A/N. Well, this chapter is a bit boring, but has to exist in order to get to the more interesting things…
Tomorrow, a kataang chapter…
I don't own Avatar the Last airbender
As they stood at the train station, Aang waited with the Earth King and the others.
"So, how come an Air Nomad is in Ba Sing Se? I read that they never go inside big cities." The king spoke kindly.
Present. He spoke in the present. The king didn't know…
"Ehm… what exactly do you know about the Air Nomads?" Aang didn't want it to be true, but if he had to… well, he would tell the king the truth.
"Oh, I read much about your race! I would really like to visit the Western Air Temple! Apparently, it is one of the wonders of the world! And speak with some of the nuns there! Seemingly, they are known for their wisdom. Avatar Yangchen came from there!" Kuei nodded enthusiastically.
Aang had to get away. He was not prepared to talk about this… He saw Katara look at him, with a gentle look in her eyes. She had probably heard the conversation, and knew exactly how he was feeling… First they had to convince the king that the war was real… And then, he would tell him the truth. Regarding the Air Nomads… and the water tribes. And Omashu. And the vast territories of the Earth Kingdom in Fire Nation hands…
When the train arrived, Aang quickly walked over to where Appa was sitting. He would not step one foot inside a train again, as long as he had Appa with him. Never again.
"Hey boy… Ready to go flying? Just you and me? We are going to Lake Laogai. But don't worry, I'll stay right beside you." He murmured in the bison's ear, while climbing on his head. Appa just bellowed softly and took off.
Following the train was easy from the sky. They had decided to first show the king the headquarters, and then the situation in the Lower Ring. Even Long Feng could not make a whole Ring disappear in an hour. And there, the refugees would serve as proof.
But first, the Dai Li headquarters. Aang knew they had been founded by Kyoshi to safeguard the city but seeing the corruption and the evil they had done, the airbender wanted them disbanded. Let the world know it. Avatar Aang, would do something right in his life.
When he saw the train stop at the station next to the lake, he began to fly down. Touching down with Appa, he saw how the Earth King descended from the train, absolutely delighted.
"… And it is done with earthbending? How ingenious!" the man marvelled next to the wagon, while it began to ride away. Then, when the train was out of sight, the monarch turned to them.
"So, show me this… Headquarters of doom?" King Keui turned to Sokka, who smiled weakly. Ah… the water tribe boy had been cracking jokes on the way there. One more thing why Aang was actually happy to have flown here.
Toph stepped forward and summoned… a ruined pathway. Without the entrance. That was just what they needed…
"Oh don't tell me… It's alright! Still have my positive attitude!" Sokka groaned.
"The Dai Li must have known we were coming and destroyed the evidence." Aang heard Katara say to the king, but he didn't seem to buy it. He actually looked rather angry. They had dragged him outside his palace, only to show them a pile of rocks…
"Long Feng was right. This was a waste of time. I'm going back to my Palace. Be gone from my city by the end of the day. Otherwise, I will have you arrested." The king began to turn around, and the guards formed a protective circle around him.
"The wall! They'll never manage to cover hat up! And the general will back us up!" Katara quickly muttered to him and Sokka. Aang rapidly jumped, with his airbending, to where the King was slowly going up the slope towards the station. When he landed inside the circle of guards, the king just looked annoyed, and rolled his eyes.
"Come with us to the Outer Wall! There, we can prove it is true!" Aang pleaded, but the king just scoffed.
"The Outer Wall? No Earth King has ever set foot outside the city. And I'll not be the first." Keui pushed past him, and Aang grabbed the king's arm. The man whipped his head around, too astonished to even say something. The airbender knew it was against all protocols in the Earth Kingdom to touch your superiors.
"You dare-"
"I'm the Avatar. I stand above everyone, and at the same time, stand with everyone. I dare." Aang said through gritted teeth. It was completely against Air Nomad culture to consider oneself above the other. But if it got through the thick skull of this man, then he would play the part.
"If you come with us, you can fly on Appa!" Sokka quickly intervened from outside the ring of guards. The face of the king softened, and Aang quickly released the man's arm.
"I would… like that." The king stood tall, trying not to sound too excited. But Aang saw the gleam in the man's intelligent pale green eyes. Yeah, this man was just as goofy as he was.
As the whole group climbed on Appa's back, a part of the royal guard had to stay behind. As his bison took off, he groaned. Aang looked back and saw how there were nearly ten people on Appa.
"Just a little while longer boy, then you can rest, I promise. It is good to have you back…" Aang smiled at the words. It was good. Feeling the wind again in his face, sitting on Appa and feeling the slow breathing of the bison. This was how he was supposed to life. Just travelling on Appa, from place to place, with friends.
