So to start, as far as dialogue and plot goes, this is Basically City of Walls and Secrets. At least the party part, minus Zuko vs Jet because, well that storyline has obviously changed.
I'm also drafting a new story to take the place of my older, unfinished ones. After going back and reading them again, I'm not happy with how they progressed. So as of right now. I will only have 2 fics going and then a third in the pipeline. Drafting the new fic is one of the reasons for the delay. Another reason is technical: I had to send my laptop in for warranty and my backup was a bit outdated.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
City of Walls and Secrets
The couple walked slowly back to the house in silence. It was a beautiful evening, but after earlier, it was hard to enjoy. Their conversation had worried the waterbender immensely. She had never seen him so disturbed…and it was because of her. She dreaded that she was once again the reason for his pain. Granted, this was different and yet the same.
Her thoughts preoccupied her until she nearly tripped on the stairs to house. Aang waited at the top of the stairs and held the door open. Despite everything, he was still a gentleman. They entered the home. Toph was lounging on some pillows while Sokka was lying with his leges against the wall, his feet in the air.
"The king is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear tonight." The waterbender broke the silence.
Sokka scratched his chin, "You mean, platypus bear?"
Katara re-read the flier just to be sure, "No, it just says 'bear'."
Sokka was still confused, "Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear."
"Or his armadillo bear." Toph chimed in.
"Gopher bear?" Questioned Aang.
"Just...bear."
"This place ... is weird." Toph spoke. She was right, this place was weird. The rules, the police, Joo Dee…everything.
The waterbender began to get excited though. She needed a distraction, and a high society party was the perfect one, "The palace will be packed. We can sneak in with the crowd!"
"Like I said before, not all of you have manners." Toph picked her nose and flicked a booger off to the side.
Katara cringed at her friends' disregard for hygiene, "Well you're no madam fancy pants, and I think at least Aang and I have good manners."
The warrior interrupted, "No-no-no. You are not going to use this party as an excuse to go on another date with Aang. This is serious." Sokka quickly, rolled off the wall and stood up.
"Sokka! Just…shut up!" She had no reply. That really wasn't what she meant. Her sole intention was to defend her and the airbender's dignity.
Aang broke his silence after a long blush, "I still think we have good enough manners to sneak in."
"Operative word is 'think' airhead." The earthbender waggled her finger in the direction of said airhead. "Like I said before, Katara and I will sneak in as guests while you two wait for us to let you in."
"What about this." Aang grabbed a nearby blanket to use as a cloak, "Good evening, Mr. Sokka Water Tribe, Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty. Your Momo-ness. And of course, the lady Katara!" Katara blushed at his choice to single her out.
Sokka jumped in wrapping his own blanket over his head, "Avatar Aang, how do you do? Go on."
Aang bowed to his warrior friend. Not to be outdone, said warrior bowed even lower. It was now a competition. The two of them continued to one-up each other until inevitably they smashed their foreheads into each other, nearly knocking them out. Both of them fell to the floor like a pile of rocks.
"I think that arrow makes your head harder." The warrior grumbled, rubbing his now bruised forehead.
"Katara, come with me. Let's leave these peasants to their idiocy." The waterbender followed Toph, but gave a sympathetic, cutesy wave goodbye to the airbender. When they were out of earshot, the earthbender spoke again. "Bleh, you two make me sick."
"What?"
"All this mushy crap." She stuck her tongue out, "And…you two seem…off. Him especially. Something happened. Tell me." This time the blind girl gave off a sense of genuine concern.
"That's private. But, if you must know, we have talked, and I think w-he'll be fine." Her little slip up didn't get passed the earthbender. She did not mean to make it seem as if she had an issue as well. Crap.
To Katara's surprise, Toph didn't raise a stink over her poor phrasing. To her surprise, she simply raised an eyebrow and let it slide for now, "Whatever it is. Just make sure you two stay focused on the here and now."
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Aang's eyes followed Katara as the two girls left the room, listening to their voices fade into the distance. He hadn't realized it but he had a somber expression on his face.
"Is everything okay, buddy?"
"Hmmm…yeah" He shook it off."
Sokka didn't entirely believe his friend. But, he also knew trying to dig deeper was often a lost cause. The only person who could get through the young airbender had been his sister and from what he could tell, she didn't have a ton of luck either. But he could still help in his own way.
