by The Tale of Aang; Azula; Toph; Sokka; Zuko; Katara (retail) (epub)
I had such a strong feeling that Appa was there, but nobody we asked seemed to be able to help us find him!
After a totally frustrating day, Joo Dee finally dropped us off at our house. We met our next-door neighbor, Pong, hoping maybe we could get some answers from him. He was friendly enough, but as soon as we mentioned the war, he began trembling and looking around to see if he was being watched.
“Listen,” he said, obviously frightened. “You can’t mention the war in Ba Sing Se. And whatever you do, stay away from the Dai Li.” Then he ran into his house and slammed the door behind him.
No one in this city will talk about anything important. It seems like some kind of conspiracy or something.
“We have to see the Earth King,” Sokka insisted. “That’s the only way to straighten this out.”
Sokka’s right. The king HAS to help us. I’m sure of it. And I’m NOT waiting a whole month in this weird city to see him!
A little while later, Katara was reading the paper and discovered that the king was having a party. She suggested that we sneak in and try to talk to him there. So she and Toph get to dress up like fancy society ladies, while Sokka and I have to pretend that we’re busboys. The things I have to do sometimes!
We snuck in and spotted the Earth King, but on our way to him we were caught by Dai Li agents and taken to a library inside the palace. Then this guy approached me. He said his name was Long Feng, and that he was the grand secretariat of Ba Sing Se, cultural minister to the king, and head of the Dai Li. I asked him why he wouldn’t let us see the king, and told him about the Fire Nation drill and the solar eclipse, but he didn’t seem to care! He just said that the king had no time to get involved with politics or military activities, which makes no sense! What else does the king DO? All that stuff is his job. ESPECIALLY during a war. He said that silencing talk of the conflict made Ba Sing Se a peaceful, orderly utopia. Talk about crazy—this guy’s nuttier than General Fong for sure!
Unfortunately, yelling at Long Feng just made him angrier at me. He told me he knew I was looking for Appa, and made it seem like he had the power to help, or to make it impossible. … Does he know where Appa is? I think Long Feng knows a lot more than he lets on. I need to find out what this guy is hiding, but it’s going to take a little bit of planning. Right now, I just have to be calm.
And now there’s this strange woman who wants to escort us home.
“What happened to Joo Dee?” Katara asked.
“I’m Joo Dee,” the woman said, smiling. “I’ll be your host as long as you’re in our wonderful city!”
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any stranger. What in the world is going on in this crazy city?
Chapter 10
My mind is racing and I can’t slow it down. I’m trying really hard to figure out the next step to take so that we can find Appa. I’m trying to understand why nobody in this city wants to talk about a war that’s on the verge of destroying their home—and the rest of the world! What is with these people?
Katara, Sokka, Toph, and I decided to go put up MISSING BISON posters all around the city, in the hopes that maybe someone had seen Appa somewhere. When we got back home, someone knocked on the front door. I was certain it would be someone with good news about Appa. But to my disappointment, it was only Joo Dee—the first Joo Dee—holding one of our posters. When we asked her where she had been, she told us that she took a short vacation at a place called Lake Laogai. Weird! Then she told us that we were forbidden to put up posters.
What CAN you do in this city? Anyway, I’m done listening to these people. It’s obvious they don’t want to help us, so we’ll just help ourselves.
“We don’t care about the rules, and we’re not asking permission. We’re finding Appa on our own, and you should just stay out of our way!” I slammed the door in her face. “From now on we do whatever it takes to find Appa.”
We headed out of the house, more determined than ever. Then—I couldn’t believe it—Katara ran into Jet, this rebel we had met earlier in our travels. What’s he doing in Ba Sing Se? Now that I think back on it, Katara kind of had a crush on Jet—until he put a whole innocent village in danger trying to fight the Fire Nation! That’s when Katara decided that she wanted nothing to do with him. I don’t mind that part at all.
“I’m here to help you find Appa,” said Jet.
