Chapter 26: The Revolt
In the hours just before sunrise Aang and the others set up camp on the island in the middle of Lake Laogai. Katara had provided transport on a raft of ice, shuttling them to a relatively safe haven. No one had the energy left to deal with getting back into the city, where fresh Dai Li agents might be waiting for them. Sleep was crucial to regaining their strength, even if it was on an uninhabited island.
In his dreams Aang found himself reliving an old memory, before the hundred years frozen in an iceberg. Gyatso had taken Aang on one of his journeys around the world, exploring the various cultures the other three nations had to offer. There were a few places Gyatso refused to bring Aang to, such as Ba Sing Se or Yu Dao. On this trip they visited the Fire Nation capital, where Aang had made a friend on a previous visit years before.
"Kuzon!" Aang shouted, hopping off the sky bison and running for the Fire Nation teenager in front of a large house.
"Aang!" Kuzon yelled back, waving to his friend. He braced himself as Aang approached, but it didn't stop Aang from running into Kuzon and knocking him over. On his back Kuzon's amber eyes glared at Aang. "You're getting too big for that."
"Sorry," Aang said, getting off Kuzon. He held a hand out to Kuzon, which Kuzon accepted and let Aang help him back up.
Still at the bison's reins, Gyastso chuckled. "You two play nice," Gyatso ordered. "I'll return in a few hours."
As the sky bison took Gyatso back into the air Kuzon racked his fingers through his loose black hair. "Same old Gyatso," Kuzon said.
"Hey, do you have any new toys?" Aang asked.
Kuzon shook his head and sighed. "I haven't had time to get any."
"Is something going on?" Aang asked.
"Nothing I can say outside," Kuzon admitted. He started walking to his home, going inside and closing the door after Aang entered. No one else was home, which Kuzon preferred. "My mom wants me to sign up for the military."
"Why? There's no war brewing is there?" Aang asked.
"Not yet, just some unrest among peasants," Kuzon said. "But it's nothing the Avatar can't handle when he returns."
"But that's not for another five years," Aang said. "It's only been eleven since Avatar Roku died."
"Didn't you just turn eleven last fall?" Kuzon asked.
Aang pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not this again Kuzon. If I were the Avatar, don't you think I would know?"
"I'm just saying, the timeline fits," Kuzon reasoned.
"Same thing for at least a dozen other airbenders I know, and I'm sure there's more from the other air temples," Aang said. "I'm not the Avatar."
Sunlight on his face woke up Aang, despite wanting to keep sleeping. The high walls of the city delayed the dawn, but Aang wished it could have waited a few more hours. What convinced Aang to get up was the sound of someone crying. A short walk to the shore and Aang found Katara sitting by the water, her tears falling into the lake.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Aang asked, sitting by Katara.
Katara sighed and looked at Aang. "They messed with my head, turned me into a puppet." She wiped tears from her face, but more kept coming. "I don't know if you can trust me anymore."
"I still trust you," Aang said, placing one hand on Katara's shoulder.
"How can you?" Katara asked, looking away from Aang.
"I saw you snap out of it back at the palace," Aang answered. "And Sokka said you wouldn't hurt him, even when Long Feng used those magic words."
Loud snoring coming from the camp reminded Katara that her brother was still there. "Why is Sokka here anyway?" Katara asked. "Didn't we leave him back home?"
Aang shrugged. "I guess he missed you?"
"Well, I'm glad he did," Katara admitted.
Suddenly a loud roar sounded from above, very familiar to Aang and Katara. It woke up everyone still asleep, while Sokka screamed awake. Above the lake Appa flew towards the island, gradually descending for a landing.
Sokka rubbed his eyes and looked at Appa. "Well this is highly unlikely."
In just a minute Appa landed on the island and licked Aang. "Where have you been buddy?"
"Great, flying," Toph muttered. "Can we not do that please?"
"Why?" Haru asked. "Afraid of heights?"
"I prefer to stick to the ground where I can see," Toph answered.
