Aang was sighing with a deep exasperation he had not known in many years. He found himself in the same place he had been years ago on the eve of the appearance of Sozin's Comet. Well not exactly the same. He was sitting in the nosebleed section of large theatre during a production by the acclaimed Ember Island Players. The only difference was he wasn't in the Fire Nation this time. He was in the eastern Earth Kingdom continuing his search for Long Feng. He was meeting a very important contact who would help him. Sadly the only place his contact would agree to meet him was at the playhouse, being an avid fan of the Players. The Ember Island Players' popularity had grown so great in the years after the war they had even become famous in the Earth Kingdom. Their depictions of the exploits of Avatar Aang and his friends sold out every showing. Despite this Aang's undying hatred of the Players and their works had not diminished since the first time he had sat through one of their productions. Not only did their slanderous play portray Aang as woman, end with the victory of the Fire Lord and the death of Aang and his friends but it actually had the gall to suggest that Zuko and Katara were a couple. Now that was truly unforgivable.
After the end of the war Zuko and Aang made sure to make the Ember Island Players aware of the inaccuracies in "The Boy in the Iceberg" and they promised to put together a new play that would show their true story to the world. They even appointed a completely new director to the play who was famous for a few brilliant works. However the disappointing result of that promise was a retelling of the first book of the original play called "The Last Airbender". Aang didn't think it was possible but that play was actually worse than "The Boy in the Iceberg." None of the actors remotely resembled their characters or were able to accurately portray their personalities and emotions, nearly all of the characters' names were pronounced wrong, the plot was stripped down to the bone, all of the lightheartedness and humor was removed, and the merging of Aang with the Ocean Spirit was completely omitted from the climax. Another horrible aspect of it was that instead of replacing Aang's romance with Katara for a fantasized one with Zuko, "The Last Airbender" did not include a romantic element at all, except for a few snippets of Sokka and Princess Yue. The play also operated under the erroneous assumption that most Firebenders can't create fire with their own chi, whereas that is one of the most basic skills of even the most mediocre Firebender. Thankfully and much to Aang's satisfaction "The Last Airbender" was completely panned by critics and audiences alike to the point that its proposed sequel would likely never see the light of day.
The Ember Island Players' newest production was a story about the next Avatar, taking place about 70 years in the future. Surprisingly Aang had actually enjoyed it very much. He thought the plot was very creative and a nice continuation of the story. He loved a lot of the characters; he thought the next Avatar Korra was a compelling protagonist with a lot of interesting inner conflicts and admirable confidence, a good role model for girls. He also thought had very high hopes for the character of Mako, given his personality similarities to Zuko and the fact that he was given the name of the late actor who originally portrayed Iroh in "The Boy and the Iceberg."
At least that was how he felt at the beginning of the play.
"Oh Korra!" Mako's actor passionately declared on stage. "Even though I have a girlfriend and I know my little brother likes you I am still proud to declare, I love you!"
"Oh Mako!" Korra pontificated. "I have no moral objections to either of those facts, even though I was dating Bolin the first time I kissed you and Asami was always nice to me, even after she found out I liked you, but I can't love you!"
"Why not?!" Mako asked heartbrokenly.
"Because I'm not the Avatar anymore!" Korra declared running offstage while wailing melodramatically.
Aang let out another sigh of disappointment. This play had started out so well. "What is this love triangle crap?" he said to himself.
"I like it" said a voice standing behind Aang. "Adds a little bit of an edge." He turned around and saw his contact, a bounty hunter named June standing behind him.
Aang chuckled. "Well of course you do. After all you thought Zuko and Katara were a couple the first time you saw them. This Mako Korra relationship was pretty much put in to keep all you emo Zutara fans who were upset that Katara and I ended up together happy."
June took a seat next to Aang as she laughed. "Is that so? Well in any event it worked. And shouldn't you be happier? This play shows you and Katara got married and had three kids."
Aang lifted his hands up in surrender. "Hey I'm fine with that. Tenzin's probably the best character in this whole thing. Although I wished they showed Bumi longer than five seconds and would show Kaya at all."
"No arguments here" June replied. "And while they're at it they should tell us who the hell Lin's father is."
