ATLA: Book 4

Chapter 8

"What's the escape plan?" she asked Sokka.

"Nothing except wait for Aang, but that's a bad idea because they are using us as bait," Sokka said.

"Why can't we just break ourselves out?" Katara asked.

"Zuko's arms are trapped between earth, Toph is in a wood cage, there aren't any sources of water down here, and Long Feng's agents took our weapons," he responded. Katara started moving her arms, trying to find any type of water source, but it was no use.

Long Feng walked back in. "We found the Avatar and we sent him a message."

"What kind of message?" Zuko asked.

"I wrote him a message that was posing as you," he said, pointing to Katara.

"I told him to 'meet me here' and that 'I wanted to tell him something important about our relationship'."

Katara's eyes widened. "He'll become emotional and unstable, which will make him more vulnerable!"

"Exactly. We'll have an easier time of killing him when he's in an emotional state."

Aang received the letter and when as finished reading it, his face fell and he started crying harder than before.

As Aang flew to the Ba Sing Se caverns, Long Feng's agents left that section of the cavern. They were hiding in the dark, waiting to pounce and slay the Avatar. Aang earthbended his way down, tears rolled down his cheeks. The noise of earthbending got louder and louder as he got closer to the cavern until he finally reached the cave. His expression changed from extremely sad to extremely confused.

"Katara? Sokka? Toph? Zu-"

"Aang, it's a trap, get out of here!" Katara yelled, cutting him off. His eyes widened and he looked back to see that his exit was closed off, so he jumped down into the cavern. Hundreds of Long Feng's agents appeared from the shadows. He fought but there were too many and they surrounded him. Aang used an airbending move which sent them flying all over the place. Long Feng was observing the fight from afar.

"RELEASE MY FRIENDS NOW!" Aang yelled at him angrily.

"Never," Long Feng told him.

Long Feng sent a basic earthbending move towards Aang. He jumped over it and sent two fire blasts at Long Feng, but it was easily blocked. Long Feng then made a thick wall, blocking any of Aang's attacks. He was stalling, waiting for back up to arrive. Aang started to generate a lightning bolt. He started rushing towards the thick wall and blasted it.

"What the-" Long Feng said. A giant dust cloud formed from the explosion. It blocked his vision.

Aang jumped through the dust cloud and blew Long Feng into the wall. The gang watched in amazement. Aang trapped Long Feng in some earth. Just then, Hama arrived with two other agents.

Hama started to bloodbend on Aang. His body twisted and turned in ways it wasn't supposed to. The Gaang watched as Aang shrieked in pain.

"Aang! Nonononono! Aang! Please, Aang!" she redirected her gaze to Hama. "Don't kill him!"

He screamed in pain as his body twisted and turned, he then went into the Avatar State. Hama's bloodbending became useless. He rose into the air and created huge gusts of wind that knocked Hama's guards back. Aang trapped Hama's hands in some earth.

He went over to Toph and freed her. "Thanks, Twinkletoes, I'm ready to kick some butt."

"Actually, I'm going to need you to metalbend the others out. I'll hold off the guards."

Toph stomped the ground, each cage broke apart at once.

"Done," she said.

Hordes of guards poured into the cavern. Aang rose into the air and used various types of bending to hold them off.

"Thanks, Toph," Zuko said before taking a defensive stance.

Mai pulled out some of her knives ready to fight.

Katara took the octopus stance as some of the guards started to attack her.

Toph earthbent crystal armor on herself.

The delegates and the Earth King started to flee from the cavern.

"Hey! Aren't you guys going to help us?" Sokka yelled as they fled.

It had been a few minutes and Team Avatar showed their stuff. Agents flew around. Suki and Sokka tag-teamed while Zuko and Mai were back-to-back using long-range attacks. Toph took on fifteen by herself pretty easily. Katara was defending Aang, while he was still floating above, still in the Avatar State. Team Avatar was holding their ground, but soon they would lose the advantage and Long Feng's agents would gain the upper hand.

"Aang, where's Long Feng?"

"I don't know, maybe he ran away," he said as he earthbent ten agents away.

Just then the roof came open and the Earth King's Royal Guards and the reformed Dai Li flowed into the room. They quickly overpowered Long Feng's agents and started arresting them one-by-one.

"Make sure you arrest Long Feng! We can't let him escape!" the Earth King yelled as more guards poured in.

Aang stood on the ground with Katara, holding off the last of Long Feng's agents. He was still in the Avatar State. Just then, he felt someone starting to generate lightning with his seismic sense. Toph felt it too.

"KATARA, WATCH OUT!" Toph yelled.

The lightning blast went towards Katara and Aang jumped in front of it, sending his own blast. The two lightning strikes collided and there was a big explosion.

Aang woke up, there was a ringing in Aang's ear. He was unconscious for a few seconds. He felt extremely weak and tired. Katara was looking over him. She grabbed his face.

"Aang, stay with me!" she yelled. It was quiet and muffled for Aang.

"Katara...?" he blacked out.