Chap. 21
Ba Sing Se
Part 2
Tierra had about five seconds left to breathe after saying those words. Then, all the air was forced out of him, as Toph wrapped her arms around the dog and squeezed him tight.
"I don't believe it! I thought I'd have to go back to that weird world to see you guys again!" Toph said happily.
"Sorry….'bout that." Tierra gasped. "Yer… not mad… 'bout it… are you..?"
"No why… oh sorry." Toph said, as she loosened her grip on the dog, who instantly took a great whooping gasp of air.
"Barring the crushing hug Toph, we really are happy to see you again." Hierro said, as Toph put Tierra down and gave the spider a regular hug.
"Well of course. I'm surprise you guys are still around without my help." Toph added.
"Isn't it great that some things never change?" Agua said with a laugh.
"Well apparently some things have." Toph said, as she noticed Kairi. "Who's your friend?"
"Oh sorry." Hierro said. "Toph, this is Kairi, Keyblade Master from the Destiny Islands. Kairi, this is Toph Be Fong of Gaoling, High General of Ba Sing Se's army."
"It's great to meet you." Kairi said, as she extended her hand to Toph, who took it firmly. "The Knights have had nothing but good things to say about you."
"No surprise there." Toph said. "But I am a little surprised to hear a pedigree like that. I may not know what a Keyblade Master, but I'm guessing it's something important. And I'm guessing if you're here along with these guys, then something is severely up."
"Bingo." Desierto said. "Kairi is here with a few others to help us against Ozai."
"Oh great. What did that crazy pyro wannabe do now?"
"It's a long story." The wolf replied. "But for now, I'll tell you that he's got a new army for himself, a bunch of evil creatures called the Heartless."
"They're searching for something called the Keyhole." Hierro added. "And if they find it, Ozai can get the whole world under his thumb."
"And you think it's here in Ba Sing Se?" Toph asked.
"We thought we'd found it in the North Pole, but it was only part of it." Tierra said. "Apparently, there's a piece of it in every Nation. We figured Ba Sing Se was the most likely place."
"Makes sense." Toph said. "But what about the other pieces?"
"Fire Lord Zuko is helping us look." Kairi said. "And Oscuridad and Sora already found the one in the Southern Air Temple."
"We'd like to talk to the Earth King about the piece here." Hierro said. "But we figured we should tell you about it first."
"Much appreciated." Toph said. "I'll take you to him now. It's actually a good thing that you came to me first. It's impossible to see the Earth King without a buttload of clearance. It isn't as bad as the old days, but man."
"Thanks Toph." Desierto said.
"Not a problem." Toph said. "You know, this is kinda like the old days. Us pushing past the bureaucracy to see the Earth King. All we need is Sokka cracking jokes and stuff. But knowing him, he's probably busy helping Zuko. Sugar Queen too."
Des and the Knights exchanged uneasy glances and the wolf began to clear his throat. But before he could say anything, Toph pushed her way past the Captain and began making her way back up the hallway. Turning back around, she called, "Hey, you guys coming, or do I have to tell the Earth King myself?"
"Comin'!" Tierra yelled back. Glancing back at his brothers, he asked, "So who's gonna tell her?"
"Sokka. He was the chef of the Tribe, wasn't he?" Kairi asked. "Oh no. Did Toph know him?"
"Yeah. Katara too." The dog said with a sigh. "She's not gonna take it well."
"I'll take care of it." Agua said.
"Good idea. You did a pretty good job with Kyla." Desertio said, as the group started back up the hallway.
"Yeah. But can I do it again?" Agua asked.
"Whoa." Kairi said a while later, as they stood in front of the massive doors that led into the Earth King's throne room.
"You know, I think they're actually a little bigger then they used to be." Agua said, as he craned his neck back to glance up at the doors.
"If they were any bigger, they'd go through the ceiling." Hierro said.
"C'mon guys, we didn't come here to admire the design. You can go to a snobby party for that at least once a month here." Toph said, as she stepped forward to push open the doors. But before she could, Tierra stepped forward.
