Gaang POV:

They got about twelve feet through the barely illuminated tunnel before Sokka fell face-first into the raw sewage. Despite the serious nature of their mission, Toph snorted. "Couldn't keep your mind outta the gutter, eh?"

Sokka righted himself, half-heartedly scowling at everyone's chuckles. He began trying to pry the purple pentapus from his nose. "May you have the sensation of a thousand lost sneezes."

Toph smirked, crossing her arms. "Whatever, Penta-boy."

Alfred immediately thrust his left hand into the filthy greenish water, and began swirling them around. "Ha!" He pulled it out to reveal the pentapus that had latched itself to the back of his hand. At everyone's confused looks, he offered a short, three-syllabled explanation in happy gibberish.

Matthew rolled his eyes. "He says they're cute."

"Well…good for him?" Katara offered hesitantly, unsure of what to think about that.

Alfred began to stroke it with his finger, causing the little cephalopod to emit a tiny squeak of approval. Oddly enough, it didn't unlatch itself from his hand.

"If it won't let go, then it likes you," Aang said, smiling. "It's a sign of good luck."

Sokka rubbed at the dots on his face with a sour expression. "Well, good. 'Cause we're going to need all the help we can get." He gestured sharply with his head. "Palace? Earth King? Ring a bell? Let's get moving."

If he heard Toph quietly mutter, 'Grumpy,' he didn't deign to acknowledge it.

The path was a dank, dim, and smelled like an uncleaned stable crossed with a pantry full of rotted fruit. But thanks to Toph's directions, it didn't take very long for them to pass under the palace grounds and find the side of the grand building that they were looking for.

But rather than having to crawl up through a waste chute, like they expected, there was a path into the guest wing already there in the form of iron rungs leading up to a stone trap door.

"How lucky!" Aang said brightly, grasping the rungs without hesitation.

Sokka, however, frowned. "A maintenance tunnel going straight into the guest rooms?"

Katara thought about it. "Maybe an escape route, for emergencies?"

"Or a wayin, for assassins," Matthew speculated grimly, his voice suddenly sounding much older. "Disappearing bothersome political opponents is not unheard of."

"What a cheerful thought," Toph observed drily. "And on that note, let's infiltrate a palace. And for Shu's sake, let's be quiet about it."

Oma had been correct when she said the guest wing would be unguarded. Which made a depressing amount of sense, since it wasn't as if the Earth King didn't seem to be getting many guests. Long Feng would probably never allow it, for ambassadors brought dissenting opinions and knowledge of the outside world.

Aang took point, leading them down the seemingly endless hall. Alfred made a series of hand gestures to Matthew, and the twins moved to the back of the group and flanked to each side so as to be hidden in the shadows among the ornate wall tapestries and columns. Sokka got the sense that they'd done this sort of thing, before.

They'd almost made it to the end of the hall when one of the doors opened to reveal a stooped old man with a broom.

"Damn Lin and her damn rules with her damn penalties," he grumbled sourly. He then adopted a mocking falsetto. "'Oh, go clean the west wing for punishment 'cause I'm a bitch!'" A soft huff. "Well, I'll show you, Miss I-"

Before any of them could even consider trying to hide themselves, Toph acted. She stomped the ground and pointed, sending a line upturned earth rushing along the ground that collided and engulfed the grumpy old janitor's feet, rendering him immobile.

The man flailed, swears spilling liberally from his mouth as he dropped his broom with a clatter. His head snapped towards them, dull brown eyes comically wide.

Sokka took advantage of the situation by stepping up real close to the man and poking him in the chest with his war club. "Not a word to anyone, Buddy. It may not look it, but we're here to help."

The sour man tried to push Sokka back, only to have Toph bury him up to the neck in stone. He regarded them all with horror. "Then why did you attack me?!"

"Not attacking," Aang corrected. "We're just occupying you until we can talk to the King."

"Someone'll come by and dig you out when we convince him," Katara reassured almost dismissively. They moved on, leaving the yelling janitor behind them.

Neither Alfred nor Matthew had revealed themselves, apparently preferring to keep in the shadows out of sight. Katara could make a good estimate as to where Alfred was along the wall, but she was unnerved to find that she couldn't even guess as to where Matthew was hiding. She could only assume that he was keeping up as well.

