The next time Katara saw Ping was far less dramatic.
The next morning he shoved the door open, slammed the food tray on the floor, and then trudged over to her.
She was surprised by his directness. "What are you…?" Before she could finish he grabbed her neck. She would have defended herself if she had been expecting an attack but Ping hadn't attacked aggressive towards her since she'd been imprisoned.
With a quick yank Ping ripped her mother's necklace right off. He turned around and opened the door without a word.
Katara was furious. That necklace was her most precious possession. "Give that back!"
He didn't even turn around. "Shut up." Ping closed the door before she could even stand.
She ran to the door and tried to open it. It was locked this time. Apparently they had anticipated her reaction. "Get back here! That's my mother's necklace!" She pounded on the door desperately. She turned toward her faucet and prepared to destroy the door before she stopped herself. She remembered there were several guards waiting for her outside.
"Damn it" she cursed. "He's going to use my necklace to bait Aang somehow, I just know it!" She clenched her fist. Ping had seemed urgent. "They must be putting their plan into motion now."
She rubbed her belly nervously. She felt tiny feet kicking and despite the situation she couldn't help but smile. Her babies felt strong and healthy with a kind and happy chi. She pictured herself and Aang, in a picture that looked so far away. Two very much in love parents happily raising their children. It was the most beautiful thing imaginable and she knew Aang felt the same way.
Aang…without him the picture just wouldn't be the same. He was the only man she could ever love and the best father possible for her children.
"Aang…" Katara said with a sad sigh. "Forgive me for being a burden." Aang had told her how his love for her had almost prevented him from mastering the Avatar State. He just never felt right about choosing power over true love even if it was his duty. It had almost been the death of him when Azula shot him in the back during his second attempt to open his last chakra. Only Spirit Oasis water had saved him and just barely. Katara knew if anything could throw Aang off enough to take away his advantage she could, even more now that she was pregnant.
"Forgive me for what I have to do" Katara said. "I do believe in you and I know Long Feng can't win but I'm tired of being your weakness." She rubbed her stomach lovingly, nurturing her babies. "I don't want to risk our babies' lives but I'll put us all in more danger if I let Long Feng's plan work."
She grew determined and serious. She pictured her family in her mind as clearly as she could; her mother, father, brother, friends, Aang, and in her and Aang's arms four perfect, beautiful babies. As she focused on the picture harder her mother faded until she disappeared. "I can't let the picture lose anyone else," she declared. "I swear Aang I'll get us all out of this alive." Her thoughts turned to Ping. She had felt sympathy for him and hoped he would help her but there was no more time to waste. She had to escape before anything else happened.
"I'll escape no matter what I have to do."
Meanwhile, in another part of the Earth Kingdom Long Feng's control was being exerted over a Fire Nation colony. Much like other colonies there was a mix of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizens living there. Long Feng's army had recently invaded and overthrown its governor, who was a Fire Nation general. After killing him the army then moved to purge all Fire Nation citizens from the population, separating them from those in the Earth Kingdom then killing them. That was the plan at least.
"Let go of my husband!" a woman shouted as two of Long Feng's soldiers were pulling away a man dressed in red and orange clothes.
"You married a Fire Nation man?!" one of the soldiers replied, obviously shocked.
"I'm not Fire Nation!" yelled the man.
"Shut it ash-maker!" they shouted as they twisted his arms.
His wife ran up and grabbed one of the soldiers, trying to force him away. "Leave him alone!" He simply threw her to the ground.
"Mom!" an adolescent boy shouted as he ran up to her. He knelt down to inspect her for injury. Both his clothes and his appearance were a mix of Earth and Fire Nation. He wore a red and green tunic and his complexion was a very light brown. He stood up and faced the soldiers. "You bastards!"
The soldiers laughed at him. One sneered, "You sure are one to call us that. Look it's a little half-breed!"
The boy became furious; he kicked up a rock and prepared to attack, taking an Earthbending stance.
His mother stood up. "Don't son!"
One soldier laughed, "That's right protect your filthy half-breed offspring." The mother glared at him. He then asked, "How could you contaminate your Earth Kingdom blood with…this?" He shook her husband to make his point.
"I'm not Fire Nation!" the man reiterated. "Look!" He lifted his leg and a pillar of earth erupted from the ground.