"I was thinkin' maybe I should go first." Tierra said. "I mean, if I show up, they're not all dat likely to throw clearances at me."
"Trust me Tier, these guys are pretty strict." Toph said.
"C'mon, I'm a legend here, remember?"
"Here, if nowhere else." Agua muttered.
"Besides, ya know I love the dramatic entrance stuff." Tierra pleaded. "C'mon, please?"
"Well, I don't know." Toph began, stroking her chin. "I guess you are kinda legendary here. You know, I think you're right. Not even diplomats can stop the Earth Knight of Chirron. You go first Tierra. We'll be talking to the Earth King in seconds."
"Glad ta hear it." The dog replied, as he adjusted his hat and smoothed back his fur. As the others rolled their eyes, Tierra grabbed his hammer and holding it aloft, he opened the door and walked inside the throne room, saying in a pompous voice reserved only for Lifetime Achievement Awards, "Greetings people of the Earth! I have returned to…"
"Every time. Every single time." Desierto muttered as the door swung shut, cutting off the rest of the dog's speech.
"Hey, at least we don't' come across too many people that would worship him." Hierro said.
"Yeah, but we sure as hell come past a few." Agua said. "And he's aalways gotta be a haam about it."
"Don't worry about it." Toph said, as she counted up to three on her fingers. "By now, I think the ham has just been roasted."
"What do you mean?" Hierro asked.
Toph just smiled and pushed the door open a crack. As soon as she did, the sound of Tierra's voice drifted back out, only now, the tone was slightly different.
"Get off of me, ya assholes! Don't make me call my Father on ya! I'll get yer Earthbending revoked, I swear!"
"When did Ba Sing Se politicians grow such nads?" Desertio asked.
"Politicians? Did I ever say that we'd have to deal with them?" Toph asked sweetly.
"But you said.."
"That there would've been clearance if you'd gone by yourselves. Getting you by the door took care of almost of all it."
"But then who's got Tierra?" Kairi asked.
"Oh, just about all of the Royal Guards." Toph said with a smile. "Anyone who goes in there unannounced would get the same thing."
"Toph I was wrong." Agua said. "Some things will never change even if we're been gone for a hundred years."
"You bet." The General replied. "Now let's go bail him out."
The group nodded, as Toph pushed the doors open, revealing the huge throne room, but more importantly, Tierra being held down by about six Royal Guards, even as the Earth King stood up and yelled at them to halt.
"Release him instantly! This man is an old friend!" The King cried from his throne. But the guards held Tierra fast, as three more stood in front of the Earth King to protect him.
"Guardsmen! Stand off NOW! That's an ORDER!!" Toph yelled suddenly
At the sound of her voice, every Royal Guardsman suddenly stopped, then released Tierra and moved back to their normal positions near the throne and the doors.
"Ya knew that would happen, didn't you?" the dog sneered at Toph, as he adjusted his clothes.
"Now, why would you think that?" Toph said with a smirk.
Tierra growled back, but calmed himself a moment later, when the Earth King said, "My friends! It is good to see you again!"
"Your Highness." Hierro said, as he removed his hat and bowed to the King. The other Knights followed, while Toph saluted and Kairi curtsied.
"It's an honor ta be back in yer city, sir." Tierra said. "Place seems even better den our last visit."
"I'm glad to hear it." The Earth King said as he leaned back in his throne. Pulling of his crown, he ran his hands through his now salt and pepper hair and said, "I hope that you have returned here for social reasons?"
"I wish we had sire." Hierro said. "But we've got a big problem."
"Oh no. What's happened? Is it Ozai?" The Earth King asked.
"Yes. But he's not alone." The spider replied. "Let me introduce you to our expert. This is Kairi, Keyblade Master from the Destiny Islands. She can tell you more about this enemy then I can."
