Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.
Bodyguard of Azula
Chapter 16: To Dream and To Convict
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Bijū/spirit talking"
"Bijū/spirit thinking"
(Location: Ba Sing Se)
They had landed on a small island in the middle of the lake. Due to his weeks on his own, Appa was had some trouble readjusting to carrying multiple people on his back. Everyone else wanted to take a break, so they agreed to land on the island.
"I missed you more then you'll ever know, buddy," Aang told Appa, once again hugging his forehead. Momo did the same thing. Appa just responded licking Aang with his tongue, making him laugh.
"Hey, arrowhead!" called out Shù Yè. "Enough with the hug-fest, we've got more important things to worry about."
"Shù Yè is right," Sokka said. "We should go to the Earth King and tell him our plan. We're on a mission here, and we cannot delay any longer." Akela barked in agreement.
"One good hour after weeks of trouble isn't much of a roll," Katara told him. She would barely call it a step. Sure, they got Appa back, but that was one good thing against a lot of other things.
"A roll is a roll," Asuma told her. "You just have to build on it." Sometimes, that was what a person needed to achieve victory, to keep moving.
"Speaking of rolls," Chōji said. "Does anyone have any food?"
Shikamaru handed him some jerky. "Here, eat this."
"Thanks."
"Look," Sokka told his sister, "if we want to invade the Fire Nation when the eclipse happens, we'll need the Earth King's support." That was the whole idea of coming to Ba Sing Se in the first place (before losing Appa and trying to get around Long Feng happened).
"What makes you think we'll get it?" Toph asked him. "I don't know if you've noticed, but things don't go that smoothly for our group." Usually, they encountered problem after problem.
"It does not matter if what your plan goes smoothly or not," Gaara told her. "It only matters if your plan works." That was what mattered in the end if the plan worked or not.
"Gaara, Long Feng is control of the city," Katara told him. "His conspiracy with the Dai Li is too powerful. I think we should just keep flying and leave this horrible place behind us."
"I'm with Sweetness," Toph agreed. "I've seen enough of Ba Sing Se. And I can't even see!" She threw her hands up to emphasize her point.
She felt a bop on her head for those words. "Don't be a downer, Toph," Shù Yè told her, despite getting a glare from the blind Earthbender. "We can turn this around."
"And don't worry about the Dai Li," Sokka said confidently. "I've got that covered." He still had that ace.
Aang joined the group once he was done getting reattached to Appa. "And now that we have Appa back, there's nothing stopping us from telling the Earth King the truth. About the conspiracy and the War," he said to them all.
Sokka supported what the Air Nomad said. "It's the whole reason we came here in the first place. We have to try." If they didn't try, what was the point?
Katara thought it over. "Well, I guess if the Earth King knew the truth, things could change," she reasoned. Things could change for the better.
"I don't trust the new positive Sokka," Toph said as she stood up. "Long Feng brainwashed you, didn't he!?" she accused, pointing a finger at the Tribesman.
"Hey Temari, can I borrow your iron club?" Shù Yè asked the Suna kunoichi. "I think the resident rock-head needs a harder whack on the head."
"It's not a club, it's a fan," Temari retorted, sounding a little offended by those words.
"And yet, you have used it as a club," Kankurō commented. He had seen her use it like it was giant club, hitting her enemies away.
"Do you want me to brain you?" she threatened, reaching for her fan.
He pointed an accusing finger at her. "There? You see? That's what I'm talking about!"
"Temari, stop threating to brain Kankurō," Gaara told her. "Kankurō, stop antagonizing Temari."
"Sorry, Gaara," the two said.
"You know what the funniest thing about this is?" Ino said to her team. "He's the youngest." She would've thought that the elder siblings would be pressing down on him. But instead, it was the other way around.
"Ino, you're not helping," Shikamaru told his teammate.
Aang saw something in the water. He ran closer to the shore to get a better look and saw that it was a couple of ships. They were far away, but close enough for those on the island to see them. "That's probably the Dai Li searching for us," Sokka said as the others joined Aang in looking at the ships.
"Then let's fly!" Katara declared, having made her choice.
And fly they did. Aang had Appa pour on the speed as they flew back towards the city. Due to the lack of a saddle, everyone had to hold on for their lives, an idea that didn't really appeal to some (but exhilarated others). "Can we please buy a new saddle?" Toph begged. "Riding bareback is terrifying!" All she could see was Appa and at the speed they were going, it wasn't helping her.
"Are you kidding?! This is great!" Shù Yè whooped. She had never flown on a sky bison before. She loved every single minute of it.
They flew to the center of the city, heading straight for the Earth King's palace. "There it is," Sokka stated pointing at the building in the center (while also holding onto to Akela, who shared Toph's opinion of riding bareback). "That whole thing is the palace. The Earth King's chamber should be in the center."
"We have to be careful," Katara told them. "Long Feng's probably warned the king that we're coming."
"What makes you say that?" Shù Yè asked. "It seems to me that we're going to fly nice and LOOK OUT!" she screamed the last part as a boulder almost hit them.
"What was that!?" Toph demanded.
"Surface-To-Air Rocks!" answered Sokka as he looked down and saw Earthbender teams from the Royal Guard with rocks at the ready. "More incoming!" As he spoke, more and more of the rocks the teams had were being thrown at them.
"Temari, can you help?" Gaara asked as Appa began to do evasive maneuvers to avoid the rocks coming at them.
"If we were flying straight and steady, yes!" she answered. If they had that, she could send those rocks right back at them. But since they weren't, she couldn't.
