Chapter 38 - The Arrest
It was nearing one o'clock as the gang stood just outside of town, waiting for their opponent in a rocky clearing.
"She's late."
Katara nodded. There wasn't much to say. "Maybe she forgot?"
"More like she chickened out!" Sokka crowed, promptly disappearing into a hole in the ground.
"Who's a chicken?" Toph sneered from above him.
Sokka whimpered. "When did you get here?"
"I'm glad you showed up!" Aang said enthusiastically, clearly cheered at her arrival. "What took you so long?"
"It's hard to tell time when you're blind," she told him matter-of-factly. No one argued. "Can we just get this over with?"
Katara rolled her eyes, but kept her voice even. "If you lose, you have to teach Aang earthbending, deal?"
"And if I win, then you guys have to leave me alone. Got it," Toph agreed, settling into a fighting stance.
"Um, when do we star—ahhh!" Aang cried as the ground crumbled beneath him, forcing him to airbend off the unstable ground. Toph frowned as he disappeared from her 'sight.'
"You can't win, Twinkle Toes," she called confidently. Stomping her bare foot on the earth, rock fragments shot up from the ground in all directions. Zuko calmly moved out of the way, while Katara and Sokka screamed, coving their heads—though Sokka was knocked over anyway. Aang took a blow to the chest and was forcibly shoved backwards into a wall of stone. He crumpled to the ground, groaning.
"Get up, Aang!" Katara yelled. "Get up!"
"Is that all you got?" Toph jeered, striding towards him. Aang struggled to his feet, a new tenacity clear in his eyes. Just as the girl flung another array of rock towards him, he deflected it with a swing of his staff. She immediately twisted her ankles into the earth, mud covering her feet and rooting her into the ground.
A (somewhat) fierce battle cry erupted from Aang, and he charged forward, determined to win.
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"How much longer is this going to take?" Zuko complained. "They've been at it for at least twenty minutes now."
Katara rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it won't be much longer."
"Until what? They both collapse from exhaustion?" Zuko sighed. "They're on the same level. No one is going to win this fi—"
"Lady Toph!" Called a voice from edge of the surrounding forest.
"Crap!" Toph erupted angrily, momentarily forgetting her battle. Immediately, she was hit by one of Aang's whirling air spheres with enough force to knock her over and roll her a full fifteen feet across the earth. She hit her head and landed sprawled on her stomach, unconscious. Katara and Aang both ran to make sure she was alright.
"Lady Toph!" The two men's yells were more urgent now. Their charge was hurt, and they rushed to her side. "Over here, men!" Four more men wearing the same uniforms emerged from the trees, moving towards Aang rather than the fallen girl. "Arrest that boy! He injured Lady Toph!"
"Hey, she agreed to this fight!" Katara said angrily. "Stay away from him!"
"Drop the staff, boy," warned one of the guards, his hand on his sword's handle. "We're taking you into custody."
"For what?" Katara cried. "He hasn't done anything wrong!"
"On the contrary, miss, he's harmed a member of the noble family," another man told her placidly. "And you'll need to come with us too."
"What?" Aang, Zuko, and Sokka exploded simultaneously.
"You're an accessory to the crime," he explained to her. For a few moments Katara simply stared at him, too stunned to speak. Then a coy smile spread across her face, and she thrust her arms out in front of her, wrists turned upwards.
"I understand," she told him calmly. "Go ahead and arrest me. Aang, you too. We're criminals, you know." While the man was tying a rope around her wrists, she winked at Zuko and Sokka, still standing dumbstruck on the sidelines. "Oh, wait! I almost forgot!" Katara moved away from the guard—who, curiously, made no effort to stop her—and began walking back towards Zuko and Sokka.
"Oh, are they with you, too?" The guard asked Aang, disinterested. He shook his head.
"Never seen them in my life," the boy answered innocently. He didn't know what Katara was up to, but he was sure she had a plan.
"I almost forgot my pet lemur!" Katara cooed, ushering Momo into her arms—which was easier said than done when one's hands are literally tied. "Okay, we're ready. Let's go, Aang."
Zuko and Sokka could only stare helplessly the men carried Toph away, Aang and Katara in tow.
"...what just happened?" Zuko asked blankly.
Sokka facepalmed.
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"You know, for prison food, this isn't bad," Katara commented as she plopped another morsel into her mouth. "In fact, it's better than what we usually eat, don't you think, Aang?"
The younger boy made a vague nodding motion and took a big mouthful of food, mumbling something incoherent enough to be deniable later. It was never a good idea to insult Katara's cooking, after all.
Katara sighed. "How much longer are we gonna be here, anyway? I'm bored." She paused, and suddenly grimaced. "Oh man, I sound like Zuko, don't I? 'How much longer?'" she imitated in a grumpy voice.
"You sound just like him!" Aang laughed. "How do you think Zuko and Sokka are doing together, anyway?"
She mimed deep contemplation. "Oh, it's only been a few hours, so I'm sure they'll have killed each other by now." She giggled. "To tell you the truth, I'm more worried about Appa. I know we stayed with him last night, but the thought of those boys being the only ones with him tonight makes me a little nervous."
"Yeah," Aang mused soberly. "What do you think they're doing?"
Noticing the change in the mood, Katara quickly said, "I bet they're planning some sort 'rescue attempt.' Except that I'll end up being the one rescuing everyone. Again." She mocked a sigh. "I won't always be around to be the hero, you know." She laughed.
Aang eyed her worriedly. "Where will you be?"
"Well, when the war's over and we've won, and everything is peaceful," she began in a hushed voice, "I'd like to get married and have a family and all that, y'know?"
Aang sidled up to her. "Yeah? With who?" He asked innocently
Katara blushed, then remembered that Aang and Sokka didn't know about her and Zuko yet. "Oh, I don't know yet! I'm only fourteen!" She forced a laugh, and Aang did the same. Nonetheless, the cell's atmosphere was noticeably thicker.
Just then, a guard came to unlock the door and solemnly said, "The Lord and Lady will see you now."
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"If you don't shut up in the next five seconds, I swear to the gods I'm going to set you on fire."