"Omashu has fallen?!" I whispered harshly at the sudden news.
Lord Beifong gave a slow, grim nod.
Inside his office, all the leading members of the Beifong clan were present—his wife, Madam Beifong; the head of security, Baon; the head of the staff corps, Lady Juan; me, Toph Beifong's personal butler; and the elders of the clan.
At the announcement, murmurs of shock and dismay rippled through the room, only to be silenced by a sharp tap of Lord Beifong's hand against the table.
"It happened recently, not even a week ago. Thankfully, before the Fire Nation overwhelmed Omashu's forces, the king sent messengers in anticipation of such news."
His expression hardened as he exhaled, then began issuing orders.
"Toph must not learn of this. Baon, increase security to the maximum with your most trusted men. Juan, keep the servants out of the loop for now—we do not want to incite panic. Elders, we will convene again in a day to discuss the consequences and our next course of action. Further instructions will follow."
He rose from his seat, and we followed suit.
"Our Beifong clan will endure this setback. My ancestors did. My father did. And now, so will I."
With that, he gestured for us to leave the office—
"Renji. Stay."
My steps halted.
"I have specific instructions for you."
As the others filed out, Lady Juan shot me a quick, encouraging wink on her way past. One by one, they left until only the two Beifongs and I remained in the office.
The door clicked shut, and Lord Beifong let out a heavy, explosive sigh as he sank back into his seat. Beside him, Madam Beifong stepped forward, resting her hands on his shoulders and gently massaging away the tension.
Now that the others were gone, he allowed himself to relax—something few ever witnessed. It was a side of him I had the rare privilege of seeing, likely because I was among those he trusted... or at least, I hoped that was the reason he lowered his guard around me.
(Future Renji here. I've decided to remove this whole part of the journal to avoid getting sued by my Lord for defamation. Hopefully he doesn't realize that Team Avatar already read all my journals last year—they were very insistent on reading them; it wasn't my fault that I was busy with stuff.)
"The Fire Nation has been aggressively expanding its territory since the previous Fire Lord passed. While he was far from benevolent, he maintained a certain restraint, aware that the Avatar would one day restore balance to the world."
Lord Beifong's voice lowered as he spoke, his brows knitting together.
"However, the current Fire Lord does not share that restraint. Omashu's fall is proof of that."
Madam Beifong's hands trembled briefly on his shoulders before resuming their gentle motion.
"Omashu was one of the Earth Kingdom's last bastions against the Fire Nation," she said quietly. "Now that it's been captured, even the inner regions are no longer as secure as we hoped."
Lord Beifong nodded grimly.
"And that is precisely why I need you, Renji."
I bowed at once.
"My Lord, Madam, what are your orders?"
The two exchanged a look, resolve flickering across their faces before they turned back to me.
"... When the opportunity arises," Lord Beifong said slowly, "You are to take Toph... and leave Gaoling."
My head snapped up. "W-What?!"
Madam Beifong closed her eyes, her expression tightening. "Our spies within the Fire Nation have reported that Gaoling is among the next cities to be forced into submission. One way or another."
A second passed before my eyes widened. "Our city is only days away from Omashu. The entire force that captured Omashu would make their way here in a heartbeat!"
"And if that wasn't enough..." Lord Beifong continued, his fist slamming down onto the table with a resounding crack, "Ba Sing Se—the last true bastion of the Earth Kingdom—will be next once they've secured and cut off the surrounding strategic locations that supply it."
Taking a scroll from one of his desk drawers, Lord Beifong unfurled it across the table. A detailed map of the entire Earth Kingdom lay before us, marked heavily with "X" symbols scattered across.
My eyes scanned the map, and realization struck me.
"Spirits above... don't tell me those "X" marks are—"
"Cities and villages now under Fire Nation control," Lord Beifong confirmed bitterly.
My breath caught.
T-they've taken over almost half the Earth Kingdom? At this point?! How had I not known this? How was this not widespread knowledge?
