Love in Danger chapter 9 : Long Feng's Revenge

[I am back from the DEAD! :] Enjoy]

Aang carefully scrutinized the new kettle in his hands as the merchant in front of him was attempting to recall its price.

"That'll be 12 copper pieces" the merchant said after Aang decided the pot resembled what Iroh had described.

Aang removed a coin purse from inside his sleeve and counted the money. He handed the trader the coins and prepared to depart.

Aang suddenly detected something odd. Toph had taught him her method of using Earthbending to sense the vibrations in the ground and use that to distinguish shapes and motions without the use of his eyes, though his skills weren't quite as sharp as hers, seeing as he could also rely on his eyes while Toph was totally dependent on this ability due to her lack of vision; with this power he felt the form of a man with a fast heartbeat slowly approaching him. As the ground vibrated he felt the shape of knife being quietly drawn as the person approached.

As the man thrust his blade forward, Aang lifted his right leg backwards, launching a pillar of rock upward that ensnared the assailant's hand.

"No I don't have eyes in the back of my head" Aang teased as the man stood shocked and viewing spectators gasped. "I have eyes on the bottom of my feet."

The man grunted angrily as he tried to pull free of his fabricated handcuff.

"I used that same trick on Fire Lord Ozai" Aang boasted, still not viewing this attempt as a serious threat. "My guess is you aren't a bender if you had to use a knife to attack me."

The agent's response to this was to kick the stone pillar to rubble and to jump over the top of the kettle shop and flee.

"He must be an Earthbender. I probably shouldn't let him get away" Aang decided lazily as he opened his staff's wings. He placed the kettle on the merchant's counter.

"Keep this safe for me until I get back please" Aang said as he leapt into the air and gave pursuit.

Aang saw the man scurry across rooftops and leap from place to place in an attempt to shake him, but the last Airbender kept pace with him easily. Finally the stranger halted as he came to a brick water main that led to the sewers of Ba Sing Se.

Aang landed a few inches from the man.

"The must be the first time you've ever tried to kill someone" Aang said lightheartedly. "I'll be honest; you aren't that good at it."

The man swiftly took a blowgun out of his sleeve and pressed the end to his lips. He puffed a breath of air and a poison-tipped dart was launched at Aang.

Aang held out his hand and a small spherical current of air gently stopped the projectile and it dropped softly into his hand.

"Poison-darts and knives? I thought you were an Earthbender" Aang jested as he still believed he was in no danger.

The man grunted and lifted the lid of the sewer main and disappeared into it. "I guess I'd better stop him" Aang said casually as he glided over to the main.

As Aang prepared to follow the man, suddenly he felt the weight of another person latching onto him as the curved edge of a knife's blade was pressed against his jugular vein.

"For my master!" the strange person yelled.

Aang was in too much shock to react quickly as the man prepared to slit his throat. BAM!

Aang felt and heard something impact his attacker incredibly hard, so hard that he was forced to release him as he flew half a dozen feet away.

Aang turned around and saw Toph, a large rock encasing either of her fists.

"Your reflexes are getting slow Twinkletoes" Toph said as she wagged her index finger. "I'm not going to always be around to save your ass you know."

"Uh...thanks Toph" Aang replied embarrassedly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Toph looked over to where the man had fallen with her Earthbending. She realized he was gone and could not feel where he was.

"Damn I didn't hit him hard enough!" she cursed. "Damn!"

"It's all right Toph" Aang assured. "They were just common bandits." "No they weren't Aang!" Toph emphasized. "They were assassins!" "What? How do you know?" Aang asked, still trying to shrug it off. "Seven of those guys just tried to kill Katara!"

"What?!" Aang shouted as he finally understood the direness of the situation.

"Don't worry, she's safe. Iroh saved her and he's with her right now" Toph informed him as his anxiety grew.

"I have to get back to the shop now!" Aang said as he prepared to take flight again. "What about me?" Toph asked shortly.

"I can get back there faster by flying so either grab on or meet me there" Aang said as his patience diminished.

"You know how much I hate flying Aang" Toph reminded. "I'll walk."

"On second thought" Aang said mischievously. "With all these assassins running around it probably isn't a good idea for any of us to be alone."