The Royal Guards kept launching SARs at the sky bison. One looked like it was about to hit Aang, but he shattered it via Earthbending without even looking at it. Another came at him, this he split it in half using his staff. Seeing that another batch of the Royal Guards was waiting to attack them when they landed, he leapt from Appa and landed on the ground. As he landed, he bent the surrounding tiles to heave the soldiers up into the air as well as scattering them. It only left the captain, who was sitting an armored ostrich horse. All Appa had to do to scare him off was growl.
Everyone else got off Appa and they made their way forward to the palace. On both sides of them, Royal Guards lined and bent cubes of earth at them. Aang, Toph and Gaara worked together to destroy the cubes, Aang using his staff, Toph using her Earthbending and Gaara using his sand, while still moving forward. Katara and Kankurō cleaned up shop in the back. Katara used her Waterbending to knock the Royal Guards down while Kankurō used chakra threads to slam Royal Guards into each other.
"Sorry!" Katara apologized as she hit Guardsmen after Guardsmen. In front of them came more Guardsmen. Toph took care of them by Earthbending the tiles to flip over and pin them. "Sorry! We just need to get through to see the Earth King!"
"Would you stop apologizing!?" demanded Shù Yè. "It's weird!"
They made their way to the palace. In their path was a river, with three bridges connecting one side to the other. The other side held the stairs leading up to the palace. While Guardsmen gathered on the other side of the river to stop Team Avatar, the next level on the staircase also had Royal Guards. The Guardsmen worked as one and bent two Badgermole statues off the ground and hurled it at Team Avatar.
Both Aang and Toph managed to block the two statues by Earthbending the tiles to form a shell over them. The two statues shattered against the shell, but it held. Katara was the first to move out of the shell and towards the river. Bending the water out of her pouch, she bent it into a thin half-bridge made of ice. Using the ice-bridge, she leapt over the Guardsmen there while also bending water out from the river. Swinging her foot in a kicking motion, she bent the water to push the guardsmen into the river. Then she bent it into a water whip and pulled the guardsmen from the next level on the stairs into the river as well. As this occurred, the others made their way across the bridge while Aang leapt over the river and froze the water with Airbending, trapping the Guardsmen there.
Everyone gathered but quickly turned their heads above as rocks started to rain down on them. There were also guardsmen coming down the stairs. Toph stepped forward and raised her hands, making the earth rumble. As a SAR smashed beside her, she drew her hands back and bent the stairs leading up to the Palace to flatten into a ramp, making all the Guardsmen on the stairs to slide down.
Aang and Toph then bent a chunk of the ground to lift everyone to the stair-turned-ramp. They went up the ramp, they passed all the Guardsmen who had been caught on the stairs and who were now sliding down to the ground. "Seriously, we're actually on your guys' side!" Sokka told them as they went past. But the only thing they could answer were screams of surprise and pain. "Sorry," the Tribesman finally said after watching this for a few minutes.
"Oh great, now you've got the ice-chewer apologizing as well!" Shù Yè accused Katara.
They reached the top of the staircase, where two groups of Royal Guards were waiting. Aang and Toph both reacted by pushing them away with Earthbending. "In there!" Sokka told everyone as they charged into the Palace. They soon entered a junction that had three other exits. More Guardsmen entered but were easily defeated when Toph bent the floor to shoot up into columns and pin the Guardsmen to the ceiling. Sokka and Shikamaru paused to look around. "Toph, which way to the Earth King?"
"How should I know?" she asked.
"You're the one who can see everything with feet," Temari told her. She had seen the blind Earthbender move around without running into anything before.
"I agree, although I'm in favor of splitting up to cover more ground," Shikamaru insisted. "Not all of us will need to go in one direction."
"Well, I'm still voting we leave Ba Sing Se." She continued to demolish the Guardsmen that kept coming.
Sokka and Shikamaru decided to check every door. They didn't have much success. Sokka opened one door and saw that it was a woman's dressing room, which already had a woman in there (dressed, thankfully). After she had fainted, Sokka closed the door and apologized.
Zuko & Iroh entered their apartment, getting back from Lake Laogai. "You did the right thing, letting the Avatar's bison go free," Iroh told Zuko.
Zuko staggered away from the door. "I don't feel right," he said. His vision of the room blurred. He tried to clear it by blinking, but that didn't help. Turning his head, he saw a familiar face, one that had died at Akawan. "Sheng, what are you…?" He collapsed to the ground, breaking a pot in the process.
"Zuko!" cried Iroh as he rushed over to his fallen nephew.
They had managed to beat all the Royal Guardsmen, while also causing a bit of a mess in the process. Sokka climbed over some debris and saw a big, fancy door that was untouched. "Now that's an impressive door!" he declared. "It's gotta have to go somewhere." He looked over at the resident Earthbenders. "Aang, Toph, would you mind?"
The two went to the door and knocked it down. They all ran into the room, which turned out to be the throne room, which was quite big. Beneath a giant Badgermole statue at the other end of the room, sat the Earth King. Standing in front of the Earth King was Long Feng and a group of Dai Li agents.
Everyone prepared themselves for a fight. "We need to talk to you!" Aang declared to the Earth King.
"They're here to overthrow you," Long Feng told the Earth King.
"No, we're not!" Shù Yè shouted.
"We're on your side," Sokka said. "We're here to help."
"You have to trust us." Katara agreed.
The Earth King stood up from his throne. "You invade my palace, laid waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door and you expect me to trust you?!" he asked them like he couldn't believe what they had just said.
"He has a good point," Toph pointed out.
"We weren't exactly expecting a warm welcome," Chōji told her.
"We were right too," Ino agreed. They had been expecting resistance to try and stop them, the evidence of that was right behind them.
"If you're on my side," the Earth King told them. "Then drop your weapons and stand down!" Everyone shared a look when they heard those words, but they complied.