He told Katara that he had changed, that he had given up his gang. I know she doesn’t trust him, but at this point I really need all the help that I can get.
Jet led us to a warehouse where he had heard Appa had been taken. But when we got there, it was empty. At first Katara thought it was a trap, but then we found some of Appa’s fur on the ground.
“They took that big thing yesterday,” said a voice from a dark corner of the building. A janitor pushing a broom stepped into the light. “Some rich guy on Whaletail Island bought him—maybe for a zoo, or maybe for the meat.”
FOR THE MEAT! I have to sit down. This feeling in my stomach is not good. … The idea of someone buying Appa for meat made me nauseous and furious at the same time. Appa is the last of a noble, proud breed, not somebody’s dinner. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to him! “We’ve got to get to Whaletail Island right away!”
Sokka looked it up on his map and discovered that it was really far away, back near the South Pole. But I don’t care how far away it is or how long it takes to get there. If there’s a chance to find Appa, we have to take it.
On our way out of the warehouse, we ran into the members of Jet’s gang, who told us that Jet had been arrested and dragged away by the Dai Li a few weeks earlier. Jet denied it and looked at them like they were crazy. He also denied being part of the gang altogether. Toph is kind of like a human lie detector, and she studied their heartbeats and breathing patterns and told us that both Jet and his gang friends were telling the truth.
“They both THINK they’re telling the truth,” Sokka realized suddenly. “That’s because Jet’s been brainwashed by the Dai Li!”
We grabbed Jet and brought him back to his apartment, where we tried to jog his memory.
“The Dai Li must have sent Jet and that janitor to mislead us,” Katara said.
That made perfect sense! They wanted us out of Ba Sing Se, because we were stirring up trouble with our talk about the war, so they brainwashed Jet to lead us far away.
“I bet they still have Appa right here in the city!” I said, feeling hopeful again. “Maybe he’s in the same place they took Jet!” I leaned in close to Jet. “Where did they take you?”
“Nowhere!” he cried, squirming in his chair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Katara used the water from her pouch and formed a sparkling band of healing energy around Jet’s head to jog his memory. Slowly he began to relax.
“They took me to Dai Li headquarters,” he said finally. “It was underwater, under a lake.”
“Joo Dee said she went on a vacation to Lake Laogai,” Sokka recalled.
“That’s it!” Jet cried. “Lake Laogai!”
I’m certain now that’s where we’ll find Appa. I hope that we won’t be too late. I don’t know what I’ll do if—NO, Aang, don’t think that way! We WILL find Appa, and he’ll be all right.
Sokka, Katara, Toph, Momo, and I traveled to Lake Laogai, along with Jet and two members of his gang, Longshot and Smellerbee. It was a big, beautiful lake surrounded by a thick woods. But there was no sign of a headquarters or any kind of passageway leading under the water.
Then Toph found a rock hatch in the water at the edge of the shore. She Earthbended the hatch open and revealed a stairway leading down under the lake. We hurried down the stairs and into a tunnel.
“It’s coming back to me now,” Jet said. “I think there’s a cell big enough to hold Appa just ahead.”
We’re so close now. He might even be right around the next bend!
We made our way along the tunnel, which had rooms and holding cells on either s
ide. In one of the rooms I saw a bunch of women all being trained—brainwashed, actually—to be Joo Dees. It was so creepy, like they were all preprogrammed robots. Yuck!
Continuing along the tunnel, we soon came to a door where Jet stopped. “I think it’s through here,” he said, flinging open the door.
Wait a second—this isn’t Appa’s cell. It’s a room filled with Dai Li agents. There’s Long Feng! Did Jet lead us into a trap, or did he just make an honest mistake?
“By breaking into our headquarters you have made yourselves enemies of the state,” Long Feng announced. Then he turned to his agents. “Take them into custody!”
The Dai Li agents attacked, but we fought back. Then Long Feng started running, and Jet and I took off after him. We followed him back down the tunnel and into another room, where he slammed the door and turned to confront us. Jet is definitely on our side.
