Chapter 10 - One Scam Too Many
After a couple of days of intense flying, the group of four eventually reached the Fire Fountain City on the large Shuhon Island. Setting up their camp high in the hills overlooking the city provided them with an excellent view of the settlement, dominated by its famous Fire Fountain, a grand statue of Fire Lord Ozai, continually emitting a jet of fire. Zuko had frowned and muttered something intelligible under his breath upon seeing it, the statue invoking many unwelcome memories of his father.
Having stayed up through most of the night during their flight, the group had spent the early part of the day resting, but afterwards it was time to explore the city and see what they could do about restoring their supplies. This task was made all the more challenging when they realized that together with their tents and most of their food, the Combustion Man's attack had also made them leave behind all of their remaining money, so they needed to somehow make some quick coin.
As they explored the city, Zuko had pointed out that lately the Fire Fountain City had become nothing more than a glorified gambling den. Exploring farther away from the Fire Fountain and the city center, in the narrow and dark alleys, the group of four came across many a shady dealer, offering them to partake in games of chance. This had inspired Toph to come up with an idea of using her earthbending talents in order to clean out some of the dealers, something that everyone, even Katara, approved of. To the young waterbender it was a much more palatable way of getting what they needed, especially when compared with the idea of stealing supplies from some hapless farmer or street vendor.
Still, despite agreeing to the plan, Katara hadn't been interested to stick around and watch Toph cheat the dealers out of their coin. Katara had left Sokka to watch over their young earthbender friend, while she dragged Zuko away to continue exploring the city, paying particular attention to all the shops and market stalls, making note of places to visit once they had the coin to spend. And speaking of coin, while Toph was more than successful at cheating the gambling dealers at their own game, it hadn't gone without a hitch. It seemed as if neither Toph nor Sokka knew when to stop, getting a little greedy and carried away by their success, Sokka laden with fat purses as Toph cleaned out all the shell game peddlers in one of the dark alleys.
This had led to the obvious outcome, the frustrated dealers accusing Toph of cheating, and a small crowd had formed to teach them a lesson. Fortunately, Sokka was thinking on his feet as he tossed a couple of the coin bags onto the cobbled street, leading to the angry mob becoming distracted, fighting among themselves for coins, allowing Sokka and Toph to safely escape and return to the campsite. When Katara had later learned of what had happened, she was pleased about all the coin Toph had won, but had still chewed them both out for attracting so much attention to themselves, at which point the shouting match between Toph and Katara had become slightly ugly and personal.
Having waited a couple of days for the situation in the city to calm down, Katara eventually took Zuko with her on a shopping trip, warning Sokka and Toph to sit tight and not risk showing their face in the city again, dashing their dreams of what sort of fancy purchases they could make with the coin Toph had cheated out from the dealers. Toph had been very resentful at that, clashing with Katara yet again, but the young waterbender had remained unmoved in her decision, especially with Zuko backing her up.
Now, a couple of hours after parting with Sokka and Toph at the camp, Katara and Zuko found themselves wandering the markets of Fire Fountain City, Zuko already laden with some of the heaviest supplies like the replacement tents, while Katara was carrying heavy bags of food, still looking around for more supplies to purchase.
"Can you believe all the silly things that Sokka wanted to buy with this money?" Katara was still fuming about the recent events and the arguments over the past few days. "A messenger hawk… really?"
"Well... it's not the worst idea, I suppose," Zuko tried, making sure not to disagree with Katara too strongly. She had been rather on the edge as of late, and he definitely didn't want to get on the receiving end of her tongue lashing. "We could use a messenger hawk to coordinate the invasion plans and pass messages between ourselves and your father."
"Oh, that part of it is useful, of course," Katara nodded as they made a beeline towards a vegetable vendor's cart, Zuko sincerely hoping that this would be their last stop on this shopping spree. He was starting to become quite exhausted from carrying the heavy tents, and Katara looked rather weighed down by all her purchases as well. "What I meant was that hawks can be quite vicious, and Sokka already has Momo to take care of. And he's not always doing a great job of it. A hawk and a lemur? Not a chance. I'd just end up looking after one of his pets, probably both of them."
"I suppose that's true," Zuko chuckled, waiting for Katara to quickly finish her haggling with the vegetable merchant, which resulted in another sizable basket for her to carry. "Katara, I think we need to call it a day or else we're not getting all of this back to the camp," he warned her.
