Chapter 2
The creaking of the cell door brought Azula's attention forward. She hadn't seen anyone since Long Feng's visit earlier in the day, and had spent the time trying to find a weakness in the chains that held her captive to no avail.
"As you probably figured out, I made a proposition to the Fire Lord—your safe return home in exchange for a stand down in arms against Ba Sing Se. But it turns out that he doesn't want you to return to the Fire Nation," Long Feng informed the Fire Nation Princess as he entered her cell.
"He's lying," Azula thought to herself, unable to respond due to still being gagged. She glared at him instead.
"Well, not just yet at least," he elaborated. "Your father has proposed a different sort of deal, and I'm more than happy to oblige, especially since it will guarantee the safety of my city. He wishes you to stay here awhile longer."
"He's lying," Azula repeated in her mind, but no matter how many times she said it, part of her feared he was telling the truth. "Father needs me."
Two figures appeared at the doorway then and Azula's eyes widened in surprised as they stepped into the cell.
"I believe you all know each other," Long Feng continued with a sinister smile. "Ladies, why don't you tell the princess about your trip to Lake Laogai."
Katara lay on the pallet in her cell. She had been just about to fall asleep, when the sound of the creaking hinges on the adjacent cell had caught her attention. Just the sound of Long Feng's voice was enough to send chills up her spine. In Katara's mind, it embodied the very sound of corruption.
She heard the words he spoke to his captive, and to her shock, realized that it was, in fact, Princess Azula who was mere feet away from her, separated only by a thin metal wall. She was even more surprised to learn that the Fire Lord didn't want her to be returned home safely. Wasn't she his favored child?
But it was the mention of Lake Laogai that filled her with apprehension. Katara had been fairly certain that the underground reeducation prison holding had been destroyed, but perhaps it was only partially so—just enough to keep the wool over the Earth King's eyes.
An opening of her cell door pulled her attention away from what was happening in the next cell. She quickly got to her feet, ready to face whomever it was that entered. Not that there was much she could do without her water skin.
Two Dai Li agents stepped in and shot out chained metal cuffs from their sleeves, capturing Katara's wrists. She struggled against the restraints, which only resulted in the agents yanking on the chains and forcing her to the floor, stunning her.
They then lifted her to her feet and pushed her against the wall so that her back was facing the room, before chaining her to said wall and lifting her prison shift up.
Long Feng strode in holding a whip then, and upon seeing his captive restrained, nodded approvingly at the Dai Li.
"One lash for every day I was in prison because of you," he snarled.
Katara tensed, dreadfully anticipating the strikes from the whip. She heard the whistle of leather sailing through the air before she felt the crack against her back. She hissed and gritted her teeth. The second lash was harsher than the first and broke the skin. She couldn't stop herself from crying out in pain.
After what seemed like an eternity, the lashing ceased. She then felt hands against the back of her neck, unhooking the clasp on her necklace. Long Feng grabbed a hold of Katara's last link to her mother, and tucked it inside his sleeve. Instinctively, she went to reach for her now bare neck, but the restraints wouldn't allow it.
"You won't be needing this any longer," he explained and the trio of men abruptly left before she could object.
Katara's wounds oozed blood and her back felt like it was on fire. She ignored the tears running down her face—from the pain and from the loss of her necklace—as she got her labored breathing under control. All she wanted to do was lie down and sleep—to escape through her dreams.
"Your time is up, ladies. You can come back to see the princess tomorrow," Katara heard Long Feng call into Azula's cell. His voice held a dark and ominous tone. There were no other sounds coming from next door other than the cell door closing.
Katara wondered if Azula had suffered a similar fate as her before finally falling into a fitful sleep.
"He's lying," Azula repeated over and over in her mind until it became a mantra, completely shutting out the physical pain and pushing away the memory of what had just happened. Her two closest friends—her only friends—had tortured her. She didn't understand it, but somehow she knew that it wasn't Mai and Ty Lee who had done those things. Long Feng had done something to their minds—to bend them to his will.
Eventually, Azula began to fade out of consciousness. Memories of her father and brother's Agni Kai filled her mind as she slept.
"Sir, the Avatar's bison has been spotted."
"Good. Make sure to deliver the message," Long Feng ordered, handing his subordinate a Water Tribe betrothal necklace.
"It's a trap," Aang stated, staring intently at the necklace in his hand, almost willing the object to give him a solution.
"Of course it's a trap," Zuko replied.
"What if we turn the tables? Right now, Long Feng holds the advantage because he has Katara, but at least we know where she is now," Sokka mused. "The Council of Five are all under arrest, and could quite possibly be in the same location as Katara. Currently, all the generals' troops are under Long Feng's command, but we know that most of them aren't happy about it. If we could get them on our side…"
"I thought we were trying to prevent a civil war from breaking out, not start one," Toph interrupted.
