A/N:
I just realised that for the past three chapters, I forgot the disclaimer. So, here it is:
I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. This story is an original, thought out by me, and no copyright infringement was intended.
Okay, now we've got that out the way, enjoy the chapter!
Setting Appa down on the ground of Ba Sing Se, Katara looked around nervously. All was silent, and even the street lamps had been extinguished, engulfing the city in almost total darkness. This unnerved her and she seriously began to doubt her faith in this plan. Toph seemed to sense this.
"Relax Sugar Queen." She said, in what Katara assumed was supposed to be a comforting voice. "We'll be fine. Now help me get down off this thing."
Appa grunted at being called a "thing" but other than that, stayed quiet. For once, Katara wanted him to be as loud as possible, so that the Dai Li (if, by some impossibility) hadn't already noticed the ten ton fluffy monster, then they would hear him.
Sticking to the plan, Katara murmured to Appa that he should fly to the Outer Wall, so that Sokka could collect him.
Appa groaned as he set off flying. It always amazed Katara that Appa could understand instructions like that, yet Momo couldn't understand the simple command of "water".
After waiting for five minutes in silence, Katara looked around again.
"There's no one coming. Should we start for the palace?"
Suddenly, all of the lamps flooded with fire, lighting up in a circle, showing Dai Li agents surrounding them. Each agent had a large boulder pointed in Katara and Toph's direction, ready to throw it.
A quick scan of her surroundings told Katara that there were too many Dai Li agents surrounding them to fight. Not that we intend on fighting much, she reminded herself.
"Why don't I save you the hassle?" Came Azula's voice, ringing out from somewhere behind the agents directly opposite them.
Katara and Toph assumed their fighting stances.
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary." Katara said, drawing water out from her pouch and keeping it in the air.
Right in front of them, the Dai Li agents parted to make way for Azula.
"Oh no, I insist." She smirked, striding towards Katara and Toph.
"Shoot to stun, not to kill. I'll save that for later." Azula told the Dai Li agents, an evil smile upon her face.
Oh. She doesn't want to kill us straight away. That's nice of her, Katara thought, really worried now.
"Relax, would you? I can feel your heartbeat, and it's very unsettling." Toph hissed, so quietly that only Katara could hear. Katara stared at Toph disbelievingly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll just stop breathing then shall I?" She spat back.
"Appreciate it." Toph nodded, smiling slightly.
Katara rolled her eyes, and water whipped the nearest Dai Li agents, expanding her water to cause as much damage as she could.
That started the battle.
Each Dai Li agent hurled his boulder as fast as he could in Toph and Katara's direction. Not the smartest thing to do, in Katara's opinion, as, literally a second before, Toph had jerked herself and Katara to the ground. They managed to avoid boulders to the head, instead just getting pelted with debris, caused by the boulders crashing together just above their heads. Some boulders, to Katara's amusement, had missed the other boulders, instead hitting the Dai Li agents opposite.
However, this attack left Toph and Katara in a very vulnerable position on the floor. A moment after their first attack failed, the Dai Li agents had immediately bended another boulder, again pointed directly at Katara and Toph.
"Damn it." Katara heard Toph mutter. That's certainly one way to sum up our situation…Katara thought, disappointed that she hadn't managed to take out more of the agents before getting "captured". Although, looking around, there were at least twenty agents lying unconscious, some dripping wet, some with shattered boulders near their heads.
Katara and Toph began to stand up, making it look like they still wanted to fight, but Azula stepped forward, into the circle of Dai Li agents.
"I don't know you very well, but I know that you're not stupid." She said, a satisfied smile creeping onto her face.
You think you've won…Katara thought, You haven't.
"I'll speak to you in the morning." Azula said, beginning to walk away.
Apparently, this was some sort of signal, because at that moment, the Dai Li swarmed in.
Hands clutched at Katara's wrist, their grips painfully tight. She tried to struggle, finding it difficult to breathe in the crowd and got hit across the face for her efforts.
Oh, that's it…Katara thought angrily. She wasn't supposed to fight back, but otherwise she'd suffocate.
Summoning up all of her strength, she kicked out at the nearest agents, who yelped in pain, not expecting her attack.
There was a sudden rumble beneath them. An earthquake.
"Toph?" Katara cried out hopefully.
"I can't help it!" Came the faint reply. Katara couldn't see Toph, her vision had been obscured by the agents armour, but she hoped that Toph was faring better than she was at the moment.
Katara could already feel a bruise forming at the side of her face where she had been struck.
And there's the little matter of the full scale earthquake that's happening directly underneath me…She thought, looking down.
The agents had temporarily let go of Katara, unsure of who was causing the earthquake, but they quickly caught hold of her again, this time using the handcuffs made of rock, so Katara couldn't struggle free.
She began to get pushed, the agents moving seemingly as one, towards the direction of the palace. However, the earthquake made it difficult for anyone to walk properly.
"I order you to stop! Whoever is causing the earthquake, I order you to stop!" Shouted one agent, seemingly the head of the Dai Li, as his uniform appeared smarter than the others.
Yeah, Toph, please stop! Katara thought, panicking as some agents began to fall, dragging her down with them. Agents began to tread on Katara accidentally, unable to keep their footing as the earthquake worsened.
Again, Katara struggled for breath in the confined area. Her head was aching, and her ankle felt sprained, from where some idiot had stumbled over it. Someone kicked her in the shoulder, causing pain to explode all down her arm.
Stop it…stop it…stop it…
But it didn't stop.
The earthquake carried on for another minute, which seemed like a year to Katara, who, unable to get up and now unable to move through pain, carried on getting kicked and trodden on.
By the time the earthquake stopped, the world had gone hazy for Katara, who slowly felt the pain ebb away.
Well, this is an unexpected way to die…Katara thought before everything went black.
A/N:
Don't worry, all will be revealed in the next chapter (including whether Katara lives or dies…but I think you all know the answer to that, don't you?)
I hope the fight part was okay…I haven't written them before, so let me know what you think.
Reviewers Best People Ever
(I don't do subtle, lol)