"Who are you anyway?" Katara asked.
"Only the Greatest Earthbender of All Time," Toph bragged. "But you can call me Toph."
"She can probably teach you a few tricks with earthbending," Haru said. "I'm still a little sore from the last time I fought her."
"Want another rematch?" Toph asked.
"No thank you," Haru answered.
Sokka chuckled for a few seconds. "Anyway, I think it's time we compare notes on what we've all been doing for the last few months."
"Is something burning?" Toph interrupted, sniffing the air. "Do you guys smell smoke?"
Everyone paused to smell the air. "I smell it too," Suki said. She looked around and saw smoke rising from behind the inner wall. "Look!" she yelled, pointing to the smoke.
"Great, we sleep and the city burns down," Katara muttered.
"Everyone on Appa, we've got to fly," Aand said.
"Team Avatar away!" Sokka shouted.
Katara glared at her brother. "We are not using that name."
Standing on the roof of the Dangerous Ladies Salon, Azula watched one of her childhood fears unfold before her eyes. A peasant uprising had started in the lower ring, spreading chaos and destruction in its wake. As a member of the Fire Nation royal family, if this were happening in her homeland Azula would be one of the revolt's targets. While it could be useful in bringing down the Earth Kingdom, Azula didn't want her own people getting the same idea.
A third of the lower ring was already in chaos and spreading like wildfire. It had started in the slums, where Dai Li suppression of the people had been weakest. Agents in the surrounding districts had been caught off guard during the night, unprepared for the sheer number of people rebelling. Timing could not have been better, as many of the Dai Li had been in their hidden base and occupied there. A mob had nearly entered the middle ring before the city guard knew what was happening, barely getting the gates closed in time to keep the uprising contained.
Watching the chaos spread Azula calculated how long it would take to reach her. She figured she had until noon before the salon would be destroyed, just enough time for a catnap. Azula hadn't slept at all during the night, and she knew she would collapse soon without rest. She walked inside the salon, picking a room with a massage bed to sleep on. Almost instantly Azula fell asleep with her Blue Spirit mask on her lap.
The few hours Azula slept seemed to pass instantly, waking up at the sound of someone walking inside the salon. Immediately she smelled smoke, guessing that there was a fire nearby. Azula stood up and hurried to the room's door, listening for the person in the hallway. When Azula heard the person almost reach the door she moved to strike.
At the last second Azula stopped herself from firebending at the girl in the hallway. "Mai!"
"Hey," Mai said, dropping a knife she was about to throw. "Don't do that."
Azula relaxed a bit before looking around Mai for anyone else. "Were you followed?"
"That doesn't matter," Mai answered. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
"I've been kind of busy," Azula said.
Mai picked up the knife she dropped and slipped it back into her sleeve. "It's been an eventful night for everyone."
"No, Mai you didn't?" Azula questioned, guessing what Mai might have done on her own.
"It was going to happen eventually," Mai said. She walked to the front door of the salon with Azula behind her. "A nudge here, a few incriminating stories there, some volatile people everywhere, it was easy to start a riot."
Azula opened the front doors and looked through the streets. One of the gates to the middle ring was close, and there were soldiers gathering by it. The gate was closed, cutting off the soldiers from reinforcements. On the top of the wall were spaced out earthbenders, sentries to detect and prevent rebel earthbenders from tunneling through the wall.
"Do you have any idea how damaging this revolt will be, even if it succeeds?" Azula questioned.
"Hey, I only lit the fuse," Mai answered. "Have you seen what the Dai Li do to helpless women? Once that came to light there was no stopping this."
From the street opposite of the gate a mob came into view, running towards the gate. Some of its members were throwing rocks and torches into nearby buildings, vandalizing everything they could find. Others were yelling at the top of their lungs, calling for the Dai Li to disband immediately and an overthrow of the Earth King. Thousands were already in the mob, and more joined them as people in the area started believing in the cause.
