Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or anything associated with it except my fanfiction.
Katara was awakened by a wise old voice saying, "It's time."
Immediately, everybody got up and prepared for battle; Sokka did his wolf paint, Suki and Ty Lee donned their armor, Aang opened his glider-staff, Katara filled two waterskins, Toph yawned, and Iroh fixed himself a nice cup of tea.
Everyone shot him a withering glare. "Can't that wait until after we take down Azula?" Katara asked.
Iroh chuckled. "Ahh... the young ones these days... not appreciating the simple things in life when they should be embraced with warmth and welcome." He took an appreciative sip. "Besides, this jasmine tea is actually mixed with a special concoction meant to strengthen my firebending. It may prove crucial down there."
Sokka perked up. "Really?"
Iroh nodded.
Aang brightened. "That's great! Could you fix me a cup of that?"
Iroh's expression darkened. "That is not a good idea. This concoction would be like an Avatar's Sozin's Comet, if you will. You could potentially destroy the world with the smallest drop of this mixture."
Aang looked terrified. "O-on second thought, I might just skip the tea for now."
Iroh smiled. "It is a well-kept Flower secret," he said. "Perhaps you and Sokka could learn how to make it in the distant future..."
Everyone waited respectfully until Iroh finished his tea. He stood up and patted his clothes down. "Let us go."
Lake Laogai was a large, calm, peaceful, beautiful lake. Of course, it did not hold a candle to the deep beauty of Katara's blue eyes, but the blue sheen of the lake emitted such a nice color.
Such a bright, beautiful place hiding such a dark secret.
Not trusting the original entrance to the Lake anymore, Aang and Katara bent a way in the water to the Dai Li's former secret headquarters. They finally found the side of a suspicious looking mound, and Toph earthbent an entrance for them. Aang went in first, then the rest of them followed.
Before stepping into the headquarters, Toph bent their entrance shut to prevent water from escaping and giving away their presence, then turned around to realize the mistake they had made.
Too late they realized the floor of the dungeon was nowhere close to the place they walked in from. After flailing for a few seconds, Team Avatar began to fall, and it was only Aang's quick thinking and skilled airbending that cushioned the impact and the sounds they made upon hitting the ground.
Sokka bore the worst of it. "A little warning next time?" he muttered to the earthbender piled on top of him.
"Sorry," Toph said. "I guess the water muffles my senses or something."
They then got up, and realized they were in trouble.
They were in what appeared to be a large cavern. Multiple hallways led to and from the majestic room, and pillars ornately decorated the interior of the room. They had stumbled on the far side of the room, and at the very end, they saw a familiar figure cloaked in fiery embers, a stark contrast to the green glow that emanated from the underground chamber.
Everyone got into fighting stance and approached Azula as one.
"My, my, my... I'm flattered that you decided I was so dangerous that you had to send the best benders and warriors at your disposal to try and take me down. Unfortunately, it seems you never learn from your mistakes."
"Well, clearly neither have you, Azula. You're alone and unguarded, and we're going to take you down, permanently this time." Katara said with a glare at her bitterest foe.
Azula studied her fingernails. "Oh really? I'm alone? I believe you are mistaken about that." Suddenly, the group heard a faint rumbling sound, mingling with the shouts and yells of a multitude of people. "I believe your blind imbecile will be able to tell you all about it."
Everyone bristled and prepared to attack Azula, but Toph held up a hand. "She's right. There's hundreds of people, coming from all different directions, heading for us. Get ready, we're going to be in the fight for our lives!"
Just then, a flood of people stormed the room, from simple farmers to well-clad nobles to nefarious Dai Li Agents. Azula's fear, power, and influence had truly spread far and wide, and the small group quickly went from apprehending a woman to fighting desperately for their lives.
It was fortunate that they prepared so well; Suki was hit by a sword that was only stopped by her tough armor, and Katara lost one of her waterskins when she was forced to heal herself and a belligerent Toph after getting attacked by multiple Dai Li Agents. Toph spat on the ground, and Katara wisely chose not to wince at the crudeness of her friend. "Those guys!- hey wait, where's Azula going?"
