After the Dai Li arrested Long Feng, Konno and the rest of her friends went back to the palace with the Earth King. He was seated on his throne, his pet bear sitting at his feet.
"I want to thank you, young heroes, for opening my eyes," he said with a grateful nod. "All this time, what I thought was a great metropolis, was merely a city of fools, and that makes me the king fool." He buried his face in one of his hands. "We're at war with the Fire Nation."
Sokka stepped forward. "That's why we came to Ba Sing Se, Your Highness. Because we think you can help us end the war."
"We don't have much time," Aang said earnestly. "There's a comet coming this summer. Its energy will give the firebenders unbelievable strength. They'll be unstoppable."
"But there is hope," Sokka continued. Konno couldn't help but think he looked so adorable as he talked about his plan to the Earth King. However, they hadn't spoken since they had talked about their relationship earlier. "The sun will be entirely blocked out by the moon, and the firebenders will be helpless."
"What are you suggesting, Sokka?" the Earth King asked, leaning forward intently.
"That's the day we need to invade the Fire Nation," Sokka said, his voice dark. "The Day of Black Sun." Chills spread down Konno's spine at his words. For some reason, she felt like something was going to happen that day, but she wasn't sure what it was. Hopefully it would be something good.
"I don't know," the Earth King said apprehensively. "That would require moving troops out of Ba Sing Se. We'd be completely vulnerable."
"You're already vulnerable," Sokka replied with a roll of his eyes. "The Fire Nation won't stop until Ba Sing Se falls. You can either sit back and wait for that to happen, or take the offensive, and give yourself a fighting chance."
"Very well," the King said after considering his options for a minute. "You have my support."
Konno smiled while the rest of the group cheered. She hadn't realized that Sokka was a great persuader. He had presented the facts in such a way that made the Earth King see the truth.
Suddenly, Sokka pulled her into a hug with Toph and Katara while Aang circled them on an air scooter. His arm was wrapped around her waist, causing her mind to shut off for a second. He pressed his head against hers quickly before they all separated.
"Your Majesty," a man said, entering the throne room. Konno thought she had seem him before, but her mind was still a little fuzzy because Sokka hadn't fully let go of her yet. "I apologize for the interruption."
"This is General How," the Earth King said to the others. "He's the leader of the Council of Five, my highest ranking generals."
"We searched Long Feng's office," General How said. "I think we found something that will interest everybody."
The Earth King and General How ushered the group to Long Feng's office, and they all stood around the desk in Long Feng's private study. Konno stood in between Katara and Sokka as a guardsman carried a small ornate chest to them. The guardsman slid the box across the desk to the Earth King before departing.
"There are secret files on everyone in Ba Sing Se," General How said. "Including you kids."
"Secret files?" Aang asked.
The Earth King lifted a rolled up scroll out of the chest. "Toph Beifong."
Katara took the scroll and unfurled it. "It's a letter from your mom. She's here in the city, and she wants to see you."
Toph's face lighted up in surprise, but her tone was something different. "Long Feng intercepted our letters from home? That's just sad."
The Earth King handed another scroll to Aang. "Avatar."
"This scroll was attached to the horn of your bison when the Dai Li captured it," General How said.
"It's from the Eastern Air Temple," Aang said, his eyes scanning the page.
The Earth King reached into the chest and said, "Princess Eimi."
Konno was surprised to have hope spiraling through her veins. Did her parents send her a letter? How would they know where she was at? She took the letter from the Earth King and scanned the page. It really was from her parents! Specifically her mother, but her father had signed his name at the bottom. It was pretty short, but it had said that her parents missed her dearly and that they had heard she was in Ba Sing Se. They couldn't come to Ba Sing Se, but they wanted her to come back home.
"Is there a letter for me and Sokka by any chance?" Katara asked hopefully.
"I'm afraid not," the Earth King said.
"Oh," Sokka said after exchanging a sorrowful look with Katara.
"But there is an intelligence report that might interest you," General How said, handing another scroll to Katara.
"A small fleet of water tribe ships . . ." Katara said, reading the sheet of paper.
"What?" Sokka asked eagerly. "That could be Dad."
Katara's voice rose in excitement. "Protecting the mouth of Chameleon Bay, led by Hakoda. It is Dad!"
