disclaimer: Mike and Bryan own the ATLA universe; Mariko belongs to me (: enjoy!
Parting of Ways Before the End
She stared out at the lakefront; even though they were a solid group again with Appa back, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was still amiss, that they'd miscalculated somewhere along the way… Her brow furrowed into a thoughtful frown.
"…Sokka, Long Feng has control over the city; his conspiracy with the Dai Li is too powerful. I think we should just keep flying and leave this horrible place behind us." Katara was saying, stirring her from her broodings.
Toph chimed from her spot plonked onto the floor of the small island they were currently occupying, "I'm with Sweetness. I've seen enough of Ba Sing Se… and I can't even see!"
"No, Sokka's right." Mariko countered, deadpanning at the balking stares from her friends, folding her arms at her chest as she faced them from having been staring at the lake surrounding their island. "Wow that sounded weird… But anyway. If we can somehow sway the Earth King to give us support for the upcoming eclipse, then it'll make things that much easier for us to win this war." Of course this would be the second time that she would be betraying her own people, but if it meant saving the world, then it was worth it. "Still, Long Feng needs to be stopped, before his conspiracy gets Ba Sing Se sacked and burned to the ground."
Sokka was the first to break from the shock plus mulling over what she stated, a smooth grin forming on his face, "Y'know, I can almost forgive that snarky comment about swallowing your pride… Ow!" He winced when she kicked his shin with little effort, hobbling on his uninjured leg and rubbing his bruised kneecap.
"That was just because you're being an asshat about bringing up a valid point, meathead." Mariko rolled her eyes, an amused smirk present when he sent her a hurt look.
"I think Hell just froze over…" Toph smirked cheekily.
"It's the whole reason we came, aside from getting Appa back, anyway; so we have to try!" Aang chirped from sidling to Sokka's side once the boy had regained his balance.
Katara pondered, rubbing her chin, and then complied slowly, "Well, I guess if the Earth King knew the truth… things could change."
"I don't trust the new-positive-Sokka… Long Feng brainwashed you, didn't he!?" Toph hopped up and pointed a finger in said boy's direction. Mariko rolled her eyes again and nudged her with a chuckle. "That's a great question, actually…"
Aang perked up and hurried to the ridge of the island, the trio following –Katara, Sokka, and Mariko—to peer out at the lakefront and see three ships sailing the perimeter; the firebender grumbled out an oath.
"That's probably the Dai Li searching for us; so?" Sokka wondered, looking at his sister.
Katara hesitated before looking at him determinedly, "Let's fly."
Dread and adrenaline seemed to be switching places for the day.
As soon as Appa touched down the quartet scrambled off –relieved to not be airborne; no saddle made things very nauseous—and they kept to Aang's tail closely, Mariko and Toph on the right, Sokka and Katara on the left, with Appa at his back, the group storming the palace, keeping on their toes regarding the King's Guard.
As they crossed through the long walkway in the center of the courtyard connecting to the center building that obviously housed the Earth King, twin rows of earthbenders stood at the ready and soon sprang into action, sending cubed boulders jetting at the group from either side.
Aang and Toph took out the majority, leaving Katara, Sokka, and Mariko to dish out a counter-offense against the guards, slaps of water and blasts of fire flying to deflect the oncoming projectiles and pave their way.
"Sorry!" Katara yelped when she slapped away one row of guards, wincing at doing the same to another, albeit sharper than before.
Mariko huffed, resorting to her fire-whip this time, smacking the last two rows away with ease, "They're an obstacle; obstacles only serve to get in the way, Kat."
As another batch came jetting forward from the front of the palace, Toph sprang into action, jerking her left leg plus arms inward to lash out and force the limestone ground they ran on to form into a row of dominoes, toppling over the guards and entrapping them in the cracks and spaces between the folded tiles.
"Sorry, we just need to get through to see the Earth King!" Katara chirped as they hurried past the trapped guards, headed for the bridge.
Mariko looked at the three rows of nine guards, two on either side of the mote, one at the top of a high stairwell, and she swore.