"Good! I don't like moody Aang. He gets all glowy." The young warrior joked, earning a chuckle from his friend. It had worked at least a little. At the very least it got him to lighten up for the moment.
The two young men laughed with each other, cracking small jabs and jokes at one another. After a few minutes, Sokka suggested to play a game to pass the time. It was one Aang knew from a hundred years ago. You would use your hand to represent one of the four elements. You would keep your hands in a closed fist and count to three. Upon reaching three, you would reveal your element. As they continued to play Sokka continued to lose and grumbled in frustration, while Aang punched the air triumphantly while Momo chittered in cheer next to him.
Aang and Sokka decided that the loser be flicked in the head. Sokka's forehead was quite red at this point. The Avatar's cheek was sore after grinning wildly through multiple rounds. Sokka knew how to lighten the mood, that was for sure.
Katara and Toph then entered the room, wearing makeup, exquisite Earth Kingdom dresses, and holding fans to cover their faces. Toph and Katara stared at the boys before giving in to a fit of giggles at their dumbfound faces.
Aang blushed wildly as he stared dreamily at the sight of Katara. She was always beautiful in his eyes whether it be with or without makeup, simple clothes, or this dress. Green looked really good on her even it didn't match her ocean blue eyes. He was staring deeply into them while Katara returned the look. Something felt different.
"Wow…you look gorgeous." Katara blushed wildly at his compliment, especially given their intimate gaze. She cringed slightly as Sokka interrupted their moment with smack over the airbender's head. Something burned in his dark gray eyes as she peered into them. She opened her mouth to respond to the compliment but was stopped by Toph placing her fan in front of her mouth.
"Don't talk to the commoners, Katara. First rule of society." The earthbender stopped the mushiness before it could go any further.
Katara waved the fans out of her face, pushing Toph towards the front door. "We'll get in the party, and then find a way to let you in through the side gate."
The two young women walked in silence until they were a good distance from the house. Toph began to laugh out of the blue, "Well…whatever was bother you two earlier got thrown out the window when Aang saw you in that dress."
Katara smiled proudly, "You noticed that?"
"Sugar queen, from now on just assume I notice everything." The earthbender punched her friends' arm.
Katara blushed. "Oh…"
Toph smiled mischievously, "Don't worry. I won't tease…yet. That'll come after the party."
"Thanks. I guess."
Before long, they arrived at the line for the party. It was dark now, but Katara observed through the dimly lit courtyard that there many upper-class people in what she assumed was very expensive clothing. They slowly moved towards to the front of the line. As they got closer, the waterbender became more anxious, worried that they would be recognized or rejected entry.
Her worries were suddenly interrupted by a guard. They were at the front, "Invitation please."
"I think this will do." The earthbender presented the golden seal of the Beifong family.
The guard gazed sternly at the girls in front of him and shook his head, "No entry without an invitation. Step out of line, please."
Toph placed her hands on her hips, "Look, the Pangs and the Yum Soon Hans are waiting in there for us! I'm going to have to tell them who didn't let me in."
"Step out of line please." The guard points to the side. The two young woment follow his instructions, begrudgingly.
Katara then noticed a carriage, from which a darkly dressed official stepped out. He had a long, black robe, with ornate green accents. Two Dai Li agents bowed to him. Perfect. The person looked official enough, and with agents bowing to him, he was their ticket in.
The waterbender pulled her friend towards the man. She bowed, "Sir, I'm sorry to bother you, but my cousin lost our invitations." Katara leaned towards him and whispered, "She's blind. Do you think you could help us? Our family's inside and I'm sure they're very worried."
The man analyzed the two young women in front of them carefully before responding, "I am honored, please come with me." His voice was deep and almost devoid of emotions. He bowed before gesturing for them to follow.
The man walked toward the guard at the entrance with the girls shortly behind. The guard bowed to him and allowed them past. As they walked by, Toph and Katara had the same idea to stick their tongues out at the guard. Luckily his back was turned.
They entered the main ballroom of the palace. It was grand, with high ceilings ornate paintings and artifacts that had to be hundreds of years old. The crowd was quite large as well, with voices echoing around the room. "It's beautiful, isn't it? By the way, I'm Long Feng. I'm a cultural minister to the king."
