Mai. Katara sat up as best she could. "Fire Lady Mai?" she said softly. "Are…are you all right?"
"Oh, I'm swell," came the dry response. "In the pink. Really. Who are you?"
"It's…Katara. You know. The –"
"The Water Tribe peasant-cum-politician. I recall."
Katara heard more shifting, and more rattling of chains. "Are you…are you injured at all, Fire Lady Mai?"
A low, mirthless chuckle came from the darkness. "Nope. Not yet, anyway. Although I hear Azula's going to remedy that soon enough. She's going to relieve me of a few body parts, or so the rumor goes." Metal rasped. "So how'd you wind up down here?"
"The Dai Li took me," Katara said. "They…well, Ty Lee was trying to tell me where you were, and I guess they must have followed her."
"Ty Lee?" The flat tone of the woman's voice changed slightly. "Ty Lee was…where is she?"
"I don't know," the waterbender admitted. "The Dai Li took us both. They just threw me in here. I have no idea what they did with her. I don't even know if she set me up or not." She heard something that sounded like a whispered curse. "It'll be all right, I'm sure of it. Toph knows the Dai Li has us. She'll find us and bring in the army –"
"Don't be a fool." Mai's voice was harsh. "Azula's already pretty much running this city by now. She's taken the Dai Li already, and she's got connections everywhere. Ty Lee told me." She laughed bitterly. "Azula will be sitting on the throne of the Earth Kingdom again within three days."
Katara's mouth went dry. She turned this over in her head for a minute or two. Then, at length, "I guess I owe you an apology, Fire Lady Mai."
"Oh?" The reply was flat and sarcastic.
"Yes. When I first saw Ty Lee, I assumed you were working with her. But now I see you're really a prisoner, so I guess I should apologize for doubting you." Katara's lips twisted into a rueful smile. "I'll owe Zuko one, too."
"Zuko." Mai spat. "If I ever see him again, he'll wish I hadn't!" Katara heard the rattling of chains again as Mai moved. "Fool that he is," she muttered. "Leaving me here like this…"
The waterbender's brow furrowed. "Are you bound?"
"Chained, actually. And locked in a cage the size of a shoebox. But why would I complain?" Mai stopped and sighed. "Gods, I wish this was over." There was a different note in her voice this time – a note of fear. Katara felt a rush of pity. That's right. It's only another fifteen or sixteen hours before Azula cuts off her fingers. She shuddered at the thought.
There was a long pause. Then came a wry chuckle. "Never thought I'd end up in this situation," Mai said. "I figured Azula was done. Don't know why I was so stupid as to think I could get away that easily."
Katara squirmed, wriggling her arms in their stone restraints. They held firm. She stopped struggling and rested her head against the wall. "So you've been here all this time?"
"No. I was somewhere else before. They moved me. Ty Lee said their friends had told them Zuko was looking for me." Mai paused. "They…said they were going to leave the soldiers a surprise."
"They did," Katara said grimly. "Bombs. We lost three men."
"Ah." Mai stopped for a moment. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault." The Water Tribe woman shrugged her shoulders. Silence fell, and the hours scraped slowly by.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Toph was running, her bare feet striking at the pavement beneath her. Behind her, she could hear Zuko's swift steps as he followed.
The instant the Dai Li had been swallowed up by the earth, Toph had latched on to Katara's vibrations and followed her. She had run half the length of the city, following them, until finally coming to a halt outside a seedy pub in the Outer Ring of Ba Sing Se. She had noted the name of it – The Dancing Bear – and had then turned on her heel and raced back toward the palace.
She had known she was risking having the Dai Li find her, but she had to get backup. She wasn't stupid enough to think she could take on Azula by herself, world's greatest earthbender or not! When she had reached the palace, she had gone straight to Zuko's quarters. He'd been skeptical at first, but once he'd heard the story, the Fire Lord had thrown on his armor and followed her. Toph had considered finding Guiren and bringing him along, too, but she was desperate to get back before the insurgents had time to move their prisoners yet again. Who knew where the Dai Li were, either?
They had finally reached the place. Toph stopped, trying to catch her breath. Zuko stumbled to a halt beside her, looking around. "Where is my wife?" he demanded, his brows lowering in a scowl.
"Shhh!" Toph put her fingers to her lips, jerking him into the shadows beside the pub. "Quiet, you idiot! People are probably looking for us." She stooped down and dug her fingers into the earth, listening intently. "Yep…I can feel at least six down there, Zuko. I don't know if they're Dai Li, or just insurgents." She inhaled deeply. "I don't know if we're going to find Mai down there or not."
"This is insane. I hope you realize that!" Zuko was drawing his broadswords as he spoke.
"Yep. Pretty much." Toph rose to her feet again, and looked at him. "Are you backing out at the last moment, Sparky?"
"Not a chance." He smiled grimly. "Even if this isn't where they're holding Mai, I'll take a little justice out of their hides!"
Toph grinned, feeling her pulse quicken as the adrenaline hit again. She planted her feet. "You ready?" she asked, feeling the vibrations with her toes, choosing her angle. He nodded. "All right, then. Hang on, Katara, we're coming!" She brought her arms up; the earth beneath them opened, and they dropped!
They found themselves standing in a stone hallway – a mere tunnel cut into the rock. There were square-shaped doors along one side of it. "This way!" Toph said, darting up the hall toward the place she had felt Katara's presence. Zuko followed.
As Toph reached the door she was heading for, they heard shouts, and several men appeared at the ends of the hall! The earthbender sent waves of rock at them. Two of them went down. The remaining insurgent dodged, then sent a blast of flame hurtling down the hall at her! Toph began to raise up a shield of stone, but Zuko stepped in front of her, slashing his swords; fire blazed from the blades, and the fireball dissipated. The earthbender quickly took out their remaining attacker.
The moment they were alone again, Toph turned to the door. It was metal; the earthbender laid her palms against it, grinned, and dug in her fingers. The steel crumpled like paper. With a growl, Toph ripped it off its hinges and tossed it aside.