Aang dropped his staff, Sokka dropped his machete, Katara bent her water back into her pouch, and Toph bent the rock she held back into the earth. Sokka, Chōji, and Ino put the kunai they held away while Asuma did the same with his Chakra Blades. Shù Yè lowered her fists, Kankurō put his hands down, and Temari folded up her fan. Gaara simply folded his arms.
"See?" Aang said to him. "We're friends, Your Earthiness."
"Really, arrowhead?" asked Shù Yè. "Your Earthiness?!" That probably one of the dumbest nicknames she had ever heard of.
"I guess the Avatar did not receive a lesson on how to address someone above his station," Chōji commented. Aang and Katara glared at him for his comment, even though they both agreed that it was sadly true.
The Earth King did nothing. Long Feng, however, did do something. He simply raised his hand, and the Dai Li agents bent their rock gloves at the group, cuffing their hands behind their backs. Long Feng gave a smug smile. "Detain the assailants!" he ordered.
The Dai Li slid forward to the group, intent on following their orders. They were about to grab them when sand blasted out of Gaara's gourd and grabbed the Dai Li agents. "If you move, the sand will crush you," he warned them. His arms and hands might be trapped, but he could still use his sand.
"Don't kill them, Gaara!" Temari told her little brother. "If you do, more might be summoned." And if that happened, they would really be in trouble. A few Dai Li they could handle. All of them would be stretching it.
"…Very well." The sand released the agents and flew back into the gourd. The Dai Li rushed behind them and grabbed their shoulders.
"We're your allies!" Sokka tried to tell the Earth King as he struggled to get out of the Dai Li's grip.
"Make sure that the Avatar and his friends never see daylight again," Long Feng commanded the Dai Li. Even though he didn't show it, he was silently smug about what just happened.
The Earth King was surprised at what his man said. "The Avatar? You're the Avatar?" he asked Sokka.
Sokka looked at Aang. "No, he's the Avatar."
"Over here," the Air Nomad said, bending his arms free of the rock cuffs and raising them before putting them back into the cuffs.
"You could do that at any time?" Shù Yè demanded. "You could've broken us out of these things!"
He gave a sheepish laugh. "Sorry, didn't think about it."
She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You are an idiot."
"What does it matter, Your Highness?" Long Feng asked the Earth King. "They are enemies of the state."
"Perhaps you're right," the Earth King agreed. Meanwhile, his pet bear had padded over to Aang and licked his face, making him laugh. "Though Bosco seems to like him," he idly commented.
The bear sniffed the air and then turned to face Shù Yè. He sniffed the air again, gave a grunt of excitement and ran into Shù Yè, knocking her to the ground. To the surprise of everyone, he didn't maul her. He kept nuzzling her and grunting with happiness. "Get off of me, you furry lump!" she shouted, trying to wiggle out from under the bear.
"Bosco!" shouted the Earth King.
Bosco got off Shù Yè, allowing her to stand up. "What in the name of all the Spirits was that about!?" she shouted at the bear. "Why did you suddenly try to squish me? How do you even know me? The only bears I know are that one mother bear and her…" She trailed off as she looked at Bosco. "No way, you couldn't be…?" She looked at the Dai Li behind her. "Hey, get these things off of me." She wiggled her arms.
"No," the agent answered.
"Oh, relax. I'm not going to attack you. I want to check something. Now get these things off."
"Let her go," The Earth King ordered. Long Feng had a small look of surprise on his face, but quickly suppressed it. The Earth King had never interfered with what he did, and he never ordered the Dai Li before.
The Dai Lee agent bent the rock cuffs off. She walked towards the bear with caution. She stretched her hand towards Bosco and laid it on his head. When he didn't react, she brought the hand to his left ear and gently turned it over, so she could see the back. On the back of the ear was a little patch of white fur shaped like a star.
"You brown, overgrown furball!" was the first thing out of her mouth before she tackled him to the ground, hugging him. "This is where you've been all this time?!"
"Restrain that girl!" Long Feng barked out. The Dai Li pulled her off the bear and re-cuffed her. The bear moaned quietly in disappointment when he saw this.
"You know Bosco?" The Earth King asked her with genuine curiosity. Most people who met Bosco thought he was a freak of nature. But she reacted like he was an old friend.
"Know him?" Shù Yè repeated. "I've slept with this bear!" Silence reigned in the throne room. "…Okay, that came out wrong," she admitted.
"What do you mean, 'slept with?'" Ino asked her. That needed some clarification right away.
"You guys remember that story? About how I spent a winter with a bear and her cub?" asked Shù Yè. Everyone (minus the Sand Siblings) nodded. "Meet the cub." She looked at Bosco, who waved a paw at them.
"This doesn't matter," Long Feng said. "Take them away."
"Wait, I'll hear what they have to say," the Earth King declared. When they heard those words, the Dai Li stopped what they were doing and waited. His advisor frowned ever so slightly.
Aang stepped forward, silently volunteering to be the spokesperson. "Well, sir, there's a war going on right now," he started to explain. "For the past one hundred years in fact. The Dai Li's kept it secret from you. It's a conspiracy to control the city and to control you."
"A secret war?" asked the Earth King. "That's crazy!" Wouldn't he have been the first to know if there was a war going on?
"Completely!" agreed Long Feng.
"Long Feng didn't want us to tell you, so he stole our sky bison to blackmail us," Aang continued. "And blackmail is the least of his crimes; he brainwashed our friend!"
The man in question turned to the king. "All lies," he said. "I've never even seen a sky bison, Your Majesty. Frankly, I thought they were extinct."
The Earth King sat back down in his chair. "Your claim is difficult to believe. Even from an Avatar," he told Aang.