"Amen to that!" Aang agreed. "I mean it's Toph who wouldn't want to know who she ends up with? But anyway my problem with the whole Mako, Korra thing isn't that the writers put them together it's that they made Mako cheat on Asami and Korra cheat on Bolin. That's just wrong. Asami's a nice girl who already had to deal with her mother's death, not to mention the fact that her father turned out to be a terrorist who almost killed her. What did she do to deserve getting cheated on in addition to all that?! How miserable does she have to be before the writers are satisfied? Not to mention Bolin is Mako's brother and he kissed Korra in front of him and barely apologized. I mean it's like Mako doesn't even care if he hurts his loved ones for this moody angsty teenage relationship!"
"Hey he's a bad boy!" June said with her casual air of relaxedness. "That's why the girl's liked Zuko; it's why the girls like him."
Aang was expecting this answer and was ready with a counterargument. "Zuko would never do this to Mai! Not in a million years. Mako is basically Zuko with all the likeable aspects of his personality taken out. He and Korra are kind of selfish jerks."
June merely scoffed and shrugged the comment off. She then pointed at the stage. "Hey look there you are!"
Aang looked where she was pointing and saw the actor portraying an older version of himself. He liked him; he hoped that he would actually look that cool when he was older especially with his beard although his voice didn't sound very much like his. He then witnessed his older self promptly use Energybending to return Korra's Water, Earth and Firebending to her as she dramatically entered the Avatar State. He then witnessed Korra return the bending to everyone else who had lost it and then profess her love for Mako.
"Oh come on what was that?!" Aang shouted. "All of a sudden I just show up and give her bending back no strings attached?! I had to risk my life to become an Energybender in a mortal battle of wills with the Fire Lord and you're telling me I can just instantly give that ability, not to mention mastery of the freaking Avatar State, to an Avatar who isn't even fully realized? How would Korra learn anything that way?"
"What's she supposed to learn?" June asked.
"I don't know" Aang replied. "But I thought she would go a little longer only being able to Airbend. I mean that would have been an interesting plot device her having to come to terms with the fact that she was still the Avatar. You know a lesson about how there's more to being the Avatar than bending. Besides she would be able to better master Airbending if she only had it to depend on for a while. That would have been cooler than all of their problems being magically solved at the end of the first act. I mean that was just lazy writing and it felt rushed. How are they going to have any conflict left for the next act? And I still have a problem with it ending with Mako and Korra kissing, they're still a cheating couple. It makes it very hard to like the two of them as protagonists." Aang then paused and laughed as he realized his final objection to the play. "Not to mention my life is still going on so it's possible some of the events of the future will directly contradict this play, especially this whole Earth Kingdom civil war fiasco. I wonder how that will get reconciled."
"Well with all the problems you have with how this play ended do you think you can do a better job?" June asked challengingly.
"I don't know" Aang admitted with humility. "I guess I'll just have to try my best."
"Ok but you have to at least admit that getting the actor who played Zuko to play General Iroh in this play was freaking sweet" June said.
"Well yeah no one's arguing against that" Aang agreed. "But anyway back to business."
June laughed. "You mean you didn't just come here to debate theatre?"
"Nope" Aang said with a chuckle. "I'd like to hire you for a very important job."
"All right but I should warn you I don't come cheap" June replied. "Especially after that last little job your friends recruited me for to prevent 'the end of the world' or something like that. I totally got ripped off on that one."
Aang laughed again. "Hey you didn't die in a burning inferno like you would have if you didn't help."
June acted as if this was a very minor detail. "Whatever kid, drinks don't buy themselves. No more freebies."
Aang had expected this. "Well that's fine. Thanks to the Earth King I have plenty of funds for this mission."
June finally seemed surprised. "Really the Earth King? This must be a big deal. What are you getting yourself into this time Avatar?"
Aang reached inside his robe and pulled out the piece of cloth he had recovered with Long Feng's seal on it. "I'm looking for someone called Long Feng he's…"
June quickly interrupted. "Everyone knows who he is kid" she said. "He's the one stirring up all that trouble in the west, convincing people to rebel against the King. Why do you think I'm here in the east? I don't want to get caught in the middle of all that mess. "
"Well do you think you can help me find Long Feng?" Aang asked.
