Pay the Price of Command

Title: Pay the Price of Command
Author: Dark Puck
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender (Hyo [OC], Long Feng, Azula, Iroh, Mi-Cha [OC])
Summary: The tale of the man who unwittingly halted the seige on Ba Sing Se.
Notes: Written with the assistence of Bex; the character of Jae belongs to her and is used with permission.  Partly written using a theme set from 7_Chakras on LJ.


Survival


There is fighting going on in the distance.  Hyo can still hear it, and can only wonder when the fight will finally reach him.

He'd sent the others on ahead to help turn back the invaders, but had split away to follow a group of three Fire soldiers making their way through the Agrarian Zone.  He'd attacked when the time was right but one of them had been a master firebender, and a surprising match for the Dai Li agent.

It had been a hard fight, but Hyo had triumphed in the end, killing the firebender with an earth spike through the chest.  Now he lies on his back near the man he's killed, staring up at the sky and wondering which side will find him first.  And if he'll still be alive when they do.

He steels himself and tries to get up, but his body will have none of that.  He's too exhausted to move, and his left arm seems to consist entirely of pain.  At the very least, the sleeve of his robe is missing.

He doesn't want to think about what else is.

Hyo closes his eyes for but a moment, but when he opens them the stars have moved and the sound of fighting has died down.  Am I dead? he wonders.

And then the pain hits.  No, guess not.  Hello, left arm.

He sighs and returns his gaze to the sky.  It's a waiting game now.  Still, the night is quiet, and the silence is oppressive now.  To break it, he says, "The stars are bright."  He's not quite sure why he says it, but at least it's something.

"That they are."

Hyo flinches, then twists his head around to see another man of the Dai Li.  But there's something off about his uniform, something Hyo can't quite place in the darkness.  He looks down on the fallen Dai Li, studying him.  Finally, he speaks again.  "Hyo."

A man groans weakly on the ground near them - apparently one of the Fire soldiers had survived.

The standing Dai Li turns away, and Hyo feels the earth ripple with bending-- the soldier falls silent.

Hyo knows who this man is.

"Yes, sir," he tells the Director.

The older man studies him once more, then asks, "Can you walk?"

"With assistance, yes," Hyo responds.  "I don't think I can move much on my own right now."  He feels light-headed and his left arm is trying to insist that it's really hurting.  He ignores it.

The Director nods and kneels beside him, offering a flask.  "Drink.  It will help."

Hyo obeys, and his reaction to the utterly disgusting drink seems to amuse his employer.  On the bright side, he doesn't feel dead anymore.  Carefully he eases himself into a sitting position, taking care not to look at his left side.

The Director tucks the flask away and gingerly takes Hyo's left arm at the wrist, causing the younger man to hiss in pain.  "Around my shoulders," he says.

Hyo stares blankly for a moment, then the light goes on and he gets his right arm over the Director's shoulders.

"Quickly and quietly," he says.  "The firebenders were driven back, but there's still live ones on the field."

"Sir," is Hyo's response.

The Director doesn't move so fast that the injured Dai Li can't keep up, but there is a certain urgency to his pace that has Hyo trying to force himself to move faster and ignore the blackness chewing away at the edges of his vision.  At one point they stop, then the Director raises his hand and earthbends them a ramp.  

Ah, of course.  Dai Li tunnels.

Hyo's head lolls as the darkness briefly threatens to consume him, but the Director's voice cuts through: "A little farther.  There is a safehouse inside the city you can rest in."  The younger agent nods; speech has deserted him.  

They continue on, for how long Hyo doesn't know.  He can barely hear the low murmur as they finally enter the safehouse, then the Director is lowering him onto a sleeping pallet and Hyo finally passes out.

~*~

He awakens in opulent apartments that aren't his and is very disoriented.  On the other hand, his arm doesn't hurt anymore-

He checks quickly and is relieved to find that it is still there.  Then he looks around, and blinks.  There is another Dai Li with him, one of the new Director's handpicked.  Jae, that's his name.  Recently picked, as Hyo recalls, but the boy shows much promise, even as a trainee.