Long Feng stepped up to the side of the throne and bent down slightly. "These hooligans are part of an anarchist cell that my agents have been tracking for weeks," he whispered into the Earth King's ear. "If you listen to them, you're playing right into your own destruction."
The Earth King was silent for a minute, thinking over all he had just heard from everyone. "I have to trust my advisor," he finally announced.
Aang looked shocked as a Dai Li agent grabbed hold of him. The rest of the agents began to pull them away when Sokka made his move. "Hey, can you do me a favor?" he asked the Dai Li who was holding him. "Reach down the front of my shirt and pull out what you find." The Dai Li did as he was asked and pulled out the Paragon Medallion for the rest of the Dai Li to see. "You get the point?" Sokka asked.
"Yes sir," Tthe agent replied, only the faintest traces of shock and surprises evident in his voice. He certainly had not been expected to cuff one of his superiors. It went against everything he had been taught. When he quickly looked at his fellow agents, he could see they had not expected it either.
"Then shouldn't you be releasing us from these cuffs?" He and his group were released from the rock cuffs almost immediately. "Thank you." He turned to the Earth King. "Your Majesty, I can prove he's lying. Long Feng said he's never seen a sky bison. Ask him to lift his robe."
"What? I am not disrobing!" Long Feng retorted. The Earth King looked at his advisor with suspicion. It was a simple request (albeit an unusual one), and if he was innocent, why would he object.
Gaara simply narrowed his eyes. The sand shot out of his gourd, flew over to Long Feng, and flipped his robe up over his head, revealing a mark on his left leg. "Right there!" called out Aang. "Appa bit him!"
"Never seen a sky bison, huh?" Sokka asked. Akela had a wolfish grin.
Long Feng pushed his robe down. "That happens to be a large birthmark. Thanks for showing everyone," he told them all.
"Well, I suppose there's no way to prove where those marks came from," the Earth King said.
"Of course, there is," Sokka told him. They brought Appa into the room and had him open his mouth. Aang pointed at the teeth and then at the mark on Long Feng's leg.
"Yep, that pretty much proves it," the Earth King said. Team Avatar (minus the shinobi, who were professionals and kept their opinions to themselves) got excited. "But it doesn't prove this crazy conspiracy theory," he told them. Team Avatar (minus the shinobi, who were professionals and kept their opinions to themselves) groaned. "Though, I suppose this matter's worth looking into."
Long Feng just scowled and walked away, the Dai Li following him. They had to make a few "adjustments" and they had to make them fast. But even as they walked, some of the agents looked briefly back at the Tribesman.
Zuko lay in bed, sweating. Iroh sat by his side. "You're burning up," he said as he pulled a cloth out of water. "You have an intense fever. This will help cool you down." He put the cloth on his nephew's forehead.
"So…thirsty," Zuko croaked. It felt like his throat was on fire. He tried to sit up but his uncle made him lay back down.
"Here's some clean water to drink." He pulled a ladle out of a bucket and held it against Zuko's mouth. "Stay under the blankets and sweat this out."
Zuko yanked the ladle out of Iroh's hands and gulped it down. He reached for the bucket and drank that too, spilling some of the water. When it was empty, he threw the bucket against the wall and lay back down.
"So this is what a train is like?" The Earth King asked. "I didn't realize it would be this…public." He stood in the middle of the train car with Royal Guards behind him. His presence was shocking to the people in the train.
"So you've never been outside the Upper Ring before?" Katara asked him. It was something she was having a hard time believing.
"I've never been outside the palace," he answered. It was a whole new experience for him. When he looked out the window, he smiled. "Now that's the way to travel." He pointed to Aang riding Appa. "So, may I ask where we're going?" He asked them.
"Underneath Lake Laogai, Your Majesty. To the Dai Li's secret headquarters," Sokka answered. "You're about to see where all the brainwashing and conspiring took place."
They rode the monorail out to the same station as before and made their way to Lake Laogai. Once they were there, Toph brought the causeway and entrance with her Earthbending, only to find it destroyed. "It's gone!" she said.
"The Dai Li must've known we were coming and destroyed the evidence!" Katara stated. She couldn't believe that they had gotten there first.
"Hm…That seems awfully convenient," the Earth King told them, a frown on his face.
"If anything, this proves the conspiracy exists even more," Sokka said to him.
"Long Feng was right. This was a waste of time." He couldn't believe that he agreed to follow them. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the palace." He turned around and started to leave.
"Crap! We need to show him something that'll convince him," Shù Yè told the others. If they didn't, Long Feng would win and they would be back to square one (if they were that lucky).
"The wall!" realized Katara. "They'll never be able to cover that up in time." It was too damn big for that to happen quickly.
Aang leapt up into the air and landed in front of the Earth King. "If you come with us to the Outer Wall, we can prove to you that the secret war is real," he said, pleading with all he could.
"No Earth King has ever been to the Outer Wall," the Earth King replied. "I don't have any more time for this nonsense." He continued walking up the hill.
"If you come with us, this time you can ride on Appa," Sokka offered. It stopped the Earth King in his tracks.
"Well, that got his attention." Asuma commented. But he couldn't blame the man. Flying on a sky bison was an offer very few could refuse.
"He's going to take the offer," Gaara stated.
"Are you sure about that?" Kankurō asked his little brother.
"Yes."
The Earth King did indeed take the offer. His screaming could be heard throughout the Agrarian Zone. "First time flying?" asked Toph as she held onto Appa's fur.
"It's both thrilling and terrifying!" he answered.
"Yeah, I hate it too." Right now, she was holding onto the sky bison for dear life and silently praying to whatever Spirits would hear her to let her live.
"I have to be honest with you," he told Aang once he had calmed down some and was able to think again. "Part of me really hopes that what you're telling me about this war isn't true."