"Your Highness." Kairi said, as she came to the front and bowed slightly. "I'm afraid your city, your world, has been invaded by beings called Heartless."
"Heartless?" The Earth King said, raising his eyebrow in puzzlement. "What on Earth are they?"
"Big trouble." Kairi said.
With that, the girl began to tell the tale of the Heartless, beginning with her experiences with Sora and the others, leading up to their message from King Mickey about the current invasion. At that point, Tierra took up the dialogue, detailing how the Elementals had been pulled off their current mission to deal with the Heartless and the devastation they had wrought in the South Pole (being careful to leave out Sokka and Katara). He also described the search for the Keyholes and the Heartless attack in the city. The Earth King absorbed everything without a word, listening intently to the words of the girl and the dog. Finally, they brought their tale to an end, and he leaned back in his throne, troubled by the news, but not yet broken by it.
"And you think this Keyhole is somewhere in the city?" he asked.
"Yes. And apparently the Heartless do too." Kairi said. "We've got to check the city out quickly."
"Unfortunately, we don't have any obvious landmarks like the Spirit Oasis." The Earth King said. "And there are several places that could fit the bill- the palace, several of the walls, the Temple of the Architects, even the Royal Gardens. It could take days to check them all."
"But there's gotta be one that stands out." Desierto said. "Isn't there anything that makes them like the Spirit Oasis?"
"The Temple's probably too recent." Hierro said thoughtfully. "And a lot of the walls were constructed in the Dai Li years. I can't believe the Keyhole would reside there."
"But it could." Kairi said. "Sora said the Halloweentown Keyhole was under Oogie Boogie's manor."
"Chirron almighty, this is gonna be harder den I thought." Tierra sighed.
But as soon as the dog said the name of his Father, Toph's ears perked up. "Chirron.. that's it!" She yelled aloud.
"Toph, I can't call my Father fer dis." Tierra said.
"You don't need to." Toph said. "Sire, what about the Central Wall?"
"The Central…" the King whispered, his eyes growing wide. "General Be Fong, that's brilliant!"
"Could anyone tell me whaat the Central Wall is?" Agua asked.
"It's the first wall ever built around the borders of Ba Sing Se." The Earth King said. "More walls have been built around since, but it covers the oldest part of Ba Sing Se. It's never fallen, not even when General Iroh invaded the city."
"And it was blessed by clerics of Chirron." Toph said.
"Well damn, that sounds like a great place to start!" Desierto said. "Let's get going before the Heartless figure it out."
"General Be Fong, gather the soldiers and escort our friends to the wall." The Earth King said. "Give them free reign to check every inch of it. We must find that Keyhole."
"Yes sir!" Toph said with a salute. But before she could do anything, the ground suddenly shook the palace, throwing everyone off their feet.
"What the hell was that?" Desierto yelled.
"Hey, it wasn't me." Tierra said.
"We can see it from the balcony!" The Earth King yelled, as he climbed back up. As he raced towards the huge window that led to the balcony, the others quickly followed. Pushing the windows open, the group raced onto the balcony, only to gape horror at what they saw.
Their view of the city was obscured by a huge black creature in the shape of a mad. It stood on two hunched legs, with a large hole in its body and a face that was a mass of tendrils. As they watched, it swing its arm out and destroyed a wave of houses, as the people screamed in horror.
"Is that a Heartless?!" Toph spat out.
"They were a lot smaller when we saw 'em." Tierra said.
"Oh it's a Heartless all right." Kairi said. "Sora told me about this one. It's called a Darkside."
"Whatever it is, we've got to stop it." The Earth King said. "I must assemble the Army."
"Wait Your Highness!" Hierro said. "I think that's what it wants."
"Wants?" Toph said. "You told us this thing couldn't think!"
"No I think he's right." Kairi said. "If we all go to fight it, then the Heartless will be able to look for the Keyhole without interference."
"Exactly." The spider said.
"But we can't let that thing destroy the city!" The Earth King exclaimed.
"We won't. I've got an idea…."