"Yes, I was going to say that we should depart," Katara nodded at him. "Anyway, you can't argue that the other idea Sokka had was just plain bad. Why should we buy an expensive Fire Nation atlas when we have the best guide available with us already?" she smiled at him.
"Thanks, Katara," he smiled back at her as they passed through the gates leading away from the marketplace, something on the nearby information board attracting Zuko's attention. "Wait up... you should see this," he said as they both approached the board, looking at one poster in particular.
"Is that... frightening creature in the drawing is supposed to be Toph?" Katara blinked, having examined the poster. "Wanted: The Runaway? Spirits, that's all we needed! I knew they would get us into trouble, Toph can be so immature, and Sokka's not much better!"
"Well, as long as they don't decide to return to the city, we should be safe," Zuko said, then clearing his throat uncomfortably. "Uh... they wouldn't sneak off to return to the city while we're gone, right?"
Katara gave Zuko a worried stare, her eyes widening with fear. "Let's... let's just get back to the camp quickly," she uttered nervously, then casting another glance at the wanted poster. "Should we just leave it standing there?"
"It would look a little suspicious if we removed it in plain sight," Zuko replied. "But I can get rid of it, I think." They quickly walked off, and once they were a reasonable distance away, Zuko turned around, waiting for an opportune moment when nobody was looking before using his firebending. The information post suddenly went up in flames as the pair quickly rushed off, carrying their heavy supplies.
After almost an hour of extremely exhausting climb to reach their campsite up in the hills, Katara and Zuko dropped off their gathered supplies in a predictably empty camp, Sokka and Toph nowhere to be seen. "I'm going to skin them alive once I get my hands on them!" Katara fumed angrily, stomping around the campsite and completely forgetting how exhausted she was.
"Katara?" Zuko asked her. "I'm starting to remember now that the bags of money Toph handed over to you seemed quite a lot smaller than the ones she returned with initially."
"What? Of course!" Katara exclaimed. "They kept some of the money to themselves, and now they're off to the city to spend it! And they'll get caught like the immature fools they are! We need to go after them, now!"
"Wait, Katara," Zuko warned her, placing his hand on her shoulder and forcing her to stop. "We're both really exhausted. We should rest a little before setting off again, if they get into some trouble and need to be rescued, we'll need to be well rested."
She pushed his hand away, appearing frustrated. "No, Zuko, I'm much too angry to rest," she snapped. "I'm heading back to the city immediately. I'd prefer if you came with me, but if you won't, I'll take care of this by myself."
Zuko let out a heavy sigh, looking on as Katara began to walk away from the camp in a determined step. "Wait up, Katara!" he called out, rushing after her. "At least slow down and let us catch some breath as we walk!"
"Fine... I can do that much," Katara conceded, slowing down and allowing Zuko to catch up with her. She then gave him a small smile. "Sorry... my temper has been running high lately, hasn't it? Toph and Sokka can really bring out the worst in me when they act like children."
"I don't mind," Zuko smiled back at her. "Actually... I kind of like it when you get all angry and emotional, launching into a rant."
"Really?" Katara blushed slightly. "That's an odd thing to like. Why would you like that?"
"I think it's because that sort of thing isn't really accepted in the circles I grew up in," Zuko tried his best to explain. "Of course, people still get angry and upset, but they don't express their emotions as openly as you do. They keep them bottled up, until one day they'll creep up on you in a dark corridor and stab you in the back."
"No offense, Zuko, but that sounds pretty horrible," Katara gave him a look full of sympathy.
"Yes, it's probably why I'm exiled and opposing my own family," Zuko nodded at her. "Well, except my uncle. I owe it to myself to rescue him from my father's clutches."
"Soon, Zuko, very soon," Katara smiled at him as they slowly approached the city gates once more. It was there that they both noticed something peculiar, a city guard removing Toph's wanted poster from another information board.
"Why are you taking that off the board?" Zuko quickly asked the guard.
"Some lucky guy brought her in not too long ago," the guard shrugged.
Katara instantly went pale. "What guy?" she demanded. "What did he look like?"
"Huh? Just your average kid," the guard shrugged, looking disinterested. "His skin was a little darker than most... actually a bit like yours, girl. Oh... and he had this really nice sword on his back."