"I wish it wasn't," Aang told him. But the fact remained. The war was real, and he needed to stop it.
The fever was causing Zuko to dream. In his dream, he sat in the throne room of the Fire Lord. His hair was long and held the headpiece of the Fire Lord. The left side of his face held no scar. Standing at attention in front of him were soldiers of the 41 division.
Two dragons, one red and one blue, appeared and started to circle around him. "It's getting late," the blue dragon said in Azula's voice. "Are you planning to retire soon, my lord?"
"I'm not tired," Zuko said. He felt just fine.
"Relax, Fire Lord Zuko. Just let go. Give in to it. Shut your eyes for a while."
His eyes began to droop, until the red dragon spoke. "No, Fire Lord Zuko! Do not listen to the blue dragon. You should get out of here right now. Go! Before it's too late!"
"Sleep now, Fire Lord Zuko," the blue dragon whispered in his ear. The throne room disappeared. The soldiers collapsed, revealing to be nothing more than suits of armor. Zuko looked around but only saw darkness. Then a pair of eyes flashed in the darkness, revealing the blue dragon. "Sleep, just like mother!" It lunged at him, opening its mouth wide.
The blue dragon disappeared, but Zuko heard someone else. "Zuko! Help me!" his mother's voice cried out. But before he could do anything, the floor ate him alive.
In the real world, he started to sweat again.
The sun was setting when they reached the Outer Wall. "It's still there!" Aang cried out as he pointed at the drill, which blocked off by a wall as big as it.
"What is that?" the Earth King asked, shock lacing his voice. He couldn't believe what he was seeing (he didn't even know what it was he was seeing).
"It's a drill," Sokka told him. "A giant drill made by the Fire Nation to break through your walls."
They landed on the wall and looked down at the drill. "I can't believe I never knew," the Earth King said. He had been led around by the nose and he went along with it willingly. As he stared down at the drill, he felt like a fool.
"It is not your fault," Gaara told him. "You were blinded by a rat that wanted power and control over this city and you." The Kazekage could see that the Earth King was a man who had placed too much trust in an advisor who wanted to control him. He could also see that if he was given some proper lessons and training in how to rule, he would make a decent ruler.
They heard an earth elevator coming up, revealing Long Feng and two Dai Li agents. "I can explain this, Your Majesty," Long Feng told him. "This is nothing more than…a construction project."
"Really?" asked Katara. "Then perhaps you can explain why there's a Fire Nation insignia on you little 'construction project?'" The insignia was there for everyone to see.
The Earth King eyed him suspiciously, waiting to hear his reply. "Well, it's imported of course. You know you can't trust domestic machinery," his advisor replied, trying to smile the problem off.
"I call bull. Complete and utter bull," Shù Yè declared. What he had just said was stupid to say. If he knew about the war, why would he say that?
"I'm with her," Chōji agreed.
"Yeah, same here," Temari said.
"It's pretty stupid to import machinery from a country you're at war with," Kankurō said.
"There is no war," Long Feng told them, a small scowl on his face.
"You might as well stop," Gaara said.
"There is no way you can get yourself out of this one," Ino told him. He had cornered himself with that last explanation and they had him on it.
"Surely you don't believe these children over instead of your most loyal attendant?" Long Feng asked the Earth King, turning the attention back to him.
The Earth King wasn't sure what to do. Seeing that his confidence was failing, Sokka spoke up. "Your Majesty, if you will not take care of him, I will."
Long Feng scoffed at the notion that sentence carried. "You don't have that kind of power, boy," he told the Tribesman. He wasn't sure what happened in the throne room, but he was certain it was a fluke.
"As a matter of fact, I do. Dai Li!"
The Earth King placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, Sokka. I will take care of this." He turned to Long Feng and the Dai Li agents. "Dai Li! Arrest Long Feng! I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom." He commanded.
Both Long Feng and Team Avatar (minus the shinobi, who were professionals and kept their opinions to themselves, and Sokka, who saw it coming) were shocked at what the Earth King had said. The two Dai Li agents shared a look and then cuffed Long Feng with metal shackles.
"You can't arrest me!" Long Feng protested. "You all need me more than you know!" The Dai Li agents pulled him away.
"Alright!" cheered Shù Yè. "Long Feng is long gone!"
"That could've been better," Ino commented. It had sounded cheesy to the Yamanaka.
"Hey, it was the only one I could think of," she replied, trying to defend what she had said.
"I probably would've said the same thing," Sokka told them.
"See, the ice-chewer agrees with me."
He frowned at those words "Are you ever going to stop calling me that?"
"No," she replied with a straight face.
A slow, almost mocking, clap was heard on the wall. "Very impressive, Your Majesty," Naruto's voice rang out as he walked out of the nearby command post. "It's nice to see you finally grow a backbone." He stopped and stood before the group, completely relaxed and confident.
"Who are you?" the Earth King asked as the Royal Guardsmen moved in front of him.
"No need to panic, boys. I'm not going to attack him," the blonde told the Guardsmen. "As for who I am, pardon my rudeness." He bowed. "I am the Paragon of the Fire Nation and bodyguard to the Princess Azula. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And in case you already haven't figured it out already, the War is real. I've been fighting in it for three years."
"Why are you here, Naruto?" Asuma asked. His Chakra Blades out and ready to use. If the blonde was going to make an attempt on the Earth King, it wouldn't work.
"You know him?" The Earth King asked, surprised by that (it was a day for him to be surprised).
"He used to be one of us, a shinobi," Chōji explained to him. "That is, until he was banished."
"I think you mean until I left," Naruto replied easily. "The old hag never actually banished me, so technically the shinobi present could legally capture or kill me, and collect the bounty for it, although I don't know how much bounty would they place on someone like me." He looked over to where Gaara and his siblings stood. "It's good to see you back among us, Gaara," he said with a somber tone.
