Chapter Text
Li sat on the top of a hill, using his body to warm up his soaking wet clothing. He tried to take another boat, but he messed up in a way that Li rarely did; he tried to plan ahead. He thought that if he took a fisherman's ship to Jin-Shang River he’d be able to walk to Pohuai Stronghold and save some energy. This time they also found him when he was asleep, but he was a little bit less prepared for them this time. He woke up with three faces looking down on them and responded with bursts of flames.
At least the fishermen were less violent than the merchants, but they threw him overboard and yelled to some Earth Kingdom troops that he was a firebender. The troops were more violent than the merchants, but he ran away. They were close to getting him, but he thanked Agni that they weren’t earthbenders and that Ponohai Stronghold was Fire Nation territory. As soon as they saw it in the distance, the troops ran away.
Li still felt dizzy, as all he had to eat since the rice were nuts he found that tasted strongly of dirt. He didn’t trust himself to not eat poison berries.
He felt his warm clothes once he finished, then he put on his gloves. He would’ve liked to just lie down, but that wasn’t an option. He put on the theatre mask he took from his mother, the cool wood resting against his warm face as he tied the strings together in the back of his head. He then reached his arm around his back to make sure that he had rope and his two swords.
He went down the hill leisurely to save his strength before he hid in the bushes lining the road, the branches and leaves scraping his mask. He stayed for a few minutes, the clouds grey overhead, trying to see if there was a pattern to the carriages passing into the military base.
There wasn’t, so he ran into the road recklessly and quickly, stopping in the middle. Once he was there, he dug a shallow hole, collecting the dirt to lay over his body. He laid as flat as a rail, keeping his breath shallow before he heard a carriage coming. He prepared himself, hearing the armadillo hippo pass, then the cart. At that moment he launched himself up, holding onto the rails at the bottom of the carriage to be carried with it into the base.
He held on tightly, his muscles straining, when the cart suddenly stopped. He heard footsteps from around the cart and could see the reflection of fire on shiny black boots next to him. He listened to the soft patter in the dirt before he heard an “All clear.”
He then held his breath while climbing up and into the cart, imagining his limbs were weightless and didn’t apply any force onto the cart. His heart was beating in his chest, and if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought it was loud enough to give him away.
“All clear,” the voice said again.
The cart then surged forward as Li looked out the back of the carriage, observing the Fire Nation soldiers, and then the base as they entered. He noted that the sun was too low in the sky, shield by the grey clouds, for it to be the middle of the day. The buildings stood tall, looming above the base. It was like nothing he’d ever seen, and that made him uneasy.
As the cart stopped again, Li jumped out of it quickly, keeping his back bent down as he ran into the dark staircase. As he entered it felt instantly colder and the walls looked wet. At the top, he could see it lead up to a long balcony above the walls around the palace. A commanding voice came from above as well, making him shiver. He ignored it, running through the platform, keeping his body out of view from anyone below. He could tell it was some nonsense boasting speech, but he didn’t process the words.
After over a week of this running around he didn’t even have to think about it anymore. He could just feel what the best thing to do was. He knew nothing about the layout of the base, for example, but he knew that he just had to get inside the main section of it. He also knew that the prisoners would also be really high or really low, so it would be harder for them to escape.
He was good at this, he realized. He was good at surviving, maybe it was the stubbornness in him that his mother would often point out. He almost liked it, being out of breath, his adrenaline high. The headache, that was probably from an absence of food, he liked less.
He went down the wall using his rope as soon as he saw a grate below with no guards surrounding it. His feet skimmed across the ground to the drain in the empty part of the base. He was lucky that some man was giving a speech at the time.
He slipped into the drain, the water going halfway to his knees. He tried to ignore the smell, just thankful that it wasn’t sewage.
He ran through it, fitting his slim body through any bars he came across. He finally could see an escape from the drain into a stairway and he slipped through it like the other ones. He frowned as his wet boots hit the stone ground, noticing that there were no stairs leading below ground. It must’ve meant the prisoners were kept above. That certainly made it easier for him.