"Toph is right," Iroh added. "I understand your thinking, Sokka, but what you are proposing could quickly escalate into something that is beyond our control. We need to keep the Earth Kingdom united if we are to stand a chance against the Fire Nation's attack."
"Then what do you suggest?" Sokka asked the group, realizing that Toph and Iroh were right.
"Normally, I would say that we wait until the right moment, but we're running short on time. Maybe we should just go in there and bust some skulls," Toph said with a crooked grin.
"No, that won't work. Trap, remember?" Sokka replied.
"I've got it," Zuko spoke up. "Uncle, you said that Long Feng probably intends to use Azula as leverage against my father. If what you said is true about that plan not working out so well, maybe we can give Long Feng something he can really use as leverage."
"Like what?" Aang asked.
"You."
"What?" Aang, Sokka, and Toph asked at once.
"Remember when I first fought you at the South Pole? You surrendered yourself in order to save Sokka and Katara's village, but then escaped. You did that with your hands tied behind your back. I'm sure you could do it again, especially in the Avatar State," Zuko explained, recalling Aang's awesome display of power in Avatar Roku's temple.
"I don't know, Zuko," Aang hedged. "That's probably exactly what Long Feng wants me to do."
"It's too risky," Toph added, sensing Aang's hesitation. She knew something wasn't right and that it had something to do with the Avatar State.
Suddenly, all eyes were on Iroh, who was the only one besides Momo and Appa not to have suggested a particular course of action.
"Long Feng and the Dai Li are watching us, you know. So our options are limited. But I am confident that together we can accomplish what we need to," Iroh explained, "with or without the Avatar State," he added looking knowingly at Aang. "Toph's suggestion is actually the best one. But first, we need to think like our enemy so we can be as prepared as possible. It may appear that the element of surprise is not on our side, but it's funny how quickly that can change."
Fortunately, Long Feng had not returned since his visit the night before. A Dai Li agent had come by early in the morning to remove Katara's chains. Exhausted from the lack of good sleep during the night, she stumbled over to her pallet and passed out on her stomach.
She awoke to find the regular tray of slop that was supposed to serve as food. Crawling over to the tray, she made a decision. Her captors gave her just enough water to drink, and never a drop more—ensuring that she wouldn't be able to effectively bend. At least not to attack them with any real force, but there was still enough she could use to attempt to heal herself.
It wasn't easy, but Katara managed to bend the water to her back and close up the lacerations that threatened to get infected if left uncared for. That was all she could do for now. There was still some pain, but she figured she could work on it later.
Numbly, she ate the rest of the food, praying that Long Feng would not come back and that the next face she would see would instead be a friendly one.
A hard slap across her face abruptly woke Azula from her restless sleep. Amber eyes opened to see gray ones staring at her. Normally, they were vibrant and filled with adoration for the Fire Nation Princess. Now they were dull and almost soulless. It angered Azula to see her friend like this. "What did he do to her?"
Aware of what was happening in the princess's cell, Katara couldn't stop from flinching each time she heard a the dull thud of a punch or kick and the pained grunt that often followed it. She couldn't believe it would ever be possible, but Katara found herself actually feeling sorry for Azula and wanting to stop what was happening to her. "No one should have to suffer like this."
Aang, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, and Iroh waited until nightfall before carrying out their rescue attempt. They used the darkness to cloak them. Through Long Feng's message, they were able to determine more or less where Katara was being held—in a nearly impenetrable prison holding built within the thick walls of the mountains near Lake Laogai.
Using their earthbending, Aang and Toph led the way through the back end of the mountain wall, while Iroh and Zuko provided a light source. Of course, there was a slight obstacle that previously would have been difficult to overcome. What made the prison so impenetrable was the fact that it was encased in metal. Toph took care of that without a problem—and that was part of what Iroh meant when he talked about the element of surprise. Long Feng and the Dai Li wouldn't have anticipated them getting in this way. They assumed the only way the Avatar and his friends would make an attempt would be through the front entrance, which was where Long Feng's trap had been set.
Upon entering, they were able to see that they were in a small cavern that held a good amount of rock and crystal, much to Sokka's chagrin. But having the place be made entirely out of metal would have been asking for too much. Earthbenders would not put themselves at such a disadvantage.
Toph set her hands on the floor to heighten her sense of any vibrations. "There's a much larger cavern to the left. A lot of activity in there," she explained quietly. "There are a number of cells to the right. That has to be where Sweetness is. If we're lucky, the generals will be too."