The soldiers were so shocked they let go. "An Earthbender?! Why are you dressed like that?!"
The man smoothed his shirt back into place. "My grandfather was a Fire Nation soldier, I've dressed like this my whole life. But like my wife and son I identify with the Earth Kingdom."
The soldiers exchanged a couple of confused looks. They were at a loss for what to do. Their orders were to eliminate all Fire Nation citizens and liberate the Earth Kingdom people. But in this family they had found a mixture of both and had no idea which one to treat them as. And this was one small example of the dozens of confusing situations going on throughout the colonies.
Ping was currently going over this issue with Long Feng. "The colonies are proving an problem. There's been so much race mixing that carrying out the Fire Nation purge has been difficult."
Long Feng sighed in exasperation. "Can't we simply eliminate the pure Fire Nation people to start with?"
"That's the problem" Ling explained. "With the exception of a few higher classmen there are almost no citizens in the larger colonies that are either pure Fire or Earth Nation. What's more allegiances are all over the place. There's been talk of Earthbenders who swear by their allegiance to the Fire Lord and even Firebenders who are loyal to the Earth King. It's an extremely complex and volatile situation. We've had a very hard time recruiting any colonials to our side."
Long Feng put a palm to his forehead. "I guess that's to be expected. We are the enemies of both the Fire Lord and the Earth King. If we recruited soldiers with Fire Nation blood I doubt our most zealous would followers peacefully abide it."
"Indeed not!" Ping said angrily. "I can't believe Earth Kingdom citizens would actually breed with those Fire Nation savages!"
Long Feng crooked an eyebrow, intrigued by the sudden outburst. "I suppose that would be a rather sore spot with you Ping."
Ping gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "Of course sir…you know what happened to my wife."
Long Feng put a hand on his shoulder, doing an excellent job of faking sympathy. "Oh of course I do you poor, poor man but fret not. The colony issue is complicated but allow me to think on it and I will figure out the solution. For now just be happy we have freed them from the Fire Lord's control." His voice then took a sinister curl. "Once we have control of the Earth Kingdom we will take vengeance on the Fire Nation."
Ping smiled. "Yes sir."
"Do you have the necklace?" Long Feng asked. Ping nodded and handed him Katara's bans, the strap still broken from when he ripped it off her neck.
"Excellent" Long Feng acknowledged. "I heard the Avatar has come to answer our invitation. I'll give him a nice warm greeting. Return to the prison and make sure his wife remains incarcerated."
Ping bowed his head. "Yes…sir" he said with slight hesitation.
Long Feng noticed. "Something wrong Ping?"
Ping shook his head. "No sir nothing."
"Good you are dismissed." Ping nodded and left. Long Feng looked at another follower of his that was standing near the adjacent wall. He handed him the necklace. "Give this to the Avatar. Tell him I'll be waiting."
Aang was flying behind June and her Shirshu Nyla. He had made the mistake of flying in front a few times and Nyla had gotten nervous and lashed at him with his tongue.
"How are you not scared of him?" Aang had asked.
"Oh this is nothing!" June replied. "You should see a female Shirshu! Not only is their venom twice as paralytic but it's fatal too!"
So he had been flying behind her for a few hours. They had reached a barren part of the Earth Kingdom that seemed largely uninhabited. It was refreshing to see a place that wasn't ravaged by war but depressing to see somewhere people had never lived.
Finally Nyla stopped at the edge of a broken fence. On the other side of the fence was what appeared to be an abandoned mining town. There were tipped over dusty carts and empty boxes everywhere.
"This is where the scent is coming from," said June.
"There's no one here" Aang had just finished saying when he felt someone approaching on an ostrich-horse with his seismic sense.
He was surprised to see a boy no older than ten riding the horse. He was dressed in full military garb, wearing armor that was much too big for him.
"Who are you?" Aang asked.
"I'm a member of Long Feng's army!" the kid said happily.
Coming from a culture that had no form of military at all much less one that involved children Aang was understandably surprised. "What?! You're just a kid!"
The kid seemed only more encouraged by that statement. "Everyone gets to be part of the army. Long Feng gives us food and keeps the Fire Nation away."
"That's horrible!" Aang shouted. The kid didn't seem to care.