Toph plopped down on the rug, so the rest followed suit. Konno couldn't keep her eyes off of the letter in her hand. She thought she had made her parents hate her when she left without saying goodbye. But it looked like they still loved her, and they wanted to see her again. However, she didn't think she was ready to go back home yet.
"I can't believe it," Aang said. "There's a man living at the Eastern Air Temple. He says he's a Guru."
"What's a Guru?" Sokka asked, scratching the back of his head. "Some kind of poisonous blowfish?"
"No, a spiritual expert," Aang said eagerly. "He wants to help me take the next step in the Avatar journey. He says he can teach me to control the Avatar State."
"And I can't believe we know where our Dad is now," Katara said happily.
"I know what you mean," Toph said. A small smile appeared on her face. "My Mom's in the city, and from her letter it sounds like she finally understands me."
"What does your letter say, Konno?" Sokka asked, staring at her.
"Um, it's from my Mother and Father," she said, her eyes flicking up. She found everyone looking at her. "They want me to go back home because they miss me and they want to see me again."
"How are you going to go back to the Northern Water Tribe?" Katara asked.
"I don't think I want to go home."
"Why?"
Konno sighed. "I'm not ready. I can't yet."
Sokka's hand brushed against hers as he shifted closer to her. His shoulder bumped into hers. How did he know that she was a little upset? "This is all such big news," he said. "Where do we even start?"
"I hate to say it, but . . . we have to split up," Katara said sadly.
"Split up?" Aang asked, distraught. Konno didn't want to split up, either. These people made her so happy. "We just found Appa and got the family back together. Now you want us to separate?"
"You have to meet this Guru, Aang," Katara said firmly. "If we're gonna invade the Fire Nation, you need to be ready."
Aang smiled at her. "Well, if I'm going to the Eastern Air Temple, Appa and I can drop you at Chameleon Bay to see your Dad."
"Someone has to stay here with the Earth King and help him plan for the invasion," Sokka said, resigned. He rose to his feet. "I guess that's me."
"And me," Konno said, standing up as well. "I'm not going home, so I'll stay with you."
"No, Sokka, I know how badly you want to help Dad." Katara rose up, too. "You go to Chameleon Bay. I'll stay here with the King and Konno."
Sokka's eyes welled up with tears as he did a strange little dance. "You are the nicest sister ever!" He threw his arms around Katara and kissed her cheek.
"Easy there, big brother," Katara said, a smile on her face. "Though, you're right, I am."
The Earth King appeared at the edge of the group with a smile on his face. "You guys may stay here tonight," he said with a nod. "In the morning, you all may go your separate ways."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Aang said, bowing slightly.
"I'll have one of my Dai Li agents show you to your rooms." The Earth King snapped his fingers at one of the Dai Li agents that hovered near the entrance to Long Feng's private office. "Take them to the guest rooms, please."
The Dai Li agent led them through the winding hallways of the palace and stopped in front of two doors that were side by side. "These are the two rooms where you will be staying tonight," he said in his deep voice. "Enjoy."
The Dai Li agent walked off, and Katara said, "We'll see you boys later!" She grabbed onto Konno and Toph's hand, shoving the door open. She shoved the two girls in the room and slammed the door behind her. "We're going to have fun tonight!"
"Katara," Toph whined, plopping down on the ground. "Can't we just sleep all night? We're going to have a long day tomorrow anyway."
"No," Katara said, grinning. "We're going to have a good night tonight! Since we're going to separate tomorrow, I want one last night with my girls."
"It won't be our last night together," Konno said, rolling her eyes. "We'll see each other again."
"Yeah, but in a long time," Katara said with a nod. "I'm going to miss you guys."
"I'm staying here with you," Konno pointed out.
Katara gave her a look. "I'm going to miss us together. Better, Konno?"
"Much."
Konno sat down next to Toph and shoved the letter into her bag. She didn't want to look at it again and be reminded of home. She wasn't really ready to go back there. She wasn't sure when she would be ready, but it sure wasn't right now.
"Can you believe my mom is here to see me?" Toph asked suddenly.
"She loves you," Katara said with a nod. Toph sat up with a smile on her face. "She wants to make sure you're okay." Katara glanced at Konno. "I'm sure your parents are worried about you, too."