"Your new hat, sir," says Jae, proferring one; Hyo reaches out and takes it before noticing a rank mark he hadn't had the day before.

艦長.

Jiàn Zhǎng.

Commander.

He stares stupidly at the mark for a moment, then looks up at Jae.  "What?"

"Director Long Feng lost his previous second during the first year of the Siege," the boy reminds him.  And hasn't yet replaced him went unspoken.

"I see," Hyo replies after a pause, but he is still confused.  Is Jae implying what he thinks?

"Your records are impeccable, sir, and there is the matter of your... exemplary service to the Earth Kingdom during the Siege," the boy tells him.

Hyo blinks, then asks, "Exemplary?"  Well, perhaps the trio of men he'd encountered had been assassins-

"Your defeat of the Crown Prince's heir."

Hyo stares blankly at Jae, who looks like he wishes someone else was handling this.  "Director Long Feng was...," the boy trails off for a moment, thinking, then indicates the hat.  "He seemed pleased."

The newly-appointed Commander of the Dai Li stares blankly at his hat for a moment, then says softly, "I didn't know."

Jae nods.  "I didn't, either.  I don't think anyone did.   But the Director says you did.  And the Siege has stopped."  He pauses to consider this.  "Well, not stopped.  But the firebenders are just sitting there."

"Oh," Hyo says at last.

The boy nods a second time.  "Your family is being taken care of, sir.  Your wife seems to like the new house."

It takes a moment for Hyo's brain to catch up again.  How long was I unconscious? he wonders.  "New house?" he asks instead.

Another nod.  "Director Long Feng had your wife and daughter moved to the Upper Ring."  At Hyo's obvious surprise, the boy hedges further, "He seemed to think it was appropriate, sir."

Hyo shakes his head to clear it.  "Yes.  Yes it is."  That's right, the previous Commander wasn't married, so the house would be empty...

"The doctor doesn't think you should be moving about too much yet, sir," Jae goes on, "but Director Long Feng wished to offer you the chance to recuperate at home rather than remaining in his apartments."

Now the new Commander stares at Jae yet again until his brain starts working once more.  "Yes.  I think that would be preferable."

Jae nods and ghosts out of the room, leaving the newly-promoted second-in-command of the Dai Li to his thoughts.

Commander, huh.  He is amazed by the sudden jump - he can't recall any Dai Li ever jumping from Agent to Commander without a stepping stone at Captain.  Surely Captain Liu is better suited for the role - Thanh is getting on in years, Dato has been showing signs that the job is tearing him apart, and Xiang was only promoted just before the start of the siege.  I'll have to do what I can to look after the men.

FEAR

Dealing with the Fire Princess, Hyo decides, is nothing but a giant headache.  Keeping her happy involves some rather... humiliating moments unworthy of them as Dai Li Agents, such as that idiotic date she set up for Prince Zuko and her handmaiden Mai.  Hyo rubs his temples, trying not to recall that fiasco.  Spoiled brat, he thinks.  There are palace servents for that sort of thing.

On the other hand, that debacle gave him the time he needed to finish destroying all evidence of the mindbending and finding excuses for Liu, Xin Wan, and the others who worked under Lake Laogai to remain in Ba Sing Se as assistants for Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator Joo Dee.  He thinks that this particular Joo Dee is Xin Wan's favourite, but he's not sure.   It can be amazingly difficult to tell them apart sometimes.

But now everything is done.  The Dai Li are ready to uproot themselves and follow their new Director to the Fire Nation.  Long Feng has vanished completely from Fire perceptions, so there will be new headaches for the occupying forces once Azula has vanished.  Mi-Cha is safely out of Azula's sight and reach, and none of the Dai Li will ever mention his daughter to the princess.  And it is up to Hyo to keep the Dai Li together in the Fire Nation.

Maybe he now he can get some sleep before they depart.

He looks out the window to see the sun rising, and sighs.  Or perhaps not.  Yunnan tea.  I am going to need Yunnan if I am to deal with Her Highness today.  He opens the door, startling the trainee who has fallen asleep out there.  Hyo blinks; Alak should have gone home hours ago.