"Long Feng told me to give this to you" he said, digging around in his pocket. He pulled out Katara's necklace and handed it to Aang.
Aang had been on his search when Katara was kidnapped. He had no idea anything at all had happened to her.
"Katara's necklace?!" he shouted unbelievingly. "What happened?!"
The kid scratched his head like he was trying to remember something important. "Long Feng said…you should have stayed behind to protect her instead of chasing wild turtle ducks…or something like that."
Aang's heart sank. He had played right into Long Feng's trap.
"Where is she?!" he asked the kid.
The kid pointed at the entrance to the mine, which was covered with collapsed rocks. "Long Feng says if you want to find out then go to bottom of the mine. He'll be waiting, if you aren't scared that is."
Aang became determined. "Oh the last thing I am is scared!" It was quite an assertive attitude for an Air Nomad but at the moment Aang felt as stubborn as an Earthbender and as passionate as a Firebender.
"Good luck" the kid said casually before riding off back towards the mine.
Aang nodded and took a step forward. He stopped when June said, "Hey!"
Aang turned back. "What's wrong? I already paid you."
She looked unusually serious. "Be careful kid. Don't go falling into his traps and getting yourself killed." With that she snapped Nyla's reigns and took off.
Aang faced the mine again. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm the Avatar. Long Feng is no match for me."
Clearing the mine's entrance was a simple matter of Earthbending, only took a second and then Aang was in. He could tell with his seismic sense that the mine had been rather large, probably going miles deep. However several parts of it were caved in far worse than the entrance was. Aang figured it had been decades since it was actually operational: a perfect secret base.
Aang quietly made his way through, using his feet to guide him, avoiding dead ends and cave-in sights. He made a small fire in his hand to light the way. After about five minutes 10 Dai Li agents dropped from the ceiling.
"Die Avatar!" one shouted. They all attacked.
Aang had sensed them coming. He wasn't scared. He extinguished his light so it became pitch black. Now his enemies were blind but he could still see with his feet. He had always been thankful his Earthbending teacher had been someone as unique as Toph.
Several projectiles were launched at him. He used a stream of air to blow them back at his foes. A few were hit and went down but most of them crushed the rocks before they made contact.
Aang knew heavily using Earthbending in such and unstable place could cause the ceiling to collapse and there also wasn't any water around. He would have to rely mainly on Air and Firebending.
He blasted another gust of wind. Two agents were blown back, crashing into the walls and passing out. The others fastened themselves to the floor by encasing their feet in rocks. Aang had expected this and set their robes on fire with a flaming punch. As they panicked to try to put out the flames he slid his foot back, using very subtle Earthbending to break their rock casings and force them to their knees. With one final air blast he smashed all but one remaining enemy into the wall.
He calmly walked over to the only agent he had left conscious. He lifted his fist and shot out more fire to illuminate the room. "Where is Katara? Is she ok?" he asked.
"I don't know!" the man shouted. Aang could sense he was being truthful. "And I would die before talking!"
"I was afraid of that," Aang said with disappointment. "Is Long Feng here?"
The man's cruel smile glowed in the fire. "Oh you'll find him here all right. But you'll wish you hadn't." He was telling the truth again.
"Well at least I know he's here" Aang replied as he walked past the man. "Sorry about this; it's nothing personal." He chopped the man in the back of the neck, using Airbending to strengthen the blow enough to knock him out. He continued his way down.
Surprisingly he kept going deeper and deeper without encountering another soul. He couldn't believe Long Feng would only send that simple obstacle. But as he felt further and further ahead with Earthbending he only saw more rocks. That is until he reached a certain depth where he felt the presence of what seemed to be numerous skeletons.
As Aang felt surprised a deep familiar voice suddenly boomed, "Hello Aang! I'm pleased you got my invitation!"
Aang looked around frantically. He neither saw nor felt the presence of anyone else. His sight turned to what looked like a metal tube protruding from the wall. The sound rang from it. "This acoustic system was used to communicate orders to the miners. Quite efficient; although it did contribute to the cave-ins that put this place out of business and killed over 20 workers. This mine has been abandoned for over 50 years which makes it a perfect place for out little reunion."
That explained where the skeletons came from.