"I'm Kwa Mai, and this is ... Dum." Katara smiled until her hair was yanked quite hard. "Ow!"
"Now where is your family? I'd love to meet them." Long Feng looked around the room slowly, scanning like a bird.
Katara began to 'fake' scan around the room, "Uh ... I don't see them right now, but I'm sure we'll find them soon. Thanks for all your help." As they walked away, Long Feng appeared in front of them.
"Don't worry, as your escort it would be dishonorable to abandon you ladies without finding your family first. We'll keep looking."
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Aang and Sokka were now outside the palace with Momo as well, hiding behind a pedestal a lion statue. The two of them peaked around the statue and observed dozens of servants moving supplies and food around.
Aang was worried, they weren't here yet, "Where are they?"
Aang and Sokka ducked back behind the pedestal. "Look, I came up with a back-up plan. We dress Momo like a ghost, okay? He flies by the guards, creating a distraction. Then, we blast a hole in the wall." The warrior turned and smiled at his friend. He was extremely satisfied with his hair-brained idea.
The Avatar just ignored the suggestion. He loved Sokka, but sometimes he was just…odd. He looked back to the group of servants, "Or we could go in as these guys. Toph said we might pass as busboys!"
"Okay...But remember that Momo ghost plan. I think it's a winner." Sokka smiled, but his friend frowned at the suggestion.
The two ducked back behind the statue and moved slowly through the shadows towards a serving cart. Luckily there were spare uniforms with long sleaved robes and hats. Luckily this would allow Aang to hide his arrows. As they dressed, Aang tucked Momo under his hat. The two grabbed some serving trays and a pitcher of water and moved inside the grand banquet hall. They were amazed at the scale of it all but couldn't admire it for too long.
The two friends stood back-to-back, trying to cover the entire room. The airbender continued to scan the vast room and crowd and saw nothing, "Where are Toph and Katara?"
"Forget about them! Just keep an eye out for the king." The warrior tried to keep the airbender focused, but now Momo's tail was wagging in his face and breaking his own attention.
All Aang's fears came to the forefront, "Don't. Say that."
"Hey man, relax. Do you see the Earth King?"
"I don't know what he looks like."
"You know, royal, flowing robe, fancy jewelry." He grabbed Momo's tail, as it continued to wag in his face. He firmly stuffed it under Aang's hat.
"That could be anyone!"
"Another crab puff please." Sokka bowed his head to the upper-class girl who had just approached them. He bowed and extended the platter.
Aang turned to see Toph holding out her hand, "You found us!"
"I'd know your little footsteps anywhere, Twinkle Toes."
Katara approached behind Toph, causing Aang to blush wildly. His wide eyes stared deeply into hers.
"Yeah. Thanks for letting us in." Sokka replied sarcastically as he glared at his sister.
"Sorry, but the guy who escorted us in won't let us out of his sight!"
The young warrior looked around the room. He didn't see anyone,"What guy?" He then noticed Joo Dee rushing in from out of nowhere. His shoulders sagged.
"What are you doing here? You have to leave immediately, or we will be in terrible trouble!"
Sokka shook his head vehemently, "Not until we see the king."
"You don't understand. You must go." The creepy woman shoved Sokka and he ended up bumping into Aang, causing him to spill the water inside the pitcher he was carrying on a guest in a comedy of errors.
"Aarrrh! Oh!" An upper-class woman turned and gazed in shock at the young airbender. She was drenched from head to toe.
"Sorry. Don't shout!" Aang used his hands and foot to airbend the guest dry. The resulting blast did the trick, but simultaneously blew his hat off, along with Momo. She was dried off but her makeup and hair was left a complete mess.
Her shock quickly turned to amazement, "The Avatar! I didn't know the Avatar would be here."
All the guests' attention was now focused on Aang as Joo Dee's constant, fake smile finally fell with a look of dread. Aang looked around at the guests as Momo hid back under the hat on the floor and slinks away as if he was a turtle duck. The Avatar blushed at all the attention he was now receiving, and uncomfortable amount coming from girls his age. He waved at the crowd and let out a nervous laugh.