The row of nine at the top of the stairwell lifted the twin badger-mole statues on either side and then sent them careening down at the group; acting quick, Aang and Toph formed a thick domed shield to cover them from the blast, dust flying.
Mariko sprinted out first, twin flame ribbons coming to life in her hands; "Kat, some cover would be nice!" She barked, hearing Katara tailing her shortly, distinctly seeing her hop across the mote on an arch of ice as she leaped the distance and her right boot connected with the chest of the guard in the middle of the row of nine, his body breaking her fall. Orange and red danced in a vain flash of fire as she used the ribbons to knock the eight other guards down or over the edge into the mote, bolting after her friends at top speed and tailing Sokka shortly.
More guards began spilling out of the palace front like spider-ants, and she sighed, a cocky smirk ghosting on her lips. "They just don't know when to give up, now do they?"
But Toph was on the offense again, arms rising up as if to reach for the top of the stairwell the guards were pouring down, and then she quickly jerked her arms down, hands clamping shut; swiftly the stairs were smoothed like a high-rising ramp and sent the men tumbling helplessly downward. Aang joined her, and they both created a platform for their group to rise up despite the continual dropping of guards, and Mariko had to elbow Katara pointedly when she tried to apologize to the falling earthbenders.
The group made it to the top of the stairs, continuing to knock away the endless amount of guards in their path, mainly with Toph and Aang as the forerunners. Sokka started opening doors to check which room harbored the king, but a gentle-yet-sharp grab on his scruff from behind pulled him back from opening a third door and he met the patient stare of the firebender.
"Think, smart one, do any of these doors look ornate?" Mariko asked blandly, quirking a brow.
"Well no, but I don't see you having any bright ideas!" Sokka shrugged her grip off, scowling.
Refraining from pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed and grabbed his wrist, looking at the others, "Come on, we're wasting daylight!" Mariko bolted down the main corridor with Sokka in tow, Aang, Toph and Katara plus Appa tailing them.
They continued running through the corridor until skidding to a halt short of a set of tall ornate doors with gold lining.
"Now that is ornate." Sokka smirked, slipping past Mariko to leap and land a kick on the door, attempting to bust it open… But as it happened with her, the universe loved to mess with him.
Vehemently.
He proceeded to try and kick it open before a light tap on his shoulder and she gestured for him to stand back as Aang strode forward to bust it open with a blast of air, both doors clattering to the floor as dust flew up.
All five teenagers hurried inside, skidding to another halt short of several feet infront of the throne, which happened to be an ornate semicircle that was mainly gold and jade green, the gold in the form of intricately-carved visages of badger-moles on either side of the throne chair that was green. And inadvertently seated a thin bespectacled man with likewise-green-and-gold clothes that seemed at least one size bigger than what he appeared to be.
The Earth King.
Said man regarded the disruption with a guarded expression, one brow arched in something she pegged to be curiosity, being guarded by another row of earthbenders along with Long Feng who stood dutifully at his right side, a strange mix of smugness and outrage painting his face.
Mariko wanted to growl an oath at seeing Long Feng had beaten them to the king, but she kept her mouth shut.
"We need to talk to you!" Aang spared no time for introductions, being as straight forward as he'd been only minutes ago when they'd stormed the palace like an angry saber tooth moose-lion.
Long Feng quickly twisted his words, poisonous honey seeping from his voice, "They're here to overthrow you."
Sokka quickly countered, "No, we're on your side; we're here to help!"
"You have to trust us," Katara chirped with hopeful eyes.
Mariko regarded his sudden rise from the throne and inwardly snorted at the tension in the air; like he's going to listen to us with that rat-viper at his ear.
"You invade my palace, lay waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door… and you expect me to trust you?" The King demanded incredulously, his voice cracking at one point, but other than that he still held his authority in the room. Okay, he had a point… "If you're on my side, then drop your weapons and stand down." He added calmly.
