I felt Appa land on the ground. I peeked out from Sokka's arm and saw that we had landed on a small island in the middle of the lake. We all climbed off of Appa. The group started to talk about whether to go to the earth king or to leave.
"That's probably the Dai Lee searching for us." I looked up and spotted some boats in the distance.
"Lets fly." Katara said.
We climbed back onto Appa's back and we started flying. I placed myself underneath Sokka's arm and gripped Appa's fur.
"Can we please buy a new saddle? Riding bareback is terrifying!" Toph shouted. I mentally agreed with her.
"There it is. That whole thing is the palace." Sokka said after we had flown for a while.
"We have to be careful. Long Feng probably warned the king that we're coming." Katara said.
"I think we're just going to sail right in-" Sokka's sentence was cut off by a flying rock. It missed us by a few feet.
More rocks flew in our direction, and I buried my face back in Appa's fur. I felt Appa land on the ground and Sokka's arm left me. I looked up as everyone jumped off. I quickly followed. Everyone started running towards the building. I tried to find my knife, but it wasn't with me. I must've lost it somewhere. We continued running and I made sure to stay out of everyone's way.
Katara used her water bending to knock some soldiers into the water and Aang froze them in place. Toph made the stairs flatten, then she and Aang bent a large rock up the stairs, taking us to the top. Once inside the large building, we were attacked by more soldiers, but they were quickly beaten.
"Now that's a door. It's gotta go somewhere." Sokka said. He had climbed on top of a pile of fallen rocks.
We followed him down a large hallway. A pair of huge, fancy doors sat at the end of the hall. Aang used his air bending to knock the doors down. A man sat on a fancy chair inside the room, and Long Feng stood nearby.
"We need to talk to you!" Aang demanded.
"They're here to overthrow you." Long Feng said to the man.
"We're on your side!" Sokka said. "You have to trust us!"
"You invade my palace and break down my fancy doors. You expect me to trust you?" The man asked. "If you're on my side, drop your weapons and stand down." I assumed this man was the king.
Everyone dropped their weapons. A few soldiers shot some earth-hands at us and they attached to our hands.
"Detain the assailants." Long Feng commanded.
"But we dropped our weapons. We're your allies." Sokka said.
"Make sure the avatar and his friends never see daylight again."
"Wait, the avatar?" The king asked.
"Over here!" Aang raised his hands.
"I'll hear what he has to say." The king said.
Aang stepped forward and began to explain that there was a war going on for the past one hundred years. He said that the Dai Lee had kept it secret in order to control the king.
"Your claim is difficult to believe." The king said.
Long Feng leaned over and talked quietly into the king's ear.
"I have to trust my advisor."
The soldiers started to lead us out of the room, but Sokka turned around.
"I can prove he's lying! Ask him to lift his robe."
"What? I am not disrobing!" Long Feng shouted.
Aang blew a large amount of air out of his mouth, causing Long Feng's robe to fly up.
"Right there! Appa bit him!"
"That happens to be a large birthmark. Thanks for showing everyone." Long Feng said, pushing his robes back down.
"There's no way to prove where those marks came from." The king said.
"Of course there is!" Sokka exclaimed.
Our hands were set free while Appa was brought into the room. Appa opened his mouth while Long Feng was forced to lift his robe. Aang compared Appa's teeth with the markings on Long Feng's leg.
"Yep, that pretty much proves it." The king said.
We all cheered. The king said it didn't prove the conspiracy, and we groaned. He then said it was worth looking into and we agreed.
We got on the train and headed towards the lake. There were a lot more people on it than last time. Sokka, Katara, and the king talked the whole ride, while I sat on my knees and looked out the window. The countryside flew by and before I knew it, the train stopped and we were at the lake.
Toph bent up the path where the tunnel used to be. "It's gone!" She exclaimed.
"Well that's awfully convenient." The king said. "Long Feng was right, this was a waste of time." He turned and started up the hill.