"No stopping this alright," Azula muttered. Sheer numbers favored the peasants, though the soldiers and agents were better trained. "Don't they realize this leaves them vulnerable to invasion?"
"I don't think they do," Mai suggested. "The Dai Li have kept talk of the war silenced for so long, some of these people might actually believe it doesn't exist."
"In any case we can't stay here," Azula said. "Let's blend in with the crowd, see if they can break down one of those gates for us."
From high in the air, the chaos almost appeared to be spreading like a wave. Two fronts moved across the ring, on a collision course with each other on the far side of the ring. Appa flew over the burnt out slums, which had been abandoned after the riots moved on. The high walls of the city may have kept the people contained, but they were useless against a beast that could fly.
"This is bad," Aang said.
"Is it very bad?" Toph asked, holding onto Sokka in the saddle.
"Yes, yes it is," Suki answered. As Appa flew over the wall between rings Suki could see the city guard mobilizing through the streets of the middle ring, flanked by thin ranks of Dai Li agents. "This is going to become a bloodbath real quick."
"But why is it happening now?" Haru asked.
"Well…" Sokka muttered, one hand behind his head. "We did kind of cripple the Dai Li."
"What's that got to do with this?" Suki asked.
"People here really don't like the Dai Li," Sokka said. "You've seen what they do to people they don't agree with."
"Do you think someone told these people about what we were doing last night?" Katara asked.
Sokka shrugged. "Probably, we released many people the Dai Li were trying to brainwash. It may have been the final straw for the people down there."
"There's got to be something we can do to stop it," Haru said. "This is going to cripple Ba Sing Se regardless of who wins."
Appa passed over the wall between the middle and upper rings, getting closer to the palace. From above it appeared that the uprising wasn't even happening, the rich and wealthy going about their business as if nothing was wrong. Only soldiers at the gates and in front of the palace betrayed the illusion.
"Do you think they might let us in this time?" Aang wondered. He guided Appa down towards the palace, expecting an attack like the last time. Instead of fighting all of the soldiers scattered, clearly remembering yesterday's outcome.
Appa landed at the top of restored steps, right outside the front doors of the palace. Everyone climbed out of Appa's saddle and hurried inside, finding more soldiers backing away. Inside the palace the big fancy doors to the throne room had been repaired and left wide open. A group of five generals were inside the throne room, discussing with the Earth King.
Young King Kuei looked too small for the throne he sat in, the weight of a city on his narrow shoulders. Though Kuei intended well for his city, ignorance and isolation had blinded him to the severe problems in Ba Sing Se. For as long as Kuei could remember he had delegated most responsibilities to Long Feng, and he was nowhere to be found. Unprepared for the current crisis Kuei allowed his Council of Five to take command, counting on the experience of the generals.
One member of the Council of Five was General Sung, who recognized Avatar Aang from the outer wall. Sung broke away from the rest of the Council and approached Aang. "Avatar, I'm afraid that we must ask for your assistance."
Aang hesitated for a second, surprised by Sung admitting that he needed help. "Sir, I don't know how I can help."
Another member of the Council approached Aang, the leader General Howe. "History seems to be repeating itself. We can only pray the same solution works twice."
Sokka stepped up beside Aang. "Not all of us are familiar with Ba Sing Se's history," Sokka said. "Could you fill us in please?"
King Kuei stood up from his throne and walked towards Aang. "My ancestor, the forty-sixth Earth King, once had his reign threatened by an uprising. He asked Avatar Kyoshi to solve the crisis for him."
Suki raised her hand. "The peasants were revolting then because that Earth King had failed to stop Chin the Conqueror from nearly dominating the entire Earth Kingdom."
"Correct," Kuei said. "The people of this city wanted to intervene, but my ancestor refused. He set himself and his agenda above the needs of the people, which fueled dissent. That arrogance nearly ended the line of Earth Kings, and would have if Kyoshi had not intervened."
"What did Kyoshi do?" Aang asked.
