Chapter #7 the Great Rescue
a/n I love writing this story!
Disclaimer: I own this story, but not the avatar (starts to cry) OK, PB says on with the story!
A hundred feet below Aang's drained form, Katara was hitting the rusty bars of her reeking cell. Two men, an earthbender and a firebender, were laughing at her. She had no clue why the earth nation and the fire nation were working together, but no matter what the reason was she still was going to get revenge on them.
"Not so tough now woman," the earthbender spat. He had five o'clock shadow and a sunburned nose. The other man, the firebender, had a dirty gray beard and cold pebble eyes.
"Yeah princess, our boss has special plans for you," he said. Katara glared at them, and then pushed back stubbornly in her cell. She crossed her arms, and searched the room with her eyes. Toph had been taken to an earth free zone, but they didn't seem to know she was a waterbender. Katara spotted a puddle of water a few feet from the men. She thought of a plan.
She tightened her legs up.
"UHH! I need to go to the bathroom!" she yelled. The men looked startled. They glanced at the bathroom behind them, then they smiled.
"Well, we should make you use that stinkin' bucket back there…" the earthbender said.
"BUT it has been a long time since a pretty girl like yous has come down here, so we'll let you use it under the condition you give me and Ernie a kiss," the firebender said. Katara was very startled by this remark, and wished badly that Aang was there. She desperately answred.
"OK. Fine, now let me out!" 'Ernie' came over and unlocked Katara. She positioned herself just next to the puddle of water, and SPLASH!
The men were frozen.
Katara hauled them over to the cell, and locked them in. She pocketed the keys, and walked up to the cell.
"You've got to be smarter than that to guard my cell," and with that, she ran upstairs.
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Sokka knelt down next to the lifeless Aang. Where were Katara and Toph? He had a bad feeling about it.
"Aang, wake up!" Sokka muttered quietly. The assembly of people gathering around looked frightened. Aang stirred a little, then opened his eyes weakly. Sokka smiled, although fearfully hoping that Toph and Katara were OK.
"Come on, let's go," Sokka said. He helped Aang up, then made their way through the parting crowd.
"We need to get Katara! The people…and Toph too! That man with the strong muscles! He… he…!" Aang's eyes looked like giant dinner plates. Guilty tears clung to the corners of his eyes.
"Zuko and Iroh are back at the house. I'm sure they can help… we need to get down their somehow… although if I know Toph, she's ambitiously trying to escape that prison. She's pretty bright…" Sokka started to smile a little, and Aang tried hard not to notice. His eyes watered slightly. Sokka looked just the way he looked when he was thinking of Katara...
"It's my entire fault they're gone…I couldn't…" Aang wiped his eyes.
They arrived at their little guest cabin, where Zuko and Iroh were playing cards.
They looked up when Aang and Sokka entered.
"What, girls run away?" Zuko joked. Aang looked so grave, however, that his face fell. Zuko looked alarmed. Toph was gone?
"Katara and Zuko have been kidnapped by a crazy earthbender," Aang muttered. Zuko felt emotion surge into his chest, and a few naughty thoughts about the young earth bender.
"Oh, I'm sorry…" he muttered.
"We need to find them!" Sokka said. Aang nodded, and busily sat down at the table.
"I'm going to earthbend a great hole…and then get down it… I might be able to save them… if one of you guys leant me some fire to see…" Aang started muttering to himself, and pacing around the room. Zuko and Iroh looked at each other.
"Well, has Toph taught you to sense things the way she can?" Sokka asked.
"A little…" Aang said in between mutters.
"OK, let's try it, but don't act so-" Aang rushed outside, and Sokka was cut off.
"Stupid," Zuko finished. Sokka smirked, and fallowed Aang. It was going to be a rather interesting mission.
When they got to the deserted festival grounds, Aang pressed his hands to the ground. He closed his eyes tight, and started to see the way Toph did...
A giant cell with water rats and disturbing insects crawled around. The troubling forms of two frozen men were inside a cell. The body of a maturing girl was running up a flight of stone stairs, and about a mile away was a small silver box, with holes for air, being guarded by about three men… the form of a short boyish twelve year old was inside that box like cell…. She seemed angry. Very angry…
Aang sat up, looking proud.
"There's some type of prison down there, but it's deep. About a hundred miles below. It looks like Katara tricked the men, but Toph is heavily guarded…" Aang said. Zuko, Iroh, and Sokka stared at him, but slowly nodded afterwards.
"Great. You try earthbending now," Sokka said. Aang took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He pressed his hands to the earth again, and in seconds a huge gap was visible in the ground. Aang began digging.
In seconds it was becoming a large tunnel. Zuko and Iroh had small flames in their hands, lighting Aang's way. Nobody but Zuko and Sokka knew, but the two teens were secretly thinking about rescuing Toph, each equally jealous of the other.
At one point, they struck metal.
"Fire Lord!" gasped Zuko. Sokka gaped at the metal. Aang smiled, and felt his hands over it. They came across a huge door opening.
"I'll need to earthbend it open, so stand back," Aang warned. He twisted and turned, and the door opened.
A girl in blue clothing was struggling standing there, huffing and gasping as she held her stomach, as if that would earn her more air. When she saw Aang, she immediately stopped. She flung her arms around him.
"Aang!" she cried happily. Aang smiled and held her close. He pulled her at arms length.
"Are you OK? Did they treat you OK, as a prisoner? Did they-!" Aang was pulled into an adoring kiss. Once they started tonguing, however, Zuko and Sokka became impatient.
"Can we go find Toph now?" they said in unison. When they noticed this, they glared at each other. Aang and Katara stopped kissing at once.
"OK, but I don't know where Toph is," Katara said worriedly.
"Don't worry, I do," Aang said wisely. He began running towards Katara's cell. Katara gave Sokka and Zuko questionable glances before she fallowed.
Aang led them to the wall on the right of Katara's cell. Iroh glanced at the stared curiously at the frozen men, and Sokka stuck his tongue out at them.
"A door?" Katara asked Aang.
"Sort of…" Aang answered. The wall had some slime coming out of the brick's wedges, and a cobweb in a large crack.
Then they all noticed a sort of pattern on the wall, that looked like a floating rock.
Aang put his hands on the wall, and dug his fingertips into it. Concentrating hard, sweating hard, he pushed inward.
The wall opened, revealing a room with a small metal 'box,' and four men. Two firebenders, two earthbenders.
They stared dumbfounded at them. Sokka threw his boomerang at them, knocking two of them out. Zuko shot three fireballs at them, and two dropped down on the ground, groaning. They both rushed forward toward the box, each well armed.
The box split opened, and Toph started laughing.
"Fancy this Snoozles, I can metalbend too!" Sokka stared at her in amazement. Toph looked at Zuko with a smile. "Guess I'm gonna' have to call you Scarbrain."
Zuko blushed. Red blotches appeared all over his face. Toph looked from Zuko to Sokka.
"What happened when I was gone?" she said innocently.
Sokka and Zuko glared at each other. Iroh laughed, and Katara and Aang smirked.
Anyone without Toph's mastery earthbending skills could figure out their new rivalry. And the reason for it.
Dun dun dunnnn! New rivalry, new crushes, and just enough fluff. What do you think? I honestly want to know, the story is my best! I need to work on breaking Free a little...