He ran up the stairs, stopping on the top level. He opened the door and was finally face to face with a direct challenge, three guards.
He knocked them out within a couple minutes.
He then ran through the hall, trying every door he came across. There strangely weren’t any more guards on this level, which proved not to be a good sign as every single room was empty except for the beds and tables that occupied them.
He tried two more floors, knocking out multiple guards by attacking from above using the odd pipes they put on the ceilings, before he finally heard footsteps coming from around a corner. They probably saw the helmet of the last guard he took out.
Another came into view. Li used a metal chain he found to lower to the ground and kick him in the head, avoiding the fireball he sent at him. Two more guards came, then two more, all of which he used the heavy chain to knock them unconscious. When he heard no more footsteps, he checked the pulses of each of the guards, as he had time to spare and he had hit them pretty hard.
When he verified they were still alive, he rounded the corner to see two large doors, the lining of them carved in intricate swirls and flames. Then, the weirdest noise came from below. He jumped when he looked down, seeing some frog-like creatures hopping near his feet. He ignored them, opening the only door that was guarded on the top four stories of the base. He sent a prayer in his head to Agni that this was General Iroh.
Agni clearly didn’t listen, as a young boy was chained up in the middle of the room. He scanned it to make sure it was as empty as it appeared, feeling disappointment deep in his chest at the reveal...as well as tiredness. He was just so, so tired.
He ignored his fatigue and his pounding headache as he observed the boy, he knew his energy would go back up on the way out of the base. The boy had to be more than a few years younger than Li, and his face cowered in fear at Li’s harsh movements closing the door behind them.
He was so young and he looked so afraid, even with the weird tattoos that should’ve made him look like a criminal. The position that he was put in with the chains holding his limbs out made him look like he was carrying a heavy burden on his back. Maybe he was thirteen years old, the age Li was when he felt such a heavy burden on his own back that made him want to push everyone he came across away from him.
He was going to have to rescue him.
He charged forward, holding his swords strongly as the boy flinched. Li then did a sword fighting form, preparing his dao to have the strength to cut through steel as the boy yelled. Li was unaffected, freeing the boy who’s scream died in his throat.
He was frozen, observing Li as Li got the shackles off his limbs before walking out the room. Whether the boy decided to follow or not wasn’t Li’s problem.
“Who are you? What’s going on?” the boy asked, his voice high.
Li wished he could speak, he would say I’m not here to break you out but I did, so just don’t get in my way while I look for General Iroh.
He couldn’t, though. Li knew he had a distinctive voice, it was raspy and he had a slight lisp. He couldn't risk putting his family in danger by being seen with them and his voice sometime in the future. It wasn’t like he would make it a habit to break into high survillenced military bases, so one day being quiet shouldn’t be so hard.
“Are you here to rescue me?” the boy asked.
Li stared at him, looking away when the boy made eye contact with the dark holes of his mask, covering his eyes. That was a nice part about the mask, he didn’t have to make eye contact with anyone.
Li just tilted his head, signaling for the boy to follow.
“I’ll….take that as a yes.”
They walked slowly through the halls, Li in the lead trying to listen for any footsteps. He paused, hearing the absence of the boy’s footsteps matched with his voice.
“Oh, my frogs! Come back, and stop thawing out!”
Li frowned, rolling his eyes at the odd kid. Maybe he was actually just insane. Li planned to leave him, then the kid looked at Li.
“I need these frogs for my friends to suck on, will you wait-”
Li made a gesture with his sword to signify they had to leave, how much he wished he could speak. He walked away without waiting for the child’s answer, but he heard a sigh, then footsteps behind him. He got in his mind that the light footsteps were the boy’s, so he started to run when he heard a door opening that wasn’t near the boy. The boy followed him, avoiding whoever opened the door.
Li went down the stairs to the next level, instructing the boy to stay in the staircase while he climbed up the pipes and waited above to tie up more guards. He waited until he didn't hear any footsteps, then he went down all the hallways. Yet again, no rooms for prisoners.