"I... see," Katara managed with a nervous twitch setting into the corner of her eye, Zuko starting to worry that she might pop a vein right there and then.
"Where is this prisoner being kept, good sir?" Zuko politely asked the guard.
"The city prison, by the fountain," the guard replied, then narrowing his eyes at them. "Why are you asking?"
"Well... we had some information about this criminal that we wanted to report, so I'm thinking maybe we could still get a part of the reward," Zuko quickly lied.
"Hah, good luck with that," the guard laughed at them, sounding amused, as Katara and Zuko quickly took their leave, hurrying towards the Fire Fountain.
"What is Sokka playing at?" Katara growled as they walked side by side through the city streets.
"I think I can make a guess," Zuko replied. "Sokka must have noticed the wanted poster and then they probably came up with a plan to make even more money. He's pretending that he's handing her in and then collecting the reward."
"And Toph then uses her bending to escape from her cell, either tearing the stone walls or bending the bars," Katara realized. "Hmm... if that's their plan, it's actually a clever one, I'll admit that. It's just that... this isn't the time or place to take such risks."
"You'll hear no argument from me," Zuko nodded as they reached the Fire Fountain at the center of the city, quickly identifying the prison among the buildings of the inner ring. "So... how should we proceed?" Zuko asked.
"I'm thinking," Katara mused. "I mean... collecting a reward shouldn't take too long, right? I would expect Sokka to be out already, but I don't see him around."
"Maybe he's still inside?" Zuko wondered. "Why don't we go inside and check? We can use the same cover story as with the guard."
"Yes, that's a good idea," Katara nodded. "Let's go in," she said, Zuko opening the doors to the prison and stepping inside, Katara following him. As they cast their eyes on the holding cells at the back of the prison, something immediately struck them as wrong. Toph was locked safely inside a cell that was made entirely out of wood, implying that someone knew of her identity as an earth and metalbender. Even worse, she was not alone in her cell, Sokka was in there with her, looking miserable he gave Katara and Zuko a panicked stare.
"Katara! Watch out, it's a trap!" Sokka exclaimed hurriedly. "The Combustion Man is here!" he pointed to the left, their new and fearsome foe standing there on the doorstep.
Zuko once again tried his best to create a shield of absorbing flames before the Combustion Man's deadly attack had struck them. Even though he was successful, the force of the detonation so close by still threw him and Katara across the room to crash painfully into the wall. Within the small quarters, the explosion also caused damage to Toph and Sokka's cell, as well as knocked their enemy back a few paces, briefly stunning him.
As Sokka tore off a large beam blocking their exit from their cell, creating a large hole through which to escape, Zuko slowly picked himself up from the floor. He rose, aching all over, knowing that he had to do something to keep their enemy occupied. Katara was very slow to rise, blood flowing from a cut on her forehead, and she looked a little woozy on her feet. Sokka was dashing across the room to pick up his confiscated sword, while Toph was still crawling out of the cell and didn't have much to bend with at her disposal.
Zuko decided to go on the offensive instead of shielding the group, since the absorbed explosion would still do considerable backlash in these tight quarters. He needed to buy the others time so that they could all get out on the street, where they would have more to work with. A massive jet of fire leapt from his hands and was about to hit their foe, but he responded with his own attack, nullifying Zuko's attempt. The Combustion Man instantly went on the attack again, trying to catch Zuko before he had recovered, and he most likely would have been successful if Katara hadn't recovered and struck first. Using water from her hip flask, she flung a splash of liquid at the Combustion Man's forehead and then instantly froze it, blocking off his third eye, and leaving him unable to bend for the time being.
"Out! We need to get out of here!" Zuko shouted, pushing Sokka towards the doors, then making sure that Toph was following, finally taking the hand of the still slightly groggy Katara and leading her towards the exit as their foe was busy using his firebending to melt off the block of ice he was currently wearing as a hat. It didn't take him too long, and Zuko and Katara hadn't made more than ten yards from the prison exit, when it exploded behind them, the force of the blast knocking them to the ground yet again, Zuko this time managing to shield Katara with his own body, his back getting pelted by falling rubble.
