Appa swooped low over the rooftops of Ba Sing Se, and as she looked over the side, Katara could see people pointing and shouting up at them.
She had missed this.
While the Sky-Bison was Aang's companion for life, he was also her friend, and she was as glad to have him back as anyone else. Apart from anything else, they didn't have to walk everywhere.
Well, Toph didn't seem too pleased, but that was probably just because she couldn't see up in the air. Sokka and Suki, meanwhile, sat quietly holding hands.
Katara gingerly shuffled forward on Appa's back, taking extra care because the Sky-bison's saddle was gone. She tapped Aang on the shoulder.
"It's nice having Appa back, isn't it?"
Aang nodded enthusiastically, already much more cheerful than he had been. As they approached the palace, where the Earth King resided, Katara noticed that there was nobody around; no officials or bureaucrats scurrying in or out of the halls of power, nobody at all except two guards on the front door. This was suspicious. Something was not right.
Just then, a shadow fell over them, and Katara looked up to find the sun gone. In its place, an enormous slab of rock was descending rapidly on them.
"AANG! LOOK OUT!" She screamed, but Aang was already on it; he put Appa into a dive and swung to the left, allowing the rock projectile to miss them and crash harmlessly into the empty courtyard.
A glance told them where it had come from: A team of four earthbenders, previously hidden, had stepped out of cover and were even at that moment pulling a second boulder out of the ground; Katara's stomach twisted as she recognised Long Feng directing them. He must have guessed our intentions.
The second rock spiralled towards them, and this time Aang grabbed his staff. He jumped off Appa's head and slammed into it, smashing it into a hundred tiny pieces that Appa flew through harmlessly. Below them, the courtyard began to swarm with figures in green; clearly the Earth King's Palace Guard had heard the commotion and were going to lay on quite the welcoming reception for them.
As Appa descended, Aang and Toph jumped off, with the master earthbender creating a ripple of earth as she landed that knocked many of her enemies over. She then teamed up with Aang to return the third rock projectile that Long Feng's team had sent at them to sender, causing them to scatter in panic and taking out a cabbage cart that had been parked nearby. Katara took some satisfaction in watching Long Feng scurry away, but she knew he would be back before long.
Appa had now landed, and Sokka and Suki dismounted. However, they could do little more than follow and admire the many and varied feats of bending prowess from their friends for the moment.
As Aang and Toph began clearing a path towards the Royal Palace, using the paving stones to shield themselves from the Palace Guards' attacks, Katara spotted a nearby river flowing through the courtyard and took full advantage of it. With a motion of her arms, a massive column of water erupted from the river and began collecting earthbenders, depositing each one in the river as the water around them froze them in place. She then froze it and used it to slide around behind another group, instantly liquefying it again and sending it crashing into them. This group too ended up in the river.
By this point, Aang and Toph had reached the foot of the steps of the Palace, but they were greeted with yet more Earthbenders; confirmation that there were indeed hostile intruders incoming must have caused their commander to send in the entire Palace Guard.
Toph cracked her knuckles, stepped forward, raised her arms, and concentrated.
In an instant, the steps became an enormous slide, causing the guard to lose their footing and plummet downwards with no control. At the same time, the ground that their group stood on was wrenched upwards, up what had once been the steps. Soon, with stricken earthbenders falling all around them, they had reached the top. The group sprinted inside, checking every door for the Earth King; Instead, Katara found several attendants, some musicians, and a woman who might have been his wife. Finally, they made it to the throne room, and after Sokka tried and failed to kick it down they burst through. Finally, they were confronted by the Earth King himself.
The man sat on the throne before them was dressed in green and yellow robes, with a tall hat and a stern expression. He was relatively young, and beside him sat that bear that they had encountered at the party at which they had first met Long Feng. He was not trying to run away; he just watched them enter with narrowed eyes.
"And what," he asked, " is the meaning of this?"
Aang began to speak, but was interrupted by an out-of-breath shout of "YOUR MAJESTY!" from across the room; Long Feng hurried across to stand in front of his "master".
"Your Majesty, get away from these intruders! They could be assassins, sent to kill you!" He said, trying to prejudice the Earth King against them before they had even said a word.
To be fair, they had done much of that for him with their entrance.
"We aren't Assassins!", Aang replied indignantly.
The Earth King spoke again.
"If you are not Assassins, you will prove it by dropping your weapons."
Katara reluctantly dropped her pouch of water on the floor, and watched as Aang's staff, Sokka's club and boomerang and Suki's sword and war-fan followed it. Immediately, agents of the Dai Li filtered in behind them and encased their wrists in rock-cuffs. With the "threat" neutralised, the Earth King began his questioning.
"If you aren't assassins, then who are you?"
"Well, I'm the Avatar", Aang replied, "and these are my companions."