He went to the stairs again, the boy asking him what he was doing, but Li ignored him. Li went through every hallway until he reached the ground level. He was about to open the door to the hallways when he heard voices.
“I want a full transcription of my speech given to the Firelord, as well as news of his brother and-what do you want?”
Li pulled Aang by the back of his shirt, holding him up against the wall with one arm while he put a finger up to the mouth of his mask with the other, his own back against the wall as well. As he moved the hand away from his head, he noticed a gash in his bicep. He ignored it.
“How many guards did you say?” the man giving the speech said.
“A dozen, three were found on the top, two on the…”
Li removed his arm from the boy and tilted his head towards the drain. There could be a secret basement, but something told Li that if there were more prisoners, they’d be kept together. He’d have to find another way to find General Iroh. Yet again, he wished he could speak.
They went the same way Li came in, this time just observing the guards that Li disposed of either by tying them up or knocking them out. They went through the drains, then up the outer wall with the rope Li had left.
Then, the ringing like blood filling his ears, a bell sounded; an alarm. He heard the boy gasp.
“There!” A voice rang and Li looked below at the guards staring at them. “On the wall!”
Li looked back up at the boy holding onto the rope when it fell between his fingers. Somebody had cut it. His body fell through the air, when suddenly it fell up in the air as wind rushed past his ears, then back down, so his fall on the ground was less hard.
He sat up, looking at the boy. He figured he might be some weird type of firebender.
Li unleashed his swords and looked at the exit of the wall. He ran to it, the boy following on his left.
“The Avatar has escaped!”
Li pondered why the boy could be called the Avatar, as it must’ve been some weird nickname, then he realized he was getting distracted. He focused on the guards lining up ahead of him, spears ready in their hands.
“Stay close to me!” the boy said, jumping in front of him.
Li kept running, stopping as Aang prepared himself in a bending stance. Li lifted an eyebrow, wondering if he really was going to try to burn all the guards in front of them, that was a bit brutal for a kid.
Li then watched as the boy released his hands, yet nothing came out of them. He frowned, until he saw all the guards in midair, being thrown into the wall.
Li looked at the boy slowly, then he shook his head. He didn’t have enough time to ponder this, he just had to accept it. The boy ran ahead, into the closing gates ahead of them. Li followed, until two guards attacked.
He stopped their spears with his swords, but he was finding it much harder to fight without the element of surprise, especially with his headache. He fought them off, biting his lip to stop him from making any noise. Then, they disappeared as a burst of wind blew past his face.
He looked over at the boy, his weird stick between his hands. He almost looked expentaly, waiting for Li to do something.
“You ready?” the boy said.
Li tilted his head in confusion as he watched the boy prepare his stick, pushing it through the air. Then, Li's feet were leaving the ground and air made his clothing cling to his skin in some areas and move away in others. He was flying through the air, and prepped his feet to land on the top of the wall. He prepared his dao, looking at the wall closest to the outside of the base.
Standing there was a man, it was too far away to see his expression, but he could see his uniform. It was the uniform of an admiral. Li didn’t know how he knew that….maybe school.
The boy landed next to him right as more guards came. Li slashed his swords at them as the boy began to spin his stick, making his feet leave the ground. He then wrapped his legs around Li’s neck, making Li look up at him with a raised eyebrow, though he couldn’t see him.
The boy kept spinning his stick, making Li’s feet leave the ground as well as they went over the wall with guards staring at them, yards below their feet. Li gave another prayer in his head to Agni, then Tui and La as well. He felt like he was having a nightmare.
The boy grunted and struggled, their makeshift aircraft zig zagging up and down as Li kicked spears away from them. Li then pointed at the Admiral, which made the boy lose his balance all together and they tumbled to the floor on the top of the next wall.
Li groaned, then he quickly bit his lip again as he landed on his stomach, the world spinning around him. He saw guards coming from both sides around them and he got to his feet to fight them off.
All he had to do was get them away from him. He didn’t need to knock them out or land any hits, he just had to get them to stay away, so he did….and it was exhausting.