I tugged on Sokka's arm. "The drill." I whispered.
"Wait! If you come with us, this time you can ride on Appa!" Sokka said.
The king stopped then came back to us. They all climbed on Appa. I hesitated, then climbed up too. We flew towards the outer wall. I held onto Sokka's arm and kept my eyes shut the whole time.
"It's still there!" Sokka shouted.
I opened my eyes. The sun was lower in the sky and we were at the wall.
"What is that?" The king asked.
"A drill Made by the fire nation to break through your walls."
Appa landed on the wall and we climbed off. I leaned over the wall and looked down at the drill. A smaller wall was built around the drill, and the dirt-water had cemented the drill in place.
"I can't believe I never knew." The king said, his hands gripping the wall.
"I can explain your majesty. This is just a small construction project." Long Feng appeared.
"Then why is there a fire nation insignia on your 'construction project'?" Katara asked, gesturing to the drill.
Long Feng hesitated. "Well it's imported of course. Surely you don't believe these children!"
The king glanced at us and we looked at him with hopeful eyes.
"Dai Lee, arrest Long Feng. I want him to stand trial for crimes against the earth kingdom." The king commanded.
Long Feng's eyes grew wide. The Dai Lee grabbed his shoulders and pulled him backwards.
"You can't arrest me! You need me more than you know!"
"Looks like Long Feng is long gone!" Sokka laughed. "Oh, I've been waiting to use that one!"
~o0o~
"I want to thank you for opening my eyes. We are at war, with the fire nation." The king said.
Sokka and Aang stepped forward and began to explain that a comet was coming and that the fire benders would have unbelievable power. Sokka told the king that before that would happen, the sun would be blocked out by the moon and the fire benders would be helpless. He said that we needed to attack on that day. The king agreed and the small group cheered. I stayed quiet.
"I'm sorry for the interruption." A man walked in.
"This is general Howe. One of my highest ranking generals."
"We searched Long Feng's office. We found some things that will interest everyone.
We followed the general into a large room, and stood around a small table while the general brought a box over to us.
"There are secret files on everyone in Ba Sing Se. Including you kids." The general said.
I tilted my head a little to the side. How could they have secret files on me? I've lived in the library for more than half my life.
"Toph Bei Fong." The king handed a piece of paper to Toph, who handed it to Katara.
"It's a letter from your mom. She's here in the city and wants to see you!"
"Long Feng intercepted our letters from home? That's just sad." Toph said, shaking her head.
"Aang. This was attached to the horn of your bison when the Dai Lee captured it."
"It's from the eastern air temple." Aang said, holding the scroll in his hands.
"Is there a letter for me and Sokka, by any chance?" Katara asked.
"I'm afraid not. But there is an intelligence report that might interest you." a scroll was handed to Katara.
"A fleet of water tribe ships. Protecting the mouth of Chameleon Bay. It's Dad!" Katara shouted, beaming at Sokka.
I looked at the general and the king. I wanted to ask if there was anything for me, but I already knew the answer. There wouldn't be anything for me. Why would there be? I only knew Katara, Aang, Toph, and Sokka. The general and the king left us alone in the room.
We sat down in a circle on the floor. I looked at my lap while everyone else talked excitedly.
The next morning, I watched as Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph said goodbye to each other. Sokka noticed me standing off on my own.
"Avani! Aren't you going to say goodbye to us?" I walked closer.
They pulled me into a hug. I stood there, letting them hug me. They pulled away. "Not much for hugging, huh?" Toph asked.
"I guess not." I said quietly.
They laughed, then Sokka and Aang climbed on Appa and flew away. Toph left shortly after.
"Katara, would you attend the meeting with the Coucil of Five?" Someone asked Katara. She agreed.
"Avani, you should probably go back to the house. Is that okay?" Katara asked me.
I nodded. Katara left with a general to go to the meeting, and I went back home.