"Naruto," Gaara greeted. There were no other words to say or that needed to be said.
"You didn't answer Asuma-sensei's question, Naruto," Ino spoke up, getting his attention. "Why are you here?"
"Oh, it's simple. I'm just getting rid of the trash." He turned to face the edge of the Outer Wall and walked towards it, stopping a few steps before the edge. "You might want to give me a little more room. This is the first time I'm actually going to use this thing." He held out his hand and concentrated. A blue, spinning orb began to form in his hand.
"A Rasengan!" thought the Konoha shinobi. They were surprised by the fact he could do it with a single hand, having thought that he needed a clone to help him with it.
"And now for the next step," he muttered. Four large, white blades formed on the orb and everyone heard the very air itself being cut. "Here we go." He leapt up into the air. If anyone had paid attention to his eyes, they would've noticed that they were crimson red instead of blue. "Fūton: Rasenshuriken (Wind Style: Spiraling Shuriken)!" he cried out as he seemed to hover in the then he threw the jutsu down at the drill.
"He threw it!? How can he throw something that dense with chakra?" the shinobi thought to themselves. They had never seen anything like that before. The jutsu hit the drill and that was the last they ever saw of said drill. An explosion shaped like a giant sphere formed, obscuring everything within it and lashing out with violent winds. When the sphere disappeared, there was nothing left of the drill or the low wall blocking it off. The only thing left was a very, very deep crater.
Naruto landed back on the wall. "Well, my work here is done. Bye." He walked away as everyone else was still looking at the crater. Everyone was too stunned by what they saw to try and stop him from leaving.
They managed to regain their wits and decided to head back to the Palace. By the time they regrouped in the throne room, night had fallen.
"I want to thank you, young heroes, for opening my eyes," the Earth King told them. They stood before the throne. Bosco lay next to Shù Yè, who absently scratched his ear. "All this time, what I thought was a great metropolis was merely a city of fools. And that makes me the king fool." He covered his eyes with his hand. "We're at war, with the Fire Nation." He was still having a hard time believing it.
"That's why we came to Ba Sing Se, Your Highness. Because we think you can help us end the war," Sokka told him, walking forward. Akela padded forward as well and sat on his haunches.
"We don't have much time," Aang said. "There's a comet coming this summer. Its energy will give the Firebenders unbelievable strength. They'll be unstoppable."
"But there is hope," Sokka continued. "Before the comet comes, we have a window of opportunity: a solar eclipse is coming. The sun will be entirely blocked out by the moon and the Firebenders will be helpless."
"What are you suggesting, Sokka?" the Earth King asked. It sounded like the Tribesman had a plan, but he wasn't sure.
"That's the day we need to invade the Fire Nation. The Day of Black Sun," he told the ruler of the Earth Kingdom.
"Ohh, that's a good title," Shù Yè said.
"Not bad," Shikamaru agreed. It was both dramatic and ominous.
The Earth King thought it over. "I don't know. That would require moving troops out of Ba Sing Se. We'd be completely vulnerable," he told them. "Not to mention the power the Fire Nation Paragon wields could easily destroy the troops."
"You're already vulnerable," Sokka said to him. "The Fire Nation won't stop until Ba Sing Se falls. You can either sit back and wait for that to happen or take the offensive and give yourself a fighting chance."
"And you also do not need to worry yourself about Naruto," Asuma said, trying to assure him. "If he tries to attack us during the invasion, he'll be facing not only us, but also two other teams from Konoha as well as the Kazekage and his siblings." He was certain that they would be able to hold him down if they threw everyone against him.
The Earth King contemplated the information he was given, staying silent. It still sounded like a risky plan to him, but they did have good points. "…Very well. You have my support," he announced, sending Team Avatar (minus the shinobi, who were professionals and kept their opinions to themselves) into victory cheers (and Aang going around on an Air Scooter).
"Your Majesty," A voice spoke out. An Earth Kingdom general walked in and bowed before the king. "I apologize for the interruption."
"This is General How," the Earth King explained. "He's the leader of the Council of Five, my highest-ranking generals."
"We searched Long Feng's office," General How said, raising his head up from the ground. "I think we found something that will interest everybody." That got everyone's interest.
They made their way to Long Feng's office. When they got there, a chest was presented to the Earth King. "There are secret files on everyone in Ba Sing Se, including you kids," General How told Team Avatar. "The exceptions seem to be you seven." He looked at Team Asuma and the Sand Siblings.
"We're not from this side of the planet," Asuma told the general. "Information about us would be sketchy at best."
"Toph Beifong," the Earth King read one of the scrolls. He handed to Toph, who handed it to Katara.
She opened it up and read it. "It's a letter from your mom," she told Toph. "Your mom's here in the city. And she wants to meet you."
"Long Feng intercepted our letters from home?" Toph asked before shaking her head. "That's just sad." The man had truly been paranoid.
"Aang," The Earth King handed him a scroll.
"This scroll was attached to the horn of your bison when the Dai Li captured it," General How explained to the Air Nomad.
Aang opened the scroll. "I-it's from the Eastern Air Temple," he told everyone as he continued to read it.
"Is there a letter for me and Sokka, by any chance?" Katara asked, silently hoping for one.
The Earth King looked through the chest. "I'm afraid not."
Sokka and Katara were disappointed by that piece of news. "But there is an intelligence report that might interest you," General How said as he handed them a scroll.
"A small fleet of Water Tribe ships," Katara read the scroll's contents.
"What?" Sokka asked as he looked over her shoulder. "That could be Dad!"
"Protecting the mouth of Chameleon Bay, led by Hakoda," Katara continued reading. "It is Dad!"