"Long Feng!" Aang shouted directly into the tube. "Tell me where Katara is right now!"
Long Feng's laughter boomed throughout the cavern. "Oh Aang do you really think it's going to be that easy?"
Aang grew livid. "I swear if you hurt her at all…"
"Oh please!" Long Feng retorted. "It's one thing when your wife makes hallow threats but you're an Air Nomad. It's not like there's anything mildly frightening you're actually allowed to do to me."
"Oh yeah?" Aang challenged. "How would you like to spend the rest of your life never being able to Earthbend again?!"
Long Feng laughed again. "In order to do that you have to be able to touch me. Which means first you have to find and defeat me."
"Do you really think that'll be a problem?!" Aang asked. "Compared to Fire Lord Ozai you're no kind of threat to me!"
"It's not like you to sound so reckless Aang," Long Feng joked. "Surely, you who are gifted with Toph's ability must be able to tell how large unstable this mine is. It's one earthquake away from totally collapsing on itself. That would certainly kill both of us." Aang could tell what he was saying was true even if he couldn't pinpoint the location of Long Feng's body to detect lies. The way the mine felt, it was amazing any part of it was still standing.
Long Feng continued. "Besides I have constructed one of my bases right below this mine. Several of my agents, many of them the same age or younger than the boy who greeted you are stationed down here. If you unleash the awesome power of your Avatar State you could easily kill them all."
Aang grunted in frustration. "You sick coward! You would hold your own people, children, hostage to get an advantage over me?!"
"Don't blame me" Long Feng said. "Their fates are in your hands. And the clever general is careful to exploit his opponent's weaknesses. Your bleeding heart practically begs to be struck at! So you'll have to tread lightly young Avatar. If you get carried away you could easily bring this mine down on top of dozens of young lives. I doubt a pacifist such as yourself wants something like that on his conscience."
"Damn you!" Aang growled. June was right. Long Feng had planned this carefully. Not only were Earth and Waterbending impractical in this environment but now the Avatar State was too.
"Oh and by the way," Long Feng added. "I'm not going to wait around for you all day. If you don't get down here soon you'll never see Katara alive again and you'll never hold that precious baby in your arms."
Aang roared like a tigerdillo, breathing fire into the intercom. "I'll be right there."
He was panicked now. He ran down every clear path he could find as fast as his legs would go. The ground was uneven so occasionally he would trip but he kept going the same pace. Every now and then an agent would drop from the ceiling only to be dispatched by a quick attack. He started paying less and less attention to these assaults, seeing them as no threat. That was a mistake.
Aang hadn't sensed an agent hiding in the floor covered in rock. He could have, but he had stopped perceiving anything other than how to reach Long Feng. Before he noticed a sharp spike of earth stuck out, right under his foot. He fell to the ground, a large bleeding gash on the bottom of his foot. With his hands he sensed two other agents readying to attack. He frantically tried to stand up, but had only gotten to his knees when another agent dropped down, wielding a sword, and sliced him across the right shoulder.
Aang was flat on his back, totally defenseless as the three agents closed in for the kill. Before he could think his eyes were glowing. A large wind sphere formed around him, he rose into the air and blasted the three agents away. As soon as they hit them the walls began crumbling and the entire cave was shaking. Rocks began falling. The three agents were unconscious and right in the path of danger. Aang grabbed them as quickly as he could and propelled them all forward with Earthbending. They landed just outside the edge of the cave-in. There was now a solid wall blocking the way Aang had come.
Aang was drenched in sweat and panting. "I almost killed you guys!" he said, riddled with guilt. "And I only entered the Avatar State for a second!" He stood up. His foot and shoulder were still bleeding. "If I used my full power I really could kill everyone in here. I have to be more careful."
He found himself wishing Sokka were there. He'd probably be able to figure out an easier way to do this. Not to mention Toph would probably be better at figuring out how to get through safely. As his wounds throbbed in pain he wished Katara were there to heal them. Maybe coming alone wasn't the wisest choice after all.
But there was no helping it now. The only safe path back was blocked. If he tried to make a new one with Earthbending he could easily collapse the mine. He could only proceed and hope he'd be able to find a new way out.