"Don't you dare...!" Toph warned as Aang grabbed her and took off, forcing her to hold onto the

glider.

Meanwhile back at the Jasmine Dragon, Iroh and Katara were informing General How, the leader of the Council of Five; the five highest-ranking generals in the Earth Kingdom military who had happened to be close by during the incident of what had happened.

After hearing the report, the General said, "It is a relief that you are all right. I wish we had known earlier that the Avatar was expecting children and would be arriving in the city today. We would have provided extra security for you and you husband."

"Well it doesn't look like we need much extra protection with Iroh around" Katara replied jokingly.

"Yes" How acknowledged dryly. "Well either way we have reason to suspect that Dai Li agents are responsible for the attack, though we haven't been able to pick up Long Feng's trail since he tried to assassinate the King three years ago. But the two men you mentioned, poli and jing, matched the descriptions of his highest-ranking and most loyal agents. You said poli was missing his right little finger, correct?"

Katara nodded. This was true; poli had not had his right pinky finger since a Fire Nation soldier severed it from his hand when he was six.

"Have they attempted to attack your husband yet?" How then asked. "I don't know" Katara answered.

"I can answer that" Aang's voice said as he and Toph soared into the shop.

As they landed Toph dizzily staggered and said, "I hate you. And so does my stomach." She dropped to the floor and acted as if she would vomit.

"The answer is yes" Aang said. "Dai Li agents tried to kill me but Toph saved me."

Katara and Aang dashed over to each other and embraced, both happy that the other was alive.

"Your Holiness" General How said as he bowed respectfully. "It is good to see you. I know that you may have objections to this idea but in the wake of recent events King Kuei respectfully requests that your wife be kept in the Royal Palace where she will be safe until the children are born."

Aang being an Air Nomad and having been taught to live in a completely different manner than they way the people of Ba Sing Se did, he was not keen on the idea.

"With all do respect General, I can take care of my wife" he answered. "Aang" Katara input.

"Yes?"

"I agree with him." "What?"

"I don't like the idea of being shut up in a palace all day any better than you do, but it's not about me. The fate of these babies (she placed her palms on her stomach) is more important than anything else in our lives. We have to keep them safe. We don't have any higher priority."

Out of the blue, the cawing sound of a hawk could be heard. A messenger hawk of the Fire Nation flew into the Jasmine Dragon and began cawing to get attention when it landed on a table. Aang walked over to it and took the letter out of the container on its back. The hawk cawed once more and departed.

"It's from Zuko" Aang said as he opened the scroll and read it. "What's it say?" Toph asked.

Aang read, "Aang, come back to the Fire Nation as soon as possible. It's an emergency of the upmost importance. For security reasons I cannot tell you now in case the letter is intercepted. Come back to my palace and I'll explain everything."

"Would have been nice if he was a little more specific" Toph jeered. "I'm not going" Aang said flatly.

"What?" Katara asked.

"You're pregnant and you just got attacked. I'm not leaving you" Aang stated vehemently.

"Aang Zuko wouldn't have asked you to come if it wasn't important. He said it was an emergency." "You said we don't have any higher priorities than the safety of our children."

"I'll be fine Aang. I'll be safe in the palace. I know you want to be here to protect me and I want you here too, but you're still the Avatar and you have duties to the world you can't ignore."

Aang resented greatly how strong her argument was. Finally he conceited, "All right, I'll go see what's wrong with Zuko but I'm coming back the first second I can."

And so Aang drifted through the sky on Appa's back for many days as he made his way back to the Fire Nation and Momo acted as his traveling companion.

"I sure hope Zuko has a good reason for this, guys" Aang said. Appa grunted and Momo chirped in acknowledgement.

After three days Aang stood once again in the Fire Lord's palace.

"Announcing the arrival of his Holiness, Avatar Aang!" said the Head Sage as Aang entered Zuko's throne room.

The Fire Lord rose happily as his old friend entered his chamber.

"Welcome back Aang!" he greeted as though he was relieved. "I was starting to think you would never get here."

"This had better be important Zuko" Aang snapped impatiently.

"Wow, I thought I was supposed to be the one with the short temper" Zuko said as he was taken aback by Aang's outburst.

"Not to seem rude, but you couldn't have picked a worse time to summon me." "Why is that?"

