Chapter Twenty – nine:
-Katara-
We landed on a small island not far from the hideout. Aang and his other pet Momo were staying close to Appa. Iroh and Toph were talking quietly amongst each other. My brother was pacing back and forth. And Zuko and I were just standing there feeling out of place. Finally my brother spoke up loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I think now is our time to go to the Earth King" he declared. Everyone just gave him a bemused expression so he explained further. "We have Katara back, we now have Appa back, we're on a good streak right now so I say why not try?"
"You make it sound like you're going to war" Zuko commented.
"I got to agree with Sparky here" Toph interrupted. "Ba Sing Se has been nothing but trouble from the moment we got here. I say we just leave now and forget about this place."
"I don't know guys" Aang called our attention. "We came all this way and we finally got the family back together." I noticed Zuko stiffen at this. Does he think he's not included or something? "And there are so many people in the city that have a right to know about the war. I wouldn't feel right just leaving now. So I agree with Sokka that we need to give it a shot."
"You two were brainwashed weren't you!" Toph accused.
"Toph," my brother – why do I have such a hard time remembering his name even after I have heard it so many times? – interrupted. "You know we can't just stand by. And after Long Feng used Appa and Katara to blackmail us I am not about to back down."
"Why was I used as blackmail?" I finally spoke up.
"Because he must have known somehow that you were here and the first time we tried to get in to see the King he mentioned something about how unfortunate it would be if we never found you."
So someone has been watching me? Before I even got the chance to respond I felt Zuko let go of me. He was breathing heavily until some fire escaped through his clenched teeth. "Someone had the nerve to spy on Katara?!" he voiced for me.
"Zuko calm down" Iroh said calmly.
With no reply Zuko walked over to Aang and said, "I'm in."
"Really?" everyone but me chorused.
"Believe it or not I want this war over just as much as you do so if you need help getting in to see the Earth King then I will help. There is also the fact that I don't care for the idea that Sokka just mentioned."
After Zuko's declaration everyone seemed to be in agreement. But then Aang turned his attention to me. "Well, Katara, what do you think?"
I already knew my answer. "I'm in too."
"Aang please promise that you'll get a new saddle soon! This is terrifying!" Toph exclaimed burying her face into Appa's fur. I couldn't blame her for being scared. I mean one, with no earth around her she is completely blind now and two even I'm a tad scared since I can't remember ever riding on Appa.
At the same time though I felt safe because Zuko kept his arm securely around my waist as his other hand held on tightly to Appa's fur; though the animal never seemed to notice. Before we left Aang and my brother had given me a pouch that they said was mine and that I had used to keep my water in. I knew I wasn't exactly the strongest bender right now, but it was nice to know that they thought I could help. Aang had also said to Zuko, "'you're not as bad as I thought you were so again I say thank you. And while we try to reach the Earth King I trust you to keep an eye on Katara so that she doesn't get hurt.'" I was so happy that Zuko seemed to have won over two out of three; somehow I don't think my brother will ever give him a chance.
"There's the palace" my brother spoke up, breaking me out of my thoughts. When I saw the palace I was once again reminded of how I thought it was beautiful to look at but then I thought back to why we were going there.
"We should be careful. From what you told me of Long Feng he may have a sneaking suspicion that we're coming."
"Katara I don't think you need to worry. I think we'll be just fi-Ah!"
"What is it?!" Toph shouted.
"Under attack by the soldiers! Incoming!"
We all started yelling out as Appa veered left and right to avoid being hit by the huge rocks flying at us. Zuko didn't yell out as much but it was easy to tell by his face that he was a little scared. His only response was to wrap his arm around my waist tighter so I wouldn't fall off. Suddenly I was getting the feeling that this may have been a bad idea.
Aang, however wasn't about to stop. With a flick of his wrist he smashed the huge rock into a thousand tiny pieces. He kept using his earth bending to stop the rocks from hitting us. When we were about ten or so feet from the ground he jumped off of Appa and sent the soldiers flying back when he struck his staff into the ground. Once Appa landed we all jumped off and prepared to fight. Zuko unsheathed his duo swords, I had my water ready, and my brother had two weapons in his hand that I didn't recognize at all. Zuko stayed close to me and Iroh in case any of the soldiers sent rocks flying our way. As it turned out though we were all well protected by Toph and Aang as they worked together with their earth bending. We just ran behind them and Zuko only had to block the stones every once in a while; he was always accurate.