He wasn't a healer like Katara but he treated his injuries as best he could. He used Waterbending to force the blood to clot, a trick she had taught him. When he was confident the bleeding had stopped he continued on. The pain remained but at least he could move again. He left the unconscious agents in a spot with a stable roof.
He went much slower now, careful to scan ahead for threats. He found no more though. After walking for what felt like a half hour he reached part of the cave that was clearly not natural. The wall was polished jade and there was a decorated door with a black handle. Aang reached for the handle and turned it. The door was heavy but he heaved it open.
Standing in the center of the room wearing his Dai Li robes and an arrogant smile was Long Feng, plain as day.
Aang immediately took a fighting stance.
Long Feng wiggled his finger in condescension. "Ah ah ah" he warned. "This room is the most important load-bearing support structure of the entire base. If it gets damaged thousands of pounds of rocks will rain down to kill everyone here. Even with your Avatar State I doubt you could stop that much by yourself."
Aang stayed in his stance, but didn't move. "Where is Katara you son of a bitch?"
"Both you and your wife have become rather vulgar-lipped towards me" Long Feng mused.
"You've ignited a civil war that's ripped the Earth Kingdom apart and killed hundreds of innocent people you evil, cowardly, son of a bitch!"
Long Feng chuckled. "Don't blame me. This war is for the good of the Earth Kingdom and was unavoidable."
"That's rich!" Aang bellowed. "For the good of the Earth Kingdom?! Peace had finally been achieved and you ruined it!"
"As always you continue to think like a child," said Long Feng. "What you Air Nomads call peace does not exist here."
"What are you…?"
"Social inequality runs rampant in the Earth Kingdom on a scale the other nations could only imagine. Class divisions did not exist in your beloved Air Nation; the Water Tribes while politically being chiefdoms are largely family based societies, and the Fire Nation's war-based economy allowed for social escalation through the military and industry. Despite having a larger population than the other three nations combined, even before the Air Nomad extermination, the majority of Earth Kingdom citizens have always been poor farmers and other peasants. Most people in the Earth Nation can't even read."
"What's your point?"
"The war exposed just how unstable the Earth Kingdom's government really was. The Fire Nation was able to push us to the brink of extermination despite being a much smaller country. Do you know why? Because their political and military systems were far more efficient. They were able to steal much of our land because the army was not organized enough towards defending poorer sections of the Kingdom. Most of our military might was focused on protecting Ba Sing Se while the rest of our nation was left to suffer."
"You're one to talk about that!" Aang pointed out. "You're the one who refused to move troops out of there! You made it illegal to talk about the war, much less help with it!"
"It was that way long before I came to power" Long Feng calmly replied. "The system was built solely around preserving Ba Sing Se as the center of political and cultural power. If Ba Sing Se fell the Earth Kingdom would have no government to speak of as the world learned when it did. Therefore I had no choice but to maintain the status quo and preserve the capital. Moving out troops wouldn't have ensured victory against the Fire Nation, it only would have made us vulnerable."
"Don't talk as if you care about the Earth Kingdom! You just want power for yourself!"
Long Feng chuckled. "I guess I can't deny there's truth in that. But what I want will be good for the whole kingdom. I've given these people power and a voice for the first time in history. When we do away with the Earth Kingdom this obsolete Ba-Sing-Se-centric system will be no more. The entire continent will be under my watchful eye."
"You mean you'll control everything!"
"Of course! Who else is suited to such a task? I will bring the Earth Kingdom into a new modern age! We will become the most powerful nation in the world! No more humiliation like the 100 Year War will ever be suffered again!"
Aang felt a familiar pull in his mind. "You sound just like Fire Lord Sozin."
Long Feng seemed pleased by this comparison. "100 years ago the Fire Nation was in a period of economic flourish. Eventually it's population would have grown so large that it wouldn't have had enough land or resources to sustain it while the Earth Kingdom had more of both than it needed. As much trouble as the war caused I had to admit it was the only logical option Sozin had. It provided further economic stimulation and population control."
"Population control?!" Aang repeated. "You're acting like all the human life lost means nothing!"
Long Feng shook his head. "You're such a child. Fire Lord Sozin and I are of a kind. The only difference is I will succeed where he failed. Once the Earth Kingdom is mine we'll take the fight to the Fire Nation like you so boldly suggested all those years ago."