And with Katara.
Soon brain. After this is all done. They had promised to speak after.
"A part of me hopes that what you tell me isn't true!" He heard the King shout.
"I wish it wasn't!" Aang yelled back. In the distance, he could see the Outer Wall. Looking at Sokka, he saw how the water tribe boy waved a hand to the right. So, the drill would be that way.
Flying over the wall, Aang recognized the headquarters of General Sung. As they went past it, he observed several soldiers waving in their direction. When they had been here, Aang had taken the time to describe his bison in great detail to the soldiers in case anyone had seen him. So, now, they recognized Appa. The king, probably seeing the soldiers and thinking it was for him, waved back. As they got closer, the energetically waving of the soldiers faltered, and then stopped. They had seen who was sitting on the bison. And, seeing their faces, Aang summarized that they weren't a big fan of the king.
"What… is that?" the king pointed, and the airbender followed the finger. There at the base of the wall, stood the drill. Exhaling in relief, Aang landed Appa on the wall.
As he jumped down, he heard Sokka explain about the drill. How it was the Fire Nation who had tried to infiltrate the walls with it. The king, after descending from Appa, staggered towards the edge, looking over it. Aang saw how pale the man looked and how his hands trembled.
Yeah… he had some experience with learning about a war and how world shattering it was.
"I… I… can't believe… I never knew! How…" The king didn't finish his sentence, but just closed his eyes. The airbender saw the tears flow from those eyes.
"Your Majesty! I can explain!" Long Feng's voice suddenly sounded. How had he known where to look for them?
"This is nothing more than a construction project."
Aang turned around, seeing the minister, flanked by two Dai Li agents, gesturing to the drill, smiling. But the airbender saw through the cracks. He saw the beads of sweat on the man's forehead, and how the smile didn't reach the eyes.
"Oh really!" Katara suddenly stepped forward, and Aang had the sudden desire to go stand next to her. Support her.
"Then perhaps you can explain the giant Fire Nation symbol on your construction project?" Katara put her hand to her hips. Aang tried to hide a smile at the sight.
Spirits, she is beautiful and fierce …
Stop it. After!
"It is imported, of course! You know you can't trust domestic machinery…"
Aang saw the King look from Long Feng to the drill below. Then, his eyes moved to each of them. One by one. He looked at Toph with a frown. Then, moved to Sokka. A small smile tucked the left corner of his mouth. Then, the pale green eyes moved over to Katara, and he just nodded. And finally, the Earth king looked him directly in the eyes.
And what did Kuei see? A young Air Nomad, wearing clothes not quite appropriate for Earth Kingdom standards. A lemur perched on his left shoulder. The king just smiled at that.
His eyes moved to Long Feng, and Aang could see the battle within.
"Surely you don't believe these…. Children. I raised you. You trust me."
Aang realized that that was probably a step too far from the Minister. The king's eyes flared, and the anger showed.
"Dai Li. Arrest Long Feng. I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom." The King suddenly commanded, standing tall and looking his mentor in the eyes.
The two Dai Li agents moved and grabbed the minister's arms. While they dragged him away, Sokka spoke.
"Looks like Long Feng is Long Gone!" the water tribe laughed but was smacked on the back of his head by his sister, who gestured to the king.
The man was still perched on the edge of the wall, and Aang saw the shaking movements of the shoulders, and how the hands grasped the stones tightly.
"I've been sitting on that one since we met him!" Sokka whispered while the airbender moved to the King.
"Ehm… Your Earthiness? Are you alright?" He didn't look alright. The face was pale, and around the eyes, his skin was bright red from crying.
"He… he betrayed me! He… hid me away! For my safety! But you were right! It was just to control me. He… he acted as my father! Just to manipulate me!" The king managed to utter between sobs.
"I know…" Aang padded the shoulder of the young man.
They made their wat back to the station they had used to enter the city, and the airbender took to the sky with Appa. Now, it was cruel to go on. But is needed to be done. The King had to see the Lower Ring on their way back to the Palace…
When they arrived at the station, Appa's presence had attracted a crowd. The King, stepping out of the train, looked quite collected now, even though his eyes were still red.
"So… All these people… have fled the war?" He muttered, overlooking the crowd. No one cheered. No one waved. Just a staggering silence took hold over the square.
"Yes. We met some on the road. The Fire Nation has destroyed much of your kingdom. And they are at the walls of Ba Sing Se. The drill is proof of that."