"Kyoshi acted as a mediator between the government and the people, negotiating a balance between the old ways and the new," Kuei described. "She created the position of Grand Secretariat, who would represent the interests of the general populace. Then she trained an elite force of earthbenders, which would safeguard our cultural heritage. Kyoshi created the Dai Li."
"What!" Aang shouted. "How could any Avatar make something that corrupt?"
"It wasn't during her lifetime," General Howe answered. "After Kyoshi passed the Dai Li expanded their authority beyond their intended purpose. The power they accumulated corrupted their ranks, undoing everything Kyoshi had done for Ba Sing Se."
Sokka leaned forward. "Maybe if you guys disband the Dai Li it would relieve a lot of tension. They're doing far more harm than good right now, so get rid of them."
"That might be a problem," General Howe said. "The Dai Li are in disarray and Long Feng is nowhere to be found."
At that moment a courier entered the throne room, exhausted and appeared ready to collapse. "Sir, the rebels have broken through the third wall, they're storming the middle ring as we speak."
The courier passed out from exhaustion, and Kuei looked at the fallen man. Then he looked at Aang again. "Will you help us, Avatar?"
Aang hesitated, doubting his ability to handle a crisis. "I'll do what I can."
"This is Jet, and his freedom fighters."
Mai introduced Azula to Jet outside the earthbending arena in the middle ring, which was being used as a base of operations for rebel organization. Jet's time in Ba Sing Se had shown him that the city's oppression was no different than the Fire Nation occupation elsewhere in the Earth Kingdom, and that the refugees that came every day only traded one intolerable life for another. The current government had to be replaced if the city was going to be worth protecting from the war.
"A pleasure to meet you, miss…" Jet said.
"Li Mei," Azula answered. "Are you leading this little operation?"
"At first," Jet answered. "But now it's taken on a life of its own. Even if I wanted to I can't stop the revolution."
"And just what do you plan to replace the government with?" Azula asked. She was curious if Jet had even planned out what would happen next.
"Well we can't set up a new monarchy, that's part of the problem right now," Jet answered. "I was thinking of maybe getting together everyone qualified to be a leader, then picking one based on popular vote. It's never been done on a large scale before, this idea of democracy."
Azula fought the urge to throw up. "Let me know how that turns out."
"There you are!"
Everyone's head turned towards the interrupter, finding Zuko walking towards Azula and Mai. His fists were clenched as he got closer, until he stopped just a foot in front of Azula. For a few seconds the siblings locked eyes, each trying to guess what the other would do. Immediately Zuko punched Azula's face, surprising everyone else as Azula fell on her back.
Slowly Azula got up and wiped spit from her lip, and remembering the latest reason why Zuko would hit her. "Alright, I deserved that. Are you done?"
Still mad at Azula for abandoning him in the Dai Li base, Zuko wanted an Agni Kai right then and there. But he realized that if the roles had been reversed he would have done the same thing. "Hardly, but we have bigger concerns right now than sibling rivalry."
"Like that?" Mai said, glancing at the sky. She pointed above the wall between the middle and upper rings, where a sky bison was flying towards the earthbending arena.
"The Avatar," Zuko muttered. He glanced at Jet, who was staring at the flying beast. "Which side do you think he'll support?"
Jet shrugged. "I've never met him."
The sky bison flew lower in the sky, but didn't try to land. Instead a passenger in the saddle dropped a few hundred pieces of parchment into the crowd in front of the arena, one of which Zuko grabbed. He read the parchment to himself, then aloud. "To whoever is in charge of the revolt, please come to the palace to discuss a ceasefire. The Avatar has agreed to mediate the negotiations, and as a token of goodwill the Dai Li are hereby disbanded."
"An empty gesture," Azula commented. "This uprising already broke their power over the city."
"True," Jet said. He grabbed the parchment and hummed to himself. "But this may be worth looking into." Jet glanced at Mai, the girl that opened his eyes to the Dai Li atrocities beneath Lake Laogai. "Do you want to come along?"
"That's probably not a good idea," Mai answered. "I'm sure you can handle it."