"Way to go, you two," Shù Yè said with genuine happiness. "You know where your dad is."
"That reminds me." The Earth King pulled out another scroll. "Shù Yè, this is addressed to you. It seems to be from your village." He held it out for her.
"What?" She took the scroll and opened it. "It's from the village leader. He's says that the village will welcome me back with open arms now." She told them. As she read, she began to tremble.
"That's great news. Congratulations, Shù Yè," Katara told her.
"Yeah, you must be happy that your village wants you back now," Ino agreed.
Shù Yè was still trembling and hadn't said a word. "Shù Yè? Aren't you excited?" Aang asked.
"…Those Spirits-damned, egoistical, ROCK-HEADS!" she yelled, fury lacing her voice. Everyone there then realized that she wasn't trembling with happiness, she was trembling with rage. "They want me back? After all this time?! ARGHH, I HATE THEM!" She stomped over to the fire and threw the scroll into it.
"What's the matter, Shù Yè?" Asuma asked as the scroll burned in the fire.
"They only want me back because I helped the Avatar destroy the drill," she growled. "They want me back because I'm famous now, not because they want me!" Feeling her side being nudged, she turned and saw Bosco at her side, worry and concern shining in his eyes. She fell to her knees and hugged his head, crying freely. "Why? Why can't they just want me back for me? Why do they think I'm so useless?" she asked the bear.
No one really knew how to answer her.
"You should know that this is not a natural sickness," Iroh told Zuko as he poured tea. "But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying tea." He fed the tea to Zuko.
"Wh-what's happening?" Zuko asked. Something was going on with him and he didn't know what it was. He felt like he was…changing.
"Your critical decision," Iroh told him. "What you did beneath that lake. It was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body."
"What's that mean?"
"You are going through a metamorphosis, my nephew. It will not be a pleasant experience, but when you come out of it, you will be the beautiful prince you were always meant to be." He placed another cloth on Zuko's head.
Team Avatar, as well as the shinobi, regrouped the next morning in Long Feng's office. Shù Yè was sitting against Bosco's side. Akela took a nap at Sokka's side. "I can't believe it," Aang said as he reread the scroll. "There's a man living at the Eastern Air Temple. He says he's a guru."
"What's a guru? A poisonous blowfish?" asked Sokka. It sounded like it was a name for a fish.
"No, a spiritual expert," Aang explained. "He wants to help me take the next step in the Avatar journey. He says he can teach me to control the Avatar State." He looked at the scroll again and frowned. "But there's also writing here I can't read."
"Let me have a look at it," Shikamaru said. Aang passed him the scroll. He took one look at the writing and his eyes widened.
"What is it, Shikamaru?" Chōji asked his friend.
He simply handed the scroll to Gaara. "It's addressed to you," he told the Kazekage.
"How would someone we've never met send a letter to Gaara?" Temari asked. But Shikamaru didn't have a good answer for her.
Gaara read the scroll until his eyes went wide as well. "This guru says that he can help quiet what remains of Shukaku. He says he can help me finally sleep," he told his siblings.
"What? Are you serious?" Kankurō asked.
Gaara handed him the scroll. "Read for yourself."
"Well?" Temari asked as she looked over her brother's shoulder, trying to see what was on the scroll.
"He's right. That's what this guru guy says," the puppeteer shinobi told her. That was great news for their little brother.
"Who's Shukaku?" Shù Yè asked, the question getting everyone's attention (minus Team Asuma, who knew who Shukaku was).
"Um…well…" Temari tried to come up with a good excuse but couldn't find one.
"Up until recently, I had something of a…different personality," Gaara explained to Shù Yè. "If I were to fall asleep, the other personality would take control of my body. We called this other person Shukaku and he was often insane and bloodthirsty. Whenever he took control, a bloodbath was soon to follow. Whether it was friends or enemies did not matter. Recently, there was an incident that resulted in Shukaku disappearing. But a shadow of him remains. Every time I've tried to fall asleep, he is there, torturing me with memories of we did."
"Why do you say 'we?'" Aang asked him. "He's the one who would gladly kill a person."
"That is true, but people did not see it like that. They did not know of Shukaku, so they thought I was a bloodthirsty monster," he told the Air Nomad.
They were silent for a few seconds, taking in what he had just said. "I think you should go, Gaara," Kankurō said. "This could help you."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course," Temari agreed. "And we'll come with you." Gaara said nothing, he simply nodded his thanks. He was silently glad that they would be coming.
"Well, I can't believe we know where our dad is now," Katara said, holding the scroll that had the good news.
"I know what you mean," Toph said, holding her letter. "My mom's in the city. And from her letter, it sounds like she finally understands me." At least, she was hoping that was the case.
"This is all such big news," Sokka said. "Where do we even start?" There were so many places to cover, and he didn't think they could all go to them.
"Perhaps it's best if you split up," Shikamaru suggested.
"Split up?" Aang repeated. "We just found Appa and got the family back together. Now you want us to separate?" he asked the Konoha shinobi.
"He has a point. You and Gaara have to meet this guru, Aang," Katara told him, seeing the logic behind the suggestion. "If we're going to invade the Fire Nation, you need to be ready. And Gaara should be allowed to actually sleep." She had seen him stay awake all night, even when the others had gone to sleep.
He thought it over and he could see the logic as well. "Well, if we're going to the Eastern Air Temple, Appa and I can drop you off at Chameleon Bay to see your dad," he offered the Waterbender.
"Someone has to stay here with the Earth King and help him plan for the invasion," Sokka said.
"I can do that." Shù Yè raised her hand.
"No, you're not going to stay and help the Earth King without someone watching you."
