Star Wars vs Avatar The Last Airbender

Star Wars x ATLA Chapter 12: The Great Deception

Chapter 12: The Grand Deception

Activity Log: Grand Army of The Republic, 501st Legion

Situation: Avatar Aang and his friends are with General Skywalker, Commander Tano, Captain Rex and ARC Lieutenant Fives in Ba Sing Se, currently trying to establish contact with the Earth King. In the process, they have encountered several snags one of which is the Dai Li, a secret police force used to silence dissenters and enforce tyrannical policies. Joo Dee, their tour guide, is suspected to be a Separatist spy.

Mission: In light of ARC Lieutenant Echo being abducted by the Dai Li during reconnaissance, General Skywalker and Captain Rex have decided to accelerate their plans. The moment an opening to infiltrate the palace and speak to the Earth King presents itself, they will take it.

Execution: News of an upcoming royal banquet has reached their ears. Appropriate disguises will be obtained for them to infiltrate the party and attempt to speak to the Earth King.

Location: Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se.

Time: Fourteen weeks since the battle of the North Pole.

"There is no war in Ba Sing Se," the Dai Li agent repeated for what Echo thought was the hundredth time. He'd lost count by now...how long had he been in this cursed place?!

"Let...me...go!!!" Echo protested at the top of his lungs as he struggled in vain against the chains that held him. The Dai Li agent did not listen and stood there nonchalantly, his hands behind his back and his face the only thing visible in the dark tunnel as the orange lamp circled around the metal railing once again, blinding Echo and bringing him another step closer to insanity.

"Here in Ba Sing Se we are safe," the man reiterated yet again. "There is no strife or conflict within our walls. Our walls create order and peace."

Echo gritted his teeth as he tried to form the words to argue back against the agent's lies. But the mind melting orange lamp continued to circle around the railing, blinding him with its nigh-demonic flash and pushing him into a catatonic state.

Echo did not know it, but he'd been here in the Dai Li headquarters under Lake Laogai for a week. His armor, weapons, and comlink were gone; even in just his black body glove suit he was a force to be reckoned with. For the first few days, the Dai Li had tried to break him physically, only to have him break one of their agent's wrists and another agent's ribcage with a front kick. Once they saw it was pointless to try and break his body, they set about to another target.

His spirit.

And now he was here, chained to the blasted chair, as the orange lamp that seemed to be straight from the pits of hell circled around the railing again and again, wiping his mind every time it passed. Echo screamed as he felt himself becoming more and more of a subservient dog with each passing of the lamp before his eyes. Every memory, every ounce of his fighting spirit, seemed to be absorbed into the lamp when it completed a rotation.

And Echo was powerless to stop it.

He began to remember the first time he and the others in Domino Squad had finally completed the Citadel challenge...

Then suddenly felt a void of nothingness as the lamp passed by and purloined that proud memory.

His heart began to race as he recalled the blissful memory of the first Twi'lek female he ever kissed...

He silently screamed in anguish as the lamp passed by yet again and that memory was discarded.

Echo wanted nothing more than to turn into a giant raging monster and shatter these infernal chains like toothpicks. He wanted to shout. He wanted to squeeze the lamp in between his hands and crush it into a thousand tiny pieces. He wanted to kick the Dai Li agent's heart straight out of his chest. He wanted to scream, "NO! I'LL NEVER DO IT! I'LL NEVER LEAD YOU TO KAMINO! I'LL NEVER BETRAY THE REPUBLIC!"