June shrugged. "Getting killed is bad for business kid. I may not know exactly what's happening in the west but I know this guy is dangerous."
Aang remained polite. "I'm not asking you to help me fight him, just find him. Just point me in the right direction and I'll handle the rest."
June seemed less than enthusiastic. "I'd still probably have to take you into the war zone. That doesn't sound like fun."
Aang began pleading. "Aw come on! Pretty please! I've got 500 gold pieces here!" He held up a money purse the Earth King had given him before he left.
The joy and surprise was evident on June's face; she was ecstatic. "500 gold…you've got a deal kid!" She snatched the purse out of his hand. "You got something with his scent on it?"
Aang handed the cloth he had found to June. "I know this cloth belongs to him because it has his seal. He used to be the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se."
June examined it closely. "Where did you find this?"
"Near the Si Wong desert; it looked like one of his abandoned bases."
Surprisingly June tossed the cloth aside. "Sorry kid can't help ya."
Aang was completely shocked as he picked up the cloth from the floor. "What? Why?!"
"Personal responsibility" June answered calmly.
"What do you mean? I told you that you wouldn't have to do anything dangerous" Aang reminded.
"That's not what I mean. I think it would be unethical to lead one of my customers to his own death, especially since that means I would lose his business." Aang's confusion must have registered on his face because she continued to explain. "Look at this thing. You just happened to find it exactly where you're looking and it just happens to belong to him? It's even labeled to make sure you know it's his."
Aang didn't understand her reservation. "Exactly it's perfect!"
June sounded like he had proven her point for her. "Exactly, it's too perfect. In my business finding a sample this good should never be so easy. There's only one explanation; Long Feng wanted you to find it."
"Huh?" Aang asked.
To June the explanation was rather simple. "He managed to slip your trail for this long. Someone as smart as him wouldn't make a mistake as obvious as this. My only theory, he didn't want you to find him until he was ready and now he is. You're walking straight into a trap kid."
It made perfect sense. Aang was surprised he didn't see it before. It was probably because he had been so excited about finally stopping Long Feng and making Katara safe again. He remained quiet for brief moment but it didn't take him very long to decide how he felt about this news. "It doesn't matter" he said.
June was confused. "What?"
"If Long Feng is challenging me then I happily accept" Aang said. "Please take me to him."
June replied, "You might wanna think this through kid. You won't know what to expect and he'll be ready for you."
"No he won't" Aang replied. "He can't be. I've mastered the Four Elements and the Avatar State. I defeated Fire Lord Ozai, even when he was empowered by Sozin's Comet. It doesn't matter what Long Feng's plan is he can't defeat me." June looked like she was about to object again but he then added. "Besides I don't have any other choice. Long Feng has conquered the entire western Earth Kingdom and is heading for Ba Sing Se. It won't be long before he finds his way here. If you really think you're safe hiding in the east you aren't. It won't be long before no one in the Earth Kingdom is safe. If you want me to stop this war then the only choice is to take me to him."
His argument clearly had gotten through to June. She looked paralyzed with indecision. "I don't know…"
Aang let out another weary sigh. He knew there was only one more thing he could bribe her with even though to do so would sacrifice every principal he held dear. He bowed his head in shame and said, "If you do this I'll talk to the writers of the play and convince them to write a chapter that reveals Tenzin and Lin had an extramarital affair."
"Sold!" June said almost instantly.
Aang groaned, "Man some fans are just weird."
June stood up. "While you're at it convince them to release the next book of this play sometime before we die of old age it's been over a year. But anyway we'd better get going. Oh and one more thing Avatar, don't say I didn't warn you."
King Bumi stood at the edge of his royal palace as he watched thousands of men march across the land on the outskirts of his city Omashu. Captain Yung, the leader of Omashu's military stood next to him as the large crowd filed passed them in the distance. Omashu had largely been restored to the state it was in before its occupation by the Fire Nation. Some of the buildings that were destroyed when King Bumi ousted the Fire Nation soldiers needed to be rebuilt but all of the citizens had moved back in and normal life had otherwise resumed, even before the war had ended in the rest of the Earth Kingdom. Anyone who visited Omashu now would never be able to tell it had ever been conquered. A major reason for this was that none of Omashu's citizens had died as a result of the conquest. Thanks to Bumi's immediate unconditional surrender to the original attack and single-handed reconquering of his city none of his soldiers had to be killed resisting the Fire Nation.