"If you're going to try to convince me to go home, don't try," Konno said quickly. "Nothing will convince me to go back yet."
"I'm not!" Katara held up her hands in surrender. "I'm just saying that your parents probably miss you. Didn't you leave without even telling them?"
"Yes." Konno paused. "How'd you know? I didn't tell you, did I?"
"Sokka told me."
"That guy can't keep a secret, can he?" Konno asked with a sigh. She ran a hand through her dark hair. "Did he tell you anything else?"
"No." Katara shook her head. "All I know is what you told me about . . . things."
"What things?" Toph asked.
Konno's hands started shaking. She didn't really want to talk to Toph about what she had tried to do, but it was time for her to find out. She didn't want to keep it a secret forever. "I tried to take my life after my sister died," she said softly. "That's the thing."
Toph's eyes went wide, and she furrowed her brows. "Oh, wow! I did not expect that."
"Yeah, I bet you didn't."
"You seem so upbeat," Toph said with a frown. "I would never have guessed that you would have tried that."
"I'm not upbeat at all," Konno said, her eyes closed. "I have had a lot of bad days, but I've gotten a little better."
The three of them fell into an awkward silence. Of course Konno had to make things awkward. Apparently it was her specialty.
The three of them had spent the rest of the night chatting and laughing about the strangest topics. They barely slept at all, but Konno had fun. It took them a minute to get through the awkwardness, but it turned out fine. It felt good to get that piece of information off her chest.
The cool morning breeze blew through Konno's hair as they waited at the plaza at the foot of the palace for the Earth King. She was a little sad that they all were going their separate ways. Even if she hadn't wanted to join them in the first place, it was one of the best decisions she had ever made. They made her happy and helped her through the pain of losing her sister and best friend. She would miss them dearly. Especially Sokka.
Konno hovered next to Katara just as Aang turned to speak to her. He looked at Konno for a second, so she took that as a message to leave. She guessed that he wanted to tell Katara about his feelings for her. Maybe her and Sokka could talk about their feelings for each other.
He stood off to the side, a neutral expression on his face. His eyes were unfocused as they stared up at the blue sky. Not a single cloud dotted the pretty sky, allowing the sun to shine directly on Sokka. Light streaked toward his dark hair, and it gave him a little halo.
"What are you looking at?" Konno asked, bumping his shoulder with hers.
His eyes focused when they locked onto her. A small smile appeared on his face. "I'm looking up at the sky, Konno. Couldn't you tell?"
Konno rolled her eyes. "I could tell. I meant, what are you thinking about?"
Sokka poked Konno's shoulder and said, "You."
Konno raised one eyebrow. "Me? What about me?"
"Oh, how beautiful you are," he answered, slipping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his embrace almost unconsciously. "And how much I -"
"Aang and Sokka," the Earth King said, approaching them. Sokka sighed and dropped his arm off of Konno's shoulders. Katara didn't look happy that her and Aang were interrupted, either. "I wish you a good journey. Ba Sing Se owes you its thanks, and we look forward to your return."
All of them bowed to the King. As Konno was rising back up, she saw a guard approach the Earth King. "Your Majesty," he said, bowing quickly. "There are three female warriors here to see you. They're from the island of Kyoshi."
"Suki?" Konno asked, smiling. She wanted to see Suki again.
"You know these warriors?" the Earth King asked.
"Oh yeah," Sokka said with a nod. He glanced at Konno, but she knew that he only had feelings for her. She wasn't jealous of Suki anymore. "The Kyoshi warriors are a skilled group of fighters. Trustworthy, too. They're good friends of ours."
"Then we shall welcome them as honored guests," the Earth King said, satisfied.
Konno faced her friends. They all stared at each other as a sad feeling settled in on them. Katara suddenly threw her arms around Aang, pulling closer to him. His cheeks flooded with color as she kissed his cheek.
"I'm really gonna miss you guys," Toph said quietly.
"Me too," Katara answered.
"Yeah," Aang said softly.
Katara and Aang threw their arms around Toph since she was the closest to them. Sokka stood apart from them, arms folded against his chest. Konno tugged Sokka to her and pulled him into a hug. The other three caught them in a group hug.
