Chapter 14! Wooo. Some Toph, some Aang, some Katara, some Georg. Not necessarily in that order. Again, thank you for all the reviews, everyone! They are like fuel. Sweet, propane-y fuel.
I have to set up a few more things before Zuko and Katara can make out (hehehe), but I guarantee that there will be some Zutara in the next chapter. Sorry for the wait, Zutarans! All good things, right? The comforting shoulder is right around the corner, –JansenFriedh827- & WoodysRedBo!
DigiBentoBox – fair point on the names. True, a lot of the water tribe names we've heard in the series have those harsher sounds (like the k). Then again, a lot of fire nation names have similar harshness (Zuko, Roku, etc.) and a lot of water tribe names don't (Yue, Bato). Plus, waterbenders from the swamp don't seem to follow the same name rules (Huu, Tho, Due, etc.). I think I'll keep them as is (probably more because I'm attached to them than anything else, haha), but thank you for the comment!
Anonymous I Think – you, my friend, rock at reviewing. The line break. Priceless. :)
Chapter 14
Well that hadn't gone well. Toph had meant to comfort her friend, calm her down, but had only made the situation worse. She was turning into a regular jealous girly-girl. When had that happened? She wasn't the type of person to let jealousy dominate her actions.
Well, nothing to be done but to apologize. Toph paused and rolled her shoulders, stretching one of her arms across her body as if getting ready for round two of a tournament brawl. Sighing, she wiped her hands against her skirts, swiveled, and re-entered the room.
"So why exactly can't you heal your father? I thought you were a master at this." So much for an apology…
Katara knew the bluntness of her friend, and to her credit, didn't take Toph's words as a slight. "I…" Another sniff. "I don't know. By all accounts, he should be fine right now. But for some reason, all my healing bends are falling short. It's like I'm fighting against something I can't see."
"Join the club. Has the doctor looked at him yet?"
"Only superficially. He had to run and get some supplies for testing, so he left dad in my hands. I thought I'd have fixed him by the time the doctor returned." Katara's voice was losing some of its emotion. It seemed that talking about the situation logically was helping her remove herself from the pain. Now to keep her thinking about this, rather than focusing on her worry. Katara worried so much about others, it would consume her one of these days…
"You should have. You're better than this case makes you seem. I've seen you heal much worse in much less time."
"Toph, what are you saying? Is something else wrong with Hakoda?" Aang had shifted away from Katara a bit. Maybe the sensitive monk had picked up on Toph's annoyance. Or maybe it was coincidental.
Toph shook her head, bemused. "Not sure. But maybe the good doctor can tell us."
At that moment, a grizzled physician entered the room. Aang perked up.
"I never get tired of that, Toph!"
Toph allowed him a grin and turned toward the door. "Well, doctor, do you think you can figure out why a master waterbender can't heal superficial knife wounds?"
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Katara was glad Toph didn't hold a grudge longer than about five seconds. She had guessed that Aang was acting too familiar with her for Toph's liking, and as soon as Toph had stormed out had ushered him away a few feet. He probably still didn't understand why, the walrus-headed buffoon.
The doctor motioned her away from her father so he could get a closer look. She didn't even know the man's name, but he seemed capable. He peeled back a few bandages to observe the wounds and gazed into her father's lidded eyes, nodding thoughtfully. "Yes, that makes sense," he muttered.
"Have you discovered something, doctor…?"
"Doctor Gin, child." Child? She hadn't been a child for seven years! How ridiculous of him to- "I believe that your father cannot recover from his wounds because his body's healing capacity has been compromised by a foreign agent."
Huh? "Excuse me, but could you tell me exactly what that means?" She paused for an answer, which he didn't give. She tried again. "Will he be alright?" Gin glanced at her while he continued to examine Hakoda.
"Hold this." He held out a metal implement, which Katara gingerly took. "He will, but only because I recently concocted an antidote for this particular poison."
"Poison?" Katara asked, hearing her two friends join in her surprised exclamation.
Gin nodded, not looking at them. "Yes, a foreign agent. Compromising his body's-"
"-ability to heal, yes, I understand now, thank you doctor." Next time, just say poison! "But you have the antidote."
"Yes."
"So he will recover?"
"Yes. But my question is, what kind of earth kingdom assassin attacks someone with a double-bladed daito laced with a poison so rare that had I not read a very obscure medical book last week, I would not have known the symptoms?"
"Double-bladed?" Aang asked, a sudden look of surprise flickering across his face. Katara raised an eyebrow in confusion. She had never heard the term applied to a sword before. Tongues, maybe.
"Indeed. Notice the slash marks on his chest." Gin ran his finger lightly underneath one of the wounds. It consisted of two thin slices, separated by about a half inch of space, perfectly parallel. "In terms of depth, superficial. Probably the assassin was relying on the poison to kill his victim."
Aang nodded, looking a bit in awe of the good doctor. Katara wasn't quite as impressed. If she had known her father was poisoned, she probably could have figured out a way to heal him. She almost muttered her thoughts but another intruded on her annoyance.
"Gin-"
"Doctor Gin, young lady." The doctor was now pouring some dry ingredients he had pulled from a dark black box into a small, stone bowl.
Katara suppressed her frustration. "My…apologies. I was just wondering – where did this obscure medical book you read come from?"
