A/N. So, there is some violence in this chapter
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.
Aang jumped down and watched the tunnel while the other climbed down the ladder. First there was Toph, who felt around with her earthbending, and with a movement of her head, confirmed there was no one else in the tunnel. Then came Katara, Jet, his gang, and finally, Sokka.
"I remember this… I believe there are rooms in that direction." The Freedom Fighter gestured towards the right side of the tunnel, and, quietly, they began to follow him.
After several minutes, they entered another tunnel, this one higher than the first, and lit by the green light that made Aang think of Omashu. As they walked, from time to time, Toph would hold up a hand, and the group would hide while a man or woman walked by.
In this tunnel, there were doors, and as they walked past several, the airbender could hear just parts of several conversations.
There is no war in Ba Sing Se…
My name is Jo Dee…
Welcome in our great city…
If he wasn't crept out already, learning about the fact that their Jo Dee had been one in a hundred definitely freaked him out. How could these people act as if there was no problem, even at the moment when a giant drill was probably still standing outside the walls… As the world burned around them, this city acted as if nothing was happening, and only they mattered in this civilization…
"I believe there is a cell big enough to hold Appa just here." Het announced, but Aang was apprehensive. How did the Freedom Fighter know the way in this maze? The airbender came to walk next to Toph and bent to her ear.
"Is he lying?"
"No." The blind girl murmured back.
That didn't mean anything. Jet had already lied, but had thought it was the truth… So why not now?
As the Freedom Fighter entered a large room, Aang followed. A large cavernous cave opened up in front of him, but there was nothing. Only a ceiling, clouded in darkness, and a door at the other side. Aang followed Jet, but then, behind him, he heard a distinct rumble. Of earth against rock…
Turning around, the airbender saw how the door they had used to enter had turned to stone… And above him, the clinking of metal could be heard…
"Well, that's different…" He heard Sokka mutter, while the water tribe boy pulled out his boomerang and a knife. Looking up, Aang suspected that the older boy had better eyesight than him, but after a moment, several shadows were moving…. And falling down.
And just then, a voice from the shadows spoke.
"You have made yourself enemies of the state… Take them into custody." It was Long Feng. Aang sighed, seeing the Dai Li agents encircle them, falling down from the ceiling and appearing from hidden spaces in the cavern's walls. Oh how he hated violence…
The first stone fist flew past him, smashing against the rocks behind him. Quickly looking around, the airbender saw how the others managed to stop the attacks. He saw Sokka throw his boomerang, while stabbing an agent through the arm with his knife. Toph blocked most of the attacks against her and the Freedom Fighters with rocky walls, while Katara obstructed each stone fist with ice blocks that shattered on impact, as did the fists.
She is so beautiful while wate… No brain, not now.
He quickly turned back to the three Dai Li standing in front of him. Aang knew that he was more than capable of stopping them in a heartbeat. But those techniques… Well, there was a reason why airbenders were brought up in a peaceful manner, learning about pacifism and such.
So when they attack, he stopped them with earthbending, followed by blowing them away in a dark corner. Then, he used the water in the cave to freeze them into place. For the first time in his life, Aang found that being the Avatar was useful…
"Aang!" He heard Katara shout, and the airbender turned around, to see a rocky fist fly straight to his face. Quickly bending his knees, he felt it graze the crown of his head. Spirits, these people… He heard a scraping noise, followed by quick footsteps. A dark green cloak disappeared behind a door.
"Long Feng is escaping!" Aang shouted, running after the minister. Unfortunately for him, only Jet heard him and turned to follow.
The tunnel opened up inside a room, looking like the sewer underneath Omashu, only bigger. As the two of them ran up the slope, the tunnel sealed behind them, and Long Feng stepped into the light.
"Alright Avatar… You have caused me enough problems. This is your last chance… If you want your bison back." The man spoke softly, but for some reason, it sounded loud enough to be threatening.
"You do have Appa!"
He is alive! Thank the Spirits, there is hope.
He could feel tears of joy come to his eyes.
"Tell me where he is!" Aang put his staff in front of him.
"Agree to leave this city immediately… And I'll waver all charges against you, and even return your lost pet." Long Feng smiled. Aang hesitated. Of course, he would do anything to get Appa back. Do penitence for years, climb each and every mountain in existence, without bending, if only it would permit him to see Appa again.
