We travel through a tunnel that is freshly made by two of our team, who are there precisely for transport. They will also be responsible for getting us back inside the city.
"There's a disturbance to our left," Dionu says, a hand on the dirt. "Feels like someone else is digging a tunnel. It can't be the Dai Li. They use the catacombs. Thanks for the plans, by the way."
"No problem," I say. "So who is that?"
"My guess is that it's the Pah. Latih isn't the type to not know what's coming and not prepare."
"We should meet them," Yranna says. "The Pah can be reasoned with. We can use all the help we can get. It'd be more dangerous without knowing what they're going to do."
"Fon, Keigo," Dionu commands, and off they are, splitting off in another fresh tunnel while we wait in our position. Our transport with the blind mule and its cart with the heavily polstered explosives pauses also, a few paces ahead of us. We carry only small torches, but it's best to remain far away from them with fire.
We can't hear much, but Fon pauses to knock on the other tunneller's wall before breaking through. Polite. "Hey! Who're you?"
"Ah, it's Dionu's men," a woman says. "You're also on your way to that Fire Nation attack site, too?"
"Yes," Fon says, "Boss wants to join forces."
"Mmh. Alright. We'll talk on the way."
And so, our team of twelve gains five more benders and six more fighters with swords, knives and spears. Three of them carry shields that look like they could take a blast of fire or two. This seems more and more like it could actually work.
"Dionu," a woman with dark skin and shorn hair says as her people filter into our tunnel. "Long time. Yranna, you look lovely as ever."
"Latih," Yranna greets, and her voice is warmer than I've ever heard it.
"So what's your plan? We were going to see what the wall guards were doing. We have no idea what that thing looks like other than a drill," the two women begin walking side by side and our group moves along again.
I shoot Gorou a look and he shrugs. Nothing new, then. We move along.
Yranna answers her. "We got some idea of how it must work. That tall one there is a waterbender. He's going to sabotage the steam engine. We have explosives and we're going to set them at points where it'll damage the drill permanently. We got cloth balls to stuff those communication pipes with that the Fire Nation uses. We got word to the City Guards of how it must work, how to turn the thing away from the wall, if they can, and destroy the things that dig into the ground to give the drill leverage."
"You know how competent they are," Latih says derisively. "Well. We're going to see if we can't protect those idiots while they do as they're told."
Seems like we've got a good plan. This seems actually doable.
How strange, that the gangs are protecting the city.
But they've got lucrative businesses and a working system set up. Why wouldn't they defend something so profitable from the Fire Nation? They crack down hard on all illegal activities. While the Dai Li does the same, the gangs know how to avoid them. Organised crime survives in Fire Nation territory only if there's a corrupt officer somewhere. Ba Sing Se would be wiped out, cleaned first. Then the criminals could set up shop again, under the new regime. That sort of survival costs money and resources.
It's easier and more profitable to prevent it.
No one trusts the City Guard to do their job, apparently. Not when they're faced with a new kind of threat.
...
We rest in a newly hollowed-out hill with multiple airshafts just outside of the great wall. Several hours remain until the drill is expected to arrive. It's a good thing Yranna, Dionu and Latih remembered to bring food and water for everyone.
Dionu makes us sand beds to rest on while Yranna and Latih catch up in low voices that don't carry this far. Someone also makes a toilet-box with proper walls to the ceiling for privacy. Gotta love practical earthbenders.
I'm reminded of the time we camped out with the resistance beneath Omashu. I decide to rest and gather some energy for the upcoming fight.
...
With sunrise comes a guard change, and I decide to spend some time in meditation before stretching properly. I'm going to get a workout today.
Gorou joins me. He does that sometimes, in the flat's living room, before we both go out to get our stuff done for the day. Or we train. Or spar with Dionu and sometimes Fon. It's good practise against earthbenders. Neither Mai nor Ty Lee ever join us, but we teach Haruto some basics.
I don't usually accomplish much with meditation. But it's a good way to start the day. Breathing, feeling, thinking of nothing for once.
This time, I can't calm my thoughts properly. So I think about how I might feel if Azula is on that drill. Not good. She's bound to be angry. She's bound to have excessively obsessively trained to vent her frustrations and hurt feelings at the loss of her two friends.
Realistically, if she finds us on that drill, she'll try to kill us. And if that's the case, then I will have to be ready to do the same, in order to stay alive.
She won't be alone.
But I won't be, either. And that entire drill is powered by steam. I'll have access to water from everywhere, so long as I keep a feel out for where the steam pipes are.
We will live. And someone else will die today.
I shift into a stretch.
Gorou gets up. "This might turn into a bloodbath if they have an army in there."
He doesn't sound particularly scared. He means that we are going to be the ones doing the slaughtering.
"It might. But it's best if we're stealthy before finding the engine room. The priority is the drill. We can fight the Fire Nation soldiers afterwards," I say, moving to another position.
"Hm," he agrees. "You're not even wearing armour."
I look down at my brown shirt, loose trousers and sturdy boots. "Yeah. Not much I can do."
He scoffs. Then he shoves his hands into the ground, elbow-deep. He comes up with a large rock. Then he bends it into forearm bracers and a chest plate. He doesn't wait for permission as he takes first my left arm, then my right and bends the things in place. They're divided into fine moveable segments, heavy, but not too bad and still flexible.
"Thanks," I say, surprised.
He grunts. Then he secures the chest plate. I continue my stretches, testing the fit. "It digs in here too much," I tell him tapping where it edg es my shoulder.
He carves that part away.
"Thanks."
Seems like Gorou doesn't want me to die.
...
The drill is huge. It's as tall as a six-storied building. A metal monstrosity headed straight for the wall. from up there, it must be less intimidating. But up close… you can feel the ground shake.
I doubt the City Guard will be able to turn it aside properly. That's a little concerning. But we knew we'd be facing bad odds when we came out here. Better here than fighting near civilians. Refugees who have seen their fair share of war already. Technically, I am a civilian. But no bender really is just that.
"This is on us," I tell Gorou, who nods. His face is doing the bloodthirsty thing that scares me a little every time I see it. Then again, all my friendly neighbourhood yakuza are wearing a variation of it. maybe this is the kind of thing you need to be good at in order to become a member. Face the Fire Nation with a plan, explosives and enough weapons to kill an army with. Incidentally, that's probably what we're going up against. They've come to invade Ba Sing Se, after all. That's not the sort of thing one does with only a hundred soldiers.
It's a good thing the Pah joined us. It's an even better thing that we have explosives. This should not be a reassuring thought: organised crime with explosives.
We follow the plan: locate the entrances, which are indeed on the underside of the drill. It does have metal claws that dig deep into the ground to propel the drill onwards. That is where we can get inside, through the operating hatches. They're not even locked up. Which is odd because the drill is meant to withstand earthbenders. Who can easily do what we are.
We split up the fighters and explosive experts evenly, with a crossbow-user each. Up close and from below, feeling the earth tremble beneath its force, the drill is gigantic. It is easy enough to figure out that if we take out enough support beams near enough to one another, the drill will crack open with a precise attack from the outside. The drill is made of two tubes, really. One outer shell that is supported by thick metal beams from the inside, arranged like the spokes of a wheel with a thick hub that is where all the walkways are and the engine operates.
I really have to destroy the engine. That's close to the only chance we've got. When I say as much, everyone nods.
"We're not waiting with setting the explosives," Yranna decides, barely audible over the noise of the earth grinding. "We can see how its built from here and its so big it would take too long to communicate."
Take out enough spokes and the wheel crumples. Same principle.
No one contests her. We need to get a move on.
...
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