A/N: Thanks to my new Beta, TTAvatarfan for helping me out with this one. For all of you Kataangers, the big Kataang/angst moment is coming up next chapter. Enjoy the story!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. Now on with the story.
It was late, but I could still make out the Fire Nation flags all over the city. I landed Appa near the sewer pipe we used last time, luckily they were still unprotected. Sokka groaned. He obviously wasn't happy about their entry path.
I opened the sewer cover and climbed in, making a sludge shield that kept both Katara and I dry. Toph climbed in as well, creating a shield of her own out of all the earth impurities in the sewage water, which in turn kept Suki dry. Sokka, no bending and all, was forced to climb threw the water while fending off the little suckers that occasionally attached themselves to his arms and legs.
We got up to the streets and climbed out of the manhole. The road was deserted, but lights were lit in most all of the windows.
"That's odd." Sokka whispered, still cleaning himself off. "Didn't we help get everyone out of the city?"
"Maybe the Fire Nation discovered that the disease was fake." Katara guessed.
Her guess was right. Two guards walked across an intersection not too far from the manhole with a 'sick' person in between them. Lucky for us, the guards didn't see us. We watched them warily until they were out of sight.
"Toph, can you see any underground tunnels? Last time we were here, a resistance force used underground tunnels to travel through the city unnoticed."
"Yes, there's moving down there too. People maybe? The city's bedrock is all cracked from all the fighting. I can't see very well down there." Toph said, an annoyed look on her face.
"Can you make an entrance?" Sokka asked.
Toph nodded, stomping her foot. A large hole shot out of the earth and we walked in. Toph closed the tunnel behind us.
"Hey Aang, light." Sokka said it like it should be assumed that whenever it got dark, I was supposed to be in charge of keeping it light. Well, I was, until we picked up Zuko.
We followed the tunnel for a few minutes until it emerged into a small cavern. At the far end, a handful of glowing crystals sat in a bowl.
"Right," said Toph, pointing to a tunnel to their right.
Sokka looked at me. I shrugged and followed Toph.
After an hour of traveling through the tunnels, we walked into a larger cavern filled with soldiers and refugees. A few noticed and came over to us.
"So, you've come back. Wana 'save' us again?"
I recognized the soldier that spoke as the one who had criticized King Bumi.
"Where's King Bumi?" asked Katara. It was more a command than a question.
The guard sneered, "The 'king' was taken to one of those wooden cages and moved into the palace. After your little stunt, the mayor of the city didn't want to risk him escaping."
I looked at my friends, they had that determined look on their faces.
"Can you take us to the palace?" I asked.
"Ha, what do you think those paranoid Fire freaks did first? The Palace sits on metal now."
"That won't be a problem." Toph cracked her knuckles.
The guard shrugged. He told to guards to lead us to under the citadel. We got to a small cavern with a roof of metal.
"There it is. Have fun getting through that." One of the guards commented before following his companion back to the main cavern.
"Toph?" Katara asked, waving her hand in front of the earthbender before remembering she was blind and putting her hand down.
Toph elevated herself using a pillar of stone and started ripping the metal apart, eventually drilling a small hole in the thick metal.
"That was tiring. I think I'll just stay here, you guys go up ahead. That metal is at least a foot thick, and solid!" Toph said, flopping onto an earth bed.
We climbed up into a hall with doors spaced every few feet.
"The prison can't be too far from here," Sokka stated.
We began checking all the doors. Most were empty, but some held empty wooden or metal cages. Sokka signaled us to come over. We all came quickly to see what he was looking at.
At the end of the hall, there was a massive double door that was partly open. We crept up to it and I put my head through the opening.
"... and when they get here... poison the... Isn't it great?" hushed
voices whispered.
At the far end of the large room sat a small wooden cage with a tough looking man in it. A hooded figure was taunting the old man. The hooded figure eventually got up and walked off to a different door.
I waited for a few minutes to make sure he had left and walked into the room. I recognized the man in the cage.
"Bumi!" I whispered loudly in relief, and ran towards him.
The others followed, Katara bending water out of her pouch and guiding it into the lock. She froze it on, then in one fluid motion, broke it.
"Thank you, Katara. You were always my favorite." Bumi said, opening the cage and stretching.
"Hey wait a sec..." Sokka complained.
"Now lets get going." Bumi said, interrupting Sokka.
We were almost to the entrance to the tunnels when six guards came. Bumi made a wall of rock between us and them and ignored them. We climbed back into the tunnels, Toph bending the entrance shut again.
We walked into the main cavern and the earthbenders looked at us in surprise. They gave him angry glares, but otherwise ignored the crazy king. The guard who had the grudge against Bumi walked over to us.
"What is he doing here?" He said in a rough voice.
"He's here to help us take this city back." Katara replied, "Last I checked you need help, and King Bumi is probably the best there is."
"Check again," The rude man said before walking off.
Katara fumed.
"This is so infuriating. We try to help them but... agh!" She yelled angrily.
"Well I'm tired, I vote we find someplace to sleep and go to bed." Sokka said, stifling a yawn.
"I agree, no need for a tent tonight." Toph said before falling to the ground and going to sleep. We all followed suit with varying levels of preparation.
I had a nightmare that night. It had been the same one I had after the Day of Black Sun. Katara had been killed, and I couldn't bend. During one point, I felt a touch on my forehead and knew it was Katara. The nightmares went away after that.
A/N: It was short, but I hoped you like in anyways. Review Please.