Mariko shrugged her sword off her shoulders, dropping it and hearing metal connect with the stone floor with a soft 'clink', daggers being revealed from inside her wrist guards as she lowered them at a nicer pace than she had with her katana; reluctantly, Aang, Toph, Katara and Sokka followed suit, and she knew he wasn't aware of her bending, but if they wanted to earn his trust, laying down their arms was a necessity.
She didn't like being defenseless. It made her weak and she loathed it all the more.
"See? We're friends, your Earthiness." Aang smiled a bit too innocently at the king's unimpressed face.
With a gesture from Long Feng, all five teens were restrained with a pair of earth-cuffs at their backs; she bit down on her lower lip as frustration seeped into her veins.
No, keep your mouth shut if you want this to go smoothly.
"Detain the assailants," Long Feng ordered, to which the agents materialized behind them to take them away.
"But we dropped our weapons; we're your allies," Sokka protested.
Mariko shot him a sharp sideways look, amber eyes narrowed. "Regardless, we're still considered a threat." She ignored the equally sharp looks she gained from the others.
"Make sure the Avatar and his friends never see daylight again." Long Feng expounded on what she'd said, earning a glare from said girl.
"Wait, you're the Avatar? But you're a girl." The King asked in mild confusion.
Mariko blinked and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Your Majesty, but I'm not." She nodded slightly at the airbender, "He is. And if I may add, it doesn't exactly seem proper for Long Feng to have us, five teenagers who have willingly laid down our arms for the sake of peace, still be restrained, now does it? I didn't believe the policy for peaceful negotiations had changed in the last twenty years." She tried her damnedest to not sound so much like a certain princess, but associating with the little fire-monster had seemed to rub off on her regardless.
"That policy doesn't apply to enemies of the state." Long Feng spat.
Experience with angry adults in the past made her impervious and only served to bring a cheeky hint to her next choice words, "Since when was the Avatar considered an enemy of the state? When did the rules change to have the all-powerful Avatar incarcerated and locked away like a common criminal?" Tui and La, she was on a roll, but she knew her words hit home.
Three years alone apparently garnered a silver tongue.
The King seemed to take her words and his advisor's words into consideration, looking thoughtful, and a spark of hope ignited in her chest. "Perhaps you're right…" An amused smile formed when his bear padded forward to lick the airbender's cheek, earning a giggle and a gentle smile from the apparent-spokesperson for their group, adding, "Though Bosco seems to like him. I'll hear what he has to say."
::::::::dOb::::::::
Mariko studied his horrified expression momentarily, scowling at the remnants of the drill they'd destroyed only a week ago, looking away.
As they descended onto the Outer Wall, the King brushed past them to look at the shell of the long drill once again, placing his hands on the stone railing.
"It's not so secret, now is it, Your Majesty?" Mariko mused softly as she came to his side, leveling a stony look at the mechanism, shame resurfacing slowly at taking a glance at the emblazoned Fire Nation insignia on the top of the long metal shell, her arms folding. "This is only a smidge of a painful reminder that the war has ravaged not only the homes of the refugees that come in every day, but the rest of the world, too. Omashu has also fallen prey, as well as the majority of the Earth Kingdom. Ba Sing Se is the only stronghold left standing." She informed gravely, destroying the shame that fought to rise into her low tone, her amber eyes tightening.
"All this time, and I didn't know a single thing of such a travesty. I can't believe I never knew…" The King murmured.
Mariko slid her eyes closed in solemnity, an ear perking when the sound of a rising platform stirred the stale silence, opening her eyes to glance to the right and see Long Feng slinking back onto the scene with two agents flanking him.
"I can explain that, Your Majesty." I'll bet you can. "This is nothing more than a construction project." He strode forward, gesturing to the empty shell of metal down below.
Katara spoke before the older girl could, her tone sharp, "Really? Then perhaps you can explain why there's a Fire Nation insignia on your so-called 'construction project'?" She also gestured flippantly to said drill, namely the black flame symbol.
He was squirming like a spider-ant under a magnifying glass. "Well it's imported, of course; nowadays you can't trust domestic machinery." He put on a small smile before looking at the disappointed and stony look that crossed the Earth King's features, the smile disappearing. "Surely you don't believe these children, instead of your loyal attendant!" Caught like a chattering hog-monkey.
