we all want love/we all want honor
Part 22: these golden ashes turn to dirt
"Can't help myself, got secrets I can't tell."
- Sam Tinnesz, "Play With Fire"
Getting into the palace to see the Earth King wasn't easy, exactly. But they did have surprise on their side. No one was expecting three kids to suddenly land a giant bison in the middle of the courtyard and storm in to get to the throne room.
And while the king did seem… skeptical about the idea of a secret war, he was more than happy to get the chance to ride a flying bison.
After that, they just had to fly back to Lake Laogai and show him exactly what was going on behind his back.
Long Feng, of course, tried to protest, but it was hard for him to deny the fact that they'd literally walked in on him supervising some kind of mass group brainwashing session.
But then they found out that their dad was stationed not far away, and Aang had a vision telling him to go to the Eastern Air Temple, and the three of them realized that they would need to split up.
Sokka knew that he would have to be the one to stay behind. Of course he did. Aang and Katara would get to go off on their fun adventures, and he would be the boring planner who'd stay behind and work on the actual invasion strategizing. That was the way things worked
But when Katara offered to stay behind instead, he couldn't help but take her up on it.
He knew it was the wrong decision. Of course he did.
And, as usual, it didn't take long for his instincts to be proven correct.
Toph arrived at the spot where she usually met with Aang on time, but he was nowhere to be found.
Did I get the days mixed up? They'd agreed to take a week off while she helped Zuko and Uncle move into their new apartment and set up the restaurant, but she was pretty sure she and Twinkletoes had agreed that his lessons would continue today.
Scowling, she focused on the ground beneath her feet, checking to see if-
There we go. She bent the dirt away, revealing a flat piece of metal the length of her forearm. Bent into it were a few short lines of symbols that would be nonsense to anyone else. Toph sighed as she ran her fingers along the words.
Apparently the kid had had to leave Ba Sing Se in a hurry but hopefully would be back in a few days. (The actual message was a bit wordier, of course, but had no more practical information, such as where he was going or the date he'd be back.)
Wonderful. What now? Toph spent a few moments considering her options. She could go back to the Jasmine Dragon. Uncle would be happy to have her hanging around, and while Zuko might grumble a bit, he wouldn't really mind her sitting around while he brought out orders.
But she didn't really want to go back just yet. She'd spent a week in the densely-packed confines of the city, and had been looking forward to getting out and doing some real bending.
Guess I'll have to do it on my own. After all, it wasn't like anyone was expecting her anywhere right now.
Toph couldn't know, of course, what the ramifications of that choice would be.
Katara froze at the doorway of the tea shop, staring at the face she'd recognize anywhere. The firebender didn't seem to notice her presence, and was calling something back to his uncle.
Distantly, she heard the familiar voice of Zuko's uncle respond, although she couldn't focus enough to actually understand what either of the men were saying.
This is bad, she thought, turning and running as quickly as she could. I've got to warn the others.
(Much, much later, after piecing together everything that had happened that day, Toph would be able to think back and pinpoint this as the moment things started going wrong. The fact that she hadn't told Aang about their move to the Upper RIng or warned him to keep his friends away from the tea shop. The fact that she wasn't there to recognize the waterbender's footsteps or notice her reaction, or even stop her to try and explain anything. The fact that Twinkletoes was gone, and so Katara wasn't able to go to him first so he could explain. If even one of those things had been different, maybe everything that happened afterwards would have been different, too.)
(Or maybe not. Maybe things were always meant to happen the way they did. Uncle had once told her that destiny was a funny thing, and he was probably right. There was no real way of knowing, was there?)
Iroh winced as he looked down at the tiny girl in front of him. She'd warned him that this move would be a bad decision, that they'd be all the more likely to call attention to themselves this way, and she'd been so absolutely right. (He'd known that she'd also clearly thought the invitation to serve the Earth King was strange, but she hadn't protested them going, only warned them to be careful. Which they hadn't been, obviously.)
But while Lady Toph seemed just as concerned as he was, she didn't seem angry- at least, not at him.
"What an idiot," she muttered, the words sounding both exasperated and affectionate. "Guess we're going to have to bail him out of another mess, huh?"
"It seems so," Iroh said, sighing.
"You think that guy will be any help?" Toph gestured at the Dai Li agent he'd brought home with him.
"I hope so," said Iroh. "But even so, if Azula and the Dai Li are working together against us, the two of us alone may not be enough."
Toph seemed to consider this for a moment before throwing her head back and groaning.
"Fine," she said, sounding as though that single word had been pried out of her against her will. "Guess I don't have much choice."
"Choice?" Iroh asked, bewildered.
"I know a guy who might be able to help," she said, shrugging. "He's not going to be happy about this. But he does owe me a favor or two after everything I've done for him. Besides, he'll probably want to know about this whole… mess, too."
Sokka looked around at the apparently empty house.
"Katara is in trouble!" Aang said, voicing Sokka's own concerns. "I knew it!"
"Oh, no!" Where could his sister be, and what did it have to do with Aang's vision?
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Aang opened it slowly, and while Sokka couldn't see who was on the other side, he could hear the confusion in his friend's voice when he spoke.
"Sifu? What are you doing here? And why did you bring your… uncle?" There was a question there, but Sokka didn't have time to consider it before a vaguely familiar voice responded.
"We've got a problem," the girl at the door said, and pushed the door open the rest of the way. Sokka's eyes widened as he saw Zuko's earthbending girlfriend come stomping in like she owned the place, trailed by the jerk prince's uncle.
"What are you doing here?" Sokka asked, immediately moving into a fighting stance. "And Aang… why did you call her 'sifu'?" That wasn't a title to be used casually, and the girl's unperturbed response had told him that it wasn't the first time she'd heard the airbender call her that.
"Can the chit-chat, we don't have time for you to play catch-up," the earthbender said, crossing her arms. "We've got real problems to deal with here."
"Excuse-" Sokka didn't have a chance to say more than a word before Zuko's uncle interrupted.
"Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se," the old man said, and Sokka's stomach plummeted. He knew what that meant.
Aang said it first.
"She must have Katara!"
"Yeah, well, she's got the hothead, too," said the girl.
"The hothead?" Sokka asked, although he could guess who she meant.
"My nephew," clarified the elderly firebender.
Great, Sokka thought. This is going to be just peachy.
"Hail to the king and queen of the ruckus."
- Sam Tinnesz, "Play With Fire"