"What?"
"The revenge I promised my followers; once we are powerful enough we will invade and conquer the Fire Nation. Our superior numbers combined with my genius and innovation; they won't stand a chance. Eventually we'll even work our way up to the Water Tribes; after all once I kill you I have to be able to make sure the next Avatar doesn't become a problem."
Aang was tired of listening to this. "You're no different from Sozin at all. If one nation controls the others there will never be balance."
"Such a child" Long Feng said again. "Balance cannot exist in the current way. Once the entire world is under my control I will create a prosperous modern society, modeled after the Fire Nation, where war no longer exists. After all if everything is under my control no one can fight back."
"You're insane" Aang replied. "And full of yourself. But it won't work. I'll stop you!"
"I expected that answer" said Long Feng. "But listen to this. I exploited already existing weaknesses in the Earth Kingdom. This system could not have been very stable if it was so easily toppled. If things return to the old way it will not fix anything! The commoners will still be powerless and poor! How would you solve that Aang?! How would you do away with the political instability, in this nation and the others that lead to the 100 Year War and maintain peace? Do you consider yourself a hero because you ended that war? Real heroes do not end wars, they prevent them!"
Aang hesitated. He couldn't help but remember the guilt Roku felt over not being able to prevent the 100 Year War. He remembered the difficulty of trying to return Earth Kingdom colonies back from the Fire Nation and how strongly he disagreed with the way Ba Sing Se was run. "…I…I don't know yet. But I do know you can't be allowed to rule the world. You're ruthless and will do anything for power. You brainwashed and murdered Jet."
Long Feng was still unfettered. "Well I didn't expect to turn you to my side. That's why I'm going to kill you before the rest of my plans proceed."
"I'm sick of listening to you talk!" Aang shouted. "Tell me where Katara is or I'll take your bending!"
"She's dead!" Long Feng said curtly.
Aang's heart skipped a beat. He realized he couldn't sense Long Feng's heartbeat. He felt the floor around him. There was water in the space directly below them. He and Long Feng were standing on two platforms. The water separating them made him unable to directly feel Long Feng's heartbeat. A metal fence-like floor covered the rest of the room. Aang was surprised Long Feng risked confronting him in a room with water.
"You're lying!" Aang shouted. He had to believe that. She couldn't be dead.
"You can't tell can you?!" Long Feng asked with amusement. "Maybe she's alive maybe she's dead. You'll have to come over here to find out."
Aang knew better than to do what Long Feng wanted. He stayed in his place.
"No?" Long Feng asked. "All right then." He pulled a blowgun out of his sleeve, put it to his lips, and blew. A poison dart flew straight at Aang. Thinking quickly Aang flung some water into the air, stopping it.
"You were a fool to give me water to use!" Aang shouted. He shot a wave forward, turned it into icicles and pinning Long Feng against the wall. "Where's Katara?!"
"I told you she's dead," Long Feng said.
"That's a lie!" He felt himself trembling in fear and rage. His eyes started glowing for a second before he stopped them. He had almost entered the Avatar State involuntarily. That would be dangerous because even with his mastery of the Avatar State it would be very difficult to regain control of his actions if he entered it in blind rage.
"You'll have to come over here to find out!"
Aang hated doing what Long Feng said. He knew it must be a trap. He just had to trust he'd be powerful enough to stop whatever he was planning. He had to save Katara somehow.
He leapt over to Long Feng's platform and placed his palms on his forehead and chest, in the position needed to perform Energybending. He could also feel his heartbeat perfectly.
"Let's try this again" Aang said. "Where is she?"
"Dead." Aang felt a reaction.
"A lie" Aang acknowledged with relief.
"Ok you got me!" Long Feng admitted, throwing her arms up into the air in mock surrender. "She's not dead."
"I will take your bending away right now if you don't tell me the truth."
"Oh you don't want to know the truth!" Long Feng said with a sinister smile.
Aang tensed up in apprehension. "What…what do you mean?"
"Oh she may not be dead but I'd hardly count that as a blessing." He started laughing maniacally. "Oh believe me I ordered my men not to touch her but sometimes people just can't be controlled! Of course it's no surprise a pretty young woman like her would be popular with the guards."