But what he wanted and what he should do were two very different things… Aang knew he should liberate this city from the Minister's tyranny.
"You are in no position to bargain!" Jet shouted, stepping forwards.
"Am I not?" The man smiled, and spoke softly, "Jet... The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai…"
Aang watched the older boys back straighten, and how the two hook swords pointed to the ground.
"I… am… Honoured to accept his invitation…" And with those words, the swords flew. Aang just managed to duck the sharp edges and jumped back. He saw the Freedom Fighter's eyes, now nearly black instead of the soft brown they used to be.
" Jet! It's me ! Aang"
But the boy didn't stop charging, and the airbender had to blow him away.
"We are friends!"
Well, that was a stretch… Aang didn't consider Jet as his friend, but he realized that the Freedom Fighter had been under the influence of the Dai Li since arriving in the city. So, these last few hours… well, Aang wasn't going to hold it against the older boy.
"I know whatever you said was not really you!"
"Oh, but it was Avatar… He only encouraged him to say those things. But the ideas, those were all his." Long Feng still spoke softly.
Well, that may be, but still, Jet was not in his right mind. Thinking those things and speaking them aloud were to very different things. Thinking them was disgusting enough, but he didn't act on them. Not by his free will at least.
"Come on Jet! You are a Freedom Fighter! Think of Smellerbee, of Longshot! Think of the people you helped." Even if those things were overshadowed by the evil deeds…
The dark eyes flickered back to brown, and back to dark again.
So there is something inside fighting back…
"Think of the people who believed in the Jet of before… Me! the Freedom Fighters! Katara…"
The brown eyes came back, and Jet looked at the airbender, before giving a nearly imperceptible nod. Then, the Freedom Fighter turned and threw one of his swords to Long Feng. The Minister stepped aside, and made a movement Aang recognized. Shit, the man was an earthbender!
"JET! Look out!" He shouted but it was too late. The dust flew up, and the airbender heard a sickening crunch of earth against bones…
From a corner of his eye, Aang saw the minister run inside one of the tunnels, but he didn't concentrate on the man. He had to find Jet in the dust before it was too late…
Please Spirits, even if he is a jerk, he doesn't deserve this.
But the spirits are cruel. When Aang found the Freedom Fighter, Jet was sprawled on his back. A rocky spike stood out on the ground, and had hit the young man squarely to the chest.
"Aang…" He raspy whisper came from the boy. The airbender quickly threw himself on his knees next to Jet, grasping a hand in his.
"I… I'm sorry… for what I've done… then, and today… Sorry about everything…" Jet whispered. Behind them, Aang heard the door open, and looking up, he saw his friends running towards them. Katara quickly knelt next to him, with water around her hands.
As she examined Jet, Aang stood up, and Sokka, who had a cut just underneath his left eye, stepped towards him.
"What happened?"
"Long Feng…" The airbender gestured to the rock spike, and the water tribe nodded curtly.
"This isn't good… broken ribs, a punctured long… And his heart… well…" Katara whispered. Aang know this was difficult for her. As much as Jet had hurt her, she would never wish this upon him.
Just then, a rumble could be heard from the tunnels. Dai Li.
"Go… I'll be fine…" Jet whispered. But Long Shot and Smellerbee stood protectively next to him.
"We won't leave him… He is our leader. And our friend."
"Go… " The leader of the Freedom Fighters spoke, waving a hand to the tunnel.
Aang didn't like it, abandoning someone who was clearly dying… But it was Jet's choice. As they ran to the tunnel, Toph grabbed his wrist.
"His heartbeat stopped…" She whispered, before quickly running along. Aang had suspected it, but as he ran, he saw Katara's face. Pale and with a clenched jaw. He knew that look. The waterbender was trying to be brave.
The tunnel led a room, with in the middle six shackles… Big enough for Sky Bison paws… And the white fur all around the metal constrictions spoke volumes. Appa had been here. But only, he wasn't anymore…
"Long Feng beat us to it…" He sighed. So close… So freaking close! The room smelled like the stabled had in the Southern Air Temple. A hand on his shoulder pulled him back to reality, and he saw Katara's soft and gentle face next to his.