"The Avatar, you say?" the Earth King repeated, his interest clearly piqued. "Would it be too much to ask for a demonstration?"
"No." Aang casually earthbended his cuffs off, grabbed two pieces of metal, causing the Dai Li to flinch in anticipation of an attack, and declared "Now check THIS out!".
The display of precise airbending caught the King's attention and he even began to get up off his throne for a closer look, having never seen an Airbender before, but he was stopped by Long Feng.
"Your Majesty, you can't allow this... conjuring trick to fool you. This is an impostor."
For his next trick, Aang dropped the metal pieces and instead began manipulating the water inside Katara's pouch. He brought it out of the pouch and sent it circling around the room a couple of times. He then placed the water back and put the cuffs back on.
"...So he is the Avatar, but that doesn't make him any less of an intruder! He has left a trail of destruction through your entire Palace Guard!" blustered Long Feng, this display of the bending of three elements having left no doubt as to Aang's identity.
The King paid him no heed and leaned forward in his chair.
"So, Avatar. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
So Aang told him. He told the King of the war, of the reason why he had never seen an Airbender, of the terrible suffering caused by the Fire Army in the countryside, and that Sokka had a plan to stop them. Katara noted approvingly that he didn't tell them the details yet, knowing that Long Feng wasn't trustworthy.
As Aang went on, both the Earth King and Long Feng began to tremble; Long Feng with barely contained rage, as well as fear of his deceit finally being uncovered, and the Earth King with shock.
"No," he finally said. "No, that's not possible. That can't be possible. I am the Earth King, I think I would know if my country was at war!"
Long Feng saw his chance.
"Exactly, Your Majesty. This is a fabrication. I do not know why the Avatar sees fit to play these games with you, but play them he does".
Long Feng is winning, Katara thought sadly, as the King carried on rejecting the idea of a war. However, just then Sokka spoke up for the first time.
"We can prove it! When we first got here we foiled an attempt by the Fire Nation to drill through the outer wall of the city! The drill is still there and we can show it to you, if you come with us."
Long Feng's look of triumph suddenly became alarm. "No, they can't be trusted! Do not go with them."
"No Earth King has ever been to the outer walls of Ba Sing Se," His Majesty said. "Why should I start now?"
At this, Sokka straightened, looked him straight in the eye and brought out his trump card.
"Because we'll give you a ride there on our Sky Bison."
Ten minutes later Appa once again swooped over the city, this time headed away from the palace. The Earth King whooped, partly in excitement and partly in terror, as he looked over the side and saw the city pass by underneath him.
"I've never flown before!" He shouted. "It's thrilling! It must be marvellous to be an Airbender, with all that freedom you enjoy."
Katara winced, expecting Aang to take the insensitive comment poorly, but Aang only smiled and nodded.
Soon enough, they had passed the Inner Wall, and a few minutes later the Outer Wall. Katara breathed a sigh of relief; the drill was still there. It had been fenced off, and there were workmen moving about on top of it, but it had been too big to remove entirely in the time since the attack. The Earth King saw it too, but his reaction was more like he had found out all his worst fears had been confirmed. Appa set them down atop the wall overlooking the drill and the Earth King sat down with his head in his hands.
"I... can't believe I never knew. Why did nobody tell me about this? How can I call myself Earth King, a proper ruler, if I didn't even know about the biggest challenge facing my country?"
He looked up.
"Long Feng has been lying to you for a very long time", Katara said, "but now you know the truth. It is what you do now that matters."
The Earth King's face took on a determined expression. "Take me back to the Palace. I have some arrangements to make".
Once they were back, the Earth King called a meeting with Long Feng, and arrested him. He then gathered the Council of Five, the military leadership of the Earth Kingdom, and made sure he could count on their loyalty. Only then did Sokka tell the specifics of his invasion plan, and the Earth King ordered the Council to begin preparations for it immediately.
"There's just one more thing, Your Majesty", said Suki.
"Please, call me Kuei".
"When me and my warriors were out in the countryside, we were attacked by Princess Azula of the Fire Nation and two companions. We won that fight and so Azula is in our custody. We were hoping to transfer her to you."
Kuei sighed. "A Princess of the Fire Nation? If it gets out that we have her, who knows what trouble that could cause? Still, it's better she's somewhere secure." He smiled again. "Thank you once again for all you have done for me. If there is anything else I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."
With that Team Avatar, their mission accomplished, went home for the day.
The Palace Guard soon came to take the Fire Nation prisoners away, and as they were marched away Azula turned to look at Aang and Suki in particular, fixing them with a murderous glare that promised untold suffering in their futures. For the rest of the journey though, they kept their heads down, not giving anyone the satisfaction of seeing their faces.
If they had looked around, they may have noticed a boy with a burn scar running down the side of his face, who regarded them with silent recognition. Then, Zuko turned and vanished inside the tea shop.