The King looked between the five teenagers and then at Long Feng slowly, before coming to a conclusion. His brow set into a determined frown. "Dai Li, arrest Long Feng: I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom." He commanded.
Brows shot up in surprise and slight awe, before Long Feng was cuffed by two steel braces, the bended coil retreating and dragging a protesting Long Feng with them.
"Looks like Long Feng is long gone!" Sokka cheered as the man was dragged away, chuckling at his own joke, adding, "I've been waiting to use that one…"
Mariko couldn't help but chuckle, even though, as she watched him be dragged into the lower echelons of the compound, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something had been miscalculated…
Maybe it was just her.
"Long Feng intercepted our letters from home? That's just sad." Toph tsked, shaking her head, but Mariko noted there was a spark of happiness in her milky eyes at hearing word that her mother was in the city.
"Aang," the King handed a scroll to the airbender, who proceeded to read it silently.
The burly General How informed, "This scroll was attached to the horn of your bison when the Dai Li captured it."
"It's from the Eastern Air Temple." Aang noted aloud, reading over the letter.
Katara leaned forward with hopeful eyes, "Is there a letter in there for me or Sokka, by any chance?"
"I'm afraid not," the King said, seeing them deflate a little, before General How added, "But there is an intelligence report that might be of interest."
Katara took the rolled up report from the general and pried it open, both she and Sokka pouring over what was written.
"A small fleet of Water Tribe ships…"
"What? That could be Dad!"
"…Protecting the mouth of Chameleon Bay… led by Hakoda: it is Dad!"
"Your Majesty, there wasn't anything for me in there, was there?" Mariko asked as both men began to take their leave and let the group discuss, meeting the King's gaze.
He smiled wanly, "I'm afraid not. Should there have been?"
"No, just curious. Good night." Mariko smiled lightly, rubbing her neck as they proceeded to leave the room.
"You weren't expecting a love letter or something, were you?" Sokka nudged her lightly.
Mariko rolled her eyes and slugged him affectionately. "C'mon, when have I ever been a romanticist?" She teased with a smirk, perching on the desktop as they plonked down in a circle to discuss.
Aang was almost giddy, "I can't believe it; there's a man living at the Eastern Air Temple, and he says he's a guru…"
"What's a guru, some kind of poisonous blowfish?" Sokka piped up.
"No, a spiritual expert. He wants to help me take the next step in the Avatar journey; he says he can teach me to control the Avatar State!"
Katara chirped happily, "And I can't believe we know where our dad is, now."
"I know what you mean; my mom's in the city, and from her letter it sounds like she finally understands me." Toph agreed.
Sokka said in a slight daze, "This is all such big news… Where do we even start?"
"Split up." At receiving the confused and slightly wounded looks from her friends, Mariko regarded them knowingly. "Come on, it's only logical. Aang needs to undergo that type of training before he can take on the Fire Lord, you two deserve to see your dad, and Toph needs to reconcile with her mom. If anyone should stay behind and help the Earth King plan out an efficient strategy, it's me: I was born and raised in the Fire Nation, I know how it runs." Aside from the fact that my dad's an admiral. "It's a win-win situation all around."
Aang spoke up first, "I know but it's just that it feels like we got the family back together with finding Appa, and now you want us to separate."
Mariko felt her ears burn at hearing he considered their group a family, smiling warmly at him. "It's hard, but if we want to get anywhere before that comet comes, this is for the best. It's not like I'm not gonna miss you lot, because spirits know I am. But we need to do this." She stated patiently.
"I know, I'm just gonna miss you guys, too…" Aang mumbled, pouting a little.
Katara chuckled quietly as the older girl patted his head, looking the part of an older sister.
A/N: y'know, i'm too excited for the Book III medley so i'm just going to zip through and submit ch19 too. so generous~ lol
preview of next chap:
'Tui and La, he wanted her to be with him... he wanted her at his side.'