Katara whipped her head around, and saw that the throne was empty. She yelled to Toph, "We gotta get her and bring her to justice! We can't let her get away again!"
Toph nodded, and said, "Defend me, Katara."
In an incredible display of strength, Toph raised her arms and caused a small earthquake, knocking their opponents to the ground and clearing a way to Aang and to the hallway in which Azula disappeared.
Aang was busy fending off some mad-toothed farmer with a spear when the two girls got to him. He turned around, acknowledging their presence, and the farmer saw his chance and jabbed at Aang's heart.
But Aang was too quick. He caught the shaft of the spear with his staff, kicked the farmer in the stomach - wincing in sympathy all the while - and then joined Toph and Katara in their chase for Azula.
Soon, the sounds of fighting faded away, and the trio were left on their own, navigating the maze that was the base underneath Laogai. Toph felt the ground with her hands, and stood up. "Third hallway on right, Second door on left, exit the room, and dead ahead. Let's go!"
And they raced to the source of their suffering, determined to finish off the crazed Fire Princess once and for all.
Azula was lounging on her throne of skulls.
She had led those incompetent fools into a trap. What did they expect, assigning guard duties to her decrepit elderly uncle. Kong did not even have to attempt espionage to spy on the Avatar and his friends' whereabouts. Oh well. Although the two original Dai Li Agents had served their purpose very well, she had found that their bones complemented her makeshift throne rather nicely.
The skull of that disgusting pathetic Earth King was a very nice addition to the top of her royal seat. The throne wasn't worthy of her royal Fire Nation blood, admittedly, but it would do until she had completed her quest for world domination. She sighed. Curse the Avatar and his little friends. Although hopefully they played into her trap.
But then again, what did they expect, assigning guard duties to her decrepit uncle. Kong did not even have to attempt espionage to spy on them. Oh well. The two original Dai Li Agents had served their purpose, and she found that their bones decorated the throne rather nicely. She wondered if she should include the Avatar's bones on her throne once she dominated the world...
She was broken out of her thoughts when a water whip smacked her across the cheek. She looked up to see the pathetic Avatar, the filthy peasant, and the blind imbecile of an earthbender confronting her. The peasant had a water cloak enveloping her arms, and ironically she was the one who spoke for those lowlifes.
"Give up, Azula, you're outnumbered three to one!"
Azula smirked and looked at Aang, Katara, and Toph who were gathered around her, in battle stances. Azula simply got up lazily and stretched and cunningly said, "Me? Outnumbered? Even without any Dai Li at my side, I see evenly numbered sides - "
"Oh really, what other two people do you have with you who could possibly even the odds out? No one else is even close to here. You're on your own, and we three are going to take you down," Toph scoffed.
"You blind imbecile, you are terribly mistaken in that you have three people on your side." Azula sneered. "I see someone else on my side that you two seem to be rather ignorant of. Isn't that right... 'you filthy slave of a watertribe peasant?'"
Toph and Aang realized their arrogant mistake - the inherent flaw in Sokka's plan - too late, and they turned to Katara in horror as her pupils began to dilate until it seemed as though her eyes were black instead of their normal blue. "You are right, Firelord Azula. I was terribly mistaken in my calculations. I see two people on our side and two people on the Avatar's side. Even if one of the enemy is the Avatar, this should amount to a fair fight, as you are more than capable of taking down a weak Avatar and a blind girl."
Aang paled. He turned to Toph. "Run. Go help the others. When they're done, get them here. I'll hold them off until you return. We can't win this without more help."
"But -," Toph started to say when she was airbent back the way they had entered.
"GO!" Aang yelled, and then turned to face Azula and Katara. Toph tried to take a step forward, but was hindered by a wall rising from the ground, conveying Aang's intent.
Toph started to sniffle, and then pulled herself together. "Alright, Twinkletoes, but you better be alive when I come back, 'cause after this is over I'm gonna punch you so hard you're gonna regret that you ever learned airbending!" she shouted with cupped hands before sprinting away from the twisted scene behind her, tears in her eyes.