Zuko watched Jet leave with two of his freedom fighters, off to represent the people of Ba Sing Se at the negotiating table. Once they were out of sight Zuko faced Mai and Azula. "Do either of you have any ideas to gatecrash the negotiations?"
Mai hummed and thought about possible ways to reach the palace. She saw some of the liberated women from the underground base nearby, telling their story to the other peasants rebelling. "You two sneak ahead, I'll accelerate this revolt."
Beneath Ba Sing Se a lone earthbender tunneled his way towards the center of the city. Long Feng was dripping wet and exhausted from the previous night, but had no time to sleep or make himself presentable. Time was against him, with his Dai Li crippled and the Avatar having a head start on reaching the Earth King.
Eventually the tunnel broke through into the crystal catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se, mainly used for harvesting the natural crystals there. The occasional nonbender would be imprisoned there, but only when regular prison cells were full. Inside the cavern lit by glowing green crystals Long Feng starting earthbending himself upward on a pillar of stone, opening a vertical shaft when he reached the ceiling.
On the other side of the bedrock Long Feng emerged in the basement of the palace, bypassing all of the security guarding the building. He hurried through the palace, making up a story for the Earth King on his way towards the throne room. Instead of entering the throne room itself Long Feng entered a secret room behind the throne, intended for earthbending bodyguards to be hidden inside. There was one such bodyguard inside at the time, surprised by Long Feng's appearance long enough to be vulnerable to a knockout punch to the head.
Small holes in the wall between the secret room and the throne allowed Long Feng to listen in anything happening on the other side. He could hear the Earth King's breath from the throne, observing something in front of him but not participating in the conversation. The Avatar was there too, discussing solutions to a crisis between General Howe and some kid Long Feng didn't recognize by voice. Carefully Long Feng earthbent a larger hole in the wall to see through, finding the Avatar's friends standing by the big fancy doors the Earth King liked. Toph was standing in the large doorway, too far away to sense Long Feng's presence without actively searching for it.
Cursing under his breath, Long Feng realized he was far too late to continue his deception of King Kuei. It was time to use his ace in the hole, to retain his power by any means necessary. With earthbending Long Feng smashed through the wall, destroyed the throne, and grabbed King Kuei and held a sharp piece of stone at his neck.
"Do anything, and the Earth King dies!" Long Feng threatened, seeing surprise and shock on every face in the room.
No one in the room obeyed the command. Generals in the room all took earthbending stances, Aang readied his staff, Sokka prepared to throw his boomerang, Haru and Toph pulled rocks out the floor, Jet and his freedom fighters drew their weapons, Suki whipped out a new pair of war fans, and Katara bent ice over her ears before forming a water whip.
"You've already lost Long Feng!" Sokka yelled. "No matter how this goes, you lose."
"Oh no, I still have one last move," Long Feng gloated. "Now do as I say, or suffer mutually assured destruction."
Aang glanced at Katara, seeing the ice on her ears to silence any mind control phrases. "You're bluffing!"
"Mad it is then," Long Feng said, glaring at Aang. "Avatar, the Earth King had invited you to Lake Laogai."
Nothing happened.
"Avatar! The Earth King had invited you to Lake Laogai!"
"Is this supposed to be the part where I go crazy and start attacking everyone?" Aang asked, not even feeling a subconscious urge to do anything wrong. "I must have missed that memo."
Long Feng scowled, vowing to kill the mindbender that was supposed to condition the Avatar. He still had the sharp stone at King Kuei's neck. "All of you will leave now, or he dies."
"Kill him, and you lose your only bargaining chip," Jet argued.
"Let him go before you do something stupid!" Toph yelled. Suddenly she noticed the presence of two people in the hallway behind her, recognizing them from the underground base. It was Sparky and the girl that used to wear a mask, both moving their arms in a circular motion that charged energy at their fingertips. "Everyone get down!"
