I really hate Ba Sing Se now...buncha bastards.

The group of teenagers wandered the halls of the university, trying to find the elusive Ona. Finally, someone was kind enough to point them in the right direction.

"Are you sure this is her room?" Sokka asked, unsure that the flimsy screen door blocked the only person who might know where Appa is in the entire Ba Sing Se city limits.

"Hello? Are you looking for me?" A quiet voice came from the room. "I'm Ona, if you're interested in the animal rights demonstration tomorrow."

"Yeah, I think it's her room, Sokka," Toph hissed. "Mind if we come in?"

"Ano sent you, didn't she? People are always getting us mixed up, even though an idiot could tell I'm the one missing a leg," Ona muttered from her room. Everyone looked at each other, slightly disturbed. A loud laugh shocked them back to their senses. "That's…five more for the count. I can't believe how many people fall for that one."

Ona looked just like Ano, only pudgy instead of thin. "You're the animal science twin, right?" Sokka asked. Ona nodded.

"Yes. Why?" Aang pulled out the jade bison.

"Do you know where this bison is?" Ona took a look at the sculpture.

"Hmm…Ano made this one. Took all four weeks, and me risking expulsion for allowing her in the poor thing's pen."

"They have Appa in a pen?" Aang cried. Ona hushed the furious Avatar.

"You must the Avatar. Yeah, giant fluffy fellow with six legs, a flat tail, and arrows? My idiot of a teacher had him tied down so he wouldn't fly away. I told him that, even though I strongly appose the use of it, the sedative would have been better."

"Where is he?"

Break

Ona led them to the pen, about three miles from the university. "Here he is."

Sure enough, the flying bison was tied down in a filthy pen, and he looked more than a little hungry. "Appa!" Appa strained to look up when he heard Aang's voice, but the ropes prevented him from seeing. Instead, he moaned. "Appa, boy, what have they done to you?" Aang murmured, flying down.

"I'm not sure you're allowed to be down there; Appa is property of Ba Sing Se now," Ona said. Aang looked up at her with a glare.

"Since Appa was stolen from me in the first place, he's still my bison."

"Even though you bought him legally," Zuko interjected, "he is still the Avatar's by rights, since he was never compensated for his loss. Talk to the merchant and get your money back."

"Yeah. We're taking him with us." Ona frowned at Katara's statement, then smiled.

"Thank Bhumi you guys came. I was about ready to release him anyway. I don't care if I could have been kicked off university property. No animal should be treated like that." Ona, who was apparently an Earthbender, slipped through the earth to get to Appa. She quickly untied him; Appa licked the stout Earth Kingdom student. "No problem, big guy."

Aang checked for Appa's saddle and reins, finding them in a small cave in the side of the pen. "We'll saddle you after a good long bath, boy," he murmured.

"Yeah. You stink," called Sokka, who was promptly knocked over by Toph.

"Sorry I couldn't save you, Appa. I tried," she apologized. Appa merely grunted, his way of saying "I forgive you."

"So…how do you expect to give him a bath?" Ona asked. Aang smirked.

"The fun way."

The "fun way" included a lot of water, soap, and a soaking wet flying bison. (For a bison to be soaking wet, it took a lot of water.) It now included a sopping Zuko for added laughs.

"I don't see what's so funny about this," he muttered as Katara bent the water from them all. "I'm soaked."

"That's the funny part," Sokka explained as though Zuko was an idiot. Zuko glared at Sokka, who ignored him.

"Well, glad to know I could help you reunite with Appa here," Ona said. "I guess you'll be leaving now?"

"Not quite." Everyone spun around to see Dai Li and Long Feng standing not far away. "You see, Avatar, I have an agreement with foreign royalty, and I promised I bring you to the princess." Zuko glared at the bastard.

"Azula…" he muttered threateningly. Long Feng looked at Zuko.

"How did you know?" Zuko spat at the ground.

"'Foreign royalty'…my scar didn't mess with my brain, you idiot." This was the first time Zuko had made a comment like that about his scar; Katara turned to look at him.

"Ah, yes, the Firebender Prince in disguise. Yes, we knew you were a Firebender; you see, a bounty hunter happened to recognize you. If you wish to remain hidden, you should do something about that scar, Prince Zuko." Long Feng turned to the others. "I bet you didn't know he was the exiled Fire Prince, did you?"

"Actually…" Long Feng didn't hear the other answer, since he was frozen completely in ice. The Dai Li tried to free their boss, but Aang had entered the Avatar State by now. Glowing blue and floating, he turned to Sokka.

"Start saddling Appa! Toph, help him," he said, his voice echoing with the sound of past Avatars. The two mentioned nodded and started doing what Aang asked. "Katara, take Zuko and go get his uncle. I handle the Dai Li!"