"Oh, come on, ice-chewer. You still don't trust me?" she asked. Bosco threw a glare at Sokka and growled at him. Akela opened his eyes and returned the growl.
"There's no need to worry, Sokka," Asuma told him. "We'll stay here and keep an eye on her."
"And I will too," Katara said, standing up. "I'll stay here with the king. Sokka, I know how badly you wanna help Dad. You go to Chameleon Bay."
Sokka also stood up and gave Katara a big bear hug. "You are the nicest sister ever!" he declared with a giddy happiness.
"Easy there, big brother," she said, pushing him off. "But you're right, I am.
A servant walked into the room. "The Earth King invites you to join for breakfast," he announced, before bowing and leaving the room.
"There's food?" Shù Yè asked, perking up. Bosco did the same thing and the two of them shared a long, silent look. "…I call dibs on the meat!" she declared before leaping up and running for the door. Bosco grabbed her by the leg and pulled her back, letting him to run out the door. He didn't get far before Shù Yè jumped on him and wrestled him to the ground, letting her take the lead.
Everyone else was silent. "I'm not the only one who saw that, right?" Chōji asked.
"Trust me, I saw it too," Ino replied.
After getting breakfast (which included a food duel of sorts between Shù Yè and Bosco), everyone gathered near Appa to say goodbye. Aang walked over to Katara, who was petting Appa. "Katara, I need to tell you something," he said as he began to blush. "I've been wanting to say it for a long time."
"What is it, Aang?" she asked.
Before he could tell her, Kankurō slapped him on the back. "Let's hit the air already," he said, earning a scowl from both his sister and Katara. He became confused by the scowls he was getting. "What?"
The Earth King walked down the stairs to join them. "Aang, Sokka, Temari, Kankurō, and Gaara," he began. "I wish you a good journey. Ba Sig Se owes you its thanks. We look forward to your safe return."
They saluted the Earth King. Sokka began to climb aboard when a soldier walked to the king. "Your Majesty. There are three female warriors here to see you. They're from the isle of Kyoshi," he told the Earth King.
"That's Suki!" Sokka said in shock, falling from Appa.
"You know these warriors?" the Earth King asked.
"Oh yeah," he answered as he stood back up. "The Kyoshi Warriors are a skilled group of fighters, trustworthy too. They're good friends of ours."
"Then we shall welcome them as honored guests."
Aang moved to climb aboard Appa. "Wait, Aang," Katara said, making him turn around. She gave him a hug and a kiss, making him blush.
"I'm really going to miss you guys," Toph told them. Aang and Katara gave her a hug as well. They then gave Sokka a group hug.
Noticing Shù Yè's downcast expression, Sokka decided to do something. "Get over here, Shù Yè," he told her. She brightened up and gave them all a big bear hug. After the hug-fest was over, the groups parted ways.
(Location: Zuko & Iroh)
Zuko awoke from his sleep, the fever gone. He stood up and noticed that Iroh was still asleep. Making his way to the bathroom, he washed his face. Looking up into the mirror, he gave a shout of surprise and took a step back. The person in the mirror had Zuko's eyes, but had no hair, no scar and had an arrow tattoo on his head. He looked a lot like the Avatar.
"AHHHH!" He screamed as he woke up. He panted for a minute, his eyes wide. He placed two fingers on the scar and, for once in his life, was glad that it was there.
Appa flew away from the Outer Wall. "What did I tell ya?" Sokka asked everyone on Appa as he lay on his back, absently scratching Akela's ear. "A little positive thinking works wonders. We got the king on our side, we got Long Feng arrested, and when we get back, Suki's waiting for me."
"Yeah, girls are waiting for us," Aang agreed. "Thanks, positive attitude."
"When did he get a girl waiting for him?" Kankurō asked aloud.
Temari slapped him across the head. "You were the one who interrupted their moment," she chastised him.
"Everything's gonna work out perfectly. From now on and forever," Sokka declared.
"Nothing ever works out perfectly," Gaara warned the Tribesman. "Be careful about what you say."
Long Feng sat alone in his cell. A Dai Li agent came to the door. "Dinner," he stated, pushing a tray of extravagant food through the bottom flap. Long Feng grabbed a piece of food. "The Council of Five and the Military are loyal to the Earth King." The agent said. "But the Dai Li remains loyal to you, Long Feng, sir."
Long Feng raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Then why did that Water Tribe peasant ordered you to let them go and you obeyed?" he asked the agent.
"The boy thinks he had control over us, but we are loyal to you," the agent repeated before leaving. Long Feng began to eat, a sinister smile growing on his face.
Toph stood in front of a house. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door and the door opened on the third knock. "Hello?" she called out as she walked in. "Mom? Anyone home?" She kept walking until she sensed something. But before she could do anything, a metal cage dropped on her, trapping her inside. "Hey! Who do you think you're dealing with!?"
"One loud-mouthed little brat who strayed too far from home," a familiar voice told her. It was Xin Fu and Master Yu.
The Earth King stood on a platform a line of Royal Guards stood on either side of the platform. Three Kyoshi Warriors walked up the stairs and bowed to the Earth King. "In our hour of need," the Earth King began. "It is with the highest honor that I welcome our esteemed allies, the Kyoshi Warriors!"
The Kyoshi Warriors raised their heads, revealing them to be Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai. "We are the Earth King's humble servants," Azula said, her golden eyes looking at the Earth King.
End
Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews you've sent me.
So you've seen Sokka's ace on the Dai Li. If you want an explanation on it, you're just going to have to wait.
Odds are there are going to be telling that Naruto wasn't able to throw the Rasenshuriken until the toads taught him how to use Nature Chakra. I want you to read the part on the wall again carefully. He had to use the Kyūbi's chakra to help him throw it.
I'll see you all next chapter!