"Ah, yes. That book. Let me think." Gin paused in his ministrations for a moment. "Oh, yes. I bought it in Hertzer, when last I visited the place. Great sunsets on that island, I must say…"
By the time Katara had closed her mouth, she realized that both Aang and Toph were gone.
Oh, no. He didn't. He couldn't have.
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Aang walked with purpose towards the rooms of the Central Building which housed the loyal remnant of the once great, but corrupted, police agency. The Dai Li. He knew they were already hard at work searching for any signs of the person who tried to kill General Hakoda.
He had to tell them what he now knew. The assassin wasn't some earth kingdom dissident. The assassin used a rare poison from country from which visitors were even rarer. And that knife…
"Toph, you saw those wounds."
Toph was gripping his hand tightly, ostensibly because she couldn't navigate so well at the pace they were going. "Well, no. But I heard them described."
"Sorry."
"No need. Do you have an idea who did it?"
"An inkling of a suggestion of an idea. But it's not a good one."
Toph yanked on his hand, jolting him to a stop. He looked around at her questioningly. "What is it?"
"Why don't you tell me what the plan is before we burst in on the Dai Li and accuse someone?"
"I'm not just going to accuse someone, I'm going to present evidence-"
"Aang, you know as well as I that though the Dai Li are loyal, they aren't exactly gentle with their suspects. Old habits, you know? So maybe we should make sure this guy is actually guilty before sicking them on him!"
"We can't find out whether he's guilty or innocent unless we let them question him! And the Dai Li will be insulted if they aren't in on it. Also, I'm pretty sure it's their legal right and responsibility to-"
"Are you sure?"
"-question the suspects thems-huh?" Aang blinked. Toph looked more serious than he had ever seen her.
"Are you sure, Aang? Are you sure you want to do this?"
Aang closed his mouth and grabbed her other hand, wishing not for the first time she could see his expression. "I am. If this person did it, I can't just let him get away with it. I have to bring him to justice. It's my responsibility." Toph squeezed his hands. It was like his birthday.
"Well, then, let's tell them to arrest Georg." She brushed past him and dragged him along.
"You knew?"
"I always know." She stopped talking for a while then lifted her head as if remembering something. "Mai is not going to be happy about this."
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Georg's feet hurt from all the walking. The central courts were a long distance from his lodgings. But ah, well. He was in such a good mood after his…chat…with Mai, that even an annoyance like sore feet or an interrogation by the Dai Li couldn't dampen it. He yawned a bit, which seemed to put the slight woman across the table – his questioner – off. She slammed her fist on the table.
"I hope you don't think this is funny, King. A man is dying right now."
"Really? I heard he's actually recovering quite well." At the woman's confusion, Georg responded, "Oh, profusest apologies, lady. I listened as we walked here. News travels quite quickly in these streets." He smiled, hoping to deflate her anger. It was of no use.
When the Avatar had shown up at his door along with the Dai Li, Georg had been confused, but as the story unfolded, he was sure it was all a misunderstanding. Of course they couldn't think he had tried to assassinate this General Hakoda. Katara was a good friend of his. He wouldn't think of harming her father. And why in the world did he care about the peace talks? Hertzer had nothing to do with it.
He would simply explain himself, and all would be well. But his questioner didn't look like she wanted to hear any explanations.
Georg was saved from more awkward conversation when a tall, tough-looking man with a scar across his face stalked in, shutting the door of the cell behind him. The woman almost cowered in his presence, standing up and moving quickly to the side. He sat down.
"King Georg of Hertzer, I presume." Georg suppressed a laugh at the man's nasally voice. It was likely not the best idea to insult your interrogator before the questioning even started.
Instead, Georg cleared his throat and answered. "That is correct, questioner."
The man nodded. "My name is Hachiro Fukuyama, First Lieutenant of the Dai Li security forces. You picked a pretty terrible city to attempt a first-class assassination, friend." His face made it clear his last word was a blatant lie.
"Guilty until proven innocent in the Earth Kingdom, eh? I'll have to remember that next time."
"One." Hachiro spoke and held up a finger, ignoring Georg's response. Shame, it had been quite a witty retort. Oh, he was talking again. "Poison in General Hakoda's system identified as a rare mixture derived from ingredients – and recipe – found only in the country of Hertzer. Where you are King."
"Yes, throw a noose around my neck, I'm from Hertzer. Surely you don't condemn me on those grounds. I thought logic was a gift granted to all God's creatures."
Hachiro frowned, but continued. "Two." Two fingers this time. Georg could see exactly where this was going. "The blade used to injure – almost fatally – General Hakoda identified as a double-bladed daito, of a design, length and weight unique – luckily for us – to one particular weapon." He reached below the table and pulled out a long dual blade, its antique metal glimmering in the lantern light. Georg blanched. Maybe not exactly...
"This belongs to you, yes?"
Georg gritted his teeth. Why couldn't people just frame pictures and leave it at that? He had a country to run. Although he knew no explanation would be satisfactory, he took a shot. "That knife has been in my boot consistently for the last six months. I can promise you I haven't drawn it since I've been in this country. I did not try to assassinate General Hakoda!"
"We will record your plea of not guilty, however you should be aware that the evidence so far suggests otherwise. At any rate, it would be foolish of us to let a potential killer wander the streets. You will be contained in one of our secure underground cells until a trial can be arranged. Is there anyone you would like to contact?" Georg let his head fall. So much for his good mood.
"Yes. A teacher at the Bending School."
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Georg! I thought I knew you! (sobs in a corner)