"Okay, Toph and I will go right and the rest of you go left," Sokka suggested.
"What happened to the idea of us sticking together?" Zuko asked.
"I'm not taking a risk in something happening to my sister while we're busy fighting Long Feng."
"He's right," Aang agreed. "And we still have the element of surprise on our side."
"We'll join up with you guys as soon as we break Katara out," Sokka promised.
Katara heard a pair of footsteps racing down the hall, getting closer to her cell, followed by the sound of her brother's voice.
"Katara, we're here to get you out," he called into her cell. She smiled weakly as relief washed over her.
The sound of metal being crushed filled her ears, and she realized the door was literally being ripped off its hinges. More light from the hallway began to trickle in, and she saw that it was Toph—metalbending.
The two of them entered the cell, as Sokka went to help her up from the pallet. "Here, thought you could use this," Sokka grinned as he handed Katara her water skin.
"Thanks. Where's Aang?"
"He's with Zuko, Iroh, and the Earth generals, probably taking down Long Feng and the Dai Li right now."
"Zuko and Iroh?" Katara asked, surprised.
"Yeah, they're on our side now. It's a long story, but we don't have time right now. Let's just get out of here first," Sokka said, leading Katara out the door.
"Wait." Katara paused outside Azula's cell.
"What is it, Sugar Queen?" Toph asked.
"This is Azula's cell. We have to take her with us."
"Are you crazy, Katara?" Sokka looked at her incredulously.
She shook her head. "Long Feng has been torturing her and plans to eventually turn her over to the Fire Lord in exchange for Ba Sing Se's safety. It's not going to be a pleasant homecoming. Sokka, we can't just leave her."
"She's right. You do remember what he did to Zuko, don't you?" Toph added, not really expecting an answer.
He sighed. "Fine," he relented, but Toph was already ripping the door off its hinges. The sight that met the siblings shocked them.
The Fire Nation Princess was gagged and wore a brown prison shift that was so tattered it hardly covered her body, which was now a mass of bruises and cuts—many that were clearly infected. Her wrists and ankles were rubbed raw from the shackles, her dead weight exacerbating the situation.
Katara stepped inside, ignoring the stench that clung to the floor and walls. She noticed that Azula had passed out and her skin was much paler than usual. To her horror, there was a stiletto stuck in her right thigh. She recognized the weapon. It was one of Mai's.
"Spirits, what has he done to you?" Katara whispered as she instinctively bent the water from her water skin and carefully removed the gag from Azula's mouth.
Sokka stood there stunned. He never could have imagined Azula as anything but a powerful firebending prodigy, but now she appeared as anything but that. But when Katara entered her cell, he saw for the first time dried blood on his sister's prison shift. He felt his blood boil. "Long Feng is gonna pay for this."
Even though Toph couldn't see, she knew that the princess's condition was bad. Though she had her concerns about what would happen when Azula was finally nursed back to health, she couldn't in good conscience leave the girl in the clutches of Long Feng or the Fire Lord—even if she was just as "bad" as they were.
Just then, Toph sensed two people rapidly approaching. Their footsteps were too light to belong to earthbenders—they definitely weren't the guards she and Sokka had taken out when freeing the generals. She soon recognized them as belonging to the Princess's two companions—Mai and Ty Lee.
"Someone's coming," she alerted Katara and Sokka, as she got into her fighting stance—more thankful than ever that she had discovered metalbending. There was earth surrounding the metal that served as this underground prison, but without her ability to bend metal, there was no way she could utilize it.
As Mai and Ty Lee came around the corner, Toph threw up a metal wall, effectively blocking the assortment of blades flying through the air at her and Sokka and cutting them off from anymore attacks.
"We should tell them that we're helping Azula," he said.
"It won't do any good," Katara explained, her eyes and hands never leaving Azula. "They're the ones that did this to her."
"Huh?"
"They took a trip to Lake Laogai," she replied grimly.
"But I thought that place was destroyed!"
"Apparently not," Toph noted with a bit of sarcasm.
"This is as much as I can do for now," Katara sighed, pulling the water back into her water skin. Toph then bent the metal of Azula's chains off as Sokka caught her as she fell forward. She was still unconscious. Sokka hoped she would stay that way until they got out of here. He was afraid of what would happen if she woke up in his arms.
"I can take these two. Wait inside this cell. Once I create enough of an opening, you guys take the princess out of here and join the others. I'll hold them off," Toph told the siblings. Deciding it was as good a plan as any, Sokka and Katara nodded their agreement.
The metal wall came crashing down, as the earthbender prepared to square off against the assassin and the acrobat.