“All right, Avatar,” Long Feng snarled confidently. “This is your last chance—if you want your bison back.”
He does have Appa! I knew it! I could strike him down right where he stands, but not before I learn where he’s holding my buddy.
“Tell me where Appa is!”
“Agree to exit the city now, and I’ll waive all charges and allow you to leave with your lost pet,” Long Feng said.
“You’re in no position to bargain!” Jet shouted, drawing his twin hook swords.
“Definitely not,” I added, taking up a combat stance beside Jet. If Long Feng wants to do this the hard way, I’ll gladly accommodate him.
Then he looked Jet right in the eye and said, “Jet, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai.”
Jet’s expression is completely changing—his eyes are narrower, and he’s staring blankly ahead. What’s happening to him?
“I am honored to accept his invitation,” Jet said in a flat emotionless voice.
Long Feng just said the phrase that triggers Jet’s brainwashing! This is not good!
A second later Jet attacked me, and Long Feng ran toward the door. I tried to stop Jet without hurting him, while doing my best to avoid the pointy tips of his swords.
“Jet, it’s me, Aang. I’m your friend! You don’t need to do this!”
Uh-oh, I’m not getting through to him! He just keeps lunging at me with his swords, and I can’t keep dodging them forever. …
“Jet, look inside your heart. He can’t make you do this—you’re a freedom fighter!”
Wait! I think I may have just jogged his memory. He’s stopped attacking me and he’s just standing there staring … and now he’s attacking Long Feng! Finally we’re making progress!
I was about to help Jet fight Long Feng, but everything happened so fast, and before I knew it, Long Feng had blasted Jet with an Earthbending move that took him to the ground. Then Long Feng Earthbended himself out of the cave, and the whole gang rushed into the cave to find Jet hurt and lying on the ground. Katara tried to heal him, but Smellerbee and Longshot told us to go find Appa. They vowed to take care of him. Katara looked so upset, and even though Jet promised her he’d be all right, I wonder if he will be. We had to get to Appa before Long Feng did, so we left them and rushed down the tunnel until we came to a big holding cell. But we were too late. It was empty. Broken chains dangled from the wall. Appa’s fur was everywhere.
“He’s gone! Long Feng beat us here!” Again, I was too late. He’d been right here and I’d missed him.
“Maybe we can catch them,” Sokka said, urging us on.
We raced back up the stairs and out of the headquarters. Back on the lake’s shore we were surrounded by Dai Li troops.
It’s over. We failed. I’m sorry, buddy. I let you down.
Just then, Momo started screeching like crazy and took off into the sky. When I looked up to see where he was going, I saw the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. There, swooping majestically through the sky, is Appa.
He’s alive! He’s safe! He’s free! He hasn’t become somebody’s pet or slave or dinner. Here’s my buddy, back again at last. I’m so happy, I could cry!
“Appa!” I yelled.
Appa’s reply came in the form of a huge Airbending blast that flattened the Dai Li troops. It turned out that when Long Feng had tried to take on Appa, Appa bit him on the leg and tossed him into the lake.
That’s my buddy!
I leaped into the sky and landed on Appa’s neck, hugging him with all my might. When my friends were all aboard, I shouted, “Yip, yip!” for the first time in weeks, and we took off into the sky.
“I missed you, buddy, more than you’ll ever know.”
Chapter 11
We finally made it inside the palace and into the throne room of the Earth King.
“We need to talk to you!” I said to the king. Then I spotted Long Feng standing at the king’s side.
Great. I thought we got rid of this guy.
“He’s lying!” Long Feng shouted. “They’re here to overthrow you!”
Long Feng had convinced the king we were his enemies. But I told the king that I was the Avatar and he agreed to listen to me. I explained about the war and that the Dai Li had kept it secret from him in order to control the city and to control him.