"What do you think we should do about this Your Majesty?" asked the Captain obediently.
King Bumi held his hand to his chin and stroked his beard thoughtfully. After many profound moments spent in deep thought he answered, "We will do…nothing!" He began laughing maniacally.
Yung sighed with weariness. This was practically the same thing Bumi said on the day Omashu was conquered. Yung had strongly disagreed with his decision and had formed the Omashu Resistance in an attempt to go rectify the situation. He then led his people in a mass evacuation out of the city at Aang's insistence to preserve their safety. He was completely flabbergasted when he heard King Bumi had reclaimed Omashu during the Day of Black Sun. "Are you sure King Bumi?" he asked insistently.
"As sure as I am old!" Bumi proclaimed proudly. "And that's really sure! Haha!"
Yung tried to remain patient but his sense of duty compelled him to object. "With all due respect Your Majesty the Earth King's scouts have informed us that army is currently heading to Ba Sing Se with the full intention of sacking it."
Bumi's goofy demeanor was hardly phased by this. "Oh and they might do it too! That is one BIG army!"
Yung was getting annoyed. "King Bumi…"
"Captain!" Bumi interrupted, holding one hand up. He then reached into his robe and pulled out a piece of jennamite from his sleeve. "Pretend this piece of rock candy is us, not just the two of us but the entire city of Omashu."
"Ok…" the Captain responded with confusion.
Bumi continued, "Now pretend my mouth is that army." He then pointed to the crowd of in the distance. "Now observe what happens." He took a large bite out of the creeping crystal and munched on it voraciously, spilling many fragments out of the sides of his mouth.
Yung flinched in disgust. "What is your point Sir?"
"What is the current military strength of this city Captain?" Bumi asked. Suddenly his voice was very rational and intelligent.
Yung was thrown off briefly by the saneness of his voice. "Um…at any given time we have about 2,000 soldiers available. If we collect volunteers we could probably muster another 500, possibly another 1,000 if we put a draft in place."
"Precisely" Bumi replied. "At most we have 3,000 able-bodied fighters at our disposal. How large would you say that force out there is?"
Yung was starting to see where Bumi was going with this. He calmly answered, "According to reports from General Fong's base it is at least 5,000 men strong."
Bumi calmly nodded. "Unfortunately it's grown since that report was sent to us."
Yung was shocked. "What? How?!"
Bumi's voice turned grave. "General Fong's forces will have joined with Long Feng's by now. There will be many well-trained soldiers added to than mix of disgruntled peasants and Earthbenders."
Now Yung was indignant. "What?! How do you know Fong will have joined Long Feng?! Did you receive word of it?"
Bumi shook his head. "Not yet but given everything Aang told me about him it's obvious Long Feng will be able to manipulate him. He's an extremist willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goals and he is very bitter about the war with the Fire Nation. He will have feelings of resentment for the Earth King and for Aang that Long Feng will be able to take advantage of."
Yung was very angered by the idea of anyone betraying the Earth King. "Even if that's true what about his men?! Surely they won't allow him to betray their kingdom without protest!"
Bumi responded sadly. "They obeyed Fong's orders to kill the Avatar and his friends without protest. They won't defy him now."
Yung was completely outraged now and no longer able to contain himself. "In that case it's all the more reason to attack those traitors! They've turned against the Earth Kingdom! It's our duty to stop them!"
Bumi shook his head again. "No Captain. An army of that size would chew up our army and spit it out. As King of Omashu I cannot throw my people's lives away like that."
The seriousness of King Bumi's voice calmed Yung slightly. "I know as King of Omashu your duty is to its citizens. But like every other citizen of the Earth Kingdom and as a regent king directly below King Kuei your first duty is to Ba Sing Se and the Earth King."
Bumi nodded his head calmly. "Of course that's why I can't throw away our power to help him now." Yung raised an eyebrow at this statement. "We cannot defeat that force in an all-out battle. However from inside our city we could outlast them for several weeks with our fortifications and food supplies. For that reason they won't waste time attacking us while they're still gathering troops for the siege of Ba Sing Se."