"If we're quick, we can catch up with that murderer." She whispered, with a hard edge in her voice.
Yes. Justice for Jet. Justice for Appa. And justice for the city of Ba Sing Se and the countless of victims of Long Feng's regime.
They ran. And emerged from the underwater headquarters thanks to Toph and her uncanny ability of snuffing out hidden passageways.
As he stepped out of the tunnel, Aang saw himself stand on a beach next to a cliff. At one side, there was only rocks, while on the other was water. But as his eyes got used to the sudden sunlight, he saw Dai Li agents stand at both sides of the beach, on the high walls, while other agents hung from the cliff. An ambush.
"Enough of these games. The Avatar has disturbed the peace long enough. Kill them." He heard the voice of Long Feng.
I have disturbed the peace? Pfah!
Momo, who had disappeared before the descended inside the tunnels, flew in from nowhere, and chittered excitedly.
"What is it? Get out of here, before you get hu…" The rest of his sentence died in his throat. Aang heard a familiar growl. A very familiar one…
"Appa!" Aang shouted, feeling the tears flow freely from his eyes.
His Bison… Those long three weeks… twenty-one days and four hours… It's done, over…
One of the walls burst in a million pieces, and there he was… Appa, flying straight through the wall, and, without stopping, through the second one. Without taking his eyes off the Sky Bison, his gaze misty with tears, he felt Toph pull him to the cliff.
"First the Dai Li, then teary reunion Twinkle!" The blind girl shouted, but through the tears, he could see the big smile of the earthbender's face. Yeah, she was a big softy all along. As they bent a part of the cliff inside the water, Aang could still not take his eyes of Appa.
When the agents were dealt with, he ran to the bison, who was in the process of growling to Long Feng, who seemed to piss his pants.
Yeah, Aang could understand the fear. An angry Sky Bison was a real danger. As he looked on, Appa snapped his teeth, and closed them around the Minister's right leg. The man screamed, and Appa threw him far inside the lake.
I hope he can't swim.
Aang nearly slapped himself for thinking it. All life if precious. He hated how those thoughts came to him. But as he had concluded before, with Jet. There was a difference between thinking it and acting on it.
All thoughts left him however, when Appa turned around. The brown eyes, filled with anger, immediately softened to their usual gentle big watery eyes. The Sky Bison let out a very loud bellow, and nearly ran to him, while Aang also ran. The tears were still flowing but he didn't care.
Appa fell down on his belly in front of the airbender and Aang jumped, helped with his bending, to the tip of the bison's head. He knew that Appa loved hugs there.
"I missed you buddy…" He spoke softly. Under him, he could feel Appa humming softly.
Aang didn't know how long he stayed like that. Seconds? Hours? He didn't care. His heart sang out, he had his best friend and companion back… This was what it was supposed to be. Appa, Sokka, Toph and Katara… Those were the people he wanted with him in his life. Aang didn't need anyone else. This was enough.
"Aang…" a soft voice came from somewhere below. The airbender managed to disconnect his face from Appa's fur, and he looked down. It had been Katara who had spoken. Sokka and Toph were also hugging the great bison, and Katara had one of her hands just underneath the left eyes, gently stroking the fur there. Aang let out a watery laugh when he saw Momo hugging one of Appa's horns. The small lemur had wrapped himself around the horn in such a grip that Aang doubted he could ever make Momo release it.
"We should go somewhere safe… I… need to examine Appa." Katara spoke gently, but Aang saw the apprehension in the big blue eyes. Sliding of the bison's head, but still keeping a hand on Appa's face, he turned to the waterbender.
"Katara… I'm sorry about Jet." He said delicately.
"Yeah… Me too…" She spoke quietly, not looking at him. Squaring her shoulders, Katara moved to where Toph was openly crying against one of Appa's paws.
"I'm so sorry, you big ball of fur." Aang heard the blind girl mutter. As he looked around, the airbender saw a small island in the middle of the lake. Walking over to Sokka, he gently put a hand on the water tribe boy's shoulder.
"I wasn't crying! I got fur in my eye!" Sokka quickly wiped his cheeks, but Aang didn't care, he was sure his own eyes were still red from crying, and that the streaks of tears were still visible.