At one point two of the soldiers sent two statues flying our way. "Oh man!" my brother shouted. Fortunately Aang and Toph made a cover big enough for all of us; Appa included. Then before I could stop myself I was running out.
"Katara get back here!" Zuko ordered, but it was like I was on autopilot. I wasn't even thinking about what I was doing. I just found myself controlling the water I had to make myself a little half bridge made of ice and jumping over the little stream. Then before I even realized it all of the soldiers nearby me I had sent into the stream. "When did you learn to do that?!"
I turned back to Zuko who was running over to me with the others following behind. "I honestly don't even know!" He dropped the subject as more soldiers started to make their way down the huge flight of steps leading to the palace. But Toph intercepted them and made the stairs turn into a slide and made a ramp for all of us to go up. Toph continued to do most of the fighting as my brother continued to check doors to find the Earth King. Finally he found a huge set of doors and started running at them and tried to kick them down. No luck. All that happened was that he fell to the floor and started pushing on them; not seeing Aang and Toph come up using earth and air bending to pry the doors open. I had to stifle a laugh as he fell on his face.
"A little warning next time!" he complained.
Zuko snickered quietly until he turned to Iroh and asked him to stay with Appa. Iroh agreed and we all ran into the throne room to see the Earth King sitting there on his throne like he was expecting us to arrive. Then another man ran out. That must have been Long Feng. He was glaring at us like we were the worst people on the planet. Everyone, including me, took up a defensive stance as soon as he appeared.
"We need to talk with you" Aang declared.
"You barge in here, attack my soldiers, break down my door, and you think I should trust you?" the King exclaimed after the man whispered something in his ear. I've only seen him once but I can already tell that this man is very manipulative. "If you are on my side, then drop your weapons."
We all followed his instruction; Aang his staff, I dropped my arms so the water just fell to the ground, Zuko his swords so they landed diagonally across each other, my brother his sword like weapon, and Toph her small boulder. Then before we could respond any further Dai lee agents came up and pinned our arms behind our backs with rocks. I couldn't move my wrists and I started to whimper. "It's alright, Katara. Shh, it's alright" Zuko comforted me quietly. It helped a little.
"Take them away" the man, Long Feng, ordered his agents without even conferring with the Earth King; his voice was low and cruel. His agents slid right up to us. Everyone was too stunned to speak.
Until Zuko stepped forward and spoke up in an outraged voice.
"What's wrong with you?!" Everyone stopped. Aang and his friends seemed absolutely stunned that he would speak up. "We dropped our weapons to show we are on your side! And you won't even stop him from arresting us when all we want to do is talk?! You have to listen to us!" He paused slightly to take a breath before he said, "We have the Avatar with us!"
"The Avatar?" he asked amazed. "You're the Avatar?" he pointed to my brother.
He and Zuko groaned loudly at exactly the same time. "The boy with the arrow on his head and hands."
"Over here!" Aang shouted happily.
"Why does it matter your Highness?" Long Feng inquired.
"I should hear what they have to say. That is one of my responsibilities as the King." Just then a bear came up to Aang and licked him; making him laugh happily. "Plus Bosco seems to like him so I highly doubt anything more could happen. Dai lee, release the Avatar and his friends."
Though it seemed they were reluctant, the Dai lee released us and Zuko stepped back to stand by me; our shoulders just touching. Zuko nodded his head toward Aang, like he was telling him to go ahead.
Aang stepped forward and spoke in a voice that seemed more mature than his present age. "This may take a while your Highness so please take the time to fully hear us out."
The Earth King sat back down on his throne and folded his hands together as he rested his chin on them. "Go ahead."
So far so good.
So there you are...and to think I only have 4 more chapters and an epilogue to post! Thanks for reading and please review! Until next time!
