I Do Not Own Avatar or Miraculous.
Chapter Forty-One: The Earth King.
The six flew outside the palace walls on Appa. He was preparing to land Meanwhile, they contemplated what they were about to do.
"Team Avatar, you ready?" Sokka asked over the wind.
"Question? Is that our official name? I think Gaang would be cooler." Adrien yelled.
"Yes, Kitty. That's our official name. Don't change it." Marinette yelled with an eye roll.
"Oh, okay. Then I'm ready to go." He said with a shrug.
"Can we please get a new saddle? Riding bareback is terrifying."
"Well I love it! Reminds me of the view from the eiffel tower in Paris… but higher and with more wind." Adrien yelled back.
"Remind me again why Rin thought we'd get each other?" Toph asked.
"Same problem with rich parents. Gotta love them." Adrien replied.
"We have to be careful!" Katara yelled, "Long Feng probably warned the King that we're coming."
"Why would you assume that? If you ask me, I think we will just sail right in AHH!" As Sokka said that, a giant boulder flew at them. Appa dodged it and Adrien let out a whoop.
"I love this thing! Why can't there be flying bisons in Paris?"
"What was that?" Toph yelled.
"Surface to air rocks! And there is more incoming! Sokka replied.
"Can I get off here and deal with that?" Adrien asked as Appa dodged the rocks.
"If you want." Sokka replied, but we're kinda high up and…" Adrien didn't have to be told twice he unhooked his staff and jumped of Appa.
"Hey!" Marinette yelled, unhooking her yo-yo, "Wait up." She jumped after him.
Aang chuckled lowly at the two. It was weird thinking about Rin as Marinette now, even if they were the same person. It had only been a few hours since the Team learn her real name and they all got reunited and it was already weird. Cat Noir was different than everyone expected. He was a really nice guy, but as Marinette had warned, he loved to flirt with her when in costume. His puns were worse than Sokka's and Aang knew instantly Adrien was the kind of person who could be upset about something but attempt to shrug it off as nothing, like he instantly started to do with his father after his confession that he was Hawkmoth's son. On the flipside, he was courageous and borderline reckless, showing off at every opportunity and seizing the spotlight, while at the same time he seemed a bit shy and careful not to draw more attention than he desired. He was smart and able to actually read their language, and, aside from the tuants and puns, he spoke like an intellectual gentleman. He seemed very kind and caring, immediately questioning everyone on the team about Marinette's health and if she'd been doing okay and becoming very protective of her and the people she'd introduced him to, even though they'd just met.
All at the same time, Aang had never seen Marinette so happy in the few months they'd know each other. She was stumbling on her words a few times around her partner for whatever bizarre reason, but now as they approached the heat of a certain fight, she raced in with Adrien with a big smile on her face. All traces of the homesickness and uncertainty she'd complained about was gone. The two easily took out the earth benders firing at Appa, moving without a word as if a dance they'd done since they were kids. Synchronized like clockwork.
With the rocks flying at them out of the way, they landed, meeting up with the Miraculous wielding duo. As soon as the rest of Team Avatar touched the ground the were ready, Sokka's club was out, Katara was already bending water, Aang's staff as in his hands, and Toph was in her horse stance. They all charged up the palace steps together, taking out soldier's left and right, careful not to hurt them too badly since they were on their side… sorta. The palace guards stood no chance. Sokka scouted ahead, searching for the doors to the throne room. The rest covered him as he searched for a set of 'big fancy doors' as Sokka put it. Finally, Sokka seemed to have located the correct door, but was struggling to open it. Aang decided to give his friend a hand and air bended the door open, unfortunately, knocking Sooka over.
"A little warning next time!" Sokka complained. Instantly, the King perked up on his throne and glared at the intruders. Several Dai Li agents filed into the room, followed by Long Feng.
"We need to talk to you!" Aang yelled.
"They're here to overthrow you." Long Feng lied.
"No!" Adrien said beside him, "Were on your side. We are here to help."
"Please," Katara begged, "You have to trust us." The King rose to his feet, rage in his eyes.
"You invade my palace! Lay waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door, and you expect me to trust you?" The Earth King demained.
"He has point." Toph said.
"If you're on my side, the drop your weapons and stand down." The Team looked at each other before obeying one by one. Adrien even went so far as to put his hands, or was it claws?, in the air in surrender, earning him a glare from Marinette.
"See, we are friends, your Earthiness." Aang attempted. The King looked unimpressed and motioned for the Dai Li to bind the six youth. Long Feng, from behind the King, smiled. The smug expression was one of victory as he eyed Adrien and Marinette greedly.
"Detain the assailants." Long Feng ordered.