"We need to move." Aang spoke quietly, seeing how Katara helped Toph up Appa's back, who was nearly humming.
"I really missed you… I'll never let it happen again, I promise." Aang spoke in the bison ear, who just rubbed his giant head against Aang. Smiling, the airbender jumped up, helping Sokka.
Inhaling, the airbender spoke the words he had missed so much.
"Appa… yip yip"
The bison nearly leapt in the sky, bellowing loudly. Aang laughed and snapped his glider open. He didn't care anymore. It is forbidden to fly over the city. Screw the city, screw the Dai Li!
Jumping off, he flew around Appa, and the bison followed suit, turning in a circle around the glider. Diving down, Aang looked back to see his bison quickly gaining on him, roaring loudly. The airbender laughed aloud as he heard the others shout. Of course, flying on a Sky Bison without a saddle was terrifying for non-airbenders. But as he saw their faces, he snickered aloud.
"What is it, ground people? Never felt the wind all around you?" Aang nearly sang when he landed on the bison head.
"We are getting him a new saddle, aren't we?" Toph muttered when Appa touched down on the island. The blind girl fell down on the beach, while Sokka slid off the back and pulled out some kind of food from his satchel.
Aang didn't move. He wasn't going anywhere. From his left, he could see Katara, with her glowing water hands, walking from paw to paw, muttering something to herself. He left her in peace. Aang suspected she needed some time alone. Jet's death disturbed him, and he wanted to punish Long Feng for what he did. But… Well, he understood it was different for her. The Freedom Fighter had been…well, some considered it boyfriend, even though Katara herself had called it a stupid crush. But still, to see someone you liked die, Aang couldn't imagine the feeling…
After nearly an hour, Katara announced that she was finished. Aang let himself slide down from Appa's head, who quickly licked his back.
"Watch out you, before I lick you back. I know you hate that!" The airbender pressed his forehead against one of the bison's cheeks.
"You have done that?" The amused voice of the waterbender spoke from behind him. Aang was relieved to hear her with mirth in her voice. That suggested she, at least, was not heartbroken or wrecked with sorrow… That was good.
"Yeah, when I was little, Appa was also smaller then." He laughed, recalling his You lick, I lick phase.
"I can't even imagine him as a… well, I suppose calf?" Katara sat down net to Appa's head, and Aang saw how his bison rubbed his head against the waterbender. Smiling, he sat in front of Katara, where he could see Appa, and where the bison could see him.
"Oh, I got him when he was just as big as… well, a small platypus bear? Yeah, that sounds about right!"
"He must have been cute." A loud grumble came from the bison, "Yeah Appa, you still are!" Katara laughed, pushing against the bison with her shoulder.
"So… Diagnose?" Aang didn't really want to know if Appa had suffered in captivity… But he needed to.
"Well… His paws are a bit raw from the shackles in that underwater thing… Otherwise, there is some scar tissue suggesting he had a fight with something like giant needles, but those seemed to have been treated. So, there was someone looking out for him at least for a while. He lost some weight, but nothing dramatic." Katara spoke in a quick tone, and Aang suspected it was so that all was out as fast as possible.
He nodded, relieved at the fact that there was no permanent physical damage… But he would still look out for any signs of trauma. Probably for the rest of his life…
"So, what now?" Sokka shouted from where he and Toph were sitting.
"I don't know!" Aang shouted, before turning to Katara in a softer voice.
"But I know what I want to do tonight… talk."
To his immense satisfaction, a small blush appeared on her cheeks when Katara smiled and nodded.
Answers :
Gabriela N. Gonzalez : I agree, it wouldn't be a good idea to kiss after that. And Katara putting Jet in his place was really fun to write!
TheQuietReader23 : Oh Toph is the best. She can go from blunt and awesome to freaking adorable and sweet. So that is really cool to write! And Katara threatening people is just the best!
Dividedbyzero-0 : Oh I am planning a sequel to the story ! It is called The Flowers of Summer, to stay in the same theme as The Blossoms of Spring.
Jjsmith103 : Indeed! That is what I wanted to show ! That the thing between them is strong enough to make both of them a bit possessive. And for Book 3, see above !
Ashley Barbosa : Katara always protects those she loves, but let's be honest, anyone threatening Aang while she is there has a deathwish lol!