"Someone tried to kill Katara a few days ago."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Zuko stroked his chin in a way imitating his uncle when he was thinking. "Were they Earthbenders?" he inquired

"...How did you know?" Aang asked, now finally having some tolerance for this visit.

"An Earthbender tried to kill my son Lu Ten, and Earthbenders did kill Azula. That's why I summoned you."

"...What?" Aang replied quietly.

"Bring him in!" Zuko ordered. Imperial guards entered the room, pushing a large rolling cart that had a wooden coffin placed on the top of it.

"This is what's left of him after my guards chased him down" the Fire Lord explained. "You can look but it's not a pretty sight."

Aang's curiosity initially overpowered his antipathy towards death but as he opened the coffin's lid he quickly regretted this judgment. The charred, mangled corpse of the smote mercenary was by far the most gruesome site the young Airbender had ever laid eyes on. Burned scars ran so far up and down his body that it was impossible to tell what he had looked like before his death. His neck was twisted in such a crooked spiral that it was obvious he had be slain in an awful struggle. Aang would have looked away instantly, if not for his desire to find out more about the people who had attacked his wife.

"You can stop looking if you want" Zuko offered, understanding the Avatar's kindhearted nature. "My men have already searched him for evidence."

Aang slowly shut the coffin door. "I don't envy the guy whose job it is to do that" he said morbidly. "Why do you think it isn't mine?"

Aang then recovered enough from the horrid image to ask, "Why didn't your guards try to capture him alive, for interrogation?"

"They tried" Zuko sighed. "But he put up one hell of a fight. Next thing you know they're aiming for his neck instead of his legs and he's lifeless. Mai did tell them to bring him back dead or alive."

"I think the Dai Li are behind this attack too. Long Feng has a grudge with Azula." "That would make sense. But why would he go after Lu Ten too?"

"My guess is revenge" Aang said after he thought carefully. "Maybe he thought you and Azula...well you know...got along, so he thought that taking her nephew's life would make his vengeance more intense."

Zuko for some reason shied away at this remark. He seemed angry at something but hid it well. "Then why would he slay her first?" he asked quietly.

"Lu Ten lives in a royal palace and she lived in a prison; she was easier to get to" Aang rationalized.

"No. That wouldn't make sense; the assaults were too well-planned, too organized. They planned

to kill her first" Zuko said solemnly.

Aang was shocked at this. He didn't have a response ready for that circumstance so he said the only thing that seemed logical, "Maybe he was trying to hurt you."

"Why? What did I ever to do him?"

"You're his enemy's brother. He probably doesn't know that you two always acted like you hated each other."

"I do hate her!" Zuko suddenly burst, shaking the entire room.

"Wow, calm down Zuko" Aang said as his heart nearly crawled out of his mouth. "I know you two fought, but she was your sister."

"So what?!" Zuko scoffed. "Zuko..." Aang began. "You're sad that Azula's gone, aren't you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Zuko exploded. "You know we hated each other! What does it matter that she was my sister?!"

Aang gasped as he realized something incredible. "She may have hated you...but you never truly

hated her...Even with all she had done to you, she was still your little sister and you...loved her."

Zuko shouted in rage as flames blasted from his mouth and fists. "NO! Now enough of this! We have a more important issue to talk about. If Long Feng tried to destroy our families once he'll try it again. We have to stop him before he succeeds. Do you have any idea where he is?"

"No" Aang answered disappointedly. "He's probably somewhere in the Earth Kingdom though. I can search his old headquarters, Lake Laogai and see what I can find there. Were there any witnesses of Azula's demise you can interrogate?"

"I don't think so" Zuko said as he himself tried to remember. "Unless..." "...Unless what?"

"Nothing, forget it. No one saw it."

"But did someone hear it by any chance?"

"...No..." With his Earthbending abilities Aang felt Zuko's heartbeat skip and his breath shorten.

"You're lying. It may be worth mentioning that Toph taught me how to detect lies. Well who is it? Who's the witness?" Aang insisted professionally and firmly. His voice was strong and unshakable; this mysterious witness could be the key to ensuring the safety of his family. He would not let that opportunity be lost.

"It won't help Aang" Zuko said sadly.

"Tell me Who?"

"...My father, Ozai.!!!!!"