"The Fire Nation occupants are masking themselves as immigrants to escape the war," he continued. "They blend in as civilians after taking over. They remain dormant until given orders to act."
"We only discovered this after sending spies to investigate the regions," Madam Beifong added quietly.
In other words, sleeper forces! They're embedded within conquered cities, ready to activate the moment the command is given? Spirits above, this is a coordinated takeover strategy.
"But there is still a chance." Storing the map back into his drawer, Lord Beifong clasped his hands together and leaned forward. "We have received word that... the Avatar is somewhere within the Earth Kingdom."
My eyes nearly popped out of my skull.
"So the rumors are true! The Avatar lives!"
I'd been hearing whispers about the Avatar from a few months ago from Gaoling's merchants, but I never trusted them. After all, I'd been asking for over a decade, and most of their information was messy at best and complete lies at worst.
"King Bumi has confirmed his existence." Lord Beifong nodded. "But that is not the point."
"Renji," he continued, his tone serious, "We need you to leave Gaoling with Toph. I have no doubt the Fire Nation will attempt to use her as leverage against us. Our family's reputation within Ba Sing Se is well known; we are regarded as one of its strongest supporters. If Toph is taken hostage, they will use her and our name to infiltrate the city with ease."
My thoughts churned. "But wouldn't the Fire Nation expect us to flee? That's the most logical thought."
"We will handle that by making it appear as though she has run away from the family—name and all," he added. "If the Fire Nation believes she is no longer the Beifong heir that we seek, they will be less inclined to actively pursue her. Do you understand?"
"I will make even Toph believe we want nothing to do with her," he said quietly after a pause, "If it means protecting her."
He took a slow breath, Madam Beifong's hand on his shoulder tightening slightly in reassurance.
"Plus," he added, almost sorrowfully, "Her buttons are easy to press. If I push her hard enough over the next few days, she'll erupt soon enough. I know my daughter well."
"So please," the most powerful couple in Gaoling said together, bowing their heads slightly, "Take her and run. At least... until the Avatar restores peace to this world."
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I palmed my face and let out a long breath as I led Toph through the streets of Gaoling.
Pushing her buttons, my Lord did. And it was working. Toph was getting more restless by the day. One thing was certain: he had a real talent for provoking her.
"Grrrr! Father is just... Rah, he's so dumb! A dummy idiot!" She complained, stomping along beside me. "I'm going to start calling him a big bully the next time I see him! Even Mother's being so pushy!"
She continued grumbling under her breath as we made our way toward the Earth Rumble arena, where she was scheduled to defend her title against the next challenger. Knowing her, I'm sure that my lady'll snap real soon.
Just as we turned the corner, deep in thought, I nearly bumped into a kid who let out a startled yelp as they rounded it at the same time. I instinctively sidestepped at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the crash.
Tilting my head back slightly, I gave an apologetic nod. "Oh, sorry about that."
"No problem!" The kid, wearing a douli hat, waved cheerfully before disappearing from view with his friends in tow.
Toph snorted.
"Man, who'd even join Master Wu's Earth Bending lessons? That guy's a wack."
She paused, clearly expecting a response, knowing I had a less-than-favorable opinion of the master who was currently "teaching" Toph basic Earth Bending techniques. I stayed silent, still watching the direction the kid had gone.
"What's up?"
"No... just," I murmured, frowning slightly. "You know what? It must be nothing."
Weird. That kid looked eerily familiar somehow.
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NEXT UPDATE: 21 May, Thursday
A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to say that after 22 chapters (interlude included), we are now in canon!
And I've been binging ATLA lately to make sure that my canon knowledge is still reliable.
P.S., I just found out that my country's theaters will be releasing the Legend of Aang in October. So I've decided to just wait until then to watch it instead of sailing the seas as a pirate.
P.S.S., Not because I support Paramount+ and all that; a lot of discourse is happening online for watching/not watching it via pirating sites. I just wanna watch my childhood cartoon on the big screens. The vibes would be much cooler IMO.
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