And then he remembers that Alak  was disowned when he joined the Dai Li; sadly, this is becoming more prevelent.  "Go report to Liu," he orders the boy, who nods and scampers off.  Hyo sighs; in some ways it is a relief that all the trainees will remain in the city.  On the other hand, the only Dai Li available to train them now will be the mindbenders.

Hyo's eyebrow twitches, and he heads out in search of his tea.

Several minutes later, he recieves a summons: Princess Azula requires that he assist in the transport of the former General Iroh from his cell to the ship heading for the Fire Nation.  He cannot help but flinch when he reads that, but he needs to keep Azula happy.

With a vexed sigh, he heads down toward the prisons, and is surprised to see the princess waiting for him there.  He covers that surprise well, and offers her an abbreviated bow.  So far the princess has not caught on, but from the way the General's eyebrows rise, he catches it immediately.

"Now that you're here," she says, "my uncle needs to be removed to the ships.  Without any problems."  She glances to the Fire guards with a sigh.  "Something I can only trust to the Dai Li."

And in the doing, manage to lay the foundation for alienation between us and your people, Hyo thinks.  Another abbreviated bow.  "Yes, princess," he says, then secures the General for transport.  The old man is surprisingly untroublesome, which worries Hyo somewhat.  What are you planning?

With Azula leading the way, Hyo escorts the Dragon of the West to the cart that will bring them to the ship.  The cart, Hyo notices, is a stone construct, leaving little chance that the old man will escape unless he blows the entire thing up.  As such, it requires a team of no less than six ostrich-horses to pull it along at a semi-decent pace.  Hyo sighs; this is going to be a long trip.

The hair on the back of his neck rises as Azula decides that a good way to pass the time while they cross the city is for him to explain the Dai Li to her.  But with no real reason to keep the publically-known facts for her, Hyo finds himself telling her about the revolution four hundred years ago and Avatar Kyoshi's founding of the Dai Li in order to preserve the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se, as well as the years of history behind the current structure and Long Feng's rise to power.

From there Azula desires to know more about the workings of the Dai Li - how individual agents are chosen, how the captains are chosen, what do the captains do on an individual basis, who looks after the trainees.  Hyo answers as truthfully as he can, though he makes no mention of mindbending and instead explains that Liu monitors the Lower Ring with Xiang.

She then moves on to the captains themselves: "Is Liu always so resigned about his scars?" "There is No War in Ba Sing Se; he wasn't allowed out much after he got them." - "What does it mean when people call Xiang an earthquaker?" "He has a temper." - "Are there any others who can crystalbend like Qin?" "Not among the Dai Li." - "Jae seems very young for such a post." "He earned his post like any other."

Azula is extremely curious, Hyo discovers; he has no doubt she wishes to know so much about the Dai Li so she knows which shiny red buttons to push on them.  So he doesn't speak of Liu's firebender friend, Xiang's general dislike of both himself and of Jae, Jae's orientation, his own daughter, or any other issues his Dai Li have.  Especially he does not speak of the growing problems his men are having with their families, nor does he mention his wife, lest he stand out from the rest as having actually formed a family of his own.

Sometimes Hyo wonders if the General is aware that he is hiding things from the princess.  The thought is not a comfortable one, and Hyo rubs at his left arm.  Unlike Liu, his burn scars are easily hidden away by long sleeve and rock glove.  He is very relieved when they finally reach the port, which surprises him - like most earthbenders, Hyo greatly dislikes sea travel.  Perhaps it is the close proximity to Princess Azula and General Iroh that did it.

Hyo removes himself from the cart as the driver moves around to hand the princess down; Hyo himself needs to complete the task of moving the old man from cart to ship.

"Oh, that reminds me," Azula says, coming to stand by him.  "I found the promotion records the other day, but they don't mention why anyone was promoted.  Tell me, Hyo, what happened six years ago to elevate you from an agent to second-in-command of the Dai Li?"

Hyo does not freeze, or give any physical indication that her question is the precise one he does not want to answer near any member of the royal family.  Especially not around Iroh.  He does, however, take a moment to choose his words carefully.  "I performed a great service for Ba Sing Se," he replies.