"Start running, you lot! I'll cover you!" Toph exclaimed confidently. Sokka seemed reluctant to leave the young earthbender to fight their fearsome foe on her own. Meanwhile, Zuko and Katara were still picking themselves up from the ground by the time the Combustion Man reemerged from the partly ruined prison.
He immediately targeted those closest to him, the exiled prince and the young waterbender. Neither of them was in a position to defend themselves, but fortunately, Toph was on the job. Massive thick pillar rose from the ground between her helpless friends and the Combustion Man, blocking off the deadly attack of their foe. It sent the pillar crumbling, but in a stroke of good luck, one of the falling pebbles struck the Combustion Man's third eye, stunning and dazing him. Trying to keep up the pressure, he immediately tried to bend again, but it backfired on him, literally blowing up in his face as their foe was tossed right back inside the ruined prison and didn't emerge again.
"Hurry up! This is our time to disappear!" Sokka shouted, and they all set into a run, Zuko and Katara struggling to keep up with the others, bruised and battered by the Combustion Man, and exhausted from all their physical activities throughout the day. Eventually, they managed to reach their camp without being followed, quickly dismantling everything, piling their supplies on Appa's back and hurriedly setting into flight again, despite it still being early in the evening. The need to get away from Fire Fountain City was far greater than the risk of getting spotted.
A while later, once Katara had managed to heal herself and Zuko to the best of her ability, lying on Appa's back exhausted, Sokka came to sit next to his sister. "Katara?" he asked quietly. "I know what you want to say..."
"I want to say a lot of things, Sokka, but I'm just not going to bother," Katara sighed. "I've wasted too much precious time preaching to all of you already, it's clear that my words are falling on deaf ears. If you're going to learn from all of this, you'll have to do it on your own."
"Alright, Sugar Queen, I'll admit it, what we tried to pull was pretty stupid, okay?" Toph grumbled. "I hope hearing that makes you happy."
"You did save our lives, Toph," Zuko said, patting the younger girl's shoulder. "I won't forget that."
"Yeah, well... I also put you in a position where your lives needed saving," Toph sighed. "Which I think was the point Katara wanted to make... that it didn't need to happen."
"Thank you, Toph," Katara smiled briefly. "I'm glad you understand."
"I understand that as well, sis," Sokka gave his sister an earnest stare. "And there's something else I wanted to bring up with you all. Before Aang... well, before we lost Aang," his voice wavered a little. "We used to be Team Avatar. That meant we kinda went and did the stuff that Aang needed to do at the time, so... it kinda made him our leader in a way, though we probably didn't think of him as such. But since Aang is no longer with us... sure, we still have a schedule and an invasion plan to stick to, but... I'm beginning to feel that we need someone who makes the overall decisions for our group."
"It's a good idea for an adventuring group to have a leader," Zuko nodded in agreement. "Otherwise, things can become very chaotic."
"I thought you always fancied yourself to be our leader, Sokka," Katara gave her brother a surprised stare.
"Well... I kinda hoped that I could be, but current events are telling me that I'm not yet ready," Sokka sighed. "But I know who's ready to call the shots for us all. You are, sis."
"Me?" Katara looked genuinely surprised. "Are you sure? You want me to lead? But you've never listened to me, both you and Toph!"
"Well, that's going to change now, if you're willing to accept leadership," Sokka gave her an encouraging smile. "What about you, Toph?"
"Ugh, you know that I don't deal well with authority figures," Toph frowned. "But if I'm honest... Sugar Queen, you're probably the one who's most mature from all of us. I guess I can go along with that. But don't try to act too much like my parents or else we'll have a problem!" Toph warned Katara.
"I promise to try, Toph," Katara chuckled, then turning to give Zuko a searching stare. "And what about you, Zuko? Does this work for you at all?"
Zuko briefly pondered the question. While he had no doubt that Sokka would one day become a great leader of men, he had to concede that the boy was right, he just wasn't ready yet. And while Zuko felt that he could also be a capable leader for the group, he also knew that as someone who had joined the former Team Avatar only recently, he had no right to harbor aspirations of leadership. Sokka's suggestion to elevate Katara made a lot of sense, she was smart, cautious, practical and level-headed, and he felt that she made for a good choice to take charge of their little group.
"Of course, Katara," he said, reaching out to briefly squeeze her hand. "I will be happy to follow your lead."