Sokka leaned in, "You keep their attention while I look for the king."
The airbender bore a large grin, "Watch this everybody!"
He jumped out of his busboy clothes and landed on the long dining table as Sokka hurried off into the crowd. The avatar began to swing his arms over the guests' drinks, waterbending the liquid out of the cups. He then jumped onto a pitcher began to balance on top of it as if it were a circus act, bending the liquid around him an a beautiful symphony of colors, Aang slowly moved the liquid above his head into a swirling multicolored ball. The crowd around him began to cheer for the great display, including the bear. Despite everything he's been through in these last few months…this situation…Aang couldn't help but enjoy himself in this moment. It was an utterly ridiculous situation, and it was…funny.
"Aang! The Earth King!" Sokka's voice rang out across the room.
His voice broke the airbender from his entertaining the bear with bubbles he had waterbent. The boy looked up to see a palanquin and litter approaching the table. Aang spun up an air scooter and whisked down the long table. "Greetings, Your Majesty"
The guests who were still seated at the table began pulling their food and drinks off it before the Avatar ran over them. As Aang approaches the end of the table a procession of guards move in front of the Earth King and the palanquin is then carried off while another line of guards walk up to the long dining table. As he reached the end of the table, Aang dismounted his air scooter and a tall man with a dark mustache stood in front of him.
"Avatar, it is a great honor to meet you." The man bowed. "I am Long Feng, Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se and head of the Dai Li. I'd like to talk to you. Your friends will be waiting for us in the library."
Long Feng gestured for Aang to follow him, as he entered the large library. Aang hesitated for a moment before hopping off the table and following. As he entered the first thing that overtook him was the darkness, lit by a pale green flame with Long Feng sitting in front of it. His friends stood in front of the man unharmed. The boy walked up and stood next to Katara.
"Why won't you let us talk to the king? We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation!" Sokka was yelling now. He had finally lost his patience, especially given how he'd gotten in this room in the first place.
"The Earth King has no time to get involved with political squabbles and the day to day minutia of military activities." Long Feng replied simply.
"This could be the most important thing he's ever heard." Aang pleaded.
The man sat calmly in front of him, his voice low and reverberating, "What's most important to his royal majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. All his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters. It's my job to oversee the rest of the city's resources, including the military."
The waterbender made a sudden realization. The reason why they couldn't see the king, he didn't matter, "So the king is just a figurehead."
"He's your puppet!" The earthbender accused the slimy man in front of her.
"Oh, no, no. His Majesty is an icon, a god to his people. He can't sully his hands with the hourly change of an endless war."
"But we found out about a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation defenseless. You could lead an invasion-"
"Enough!" Long Feng stood angrily, "I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan. It is the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the War not be mentioned within the walls. Constant news of an escalating war will throw the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a state of panic." He paused as he stood menacingly in front of them, "Our economy would be ruined, our peaceful way of life, our traditions, would disappear. In silencing talk of conflict, Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful, orderly utopia: the last one on Earth."
"You can't keep the truth from all these people. They have to know." The waterbender couldn'e believe what she was hearing. She knew politics could be complicated, but she was from a small village and what she saw at the North Pole, while misogynistic, wasn't corrupt.
It was time for the Avatar to take a stand, "I'll tell them! I'll make sure everyone knows"
Long Feng turned to stare at the fire, "Until now, you've been treated as our honored guest. But from now on, you will be watched every moment by Dai Li agents. If you mention the War to anyone, you will be expelled from the city." He looked over his shoulder to stare the Avatar in the eyes, "I understand you've been traveling with banished princes of the Fire Nation. It would be quite a shame if an accident had befallen them." Long Feng sad back down as a woman entered the room, "Now, Joo Dee will show you to your home."
A servant entered, dressed exactly like Joo Dee, but wasn't the same person from earlier, "Come with me, please."
Katara took a step back in horror, "What happened to Joo Dee?"
"I'm Joo Dee. I'll be your host as long as you're in our wonderful city"
Thanks for reading. Sorry if this seems a little clunky, I had to continue from an old backup of this file and I really wanted to get this to you. Also, writing a chapter that is even just loosely based on an existing episode plot and dialogue is harder than writing one from scratch, at least for me. The next one will be much more original.