At the same time Zuko and Azula fired twin bolts of lightning, aimed at Toph and at Katara in front of her. Toph ducked in time to dodge the lightning aimed at her head, but Katara didn't hear the warning. Haru tackled Katara to get her out of the way, both tumbling onto the floor. Zuko's lightning aimed at Toph struck Jet, while Azula's lightning towards Katara hit Long Feng and King Kuei.
As three dead bodies fell to the floor Aang's jaw dropped at the sight. He turned around and saw Azula and Zuko combining their firebending to send a wave of red and blue flames into the throne room. Aang countered with his own firebending, piercing the mixed flames with a stream of fire. As the flames dispersed Aang saw Azula and Zuko ducking into side rooms from the hallway. Behind where they used to stand was Mai, leading a charge of peasants into the palace.
Mai saw the dead bodies in the throne room, and that the last person seen firebending was the Avatar. Zuko and Azula were already out of sight in the side rooms, and it was all too easy to pin the blame on the wrong firebender. "The Avatar killed Jet and the Earth King!" Mai accused, pointing at him for the peasants' benefit. "The Avatar has betrayed us all!"
Mob mentality consumed the peasants, rushing forward in a lust for blood. Wielding every weapon imaginable in addition to earthbending, they'd be a formidable army if properly trained. Hundreds ran into the throne room, leaving Mai to watch. Aang and the others in the throne room didn't like the odds, especially when the aggression was misguided.
"Don't hurt anyone!" Aang yelled.
"Tell that to them!" Toph yelled back. With earthbending she made the sunk the floor in front of the peasants fifteen feet, sending dozens tumbling down until enough bodies filled the hole.
More angry peasants flooded into the throne room, trampling over the bodies of those who came before them. Katara bent some of her water to the ground and froze it, making some of the peasants slip on top of it. Haru and the generals earthbent walls to slow down the mob until enemy earthbenders demolished them. Aang blew as much air as he could against the rushing mob, but it only slowed them down. There were simply too many people to fight without killing them.
"Enough!" Aang shouted, his eyes and tattoos glowing while his voice echoed with the voices of a thousand Avatars. Air swirled around Aang and lifted him up, giving everyone a clear view of the Avatar State. Flames erupted from his hands and coalesced into ring of fire around him, while stone was ripped from the floor into another ring. Water was pulled out of the air and ripped away from Katara's bending, forming a third ring around Aang.
The mob stopped in its tracks, mesmerized by the sight. Beholding the Avatar at his most powerful was too much for many of the people, fearing the wrath of the world's very spirit. Katara and the others regrouped around the Avatar, exploiting the reprieve granted by the display of power. But there was one person that did not stand idly by while the peasants dropped to their hands and knees in fear.
Zuko used a blast of lightning to demolish a wall between the side room he was in and the throne room. He saw the elements swirling around the Avatar, and decided to use his ace in the hole. "Avatar!" Zuko yelled at the top of his voice. "The Fire Lord has invited you to Ember Island!"
The phrase seemed to echo in Aang's mind, despite the presence of all the other Avatars in the collective consciousness of the Avatar State. The subconscious programming affected Aang's mind, but not the rest of the Avatars with him. Only part of the Avatar followed the planted command to reverse his sense of right and wrong, the rest trying to prevent the intended chaos. The glow in Aang's eyes and tattoos flickered on and off as the internal conflict disrupted the Avatar State. The three elemental rings wobbled out of alignment and collided with each other, scattering the elements apart. Unstable power from the Avatar started to shake the very foundations of the palace, spreading cracks throughout the entire structure.
"Aang! Stop!" Katara screamed.
"You're bringing this whole place down!" Suki screamed.
"Everyone get some cover!" Sokka yelled.
Toph bent a stone dome for herself and Sokka, while Haru did the same for him, Katara and Suki. The generals in the room made their own rock barrier, shielding Jet's freedom fighters with it. Zuko retreated into the side room he entered from, ducking beneath a large bed inside. From the other side room Azula fled out of the palace, catching up with Mai outside just as the roof collapsed around the Avatar.