"Gotcha Aang. Zuko, let's go." The two teens ran off at lightning speed. They wove expertly through crowds, dodged animals, and trampled cabbages.

"Sorry! We'll pay for them later!" Katara called as she and Zuko rendered the few Dai Li watching the gates between the rings unconscious. The merchant just muttered.

"Next season, I'm selling watermelons or squash. You can't trample squash." He looked over at a fellow merchant, who happened to be picking pumpkin out of her hair. "Never mind."

Zuko and Katara reached the house soon after. "Uncle! Uncle, come help pack quickly!" There was no response. "Uncle?" Katara left Zuko to go pack while he went to find Iroh.

The elderly man was sitting in the kitchen, bound and gagged. "It's the Dai Li. They're still-" Iroh was cut off with a scream from Katara. Zuko finished untying his uncle, then went to see what the Waterbender was screaming about. "Here," Iroh finished as Zuko left. He hastily began loading anything important foods and such into weatherproof bags.

Zuko headed straight for the origin of the scream. Katara was shooting ice blades at two Dai Li. "Zuko, a little help here!" One of the Dai Li took her arms and pinned them.

"I don't think so…," he muttered, twisting her arms. Everyone winced when they heard a faint crack! Katara started crying.

Zuko kicked the one holding her; he fell to the ground and released Katara. The other Dai Li was able to toss Zuko before he could be taken out. "Agh!"

Katara used her other arm and formed ice daggers again. Before, she had not been aiming to seriously harm, but the pain in her arm was overriding her inane mercifulness. She threw the dagger hard, aiming for the groin.

The man fell, moaning in obvious pain. Zuko grabbed Katara's good hand. "You okay?" Katara gasped in pain as Zuko inspected her arm.

"I think my arm is broken," she panted. "C'mon, we need to get our stuff."

"Done." Iroh came out carrying everything. He had somehow managed to cram everything into four packs. "Are you okay, Miss Katara?"

"Dai Li got her. We shouldn't be standing around here, waiting for more to come," he said. He took three of the packs.

"Zuko, I can carry one," Katara started to say, but Zuko cut her off.

"Not with a possibly broken arm you can't. I know the way my uncle packs; these bags are heavy. Let's go." Iroh and Katara followed after the former prince.

By now, people knew what was going on. Some helped them to go fast, others hindered them. One or two people mentioned how they had been living in fear of the Dai Li for too long and they were "gonna give those maniacs what they have comin' to 'em."

About halfway to where the others had been left, Katara collapsed with a cry of pain. "My leg!" Zuko stopped and leaned down to check on her.

"It's broken." Grunting, he adjusted the packs and lifted Katara up bridal style. I went from fugitive to tea server to house servant to escort and back to fugitive in less than a month, he thought. Now I'm carrying a wounded Waterbender.

Katara took the packs. "Might as well make myself useful," she muttered. Zuko nodded and motioned for his uncle to hurry up. Iroh, despite being old and out of shape, was able to keep up with his young nephew.

Suddenly, a huge Dai Li came out of nowhere. Iroh stopped and sent a large fireball at him, followed by a lightning blast before continuing on.

"Is he after us?" Zuko asked.

"I'm not lookin'," Iroh replied. Katara looked over Zuko's shoulder.

"I don't see him, but that doesn't mean we've lost him. How much farther?" A small explosion about a mile away answered her question. "Never mind."

The three arrived at Appa's pen shortly afterwards. The remaining Dai Li men had been either drowned or caught up in a swirling vortex. A few had had their limbs crushed beneath rocks before they could bend them, and those lay moaning in agony.

Aang had calmed down a bit by now and ran to meet Zuko, Katara, and Iroh. "What happened?"

"Dai Li got her in the house, then one must have used Earthbending to cause Katara to fall and break a leg. Her arm might be broken," Zuko explained hastily. He looked down; Katara must have passed out from pain.

Aang nodded and called for Appa. Momo, who had followed the three others from the house, came soaring in. A pack of pygmy pumas began circle the group, seemingly protecting them. Appa groaned as he stretched his sore leg muscles, but was ready to fly. Sokka was at the reins and Toph was in the saddle.

"Hurry!" Sokka called. Aang bent Iroh up, then Zuko and Katara, then himself.

"C'mon buddy, we're outta here." Appa groaned in agreement and took off, leaving Ba Sing Se in a citywide coup.

(In case you don't know, coup is pronounced "coo". For years I thought it was "coop"...)

Let me know if this seems a little rushed. Oh, and Ona ran off like a little girl who can't tie her shoes (no offense meant to readers with toddlers, be they sibling, cousin, or child).