We reached the lakeshore, the rest of us with the Earth King while Toph went to the edge of the lake. She did a little hop, trying to raise the causeway that led to the underground passage. Instead, only broken rubble appeared.
"It's gone!" Toph cried.
"Oh, don't tell me..." Sokka said in a depressed manner before plastering a smile on his face and holding up his thumbs. "That's ok. I still got my positive attitude."
"We were a little too slow," Jin said, holding a hand to her chin. "This will make proving the conspiracy difficult."
"Clearly, the Dai Li knew we were coming and destroyed the evidence," Katara said.
"Hmm," Simon said, frowning. "That seems awfully convenient."
"Dreadfully convenient," I agreed.
"Hey, if anything, this proves the conspiracy exists even more!" Sokka insisted.
"Considering our track record," Muteki put in. "We don't exactly come off as too trustworthy."
"Once again, you are correct," Simon said, shaking his head, dissatisfied. "Long Feng was right. This was a waste of time. If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the palace."
"Just a moment, Your Majesty," Jin said. Dang, she's really laying on the charm. "Perhaps we can't prove this, but we can prove the war."
"Oh yeah!" Katara said, giving Jin a look of admiration. "They'll never be able to cover that up in time!"
"Yeah!" Aang grinned over at Simon. "If you come with us to the outer wall, we can prove to you that the secret war is real!"
"No Earth King has ever been to the outer wall," Simon snapped. "I don't have any more time for this nonsense."
He brushed past Aang, who looked very disappointed.
"There's a first time for everything, Your Majesty," Jin said calmly, a slight smile on her face.
"And if you come with us, this time you can ride on Appa," Sokka said.
Simon paused and looked over his shoulder at the Sky Bison, a small smile on his face.
"Nice one, Jin," I muttered to myself.