At the end of the seemingly endless hallway, there was a guest bedroom on the right, just as Oma said there would be. Sokka pushed open the unlocked stone door and cautiously peeked inside. "All clear."

"I could'a told you that," Toph reminded with mild annoyance. She crossed over to an adjacent wall and began running her hands over the surface.

Alfred moved out from behind a tapestry, brushing the dust from his clothes. He made a solemn observation of some sort, to which Matthew's voice answered from a darkened corner behind Sokka as the blond materialized seemingly out of thin air. The Water Tribe boy jumped. "By La, Matthew! I don't know how you do that, but don't make a habit of it!"

The taller waterbender smirked amusedly. "I make no promises."

"What did Alfred say?" Aang asked curiously.

"He says the cleaner does not do a good job," Matthew answered, his mirth suddenly dissipated. "There is still a bloodstain on the ground near the wall."

Katara shivered, utterly disturbed at the thought of where that might've come from. "I hate it here. I really do."

"We can get out as soon as this is over and done with," Toph said. She slid a section of wall aside, and gestured grandly for the others to enter the Earth King's throne room.

They'd entered near the end of the throne room, leaving them to awkwardly approach a very surprised Earth King sitting on his throne. Matthew had disappeared again, much to Katara's chagrin. Just as she reflected that she felt much more comfortable when he was in sight, things went pear-shaped.

The stone floor exploded into a mess of jagged spikes of earth. Luckily, Toph was able to retaliate by ejecting these spikes from the ground and launching them towards the walls and ceiling. Dai Li rained down upon them, dropping from their shadowed perches up above with unnervingly silent grace.

With a swipe of his airstaff, Aang brushed an entire row of emerald-clad figures aside. Toph deftly combatted flying rocks, while Katara alternately lashed and bombarded her opponents with water whips and icicles.

But the twins were still nowhere to be seen. And neither was Sokka, for that matter. He'd somehow gotten lost in the sudden battle.

Aang breezed past everything and everyone, making a beeline for the petrified Earth King, who seemed to be trying to figure out why this was happening. Now was their chance-possibly the only one they'd ever get. If his Majesty could be convinced to sit and listen to them-

Long Feng emerged seemingly from nowhere and smoothly took the king's arm. He muttered something, to which the king nodded as they began to move away towards a nearby opening in the wall behind the throne…

"No, wait!" Aang extended his senses, adjusted his stance, and stomped down, blocking the entrance with a wall of misplaced earth and using a suction of air to violently pull Long Feng away from the Earth King.

Surprisingly enough, Long Feng didn't seem all that flustered. He picked himself up off the ground, sending a menacing smirk the Avatar's way as he snapped his fingers and bade the entire room freeze.

Dai Li suddenly stopped fighting and stepped away. Aang glanced back at his friends confusedly, only to find something was amiss. "…Where's Sokka?"

Long Feng's voice rang out, redirecting their attention to the front. "Right here, of course." He pulled Sokka out from behind a pillar and twisted his arm behind his back at a painful angle, the nable's free hand clutching a gleaming knife that was being held to the Water Tribe teen's neck.

"You bastard!" Katara began to create a razor sharp disk of liquid that would end he who would dare to threaten her family.

Aang's frantic voice barely registered in her ears. "Katara, no!"

Water was abruptly wrenched from her grasp and drawn into the shadows. Katara glared at that specific spot, her voice a mixture of anger and betrayal. "What are you doing?"

Matthew revealed himself, stolen water curling around his hands before freezing and shattering on the ground. His expression was oddly neutral in the face of her wrath as he explained, "The knife will slip if you behead him."

"Smart boy," Long Feng praised patronizingly, pressing the knife flush with Sokka's neck. "Now if you want your precious brother to live through the day you'll drop your wea-"

"G-ah! Guards!"

Alfred finally came out of hiding, a weakly protesting Earth King casually held high over his head. The blond's footsteps echoed through the stunned silence as he moved to the throne and rather rudely plopped the king into it. The firebender then moved behind the elegant seat and none-to-subtly put his hands on the noble's shoulders…very close to his neck.