Yung was calm again. "So they will leave us alone?"
"For now" Bumi replied. "I doubt someone like Long Feng will like the idea of such a powerful city existing outside of his control. His plan is probably to come back for us later, after conquering Ba Sing Se. Fortunately this will leave over 2,000 soldiers still loyal to the King poised and waiting for the right time to strike in the meantime."
Yung's voice now became slightly hopeful. "So we will help the Earth King."
Bumi nodded. "Yes but have patience Captain. We must employ neutral jing; wait and listen for the right time to strike. We will attack at the time when our help will be most effective and useful not a moment sooner." His lighthearted smile returned. "Would you like some rock candy Captain?" He held out a piece of blue jennamite.
Captain Yung smiled. Bumi may have been eccentric, downright mad in fact but he was a genius. There was no questioning that. When the Captain had doubted him before he had always been proven wrong. This time he wouldn't waste time with doubts. He would have faith in his King. He smiled and reached out to grab the candy. "Sure Your Highness."
King Bumi quickly retracted his hand and guarded the precious piece of candy in his robes acting as if Yung had tried to steal his own child from him. "Well you can't have any! It's MINE!"
Yung's annoyance quickly registered on his face with a sarcastic scowl.
Bumi smiled again. "Just kidding." He held out the piece again.
Yung chuckled and took the crystal. "If I may say so sir, you are a mad genius."
Bumi snorted again. "I must be! I think that's the first time I've ever seen you laugh!"
Meanwhile the issue of Omashu's place in the Civil War was being discussed elsewhere. It was a dreary dungeon, dimly lit with a few green lanterns. Long Feng was working his way down to the lowest level with his highest subordinates at his side, Ping on his right side, Ling at his left.
"Are you sure you don't want our forces to conquer Omashu while they are passing through that region Your Highness?" Ping asked. The Dai Li agents had taken to calling Long Feng by royal descriptions ever since his army had declared its succession from the Earth Kingdom. "King Bumi is loyal to Ba Sing Se he may become a problem later."
Long Feng answered, "I don't like it but right now it's the only option. Conquering Omashu was only easy for the Fire Nation because King Bumi surrendered. He won't this time, not when he knows we'll recruit his people to fight against King Kuei. A siege of Omashu would require more time and man power than we can afford to waste we need to focus on preparing for the battle at Ba Sing Se."
"Is it possible we could place spies within Omashu and convince the people to turn against King Bumi like we did in the villages?" Ping asked.
Long Feng shook his head. "No that won't work in Omashu; it remained largely untouched by the war with the Fire Nation for its majority so there will be less widespread desires for revenge. Even when it was finally conquered it only stayed that way for a few months and was taken back with minimum casualties and damages thanks to brilliant strategy on the part of their king. It doesn't matter what the people think of Kuei or the Fire Nation, their loyalty to King Bumi is unquestionable. He's even found ways to make Omashu's tax burden manageable. It's best to leave Omashu alone for now and conquer it when we have more resources to spare."
Ping nodded in agreement. "It seems that if Bumi were king of the entire Earth Kingdom instead of that useless weakling Kuei we'd have a much harder time convincing people to rebel against him."
"Indeed" Long Feng affirmed. "I do hope we can convince him to see our side of things in the end. I would hate to waste someone as valuable as him."
"That would be a waste" Ling said very quietly.
Long Feng stopped walking briefly. He sounded agitated. "Ling, what did I tell you about speaking about speaking without being spoken to?"
Ling bowed his head like a dog who had become accustomed to the sting of a newspaper. He nervously rubbed the stump of his right hand with his left. He obediently repeated his master's words, "That no one is interested in what I have to say anymore."
Long Feng continued. "And why not?"
Ling kept his head bowed low. "Because I am a useless failure and a cripple."
"You're not my lieutenant anymore are you? Long Feng asked with as much condescension as possible.
"No sir" Ling responded. "Ping is. I couldn't even complete a simple mission. I let the Dragon of the West sneak up on me and destroy my hand. It was all my fault."
"And why is Ping my lieutenant now?" Long Feng asked as if he was a teacher asking the slowest student in his class to add two and two.