Aang's grip tightened on Long Feng's shirt. "Popular?"
"Oh yes!" Long Feng said, moving inches away from Aang's face. "Why one guard in particular took a special liking to her. Why I dare say…" His voice adopted a sadistic curl. "…He couldn't keep his hands off her."
Aang's eyes widened, he felt like he had been stabbed in the chest. He shook his head frantically. "No! No!"
"I'm not lying as you can tell" Long Feng reminded. "While you were chasing you own tail looking for me, this man decided to take your wife's body as his prize!"
Aang was becoming totally hysterical. He stumbled backwards, clutching his head in his hands. "No! No! No! No!"
"That's right! You failed to protect your own wife!"
"SHUT UP!" Aang shouted with the voices of all the previous Avatars. His eyes and tattoos started glowing. Wind started blowing furiously throughout the chamber. The walls started cracking. He had completely lost control. The sheer force melted the ice surrounding Long Feng.
He lunged forward, grabbed Long Feng by the neck and forced him against the wall. All notions of mercy and pacifism had been forced out of Aang's mind by primal fury.
"DIE!" the Avatars shouted.
Even in the face of this awesome power Long Feng was unfazed. "I'm not going to die. You are."
Aang felt a painful tightness spreading throughout his body. Suddenly the wind stopped and he couldn't move. He stood there frozen in that position.
"You were so focused on me you didn't even notice my subordinate slip into the water tank from underground," Long Feng explained, "and shoot a poison dart into your foot."
A grate in the floor lifted open and Ling crawled out of the water carrying a blowgun in his remaining hand. Aang could now feel the numbness was radiating from his injured foot.
Long Feng reached up and pried Aang's hand away from his neck. "The Shirshu is a remarkable creature. It's venom instantly paralysis any prey, making it highly coveted among bounty hunters. Well the males that is. A female's venom on the other hand is so deadly that no one has ever survived contact with it. While useless for capturing targets alive, it is the perfect tool for…assassinations."
Aang felt like he was choking. His entire body was as stiff as a statue.
Long Feng kept bragging. "The best part is that because it takes several minutes to kill you have to listen to what I'm going to say now." He punched Aang in the face knocking him to the ground with blood leaking from his mouth. It still hurt despite the paralysis.
He knelt down and whispered in Aang's ear. "My army is over 100,000 men strong. Without you there is no possible way Ba Sing Se can defend against it. I will reclaim the city. I will take control of the Earth, Fire and Water Nations. I will kill every single one of your friends to make you pay for all you've done to me and there is nothing you can do about it."
Long Feng's words all cut Aang like knives. But as his still glowing eyes began to close there was only man's words echoing through his head.
Avatar Roku's voice rang. If you are killed in the Avatar State the reincarnation cycle will be broken and the Avatar will cease to exist.
Long Feng had one final taunt. "Oh and by the way, a guard did attack Katara like I just told you but another of my followers stopped him before he could do her any harm. You got all worked up for nothing."
Aang's eyes closed.
"See you in hell, Avatar."
Long Feng noticed Katara's necklace had fallen out of Aang's shirt. It was covered in blood from his shoulder wound. He picked it up and handed it to Ling.
"Well done Ling" Long Feng said. "You managed to redeem yourself for your failures. Even missing your hand your aim and stealth were as true as ever."
Ling was absolutely ecstatic. "Yes sir!"
"Send this necklace to your brother. Tell him to make sure to return it to its owner."
Ling sounded delighted with cruelty. "Yes sir!"
That night Katara was lying in wait, ready to put her plan of escape into action. When Ping opened the door she prepared to attack. She stopped when he threw her bloodstained necklace on the floor.
She forgot about everything and knelt down to grab it. When she saw the blood she became terrified. "What happened?!"
Ping stared at her with a cold expression. "The Avatar is dead."
Katara clutched the necklace to her heart. "No…No that's not true!" Tears began to flow. "You're lying!"
Ping's stone-like face continued to glare, like he was figuring out what horrible insult to follow with. Then something worse happened. His expression changed. It became like it was when Katara was first imprisoned, only deeper. It was full of nothing but pity. "I'm sorry. Truly I am."
And she knew he was telling the truth.
He turned around and left. Katara buried her hands in her face, sobbing in unbearable pain.