Luke

I had actually managed to convince myself that nights like these were behind me. I guess it was that they were so few and far in between that managed to sell the illusion. One could imagine that I was the least bit comforted, then, when a familiar voice brought me out of night's dark abyss into something…something else.

"It's time to wake up."

No.

I was somehow convinced that I could actually banish her voice, her as a whole. Wanting to think that, knowing as how it was all in my head after all, I could cut it off, vast it away, be done with it.

It was an amusing thought.

One that yielded nothing of course.

"It's been a long time since we've truly spoken."

"Yeah…it's been a pleasant few months."

"Your last few months have been anything but pleasant."

"Oh? Somebody's been snooping."

"You still seem to think my presence is a joke."

"It isn't?"

There was a silence. If there was one thing I could appreciate from nights such as these, it was my chance to torment my tormentor. All I had to do was stall, waste her time, annoy her until she gave up, see how much she could take.

I sighed, groaned, as much as I could within the confines of my own head. "I said, last time you visited me, that I was done. Didn't you get the memo?"

"You were in a different place then."

"Physically or metaphorically, because yes, I was physically in a different location last time we had one of our little chats."

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do, but I hate to tell you, I don't care. I meant what I said last time. I don't want any part of your games. I don't know what you were trying to get out of me, but it ain't happening, or, hell," I chuckled. "Maybe it is. I'm helping Earth Kingdom terrorists now. That closer to what you wanted from me? Told me last time to leave the Fire Nation. Well, here I am. Hope you're proud. You can leave now."

"Is that what you truly want, then? For me to be gone."

"Don't fucking start another game with me. Yes, that's what I want."

"So you reject the role you have to play in restoring the balance of the world."

"Woman, fuck your balance. The world is changing, get fucking used to it. You have your own little fancy spirit world, and I have my shitty, dirty, bloody one. It may be shit, but it's our shit. It's not an excuse for you to treat us like some sort of social experiment. So let us do our thing, go back to your own world in the clouds, and, very kindly, fuck off, Raava."

She seemed to ignore what I was saying entirely, made evident as she continued to drone on, seemingly unfazed, "A time will come soon when you come to me asking for aid. When you come to me asking for something. The day comes soon, and I will embrace you with open arms. Remember this. For now, I wish you luck."

"Luck?"I scoffed. "Go fuck yourself."

"Wow," came the female voice again. "Fuck you too."

What?

It was no longer the empty black abyss that surrounded me. Rather, it was the seemingly amused face of Zare by my side, craning her head around the corner of the crate we leaned against for support over the night to observe me where I rested.

A moment of panic dominated my mind for a brief moment until the characteristic amused grin on her face, in spite of the grim circumstances around us, informed me that she hadn't taken the insults as directed toward her, and so I responded, "Wasn't talking to you, but now that you're here…"

She released an airy guffaw, no noise emitting from her parted lips as she mock laughed at my comment.

Sitting up elicited a grunt from me as I suddenly found myself coming to terms with the built-up soreness of a night spent running and fighting for my dear life. I did, in time, however, manage to sit up straight against the crate to my back, asking, "I was talking in my sleep, then?", suddenly nervous of what may have slipped.

"Mhmm," she confirmed.

"Anything coherent?" I pressed, now conscious of what just my dream had entailed, praying that nothing had slipped.

She shrugged. "Just was cursing out somebody. Was either a nightmare, or a really fucked up sex dream by the sound of it."

I chuckled at her remark, relieved that nothing important had slipped by the look of it. With that concern dealt with, I attempted to put the memory of the night aside.

It was around then that I became aware of just what it was that had woken me, reminded by the loud clattering around me, the grinding of machinery, and the blowing of a horn. Zare seemed to have caught the look of confusion in my eyes, and clarified the situation in stating, "We're docking. Looks like we made it to Jingping."

Great, I thought. More Earth Kingdom.

I suppose I shouldn't have been complaining. With my current affiliations being Earth Kingdom nationalist, separatists, and terrorists, it was very likely that I was better off here than in Fire Nation custody where I'd very likely be executed on sight.