"What can I do?" The king opened his arms widely, in a gesture so earnest, that it made Aang's heart ache…
"Give these people food and a decent place to live. And listen to the plans that Sokka has come up with. He is the intelligent one in this bunch." Aang smiled at the water tribe boy, who squared his shoulders proudly.
"Even if he acts like an idiot sometimes." Katara muttered next to him. That made the airbender grin.
"Yeah, don't give him cactus juice!"
The king looked astonished at the display of teasing and affection.
"I promise. Let's go back… I have much to do!" But before the king walked back to the train, he hesitated. Pulling the golden chain from his neck, he tossed it to one of the guards.
"Go buy as much food as you can with that. And give it to these people. Small children first please." The monarch turned abruptly and entered the wagon.
After coming back to the Palace, the king invited them to join him for dinner in an hour. Before they were given a chance to wash up in one of the rooms.
"The rooms of the Avatar." A servant bowed lowly and opened the door for them. Aang could believe it… A large living space, with a desk in the corner. And several doors, leading to bedrooms. Apparently, he had not been the first avatar to travel with friends. Luckily, the rooms were on the ground level, opening to a garden, where a stable was big enough for Appa. If Aang wasn't mistaken, it had actually been built for a Sky Bison…
A bathroom door had already been opened, and they made their way to it. Well, Sokka, Katara and himself that were. Toph just scoffed and fell down in one of the chairs, playing with Momo.
Sokka just splashed some water in his face, pulled out his wolf tail and rinsed his hair. After doing that, he quickly joined the blind girl.
So… Katara and he were alone.
Not yet!
He heard her exhale, and saw how she relaxed, looking in the mirror.
"Now, everything will be alright… Really alright! We don't have to do this alone anymore." Katara muttered, and Aang couldn't help but take her hand and squeeze it gently.
"Fighting this war is not our responsibility anymore. Or at least, planning it will not be our doing. We just have to fight on the day of the solar eclipse. And then… it will be over." He answered her softly. If this was really happening… Then… Just maybe… they could start talking about… them?
Them. Only thinking about the word, them made him lightheaded.
He released her hand and began to shave his head. The last few days had been so packed with things to do, battles to fight, that a very short stubble had grown on his scalp. Oh, how he hated hair. From the corner of his eye, he saw how Katara had pulled her hair loose, and was washing it in one of the basins standing on a table.
When they were all clean, or at least presentable, a servant asked them to join King Kuei at his dinner table. Following the servant, they entered a room with a low table, and cushion around it. Aang suspected it was the private dining room of the Earth king, because most of the walls were much simpler than the heavily ornated ones in the corridors or the throne room.
"Ah! Avatar… Eng?" The Earth King said hesitantly. Toph, behind him snickered. The airbender heard Katara scold the earthbender quietly.
"Aang, your Majesty. And please, don't call me Avatar Aang. Just my name is sufficient." He bowed politely, and then moved to one of the cushions to sit down.
"Excuse me, I didn't know how to pronounce it. I'm sure the Air Nomads have the same problems with our names." The man smiled kindly, not knowing what pain those words brought him.
"About that… We haven't told you everything that happened…" Aang began cautiously.
"There is more?" Kuei asked, aghast.
"Yes… The war began a hundred years ago… When the Fire Nation wiped out the Air Nomads. I'm the only Airbender…" He explained, seeing the eyes of the king going wide, and the pale face lost the little colour it had.
"You… You mean…"
Sokka interrupted the rambling, to drive the final nail in the coffin.
"And when they were done with them, thinking they killed the Avatar, the Fire Nation moved on to the Water Tribes, in the hope of killing the next avatar in their crib. The Southern Water Tribe is just a pale shadow of what it once was. My sister is the only waterbender of the South Pole."
"When they learned that Aang was alive, they began to chase us. Catching up at the North Pole, there was a battle. Many Northerners died. And they have taken Omashu." Katara spoke. After her words, the room felt heavy and silent.
"There… There has been much loss… And I'm responsible for a part of it. I'm sorry." The king spoke softly, looking at his plate.
"Yeah, yeah, we are all very sorry about what happened, but no one can chance that. If you want to help, do it now." Toph interrupted, cutting to the chase.
"Ah, Lady Bei Fong. You are quite right… But it is still normal to ask forgiveness for our own mistakes."
"Lady Bei Fong is my mother. I'm just Toph." The blind girl muttered.
"Alright. What is it that we need to do?" The king turned to Sokka, apparently having listened to what he had said earlier about the water tribe boy being the intelligent one.
"There is a comet coming at the last day of summer. They used it to wipe out the Air Nomads, and now, they probably use it to win the war. But before, there is a small window of opportunity: A month before the comet, a solar eclipse will happen. And that is the day we need to invade the Fire Nation. The firebenders will be completely helpless, and Aang will not have to learn firebending before."