"Ahh! Great! That's enough, guys," he said awkwardly. His grip on Konno tightened even though he sounded upset that they were hugging. "Okay, we love each other. Seriously."
Sokka's head rested against hers for a quick second as the rest of them separated. She wished that they could have at least talked a little about what they are. She wasn't as nervous about it now, but now they didn't have any time.
"We'll see you guys soon!" Sokka said as Aang hopped onto Appa. "Have fun!"
"Be safe!" Konno called out, waving at him. He stared at her for a second, something flashing across his face. However, he did not get off of Appa, and she didn't run to him.
Toph started running away and then made a huge hill out of earth and used that to move faster. Katara and Konno watched as their friends went away. Katara sighed and said, "Do you think they will be okay?"
"I hope they will be."
The Earth King turned to them. She hadn't realized that he had returned. Or maybe he had never left yet. She wasn't sure. "Are you two ready to go meet with the Council of Five and plan for the Day of Black Sun?"
Konno shivered again at that name. She didn't understand why it scared her so much.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Katara said, pulling Konno out of her thoughts. "Thank you for having us."
"I will have this guard take you to the military headquarters," he said, gesturing to the guard next to him. "I have to go welcome the Kyoshi warriors."
"I cannot leave you alone, Your Majesty," the guard said. His voice was very deep and rattly.
"I will be fine," the Earth King answered him. "There's a guard over there. See?" He pointed toward a guard near the entrance of the palace. "I don't want these two young ladies to be late."
The guard bowed to the Earth King before whirling around and walked down the street. Katara and Konno had nearly run to catch up to him because he was going so fast.
"I can't wait to see Suki later," Katara said to Konno as they rounded a corner.
"Me either," Konno answered. Her chest grew tight because they were walking so fast. "Why is that man walking so fast?"
"I don't know." Katara giggled slightly so Konno glanced over at her. She was smiling softly to herself, her cheeks reddening. "Aang was going to tell me something before the Earth King interrupted us."
"Ooh," Konno said, bumping Katara's shoulder. "Do you know what he was going to say?"
"No."
"He probably wanted to tell you how he felt about you," Konno said, thinking about her and Sokka. "But I don't want to talk about the boys while they are gone. I want to enjoy spending time with you."
"Good idea," Katara said, nodding. "Sometimes it's nice to not be with the boys. They can be annoying and weird."
"You think?" Konno grew quiet as they made it to the military headquarters of Ba Sing Se. The building was huge and tall, and it was very intimidating. The stairs were on the outside and she could see the top floor. It was an open chamber and she could hear voices carried from the chamber. "Do you think we have to go up there?"
"That's where the guard is leading us," Katara said, pointing to the Dai Li agent they were following. She laughed slightly, saying, "I hope it's not jail."
"Why would it be jail?"
"I was making a joke, Konno."
"Oh," she said, blinking. "Right. I knew that."
After climbing all of the stairs, they finally made it to the war room. The center of the ornate room was dominated by a map of the known world. Konno was surprised that the map was very wide. She hadn't ever been in on the meetings with the warriors back home, so this was really new to her. At the beginning of the meeting, the men addressed each other and chatted about trivial things until an important general walked in. It was the same general that had talked with the Earth King earlier. One of the men called him General How, and they started talking about the Day of Black Sun.
Konno tried to ignore how her heart rate suddenly picked up. There was something about that day that seemed to terrify her. She pushed the fear out of her head and listened to what the men were saying about their plan for the Day of Black Sun. Her and Katara didn't really add anything in, only when they needed to.
Katara and Konno were kneeled at the raised frame of the map. Momo perched on Katara's shoulder as General How said, "General Fong's base will serve as the launching point of the attack." He earthbended three earth unit markers across the sea to the Fire Nation capital, where a red marker stood. "In exactly two months, the Army and Navy will invade the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun."
Momo suddenly pounced on the Fire Nation marker, scattering the other pieces. Katara giggled. "Or we could send in Momo to do some damage." Momo continued to hop around the map, scattering more pieces, and Konno and Katara both laughed. "Cause the . . ." Katara's laugh drifted off when she saw the grim expressions of the Council. ". . . sorry."
General How snapped the pieces upright. Momo shrieked and raced off the map, landing on Katara's shoulder once more. "All we need is the Earth King's seal in order to execute the plan."