"Because…" Ling began. He slowly looked up and saw Ping's face. No one had told Long Feng that Ping had hesitated to kill Katara when he learned of her pregnancy, including Ling. If he had known his treatment of Ping would have been far worse than that of Ling. Ling finished his answer. "Because…Ping is superior to me in every way. He deserves the command I was too incompetent to keep."
"Very good" Answered Long Feng with a smirk. "Remember all that and maybe one day I'll forgive you for failing me. After all it was merciful of me to keep a cripple in my employ at all wasn't it?"
"Yes sir Long Feng, no one is kinder than you" Ling answered. Long Feng laughed in satisfaction and they continued walking, crossing into a new corridor lined with doors on either side. After a few minutes they reached their destination.
Long Feng spoke in the best politician voice he had. "Gentleman be on your best behavior, we are about to be in the presence of a lady!" He slid the door open.
The room was so small it became cramped by the presence of three men. The walls were completely bare save for a few holes on the ceiling used for ventilation. There was no furniture or objects of any kind save for a link of chains fastened to the wall by a metal harness. The chains were handcuffed to the lone inhabitant of the room. It was a Water Tribe woman. It was Katara and this room was her prison.
"Well hello Katara…" Long Feng greeted warmly. He wasn't finished with his sentence for more than a second when Katara spat an icicle aimed directly at his eye. He calmly held up his hand, which was covered in earth and blocked the projectile. He laughed. "They warned me you had learned to weaponize your spit. Now is that any kind of greeting for an old friend?"
"Old friend?!" Katara shouted with impunity. "You dirty sneaky son of a…"
"Such harsh words!" Long Feng said jokingly. "Come now you're going to hurt my feelings." Katara began struggling to break free of her bonds, pulling on her handcuffs in an attempt to break them. "Please Katara don't embarrass yourself. That's the finest steel in the Earth Kingdom. It was designed for our ships in the northern oceans which makes it extremely resistant to cold as well. Of course it's not like there's any water for you to make use of in this cell anyway."
Katara pursed her lips in an attempt to gather up as much spit as possible. Ling reach forward and grabbed her face harshly in his hand.
"Down Ling" Long Feng said. "That is not how we treat our guests." Ling let go immediately but continued to glare at Katara with hate.
Katara was still filled with burning fury. She looked straight up into Long Feng's eyes and said, "I swear on my mother's necklace, if your men did anything to hurt my brother I will kill you!"
Long Feng sounded amused. "Don't make hollow threats Katara. Your enemy will never take you seriously again."
"It's not hollow!" Katara shouted. "If Sokka isn't ok I will…"
Long Feng interrupted. "Please you kill me? You didn't even kill Yon Rha and he murdered your own mother."
Katara gasped in complete shock and fear. "How…how did you know…"
"Suffice it to say I know everything about you and your little friends Katara" Long Feng answered. "My agents have been working on that for quite some time. Forgive me if I'm wrong but your mother died when you were very young didn't she?"
Katara's anger exploded. "SHUT UP! Do not talk about my mother!"
Long Feng smirked. "It's ironic isn't it? Yon Rha was only assigned to kill a single person; the sole Southern Waterbender. Your mother lied to him saying she was that bender, believing he would only take her prisoner but then he killed her right there in cold blood."
"SHUT UP!" Katara bellowed.
Long Feng continued. "You were really the Waterbender he was looking for weren't you? She sacrificed her life to protect you." He chuckled sadistically. "It's funny if it wasn't for you she might still be alive."
Katara wailed in absolute fury. "SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Long Feng wasn't finished yet though. "And after she died for you, you couldn't even give her spirit the satisfaction of being avenged. Sure you tracked Yon Rha down, but pretty much just to yell at him." He laughed again. "To have the chance to slay the man who murdered the women who gave birth to you and to just throw it away so easily; I guess you didn't love her very much at all."
Katara's voice was a deafening shriek. She was hurting her throat but couldn't stop. Tears fell down her cheeks. "SHUT UP YOU WORTHLES PIECE OF SH…"
Long Feng interrupted arrogantly, "Let's watch the language young lady. Any way you can stop whining about your brother we already received word the attempt on his life failed."
Katara's eyes had been shut by her tears, but this sentence opened them. She looked straight at Long Feng.