Then again, my being a firebender was just the justification needed to tie a noose around my neck and lynch me from a tree. The more time that went by, the more I was beginning to realize just how little safety there was for me in this world.

Should've stayed with the Fire Nation, damnit.

There was no time, however, for regrets, especially as Gordez and Zek appeared from what seemed to be above decks, working their ways through the sparse assortment of Earth Kingdom soldiers.

The scene around us was by no means pleasant. We were surrounded by the injured and exhausted, the losses that had been inflicted far more taxing for them than they could have possibly been for us, half of their comrades left in the ruins of the place they'd called home for years now. This was defeat in its purest form, and that reminder was not going anywhere. There was something in addition to that loss, however, something that supplemented, reworked it-a desire for revenge. And so for every soldier that was licking his wounds, trying to snatch as much sleep as he could, there was another that was sharpening his blade, counting his arrows, etching the names of his fallen comrades into his helm as a reminder of why he fought, and why he would take the life of the next Fire Nation soldier he confronted without hesitation and without mercy.

There was something that thus concerned me about these present conditions. I'd seen this level of anger and hate and desire for revenge before, and I'd seen what had erupted from it. Had myself been a part of it.

While I was loathe to wish harm upon the soldiers of my country, I found myself praying that this unrestrained anger and fervor would emerge on the battlefield through martial conflict rather than where it would be civilians who would face the brunt of this onslaught.

The last thing I wanted was to witness another Stone's Edge. Much less be a part of it.

"Come on," Gordez said. "We're docking. Cholla wants us on deck, armed and ready for anything."

It was while Gordez was in the midst of his statement that I noticed Ka'lira was not among the duo. Zek himself seemed rather worse for ware, his spirits seemingly as low as they had been the day prior. I wanted to think it was merely the shock of the Fire Nation assault that had stirred him so, but when I also took Ka'lira into account, or, rather, the lack of her, it wasn't hard to connect the dots and see something was occurring between them.

My pondering of their love life was interrupted then by the conclusion of Gordez's statement regarding our preparation for the worst. "We expecting combat?"

Gordez made no deliberate answer, myself not sure if it was out of secrecy or himself not knowing. I assumed the latter as I had no doubt in my mind that Gordez would share any concerns of danger with us as soon as he'd learn of it. "Just, get up, get your gear, and get ready to disembark. I don't know what Cholla has in mind, but whatever it is, it pays to be prepared. Got it?"

"Got it," I replied.

Gordez wasted no time after my reply to march back up to the main deck, Zek stalking slowly behind him, not a word to be spoken in his usual cheery demeanor.

"What's up with him?" came Zare's voice from behind me as I set about grabbing my bag from where I'd set it down before dozing off into sleep. I wondered what time it was, figuring somewhere in the mid-morning.

"Zek?" I asked.

"The quiet one, yeah," she replied, likely still acquainting herself with our names.

It was amusing, but also worrisome hearing Zek being referred to as "the quiet one", that title having used to belong to Gordez who now found himself in the leadership position, beginning to sound more and more like Boss with every passing day.

"Don't know," I answered truthfully, the two of us now both stood up, our minimal gear equipped as we began following in the wake that Gordez and Zek had left behind them.

Other soldiers were rising as well, the message to gather on deck seemingly having been relayed across the Earth Kingdom ranks.

Soon enough, we found ourselves in the open air, a gentle sea breeze almost compelling us to forget about the blood stains lining the deck or that the men around us stood strangely armed for soldiers entering friendly territory.

The docking ramp was already lowered by the time we ascended, a number of soldiers already down below along with Gordez and Zek. A simple nod between Zare and I was all it took for us to agree to head down as well, trying not to be too set at unease by the fact that Earth Kingdom archers were remaining on the deck of the ship with a perfect view of the scene unfolding below.

"Absolutely not," was the first statement I heard as we descended, uttered by an aged man with a thinning head of gray hair. "Supplies are scarce as is, and besides, I am not about to harbor refugees of a recent Fire Nation attack. We'd only be asking for trouble to take you in!"

"Governor Xinhai," Cholla responded calmy, thankfully now providing me with the name of his opponent in this conversation. "The Fire Nation is beginning to make its move in clearing the Earth Kingdom from the coast. Xiahu was first, and Jingping will be next."