The answer is evasive, and all three of them know it.  "A great service, hmm?" Azula says, her eyes glittering.  "Just what was happening in Ba Sing Se six years ago?"

You know full well what was happening, you spoiled double-crossing bitch, he thinks viciously.  His voice is emotionless as he responds, "The city was under siege by the Fire Nation."

"The Dai Li were involved in that?" Azula asks, her eyes very round in mocking surprise.  "Your letters never mentioned them, Uncle."

Why are his hands suddenly warmer?  Hyo glances at Iroh under the brim of his hat; the old man seems calm enough, but there's a certain look in his eyes that makes Hyo increasinly uncomfortable.

"Not until the end, Princess," he supplies quietly, wondering if it would be prudent to take a step back.  His left arm throbs with ghost pain; all around Iroh the air is distorted by heat.  Suddenly Hyo is very, very grateful the old man is hindered; if he decides to take revenge for the death of his son, Hyo might just be able to avoid the blow.

~*~

Late night finds Hyo outside Iroh's cell aboard the ship, uncertain as to what the hell he's doing there.  Finally, after a few moments, Hyo hears himself say, "He fought well."

Silence from the cell.

Hyo falls silent as well, then sighs noiselessly and turns to go.

"Lu Ten always fought well," is the unexpected reply.

The Dai Li Commander can't help it - he flinches, and his left arm throbs again.  His mouth opens unbidden and out comes: "He almost won."

"Many people 'almost won' that day."  He can hear restrained anger in the former general's tone, and flinches again.

"Yes," Hyo replies.  And then, unexpectedly, "I'm sorry."  Perhaps I need to sew my mouth shut.

More silence.

Hyo shifts uncomfortably.

Then: "Why?"

He can't even begin to name all the emotions in that question.  And he can't name all of the emotions in his own voice as he replies, "Because I know that losing my daughter would destroy me."

"The one with the smile is not on this ship, is he?"  The question is seemingly innocuous - but it has to do with Xin Wan.  And nothing involving Xin Wan is ever innocuous.

"No," Hyo says simply.  "He is needed in Ba Sing Se."

"Of course."  A moment of silence, then Hyo smells smoke.  He turns quickly, but there is no sign that the old general is melting through his cell.  Another noiseless sigh - if Iroh chose that moment to break free, Hyo, stuck as he was on this thrice-damned metal boat with only his rock gloves and rock boots to hand, would certainly die.

This does not help him at all when Iroh speaks again.  "I am going to kill you."  His tone is simple and matter-of-fact: not a threat, but the way the future is going to be.

A chill runs up Hyo's spine.  "I know," he replies quietly.  There is a long pause.  "Let me make arrangements for my daughter first."

"That is acceptable," Iroh replies.

Hyo closes his eyes.  So.  My life is now on a timer.  I'd better look into finding a replacement.  Perhaps Liu.  He bows towards the cell and leaves.

HONOUR


Hyo stares at the papers he's just finished writing.  One is a recommendation for a suitable replacement for the rank of Commander of the Dai Li - he's gone with his initial instinct and chosen Liu - while the other is a will, spreading his possessions among his family and few friends, and archiving his wish that, in the event of his demise, Long Feng would look after his daughter.

Mi-Cha.

It's only been a month since the war ended, but Hyo has managed to get everything in order for the future.  The Director is back and once more in overall command of the Dai Li, as well as in charge of Ba Sing Se -- no matter how much General How and the rest of the Council of Five hate it, Long Feng is the only person who knows how to run the city since Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator Joo Dee has suddenly forgotten how.

He just wishes that he could help Long Feng in the search for King Kuei.  Long Feng is frantic that the Earth King seems to have vanished so completely, enough so that he constantly pesters both Hyo and General How, asking why they have yet to find 'his boy'.  How was certainly surprised to realise Long Feng cares for Kuei, Hyo thinks, and sighs.  Best not to delay this - if he holds out too long, Iroh will certainly come looking for him.

Hyo reaches for another piece of paper and starts to write again.

~*~

Mi-Cha is confused.

She doesn't know why Daddy is so sad, or why he told her that Long Feng would take care of her now, or that he wouldn't see her again.

