telling the truth, and after that no amount of persuasion could get the airbender out of the duel.
“Get your healing water ready, Katara,” was all Sokka could say in the end, as he watched a circle be formed by some earthbenders and the two combatants standing on opposite ends within it.
“You should…relax a bit… Aang will be…will be fine. It’s not the first firebender he’s faced, after all.” Her voice betrayed her own growing anxiety, which did not help Sokka one bit. Even the generals were tense to the point where they were staring intensely at the duellists.
Standing outside the circle and between Aang and Xing, General Yiu sighed before he raised an arm to signal the duel. The firebender gave a formal bow. “First to yield or be incapacitated loses?” The gesture and question was reciprocated with a curt nod from Aang.
“Ready… And…begin!”
Aang’s body spun to form a powerful gust of wind as he usually did, while Xing’s legs immediately slid into a wide stance while both arms thrusts towards Aang. No flames appeared, but the airbender stopped turning midway and he tripped onto the ground with a pained cry. Sokka watched in confused panic as Aang began to writhe and scream with soul chilling anguish and terror, his hands batting at his face…as if…
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
He saw the reddening skin on Aang’s face and hands, saw the faint heat mirage rising.
It was as if someone had splashed hot water on him.
“Wh-What’s happening?” Toph asked, the panic infecting her as well. “Why is Aang screaming like that?”
“I…I don’t know! I don’t know!” Katara looked ready to rush in, but General Yiu raised an arm to block her, block them from interfering. Sokka was about to sock the man in the jaw, but stopped when he saw the pale, stunned face of the weary general. The rest of the defenders were equally shocked to stillness.
Xing was standing and slowly walking towards his opponent, an open hand still pointed at Aang. “Do you yield?”
Aang answered by screaming and twisting on the ground some more. Sokka thought he saw beads of sweat appear and then instantly flash into steam.
Katara ducked past General Yiu and ran towards the circle. “Stop it! Stop it already!”
Surprisingly, Xing relented, lowering his arm with a sigh. “This duel is concluded, then.” There was no smugness or mockery in that declaration, just a statement of a sad fact. Katara quickly knelt beside Aang, who screamed right until Xing who was backing away dismissively waved his hand.
The sudden quiet broke Sokka and Toph out of their rooted panic, and they joined Katara. Aang lay curled up on the ground, the untattooed skin of his whole body turned a bright and painful red, and peppered with blisters all over. He was trembling and sweating, and his limbs were a little swollen.
The Water Tribe youth turned to Xing, who stood passively on his end of the circle, offering what seemed to be an apologetic look. “I suggest you take him back to heal and cool off. I’ll begin assaulting the walls tomorrow.”
With that, Xing bowed, turned and then left the way he came, and Sokka returned his attention to his sister who was doing her best to soothe Aang while she worked her healing water over his body.
“Wait, colonel!” General Yiu suddenly called out. Xing paused, turning slightly to look over his shoulder.
The general walked past Sokka, and then bent over in a deep bow. “When…if you make it through us... Please, do not loose your wrath on my family...our families. I was the one responsible that day on Tai Plains, they are innocent of it.”
Xing fully turned back to face the general, and it didn’t take him long to shrug. “I blame the one that pushed me into the bear trap, not the bear trap itself. My issue is not with you, general. Besides, the 11th does not extract vengeance from friends and families… So long as they don’t give us cause to, anyway.”
The whole group was silent as they carried Aang back to the walls after Katara’s healing soothed him into unconsciousness. The generals marched straight to the command room once they returned, but not before General Yiu politely insisted that the gang leave the next morning, as per the duel’s decision.
Sokka cursed himself for not stopping his friend from getting involved hard enough. Yet at the same time, he couldn’t shake off the horror at the new form of firebending Xing displayed.
Or was that firebending at all? Were his flames invisible?
But how could they move that fast? Aang seemed instantly affected the moment Xing’s arms shot out.
It was a question that quickly nagged in Sokka’s head and eventually he bounced it to Toph in a futile attempt to figure out an answer. Without any real theory, they eventually settled for helping Katara tend to Aang’s wounds. Well, they tried to, anyway, but she was adamant about solely looking after him throughout the night. They’d just slow her down.
Not wanting to argue, Sokka had Toph help him bring in some bandages and barrels of water for his sister to use, as well as urge her to eat her dinner. The blind earthbender was quiet, almost withdrawn throughout, probably just as worried and perplexed as Sokka was.
None of them slept much, though some measure of relief settled on the trio as Aang finally awoke with a pained groan. Sokka let his sister coddle the Avatar for a bit before stepping in as the bearer of bad news. Aang was dejected by the reminder of his loss, but quietly accepted the terms he agreed to with Xing.
The sun was just rising and the gang were following some soldiers to the nearest monorail station when shouts of alarm rang out in the distance. Sokka first turned his gaze beyond the walls, and then, realizing the direction of a raging roar, looked up just in time to see what he was sure was Xing slamming down onto the walls more than a few stone’s throw away from them.
“We should-”
“No.” One soldier said stoically. “For our sakes, please do not interfere. It…it might worsen our doom.”