Long Feng continued, "Yes apparently my men didn't anticipate a few hidden weapons. Good help is so hard to find these days." He turned his head to the left. "Right Ling?" Ling shook his head in fearful obedience.
Katara sighed in relief. She was still crying, but less erratically now.
Long Feng sounded friendly. "Yes don't worry you have nothing to fear. We have bigger and better things to worry about right now than your brother and we have no intention of harming you."
Katara was very surprised and confused. It didn't make any sense; he had ordered his agents to kill her in the Jasmine Dragon. Why the change of heart? She asked, "What? You don't?" Long Feng nodded. "What do you want from me?"
Long Feng sounded as if this was a frivolous question. "Want? I want nothing from you Katara. All I want is for you to sit in this cell. You'll be provided with adequate sustenance. As long as you don't try to escape we won't have any problems. I'm not such of a bad man after all am I?"
"Why would you try to kill me one minute and then play host the next?" Katara asked.
"Come now you're a clever girl" Long Feng replied. "Surely you can figure it out. Why would I care about killing you? After all you aren't my biggest threat."
Katara's heart sank. She couldn't breathe for a second. "You're using me to lure Aang into a trap!"
"Clever girl" Long Feng said, pointing his index finger at her.
"You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you use me as bait!" Katara insisted.
A twinge of anger was heard in Long Feng's voice. "Oh you are going to let me! You are going to sit obediently in this cell and let me do whatever I please with the Avatar and you will do so of your own free will!"
Katara instantly retorted. "Why would I do that?"
Long Feng laughed his same deep, conceited laugh again. "You know I originally thought the assassination attempt against you at the Jasmine Dragon was a complete failure. But amid all the dust I uncovered a gem. While you were pathetically begging for your life like a coward my men learned of your pregnancy."
Katara's chest tightened so much it almost felt like she was going to choke. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around her stomach, cradling it protectively.
Long Feng chortled even more. "Yes Katara. You see I made a mistake. I thought killing you would be the best way to throw your husband off his game that his grief would make him reckless but then I realized the fear of losing not only you but also his unborn child would be even more suited to that task. He will be driven mad by his desire to save his new family, his desperation will make him truly reckless and he will make mistakes. I will exploit those mistakes and I will have my revenge."
"I won't let you hurt Aang or my baby!" Katara shouted.
"If you try to escape my men have been instructed to aim for your stomach with their attacks while subduing you" Long Feng said with a dire expression. "If you assault my guards or otherwise attempt to resist my will we will kill your child before it is even born."
Katara tightened her protective grip around her pregnant belly. "You…that's low even for you!"
Long Feng boomed with laughter. "Don't blame me! You allowed yourself to be captured. Is that really the type of mother you want to be? This baby depends on you for protection Katara!"
"Shut up!" Katara barked. "Don't lecture me about motherhood!"
Long Feng's smirk grew wider. "I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl. Have you thought about any names yet? It sure would be a shame if you never got to use them."
Katara was absolutely horrified. This threat was so terrible she didn't expect it even from Long Feng. "You're…you're sick!"
Long Feng went on undaunted. "What if it's an Airbender? A kindred spirit to your husband, the continuation of his people. It sure would be a shame if it could never realize its potential to help rebuild its culture. I bet Aang would be really upset if you let such an important child slip through your fingers."
"So I'm just supposed to let you kill my husband?!" Katara shouted.
Long Feng treated the question as simple. "You know as well as I do he would rather die than let a member of his own family suffer that fate. Do you really think you would ever be able to face him again after you let your own child die, that he would ever look at you the same way? He would prefer death to such a fate."
Katara was absolutely defeated. She knew what Long Feng said was true. She couldn't risk her babies' lives. She had carried them for four months, she had felt them kick, and they were hers. She couldn't bear the thought of losing them, not now. And she knew she could never face Aang again if they died as a result of her actions.
Her fear must have registered on her face. Long Feng knew he had won. "Good we have an understanding. Just stay here and be a good little girl, no be a good mother."
He calmly turned around and opened the door. Ling immediately followed him. Ping did too but hesitated for a second. He looked over at Katara for a brief moment. His expression was fleeting, but for an instant it looked like it was filled with pity.
The door shut as the men left. Katara was totally filled with despair. She collapsed on the ground and started crying uncontrollably.