This is not acceptable to the little girl, so she makes her way to Long Feng's office to find out.  His door is open, so she walks right in to see him frowning at a paper.  "Daddy's acting weird," she announces.

"Is he?" Long Feng asks, glancing briefly at her.

She nods.  "He said you'd take care of me now.  And that he wouldn't see me again."

The Director freezes for a moment, then slams the paper down before standing.  Mi-Cha jumps; Long Feng looks positively scary.  "Where has he gone?" he demands of her.

"I don't- the city?" she hedges.  He had been heading in that direction before forbidding her to follow, anyway.

Long Feng's eyes narrow, then he steps out of his shoes and goes out to the door and does something Mi-Cha has never heard in her life: he yells for the Dai Li to find Daddy, now.  And then he actually runs out of the room; still confused, Mi-Cha follows after him and ends back up in Daddy's office, where Long Feng is tearing it apart.

A sheet of paper catches his eye, and he snatches it off Daddy's desk and peers at it intently.  He then thrusts it at Mi-Cha, saying, "Take this to one of the captains."  He doesn't wait for her to take it, instead running off again.  Mi-Cha blinks at the hole the Director has left in the wall, then goes to find Liu or one of the other captains.

~*~

To pass the time (and to ensure he doesn't try to avoid what he knows is coming), Hyo has been taking care of the damage done to the crystal caverns three months before, during the fight where the Avatar died at the hands of Princess Azula.  It's soothing, after a fashion, to know he can still do something useful in his last moments.

After all, this place is a historical landmark now, and as such, will have scores of people coming to sightsee.  He should make sure it will be safe.

This busywork covers his hopes that maybe Iroh will have changed his mind.

No such luck.

He hears the old man's voice behind him.  "I am curious.  Where were you during what happened here?"

Hyo straightens and turns to face Iroh.  Interestingly, the former general is clad in Earth Kingdom-style clothing.  "I was making arrangements to keep certain... assets of the Dai Li out of Princess Azula's hands."  Including hiding his daughter away...

He refuses to flinch at the memory of that fiasco.  It turned out well in the end.

"I see."  There is a moment of silence, and then Iroh says thoughtfully, "You should know why I am going to do this."

Hyo blinks at that statement.  Is he implying that it isn't because of his son?

"You lied successfully to Azula," the general tells him.  "You kept many of your most dangerous secrets from her. You didn't let her get her hands on the Dai Li who change people, or even know they exist. You arranged for the dangerous one to remain here in Ba Sing Se when Azula left."  A pause.  "You did that to Azula. I do not know how much you could manage against Zuko, and I will not allow either of us to find out."

Hyo blinks again, very surprised now.  He's doing this for his nephew?  "I would like to point out that Azula discovering the changers would have had disasterous consequences for everyone."

"Yes," Iroh agrees.  "This does not make you any less dangerous."

Hyo closes his eyes and lets out a noiseless sigh.  "True."

A moment of silence between them, then: "I will make this painless."

The Dai Li Commander opens his eyes and catches Iroh's golden ones with them.  His arm throbs briefly with phantom pain, and then Iroh moves, shooting his arm out.  A small dart of red flame jets out of his fingers--

--and is blocked by the earth just in front of Hyo exploding upward.

Hyo lets out a startled exclamation and steps back, then turns to see who just interfered--

Oh.

Long Feng is standing at the entrance Hyo used to get to the Crystal Catacombs, looking uncharacteristically mussed and angry.  "What are you thinking!?"

Hyo opens his mouth, but gets no chance to answer.  The wall Long Feng put up has cracked, and fire spins out--

The Dai Li Commander doesn't think, only reacts, and another wall springs up to protect his boss from Iroh's attack.  This doesn't seem to phase Iroh greatly, as he turns his attack onto Hyo, who waits for it--

The earth quakes, throwing Iroh off-balance and nearly doing the same to Hyo; the fire goes wild and lashes at the crystals on the ceiling.

"You were going to let him kill you!" Long Feng yells.  "Why?!"

