Accidental Avatar 2-RocknRoll

Hot Rocks

Once Appa was landed, we all hopped off.

"Nice one, mate," I said, clapping him on the back. "Now, you, Toph, and I let's go!"

More earthbenders popped out of the ground and launched much smaller stones at us. While Toph and Aang focused on keeping them off our sides, I ploughed through the front. Jin appeared on my left, shooting forward as she punched an earthbender in the nose, then nimbly dodged a second bender's attack.

Clearly, her insistence on practising without her bending paid off. Mogui, on the other hand...

"Yeah, team, let's go!" he cheered, keeping pace with Katara and Sokka.

Katara had a water whip, taking down whoever the rest of us missed.

"Sorry!" she winced as she powered through them.

More arrived, and Toph knocked them down, domino-style.

"Sorry, we just need to get through to see the Earth King!" Katara called.

"That's why they're stopping us," I said as we ran towards the palace. "They're trying to protect their king from enemies to the state."

"He's right," Jin huffed as she looked over at the soldiers. "Far as they know, we're here to assassinate the guy."

We almost reached the stairs when a new wave of earthbenders launched two statues of badger moles at us.

"Look at that!" Mogui yelled as they drew ever closer. "No respect for the classics!"

"Not the time Mog!" I yelled as we earthbenders created a barrier to protect everyone from the heavy statues, which crashed against the stone.

Katara shot out from behind the barrier, and from the sounds of things, she cleaned up. The rest of us caught up while Aang froze the moat to stop the soldiers from chasing us.

More rocks, though, and from really high up too.

"They just keep coming!" Mogui complained.

"Oh, hush up!" I snapped. "Those of us not likely to get lynched for our bending - with the exception of Jin - have been doing all the heavy lifting."

"Hey! Moral support is an incredibly difficult job!"

"Sure it is," I growled as I came up behind Toph. 

She appeared to be trying to bend the stairs and succeeded when she caused the staircase to become a great stone slide.

"Ouch," Jin said as they came skidding down.

Toph and I took up bending stances, then bent some earth up along the ramp, like an elevator, while Aang took up a position at the front to deal with anyone in the way.

"Seriously," Sokka yelled. "We're actually on your guys' side!"

"Sorry, mate!" Mogui also yelled.

We got to the top, and before the soldiers could attack, I jumped out and began to bend. I was frustrated. I was tired.

And I wasn't bending earth.

Lava shot up from the ground and created a literal wall of hot earth between them and us.

"Woah," Mogui said. "What was that about lynching and bending?"

"No time, move!" Jin yelled, prompting everyone to get moving.

"Right!" Sokka responded, snapping out of his daze. "In there!"

"What did you do?" Toph demanded as we ran in. "The ground got hot all of a sudden!"

"Apparently, I can lava bend!"

"Sweet."

We came into a large square room with three doors. Soldiers popped out there too.

"What is this, an earthbender factory!?" Jin demanded as Toph pinned them to the roof.

"Probably!" Mogui responded.

"Toph, which way to the Earth King?" Sokka demanded.

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW!?" Toph snapped. "I'm still voting we leave Ba Sing Se!"

While those of us bending dealt with the Soldiers, Mogui, Sokka, and Jin went looking through every door.

"Come on!" I growled, trying to lavabend again. "How'd I do it earlier!"

"Get mad!" Mogui yelled from one of the passages.

"THAT'S SO HELPFUL, MOGUI!"

I still can't lavabend again.