General How placed a scroll on a section of the map frame and proceeded to bend the scroll across the map to Katara and Konno. "I'll get these scrolls to him right away," Katara said respectfully. "Thank you, General How."
Konno picked up the scroll. Her and Katara rose up from the ground and bowed slightly to the men before turning to depart. They headed back toward the stairs and Konno sighed.
"Why do we have to go down these stairs again?" she asked as they started descending.
"I have no idea," Katara said. Momo flew above them. "This city is huge, though. It seems like that everything is bigger here."
"Bigger isn't always better," Konno muttered. "Rural towns are the best towns in my opinion. Everyone knows everyone and everything isn't so big."
"Was it like that in the Northern Water Tribe?"
"Unfortunately not. I barely knew anyone, especially because I was the princess." She paused and thought about the people there. "It was surprising that Navrek was my best friend because he was of the lower end of the Tribe. Father usually made us stay around the more higher up children, like Hahn."
"Wow," Katara said slowly. "Your father was . . . uh strict, wasn't he?"
"A little bit." Konno shrugged. "It was all in love, though. He wanted what was best for me, but sometimes he didn't know what was best for me."
"Most parents don't," Katara said. Her voice had grown a little dark. "My father thought it was the best decision to go off to war when Sokka and I were little, but we needed him too."
"When did he go off to war?"
"Right after my mom died." She sighed and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I know he had to go off to war. It was his duty to help protect us, but I needed him. Sokka needed him, too."
"Yeah, definitely," Konno said, nodding. "Did you have anyone else to take care of you?"
"Our grandmother."
"At least you had her. That's better than nothing, right?"
"Right."
They finally made it back to the street. Off to the side, doors to a business were wide open, and guests streamed inside it. "What do you say, Konno?" Katara asked, pulling her to a stop. "A cup of tea before we get back to the king?"
"That sounds good," Konno said with a nod.
The two of them stepped inside the entrance, toward the main counter. "Table for three, please," Katara said with a smile on her face.
A voice echoed around the tea shop. It sounded familiar to Konno, but she couldn't really place it. She glanced to the side and saw a boy around her age in a fancy waiters uniform, speaking to an older man who was working behind the counter. The old man looked more familiar to her, but she didn't exactly know why.
"That's Zuko," Katara hissed to Konno as she dragged her out of the tea shop. "He is not a good guy at all."
"He was at the Northern Water Tribe, wasn't he?" Konno asked as they raced down the street toward the palace. Now she knew where she had seen them before. "Him and his uncle."
"Yes."
"I remember his uncle more than him because he was there when Yue died."
"He's been chasing us across the world," Katara said. They neared the palace, and she threw the door open for the two of them. "We need to tell the Earth King that there are Fire Nation people here."
"I figured that's what you were doing."
The two of them raced down the long halls of the Earth King's palace. Katara still held the message-scroll in her hand. Konno had to slow down because they were walking so fast. Katara made it to the King's throne room before her, but she stopped.
"Go on," Konno said, waving her hand. "I can't breathe right now. The Earth King needs to know this more than I need to breathe."
"Okay," Katara said with a nod. She entered the throne room without Konno.
Konno leaned against the wall, placing her hands on her knees. She really was out of shape, which was not good. They had been getting into a lot of trouble lately, so she needed to get better before she got left behind. Unfortunately, when Sokka tried to teach her how to fight, she had gotten very distracted. That wouldn't help her at all.
The pressure in her chest eased with more breaths she sucked in. Now that she could breathe almost normally, she decided to join Katara in the throne room. Momo flew out of the throne room just as she took a step toward it. Konno frowned. Why would Momo fly out of the throne room?
Something felt off so she peeked her head around the corner of the door. She fought the urge to gasp when she saw Katara lying helplessly in a pool of water as three ladies gathered around her. Konno stepped back into the hall before anyone could see her. Those ladies did not look like Suki and her fellow Kyoshi warriors at all. She wasn't sure how she was going to get Katara out of that situation. No one was with her to help her get Katara, and there was no way that she could fight against those three ladies.
Konno backed up and ran out of the palace, heading toward their house. She knew she should've done something else than run away, but it was the only thing she could think of. Her friends would be back soon, and then they could save Katara. She just hoped that Katara would be okay.