With admirable duty the soldiers continued herding the gang away from the sounds of simmering flame and agonized screams.
*****
General Yiu could only stare as he saw the boy right outside his office. He had managed to make it onto the walls somehow, rendering useless several hundred defenders manning the trenches outside of it. And even as the troops proceeded to surround the Scorpion, the general did not like their chances of making it out of this alive.
He’d known of the Young Dragon’s exploits, back then. Yiu was quietly thankful that it was some imbecile leading the 11th to their doom back on Tai Plains, and had immediately feared for his and his family’s lives when news of the boy’s survival eventually reached him. It helped a bit that the powers that be in Ba Sing Se chose to keep him close to the city, though he wished that they would stop constantly harping about how undeservedly great he was to the world.
Yiu did not doubt the tales of gruesome ends suffered by those who crossed the Defiant 11th, and he held no illusions that he could fend off such a fate if they decided to come for him.
Having the boy assure Yiu that he was not worth holding a grudge was as much of a relief as the general could get, but it still left the uncomfortable fact that he was now had the Scorpion right in front of him within glaring distance.
For better or worse, General Fong, ever the proud warrior, did not share the same trepidation. He marched to the front, bending up a boulder in the air. “Impressive feat, but you’re surrounded, boy!”
The Scorpion Dragon smiled at that. “Then I cannot miss. Thank you for opening with words, I appreciate the time.”
Men fell over in anguish immediately after that, Yiu included, as an invisible rush of heat tore at their exposed skin. Yiu joined the choir of screams as not only his face, but also his bare hands and feet, burned in the air. He dropped to the ground and the agony grew much worse, as the metal plates of his armor slowly seared its way through the cloth padding underneath and began to burn at the rest of his body.
Yiu was incapable of a coherent thought, as every breath of air to fuel his screams also seared his lungs.
He’d beg for the torment to stop if his throat could do anything other than scream.
He’d claw at his flesh and skin for relief if his fingers weren’t so swollen.
He’d seek out cover or assistance if he dared open his eyes to let them boil away.
Yiu remembered nothing but intense, total agony for spirits knew how long, until it all suddenly vanished. The heat was suddenly gone, replaced with a chill that was almost soothing. As his faculties returned, Yiu wondered if it was really the case or if he had suffered to the point that normal air felt so cold right now.
As he finally opened his eyes, the general was glad to find he still had vision, and saw the Scorpion Dragon standing amidst a sea of fallen and suffering Earth Kingdom soldiers.
“Surrender. I prefer having prisoners over roasted corpses, but this is your last chance.”
Despite the impending demise, or perhaps because of it, Yiu managed to muster the remains of his courage, the same flickering defiance that kept him serving as general for so long. He rasped the words painfully as he met the colonel’s gaze.
“H-h-you…ssstill…need…breach…”
The Scorpion nodded in acknowledgement of that, but he did not seem perturbed at all. “I do.”
And then the cracked brickwork under his feet began to smoke.
“It’s a good thing that this wall of yours is mostly compacted stone and earth. It makes it pliable to your earthbending…but it also leaves it vulnerable to certain things. Like melting.”
Yiu and everyone else instinctively scrabbled away from the boy as more smoke began to rise between the paved bricks, and a hot glow began to leak out between the cracks. The analytical part of Yiu noted that the boy was sweating a little and seemed stiff, but otherwise showed no signs of exertion as the ground beneath his feet began to sink.
The Scorpion Dragon gave a thin smile. “You have a minute to make some distance, and then I’m coming to receive your surrenders.”
Yiu did not waste that chance at all, picking himself up and half-crawling, half-stumbling away from the cracking of stone and increasing hot light spilling from between the bricks. A quick glance told him that there was no exceptions, and even General Fong had abandoned his stoic defiance and was desperately clawing to safety.
A minute eventually passed by, because something exploded behind Yiu. Reaching the edge of the wall, the general used the crenellations to climb up to his feet, and also managed to witness an impossible sight.
The section of the wall the Scorpion stood on was glowing and hissing smoke as it bulged out and sagged downwards. The specks below that were men in trenches were wisely fleeing from the shadow of the expanding growth. Then glowing liquid began to leak out from the earthen cracks in the bulge, spilling hot, glowing droplets.
It didn’t leak much, because after that, like a punctured air sac, the wall section practically exploded outwards with molten rock. The dawn light was tainted with an orange glow from the ground, as the breached section continued to bubble and dribble lava all the way down to its foundation.
Yiu forced himself to stand higher, and he for a moment there was confusion when he couldn’t find the Scorpion.
Then he heard the familiar sound of an explosive landing from a distance behind him, and the general’s heart dropped when he turned to see the boy landing on an unoccupied section.
This time the smoke rose and the light glowed a lot quicker.
Yiu’s legs gave out when the outer walls of Ba Sing Se suffered another melting breach. The boy blasted clear just as the floor under him was swallowed by molten rock, and joined the rest of the glowing, viscous liquid in spilling out either side of the compromised wall.
He landed right in front of Yiu after that, throwing the general an expectant look.
“I…I surrender.”
All those that witnessed such madness did.