"But we dropped our weapons. We are your allies." Sokka said with confusion.
"Make sure the Avatar and his friends never see daylight again." Adrien looked a little panicked at this, but made no motion to resist.
"The Avatar?" The Earth King asked in surprise. Aang smiled. Long Feng had made a fatal mistake in mentioning who Aang was.
"You're the Avatar?" He asked Sokka. Uh… Earth King? There was only one bald airbending monk in the room. How did he get that confused.
"Uh, no. Him." Sokka deadpanned, nodding over at Aang. He easily bended his bonds off and waved.
"Over here!"
"Why does it matter Your Highness? They're enemies of the state." Long Feng quickly argued.
"...Perhaps you're right…" The King trailed, looking over at his bear who was walking up to Aang happily and promptly licking him. Aang giggled. The bear was so funny, "Though Bosco seems to like him. I'll hear what he has to say." Long Feng frowned.
"Well, sir, there is a war going on right now. For the past one hundred years in fact. The Dai Li's kept it secret from you. It's a conspiracy to control the city and to control you." Aang explained, shooing away Bosco politely.
"A secret war? That's crazy!"
"Completely!" Long Feng agreed immediately. Out of the corner of Aang's eye, he saw Adrien's scowl deepen. Aang wasn't sure what Cat had been through while he was missing, but he seemed to hate Long Feng the most.
"Long Feng didn't want to tell you, so he stole their flying bison and told my partner he had capture me to keep them quiet before proceeding to withhold information about the war for me too. I get the confusion, your majesty. When I found out, I was horrified." The King noticed Adrien and stared at him in awe.
"Why! You are dressed as a cat and have golden hair! Even your eyes look like a cat's! Amazing!"
"Yeah, that happens when you make friends with the spirit of destruction and bad luck. My partner Ladybug over here is creation and good luck… but the golden hair is all natural. I was born with it. Got it from my mom."
"Ignore him, that's just Chaton the Cat Noir, a vigilante who's been giving the Dai Li trouble, he is bias. All these children say are lies. Besides, I haven't ever seen a sky bison. Frankly, I thought they were extinct." Long Feng argued before whispering something into the king's ears. Adrien's cat ears twitched and he growled.
"You lair! And you have the nerve to call me bias when you twist everything in this Kingdom to benefit you and give you more power!" Adrien growled. The King looked startled.
"You heard what he said?"
"I'm a cat! I have insanely good ears. Do you want to listen to this man's lies or will you at least give us a chance. Because I have a few choice words for your advisor I've been meaning to get out for a long time now."
"Uh…" The Earth King trailed. Adrien didn't even give the King time to reply. He marched up to Long Feng with fire in his eyes.
"Your advisor is the kind of man who thinks it is okay to harass kids who are on crutches and threaten to brainwash them if they don't do as they say. He is the kind of man who threatens said kid and scares the guy half to death by ambushing him in the middle of the night when all he was doing was looking for his missing friend. He threatened a good doctor who helped me recover from the injuries I received from getting mugged in the lower ring of your city. He is the kind of man who arrests anyone who dares mention the war or the Fire Nation and brainwashes them. He is the kind of man who would kill a teenaged boy for trying to recover the memories that he stole from him! You think you know that man, but I promise you that he is a monster that must be stopped. You can't overlook this. The charges I just accused him of are far too great for you to ignore if there is even a remote possibility that they could be true, and they are, because I can prove it. Let me see any of your doctors and they can confirm that I was attacked by a man with a sword about two months ago and had a broken ankle hat recently healed. That proves I was on crutches. Then, you need to speak to my father, a man who has been collecting information on the Dai Li's conspiracy for the past month now. Then, you need to see Lake Laogai were he brainwashed an ultimately killed Jet the Freedom Fighter. Then you need to go to the walls and talk to your generals who will tell you that there is in fact a war going on. If you want better evidence, talk to Team Avatar over here. They've witnessed the war firsthand and are currently developing a plan to help stop it, but they need your help. They couldn't talk to you because Long Feng blocked them off from communicating with you about the war, so they were forced to break into the palace for the greater good of this entire world." He said in a steady tone. The King looked at him, then at Long Feng.
"I have to trust my advisor, young man." The King said, Long Feng smiled triumphantly, "But... you are right. If what you say is true, the matter is worth looking into. If there really is a war or a conspiracy going on, I simply cannot overlook such actuations on one man's word, and since there are six witnesses present, one of which being the Avatar, that calm these things are true, I have no choice but to investigate." Instantly, Long Feng's look of triumph was gone as he shot a glare at Adrien who smirked back. Instantly, Sokka took charge of the situation, explaining to the Earth King what places and evidence they planned on presenting and in what order. The King agreed, a little excited, apparently they guy had never even left the palace before. First they took the monorail to Lake Laogai.