The king looked thoughtful at his plate.
"That would require leaving other cities vulnerable…"
"You already are! You have seen with your own eyes how they tried to enter the city. Prince Iroh has already managed once to break through the Outer Wall, and they keep trying. Ba Sig Se is the price. And they won't stop until they have it." Sokka argued, and Aang could only admire the way the water tribe boy made his case.
"If you want to make a better place for your people, those citizens who are now starving in the Lower Ring… You have to do it. You can sit and wait for the Fire Nation to conquer the city. Or you could give yourself a fighting chance, and take the offensive, something no Earth King has done in a hundred years."
Silence fell, as the king seemed in turmoil within.
"Very well. You have my support!"
Aang exhaled, relieved. They had the Earth Kingdom's resources and help now… that… was huge. It was a game changer!
"I suspected this was going to happen, so I already have taken the liberty of inviting the leader of the Council of Five, the highest-ranking general, here to discuss it." Kuei waved a hand to the servant at the door, and a huge looking man, around forty, entered the room. Kneeling down ion front of the king, the monarch introduced him as General How.
"Your Majesty, I've taken the liberty of searching Long Feng's office just now. Maybe… You need to see this. All of you." As he said it, several soldiers entered, each carrying a chest.
"What is this?" The king stood up.
"Everything the minister had collected about these people. Each chest has copies of letters, transcripts of conversations… He knew everything about you, Avatar Aang. I have not read any of the papers, for they don't concern me. But I think you will prefer to judge for yourself what is important."
Aang nearly blushed at those words. So, his conversation with Katara after the party had been spied on. Quickly glancing to the waterbender, he saw how she also tried to hide red cheeks.
Opening a chest, he saw a pile of papers. Grabbing the first, he read.
TB : he spends the nights in your bedroom.
WT : Not your business.
TB : That will be fun for me to threaten Twinkletoes with during training. Aang! Carry that rock or I will tell Sokka that you are doing his sister!
Shit. They had overheard Toph and Katara talk… about that? His heart rate picked up, and he quickly put the sheet of paper under the rest.
"Something embarrassing, Twinkletoes?" Toph asked innocently, slurping on some noodle.
"We considered all these papers of little importance, now that Long Feng has been arrested. However, there are some reports that are of significance. The first is a letter of the Lady Bei Fong, addressed to her daughter." The general spoke, and handed the blind girl a scroll.
Scoffing, Toph just passed it along to Katara, who unfurled it.
"Your mother is in the city! And wants to see you!" He saw the waterbender smile fondly to the blind girl.
"He intercepted letters from home. That's just sad." Toph spoke, shaking her head. But Aang saw the smile on her face. Yeah. She really was a softy.
"Avatar Aang, this scroll was attached to your bison's horn when Long Feng captured him three days ago."
Wait, three days? So, during the party, when the minister had threatened them with Appa's safety… He had not had him?
He took the scroll and read.
"Dear Avatar Aang,
You may not know me, but I'm a spiritual brother of Gyatso, a friend to us both. Before his death, he had asked me that if something happened to him, to contact you and teach you about the Avatar Spirit and its role. Your bison came to the Eastern Air Temple, and I await you there.
Guru Pathik."
"Is there something for me and Sokka, by chance?" Katara asked timidly. Aang knew why she asked. Toph had news from home, and even he had something from someone who seemingly cared about his people. But the water tribe sibling had not heard about their dad in nearly six years… Katara had only been eleven when she had to say goodbye to her father… And even if they didn't talk much about it, Aang knew how it was to miss someone you cared about.
"I'm afraid not." The king spoke softly, looking inside the chest.
"You are the children of the Southern Chief?" The general asked suddenly.
'Yeah!" Sokka and Katara spoke together.
"In that case, there is an intelligence report." The man handed them a scroll from his own satchel.
Katara read it, and the airbender saw the tears in her eyes.
"A small water tribe fleet has moved to Chameleon Bay, to protect the mouth of the river. Commanded by Chief Hakoda of the South Pole!" She spoke softly, looking at her brother.
"Dad…"
Support of the Earth King… A guru to help him master the Avatar State… Toph maybe reconciling with her mother… Sokka and Katara seeing their father again… Spirits, could it get any better?
As he looked at the wtaerbender, he saw her eyes move from her brother to him. As they held each other gaze, Aang's heart nearly exploded.
Yes, it could get better.
Answers :
Guest : Oh… They'll have their talk… only not like you would think.
CoyoteLemon : Let's see what I do with the next Kataang chapter (maybe you can already guess?)