Long Feng scowled at this new development. "Well played, Demon."

"Oh dear."

Aang looked to Matthew. "What is it?"

"My brother does not like monarchs," Matthew clarified, his voice almost regretful. "If Long Feng won't release Sokka...Well…Does the Earth King have heirs?"

A few Dai Li shifted at this barely veiled threat. The Earth King blinked. "H-heirs? No, I don't…" Then he blanched, as he caught on to Matthew's meaning. He nervously glanced up at Alfred, who just smiled and flexed his fingers in what could only be described as eager anticipation.

"You dare to threaten the Earth King?" Long Feng fairly gasped, his tone indignant. He looked to Aang. "And you're just letting this happen? You're letting demons have their way with the royal family? What kind of Avatar are you?"

"The kind who's tired of being played with," Aang answered, his voice uncharacteristically firm. "We tried to do this peacefully, but you're so swallowed up by your own conspiracy that you no longer consider the peoples' welfare. Your entire nation is at war, and you're all just hiding behind a wall and hoping it'll go away!"

"War?" The Earth King spluttered, surprising everyone. "There's a war going on, and no one told me?!"

"There is no war," the Grand Secretariat insisted. Sokka let out a small gasp as Long Feng twisted his arm a little harder for emphasis. "King Kuei, surely you don't believe these children!"

"One of these children happens to be the Avatar," the Earth King reminded hesitantly. He was remarkably unsure of himself for someone of his status. Alfred's looming presence behind him probably wasn't helping matters.

"The one and only!" Sokka managed, causing Long Feng to press the knife harder against his throat. Sokka released a hiss of pain as the knife's point pricked him, drawing blood.

Alfred growled lowly, and moved his hands to loosely grip the Earth King's neck. Kuei gulped. "Long Feng. If you value my life, you'll release the boy."

"But sir-"

"Now, Grand Secretariat."

Long Feng practically choked on his own tongue, surprised at being ordered so directly. He released Sokka as though the Water Tribe teen was hot to the touch. Alfred immediately removed himself from the Earth King, and stepped around the throne to join his friends, expression expressively innocent to show his lack of ill will.

The situation at least partially diffused, Katara respectfully stepped forward. "Your Majesty, we implore you to listen to us. There is a war going on-there has been for over a hundred years, now." She sent an accusing finger towards Long Feng. "He and the Dai Li have been conspiring to keep you ignorant about it."

Kuei's eyes narrowed as he seemed to think about it, crossing his arms. After a long, tense moment of silence, he spoke. "Understand this, Avatar. You broke into my home, attacked my men, and practically assaulted my person. Not to mention that you're accusing my closest advisor of treason and speaking of a war that was never even alluded to in all my days reigning over this city." He took a deep breath before continuing, "However, if you can provide proof of these outlandish claims…I will listen."

Long Feng's knife disappeared into his sleeves, masking his disbelief and anger with a cool, almost aristocratic glower. "The very idea that you would suspect me of undermining your rule is sheer lunacy, King Kuei. I am completely innocent of any ridiculous conspiracies. The Avatar can look for all the evidence he wants." The Grand Secretariat turned to leave, calculating eyes sliding towards Aang for the briefest of moments. "He will find nothing." He left, and the Dai Li vanished into the shadows once again, leaving the Avatar, his friends, and the King alone in the throne room.

I'M SOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE UNREASONABLY LONG-ASS WAIT MY SCHEDULE JUST EXPLODED INTO SCHOOLWORK AND PIANO PRACTICE AND DENTIST APPOINTMENTS AND STUFF. Though I can't fully blame my sudden schedule changes. There was also Skyrim, and the fact that I'm in the midst of rewriting a story that I took down a while back. Some of you might remember 'Bad Medicine'?

Thanks to everyone who faved, followed, and reviewed! And thanks to those reviews/messages that I got asking as to when or if I'd be updating again (I'm looking at you, Adina2938!). The concern is quite touching (whether it be for the story's advancement or my wellbeing is irrelevant).

PLEASE feel free to leave a review and tell me how I did with this long awaited chapter, and also feel free to furiously scold me for leaving everyone hanging for so long!

Later dudes. ^J^