Hyo doesn't answer, for there is no time: Iroh is on the attack again.  Rather than answer he moves, defending Long Feng but making no move to counter-attack.  He doesn't need to, really; Long Feng is taking care of that, even as he yells at his subordinate.

The fight isn't really two-on-one - Hyo participates only to defend Long Feng; the main event is the old general against the Director.

This certainly doesn't stop Long Feng from verbally haranguing Hyo at every given opportunity: at one point he shouts, "How could you do this to me--Cha!"

Hyo hopes Iroh doesn't catch the slight pause before the 'cha', but then he has to block another attack on the Director and thus doesn't see the old man's eyebrow rise.

It's starting to seem as though sheer exhaustion might be what ends the battle when a sudden, clear voice cuts through the crashing rock and roaring fire.

"DADDY!"

All fighting stops, save for one last defence from Iroh against the latest rock volley from Long Feng, then three pairs of eyes, two green, one gold, fall on the little girl who is standing in the entrance to the Crystal Catacombs.

"Mi-Cha!" Hyo calls in surprise, hearing his cry echoed by Long Feng.

"Daddy!" she yells again, not so loud this time since she doesn't have the sounds of battle to overcome with only a child's voice, and runs to him, slamming into his body and wrapping her arms around his waist and holding on as tight as she can.

Startled, and hoping Long Feng yells at whoever let her wander off alone, Hyo wraps his arm around his little girl and holds on tight, wondering if Iroh will continue this fight.

The ongoing silence seems to indicate that both the general and the Director see no need to battle with Mi-Cha on the field now.  Carefully, the Commander lifts his daughter up in his arms and turns to see what is happening.

It seems to be a standoff.  Iroh wears an unreadable but interesting expression, while Long Feng is at the ready - he won't attack with Mi-Cha looking on, but he is clearly ready to start fighting back at the slightest provocation.  Then Mi-Cha twists in Hyo's arms, turning to face Iroh.

"Why are you trying to hurt my daddy?" she asks him in confusion.

Iroh is silent a moment, then admits, "To protect my nephew."

Mi-Cha clings to her father and replies, "But people hurt me when Daddy isn't around."

Hyo flinches, knowing exactly what she's referring to.

"--what?" ask Iroh and Long Feng simultaneously, and the Commander closes his eyes in pain as his daughter answers.

"A man hurt me after the Fire Nation took Daddy away."

He opens his eyes to see Iroh flinch as Long Feng shouts, "WHAT?"

"Now is not the time," Hyo says quietly.  Not now.  Not in front of the man who will kill him.

"When is the time, Hyo?" Long Feng snarls.  "After you let the Dragon kill you?!"

He flinches, and Mi-Cha holds him tighter.

"Well?" Long Feng demands.

"It's done with," Hyo answers.  "And Liu and Bae know better than I do what happened."  Does Long Feng think it doesn't hurt him that he wasn't able to prevent what his daughter went through?

"There is still the matter of your suicide attempt here," hisses the Director.

Hyo doesn't respond, but Iroh saves him the need.  "I did not realise she was so young," he comments, drawing attention back to himself.

"Not many would have," Hyo replies.  He had married relatively late, after all.  By the time he had fathered Mi-Cha, many men his age would have had children for at least a decade.

"I think there have been enough families broken because of this war," Iroh says thoughtfully now.  "There is no need for the little girl to lose one of her fathers."

Oh, for-- Hyo thinks, suddenly annoyed.  Why is it that everyone seems to think that he and Long Feng--

"Long Feng is my uncle," Mi-Cha corrects Iroh cheerfully.

"Of course he is," Iroh agrees.

Hyo can see Long Feng grinding his teeth.

Movement catches his eye, and he turns to see Iroh leaving.  The old man pauses, however, and says, "You're welcome to stop by the Jasmine Dragon at any time."

"I think I will pass," Hyo says politely.

Iroh smiles inscruitably and disappears, leaving the trio of earthbenders alone.

"We are going to take Mi-Cha to Alak," Long Feng informs his subordinate iciily.  "And then you and I are going to have words."

Suddenly, Hyo cannot help but smile, though he isn't sure why.  "Yes, sir."