Guards began climbing ladders to get on the wall and the boy immediately started blowing them away with his odd powers. Li joined as well, using his swords to knock them down. When the ladders were empty, they brought them up on the wall and the boy held them.
He then put one ladder back on the ground while giving Li the two other ones. He jumped off, using the ladder to propel himself. “Jump onto my back!” he instructed Li.
Li made a running start on the wall, landing on the small boy. He handed him the rest of the ladders to move through the base, trying his best to look out for any spears flying through the air.
“Oh no,” the boy muttered as they were on their last ladder, the rest thrown across the base below. Heat came from under their legs and Li looked down to see flames engulfing the bamboo. The boy jumped off the ladder that was turning into dust. Li wanted to scream as they slammed into the last wall, both of them trying their best to hold onto the edge.
The boy grasped onto it desperately before his fingers slipped as Li tried to hold on as well. Only the tips of his fingers touched it, though, so he couldn’t get a grasp on the wall. They fell onto the floor together, the boy tumbling out of Li’s arms. He quickly stood up, looking at the guards surrounding them that were blurring into each other. He squeezed his eyes shut to only open them to fire balls aimed at the two of them. Li jumped in front of the young boy, preparing to stop the fire with his own bending, but the boy then jumped in front of him, blocking the fire himself.
“Hold your fire!” the Admiral stepped forward. He must’ve been the one giving the speech, and he must’ve been Zhao from the letter. “The Avatar must be captured alive.”
Li ran to the young boy, holding his swords to his neck.
He stared at the Admiral, at his angry face and odd facial hair, tightening the swords around the boy who grunted. Li watched the Admiral’s face darken, realization hitting him.
It was now or never for Li to accomplish the task he came here for.
“General Iroh,” Li said slowly and carefully, trying to deepen his voice. It sounded ridiculous, but he didn’t care.
The Admiral raised an eyebrow. “So that’s why you're here, the old man.”
Li didn’t respond.
“He was kept in the cell next to the Avatar’s restraints, he escaped when you did.”
Li frowned, tightening his swords again to the boy’s neck. Admiral Zhao looked unaffected as Li did it. He had to be lying, Li didn’t see a cell in that hallway, only the weird room the boy was kept in.
“Did you even check the boy’s room? There were two doors, one lead to the Avatar, the other to your precious grandmaster,” Admiral Zhao said, then shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, I’m telling the truth….believe me or not.” His eyes looked to one side, then the other, then back to Li. Li stiffened, releasing too late when the Admiral yelled, “Now!”
Arrows flung at him, aiming high, as to hit Li who was a head taller than the boy. For some reason they didn’t want to die, but they obviously didn't hold the same reservations for Li. It graced his neck, getting stuck in the collar of his shirt, then his shoulder, which erupted in pain, then his mask, making it fall to the ground. He put his arms up in defense.
“Wait!” the Admiral yelled, and the arrows stopped. Li lifted his head to see his wide eyes and dropped jaw. He said softly, like a curse, “It can’t be….”
Li took his hesitancy to move the fabric around the arrow wound with one hand as he bit the finger of his right glove and took it off, letting it fall on the ground. Even though he was just a herbalist, he knew basic first aid. He stuck his fingers into the incision, making sure it didn’t hit bone, before he pulled it out by widening the cut with his fingers. It didn’t even hurt, it must’ve been his survival instincts kicking in as dozens of people aimed at him and the boy.
He threw it on the ground to see the boy’s jaw dropped. “How-what did you-” He then looked at something above Li, his eyes widening.
Flames erupted from above. He looked up to see a round man flying, fire erupting from his feet as he landed between the two of them and the guards. Li recognized the gray beard and short figure as General Iroh.
He felt anger in his chest at the fact that he decided to show up last minute. General Iroh’s hands engulfed in flames as he sent them towards the guards who ducked. He looked at the closed wall, then at Li and the boy. “Get on my back Li! Let’s go!”
Li stepped closer to the General, glancing at the boy’s searching eyes. They only had to get over that wall, then everything would be fine. He stood by General Iroh, then the ground swayed beneath his feet and the world went black.