"The Fire Nation has left us alone this long in spite of our proximity to the blockade. They haven't attacked us before, and there is no reason to believe they will now!"

"Look in front of you, governor! The men standing behind me, they also hadn't been attacked by the Fire Nation for as long as you had. First it was Heigou, then Xiahu, and you're next."

The elder man simply shook his men, exasperated by what he seemed to take as the insolence as an inferior. "Where is your commander? Hanief. I would much rather speak with him. I know we've seen eye to eye on more than one occasion."

"Commander Hanief is dead, governor. Slain by the Rough Rhinos."

"The Rough Rhinos?" the governor scoffed, seemingly unfazed by the news of Hanief's death, almost taking this as some form of practical joke by the sound of it. "Now I know you're making things up, Captain."

"It's Commander now, governor. Hanief is dead, his rank falling to me, now commander of Earth Kingdom forces in this region. If you won't listen to reason, then I will be forced to pull rank on you. As a civilian interfering in a military operation, this being the defense of the Southern Nip Coast, you will be charged with military interference if you do not step down now."

"Military inter- Look around you, boy! Do you see any fancy smancy Earth Kingdom courthouse here? You are in my town, threatening me with my troops. Who the hell do you think you are?!" He turned to face his entourage of Earth Kingdom, no, Jingping troops, ordering them in saying, "Soldiers! Escort Captain Cholla and his compatriots back aboard their vessel and see them off!"

And such was why we had been told to come armed and ready. It was Cholla who raised his weapon first, a simple sword, tip directly at Governor Xinhai's neck, the unsheathing of sounds screeching all around us as Xiahu soldiers prepared to fight for survival, bows nocking back on the deck of our ship, and before I knew it, my own sword raised, Zare's bow likewise right by my side.

My eyes turned to her, and hers met mine for a brief moment that informed us both that neither of us had any grasp on the situation at hand, only understanding the half of it. The important half of it at that-that the people in front of us were threatening our lives, and we had to defend ourselves.

That's all there was to it.

So far as we could see at least.

"You may want to reconsider that," Cholla said, his stance unmoving, his sword arm unwavering in where it held Xinhai's life in the balance. "These soldiers have already gone through a night of hell, fighting for their lives against the brutality of the Fire Nation's worst. When was the last time your men had seen combat? Much less even considered combat as a possibility? My men are fighting for their survival and they, we, will do whatever it takes. Can you say the same?"

It took me a moment to realize he wasn't asking Xinhai. He was directing this question straight towards the soldiers who were still struggling for the weapons hanging limply at their sides.

A silence then ensued, one occupied by the feeble guard of Xinhai exchanging glances, the tension interrupted by the shouting of the man as he exclaimed, "How dare yo-"

"Quiet!" Cholla snapped, his eyes immediately darting back from the pathetic man to the soldiers once again. "So what will it be?"

A last salvo of worrisome looks was exchanged between the entourage before they could be seen standing down. Some, however, did not stand down, but rather, turned their blades on their governor.

"Your traitorous sons of-"

"Governor Xinhai. I, Commander Cholla of the Earth Kingdom armed forces, is hereby relieving you of your authority and placing the town of Jingping under martial law in response to the threat of Fire Nation aggression. You will be placed under house arrest and any further efforts to disrupt Earth Kingdom operations will result in dire consequences."

All it took was a nod to his men for two to dart forward and quickly apprehend of powerless ex-governor. And he was not handled gently, tenderness one of the last things present in these soldiers now. The governor went about his protests, cursing, spitting, yelling, none of it worthwhile as he was invariably hauled away, his troops making no move to interfere, perfectly capable of seeing who held the power, an observation that the governor had failed to make.

There was still a heavy air of confusion around us, especially between me, Zare, Gordez, and Zek, the 4 of us looking between one another to try and comprehend what had just transpired.

There wasn't much to understand. Cholla was doing what he had to do. No courts, no trials, no formalities, just a simple exchange of authority by means of strength.

Such was the way of Earth Kingdom diplomacy.