The entire city felt was seemed like an earthquake. The sound of the imploding palace could be heard as far away as the outer wall, and a cloud of dust rising from the center of Ba Sing Se could be seen all the way from the giant drill still under repair. Air rushing out of the falling building blew away everyone nearby, some flying as far as the innermost wall. As the dust cleared away rubble lay in the center of the upper ring, only small pieces of the palace still standing.
Zuko woke up still beneath the bed he had hid under, the soft mattress shielding him from being crushed by the ceiling. Slowly he pushed it and rubble aside, getting to his feet. Bruised and battered, the prince wondered just how long he had been out. Moonlight shined into the rubble around him, telling Zuko that it had to have been several hours in order for night to fall.
"Okay, mindbending is unreliable," Zuko muttered, rubbing his head. He noticed that his hair was loose, his usual topknot came apart in the collapse. Zuko didn't like leaving his hair like that, as he believed it made him look like someone else.
Hearing no one else nearby, Zuko guessed that he was the first to regain consciousness. Looking around he only saw one person not buried in rubble, Aang in the center of what used to be the palace. On his chest and unconscious, Aang was completely vulnerable. Zuko walked through the rubble towards Aang, lighting a flame in his hand to finish the job.
Aang groaned and opened his eyes, his vision slightly blurred. He pushed his chest up with his arms and looked forward, seeing the Fire Nation teenager approaching. "Where are we Kuzon?"
Immediately Zuko stopped in front of Aang, extinguishing the flame in his hand. He had no idea who Kuzon was, but guessed that it must be someone Aang knew long ago. Zuko held out one hand to Aang, who accepted it and let Zuko help him up. "You don't remember?" Zuko asked.
Nearby rubble was shoved away, revealing Katara and Suki climbing out with an about to collapse Haru. "Aang, are you alright?" Katara asked, before seeing him standing next to Zuko.
"How do you know my name?" Aang asked, wondering who the Water Tribe girl was.
Horror spread over Katara's face, and turned to anger at Zuko. "What have you done to him?"
"Who are they?" Aang asked.
Turning his head away from Aang and towards Katara, Zuko smirked. "Our mortal enemies." In the corner of his eye Zuko spotted a hole in the rubble that lead below ground. Zuko gently pushed Aang towards the hole and away from Katara. "We're outnumbered, go, I'll cover you," Zuko ordered, and then started throwing fire at Katara and her friends.
Haru formed a rock wall to protect himself, while Katara bent water into a shield. Suki leaped to the side and saw Aang running for the hole in the ground. At the last step Aang looked back, but only for a moment before jumping down. Zuko made a wall of fire before following Aang into the hole, and once he was deep enough inside Zuko blasted the rock with enough fire to collapse the entrance. By the time Haru reopened the path with earthbending Aang and Zuko were gone.
More nearby rubble was shoved away as Sokka and Toph climbed out. Sokka saw his sister and her friends, on the verge of tears. "Where's Aang?" Sokka asked.
Katara dropped to her knees. "Gone."
"Gone?" Sokka questioned. "He can't be dead."
"No," Suki corrected. "Worse."
Emerging from below ground near the innermost wall, Aang and Zuko left Ba Sing Se as quickly as possible. Every gate in the city walls had been left wide open by the revolting populace, and without any law enforcement there was nothing preventing anyone from leaving. In the Agrarian Zone Zuko and Aang crossed paths with Azula and Mai.
On sight Mai drew one of her knives while Azula prepared to firebend, but Zuko held up one hand to tell them to stop. "Whoa there," Zuko said. "That's no way to greet a long lost comrade."
Azula looked at Aang in the moonlight, seeing no sign of hostility. "Explain," Azula demanded.
Zuko smiled. "Air Nomad Aang is on our side."
A/N: And that's the end of Season 2. I believe it is mandatory for this point in any Avatar story that there be some kind of catastrophe, and this is no exception. Due to another story I'm working on, this one will be taking another hiatus. I'm not abandoning the story here, but I just have other priorities at the moment.