That's where their argument started to go south. Toph went to bend open the entrance to Lake Laogai, only to find the tunnels to it had been destroyed and their base flooded.
"It's gone!" She exclaimed.
"Oh, no… don't tell me…" Sokka complained before taking a breath an giving the Team a wary thumbs up, "That's okay. I've still got my positive attitude.
"The Dai Li must've known we were coming and destroyed the evidence." Marinette said, glaring at the rubble that was once the secret base.
"That seems awfully convenient." The King said in an unsatisfied tone.
"Hey, if anything, this proves the conspiracy exists even more. They are trying to hide their tracks, your Majesty." Adrien said, smiling meekly.
"Long Feng was right. This is was a waste of time. If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the palace." The Earth King grumbled. He turned to leave when suddenly Katara perked up.
"The wall!" She yelled, "They'll never be able to cover that up in time!" Everyone, with the exception of Adrien was suddenly excited.
"Oh, yeah!" Aang air bended over to the King, stopping him, "If you come with us to the outer wall, we can prove to you that the secret war is real."
"No Earth King has been to the out wall! I don't have any time for such nonsense." Sokka ran up behind Aang.
"If you come with us, we'll let you ride Appa!" Sokka volunteered. The King froze, a mischievous smile spread on his face. Aang was glad Sokka had thought of it. They all got on Appa. Immediately after taking off the King began to freak out in a mixture of joy and terror.
"First time flying?" Toph asked in distaste.
"It's both thrilling yet terrifying."
"Yeah. I hate it too." Toph agreed. The King turned to Aang.
"I have to be honest with you, Avatar. Part of me really hopes that what you are telling me about Long Feng and this war… isn't true?" Aang lowered his gaze.
"I wish it wasn't." He whispered. They landed on the outer wall.
"It's still here!" Aang said joyfully.
"Woah." Adrien breathed, taking in the sight of the drill with a face of horror.
"What is that?" The Earth King asked.
"It's a drill. A giant drill made by the Fire Nation, to break through your walls."
"When Lee told me about the war…" Adrien trailed, "I never imagined anything like this…"
"I can't believe I never knew." He said softly before looking over at Marinette, "If there is a war against the Fire Nation, why are you here?"
"This is literally just a ladybug costume to go with my good luck theme. Has nothing to do with the war, Your Majesty." She deadpanned, obviously tired of being called Fire Nation. As she told him this, Long Feng and his Dai Li walked onto the outer wall.
"Your Majesty! I can explain!" Long Feng said quickly, "This is nothing more than a… construction project."
"Really?" Marinette asked, "Then explain why there's a fire nation insignia on your construction project?"
"Uh… well… It's imported of course!" He replied unconvincingly, "You know you can't trust domestic machinery."
"Uh, huh. Then tell me. What exactly if it for?" Marinette asked. Long Feng turned frantically towards the King.
"Don't tell me you believe these children over your most loyal attendant?!" The Earth King glanced between the two parties.
"Dai Li, arrest Long Feng. I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom." The Dai Li obeyed, arresting Long Feng immediately.
"You can't do this to me! You need me more than you know! I'm saving this planet! I tell you! I am saving you all and by arresting me you're dooming yourselfs! You'll see!"
"Looks like Long Feng is Long Gone!" Sokka yelled after him. Adrien looked over at Sokka.
"Nice." Adrien complimented as they shared a fist bump. They all returned to the palace. All of them beyond excited that they finally had rid of the man troubling them all for so long. The King formally thanked him for bringing the war and Dai Li to his attention. They told him all about their invasion plans. As they did, a man who was investigating Long Feng's office found serval papers concerning them that Long Feng had taken. There was a letter to Aang from a guru. Sokka and Katara's father was a Chameleon Bay. And Toph's mother was in the city. Then they were surprised when they found Adrien had gotten mail at his bakery, which Long Feng had immediately visited secretly upon hearing that was were Adrien lived. It was a very recent letter that Long Feng had intercepted while they were touring the city with the King, delivered, apparently, by a man named Mushi who had been searching for Adrien. The letter said Adrien's friend, Lee, had fallen very ill and that Mushi was concerned and wished Adrien come quickly.
After learning all this, the group decided to split ways. Marinette and Adrien would visit Adrien's friend and help him move him out of the Baker's place. Toph would go to see her mother. Aang would go to visit the guru and Sokka his father. Katara would stay behind and explain the invasion plans to the Earth King's generals. They each split ways on a good note, promising to return to their house in the city once their work was complete.