“Long Feng didn’t want us to tell you about all this, so he stole our sky bison to blackmail us,” I explained. Now that I was finally with the king, I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from telling him the truth.
Long Feng denied ever having seen a sky bison, so I Airbended his robe up to show Appa’s teeth marks in his leg. Long Feng claimed it was just a birthmark, but Sokka brought Appa into the throne room and showed off his teeth.
“That pretty much proves it,” the king said. “But it doesn’t prove this crazy conspiracy theory,” the king added.
What’s it going to take to convince him that his entire kingdom is in danger?
“I suppose this matter is worth looking into,” the king then said.
He agreed to come with us to give us a chance to prove that we were telling the truth. We took him to Lake Laogai to expose the Dai Li’s secret headquarters, but when we got there, all evidence of the headquarters was gone. The Dai Li had already destroyed the evidence. The king was ready to return home, but then Katara had a brilliant idea.
“The wall!” she cried. “And the drill. They’ll never be able to cover that up in time!”
We flew back to the city and Appa landed on top of the outer wall. The drill still stuck out of the wall, right where we stopped it.
“What is that?” the king asked anxiously.
“It’s a giant drill made by the Fire Nation to break through your walls,” Sokka explained.
This was proof that we were telling the truth. Now the king finally knew that the war was real.
“I can’t believe I never knew,” the king said.
“I can explain this, Your Majesty,” said a voice approaching us. It was Long Feng.
This ought to be good.
“This is nothing more than a construction project,” he said, though it sounded as if even he had trouble believing it.
“Really?” said Katara. “Then perhaps you could explain why there’s a Fire Nation insignia on your construction equipment.”
I love Katara! I mean, whoa, I can’t believe I admitted that, even if it is just in my own head. But I really do. I mean, she’s so clever! She just backed Long Feng into a corner, and now we definitely have him right where we want him.
General Sung joined us on the wall and told the king that we were heroes.
“Without them,” the general said, “our city would have been lost to the Fire Nation army.”
The king ordered the Dai Li to arrest Long Feng. “He will stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom,” the king announced. Then the Dai Li hauled Long Feng away.
Back in the throne room, we filled in the king on the approaching comet, which would make the Fire Nation too powerful to stop, and the solar eclipse during which the Earth Kingdom army must attac
k the Fire Nation, which would be at its weakest. He agreed to attack on the day of the eclipse—the Day of Black Sun.
We did it! I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it! We found Appa, we saved the Earth Kingdom from the Fire Nation drill, and we delivered information to the king that can save the whole world. Sometimes it’s really good being the Avatar.
Just then the door swung open and General How, leader of the council of generals, entered the throne room. He said that they’d found some things in Long Feng’s office that were for us. He handed Toph a letter from her mother. Katara read it and reported that Toph’s mom said she was in Ba Sing Se and wanted to see Toph.
Then he handed me a scroll.
“This scroll was attached to the horn of your bison when the Dai Li captured him,” the general said.
“I can’t believe it,” I said after reading the note. “There’s a man living at the Eastern Air Temple. A guru. A kind of spiritual expert who says he can help me take the next step in my Avatar journey.”
Then he handed Katara an intelligence report that said her father was with a small fleet of Water Tribe ships at Chameleon Bay.
“I hate to say it,” Katara began, “but we have to split up.”
We just found Appa, and now Katara wants us to separate? I don’t want to let any of them out of my sight—ever again.
“You have to meet this guru, Aang,” she said. “If we’re going to invade the Fire Nation, you need to be ready.”
It’s times like these when I wish I were just plain Aang again so that the fate of the world didn’t always depend on me fulfilling my destiny. But I have no choice. She’s right. I have to go.
Then Sokka pointed out that one of us had to stay there with the king and help him plan the invasion. He volunteered, but sweet, selfless Katara said that she would stay so that Sokka could go see their father.
She’s the absolute best. Always putting others’ needs before hers. I’m totally and completely crazy about her! There’s no other way to put it. Now I just really need to tell her how I feel.