AtLA Rewritten: Edition 1

Chapter 46

Zuko led the way to the lab, Aang following him. They were greeted by two guards at the entrance and made their way inside. Aang glanced around at the workers, pacing around in their white coats.

"This place is huge..." Aang realized that he'd gotten behind and ran to catch up to Zuko. "Are we looking for someone specific?" he asked.

Zuko nodded, walking briskly. "The Head of Lab, Dhaka, should be here somewhere. We can find him and ask." He approached someone with a lab coat and spoke with them for a second, then turned back to Aang. "There." He pointed to the rear of the main room. There was a greenhouse in the rear. "He's looking at plants." He shook his head and muttered "Ironic," before walking to the building.

They approached a man with long braided hair. "Fire Lord Zuko, what brings you here?" he said after raising his head to look at the Fire Lord and giving him a bow. "Anything I can help you with today?" he asked.

Zuko nodded. "Hello, Dhaka. I have come here to ask you about gas plants. What do you know about them?"

Dhaka's eyes went wide. "They're not very dangerous, but they can knock you out in a good second or two. They only emit gas when they're stepped on. We haven't created masks because they've been removed from everywhere but the abandoned island. The others were removed by earthbenders. Do you want us to produce a mask?" Aang frowned.

Zuko shook his head. "No, thank you, Dhaka. I know all I need."

Aang blinked. "W-wait, Zuko..." He nodded at Dhaka. "Thanks for the help," he said before rushing after the Fire Lord.

He turned away and walked back to the animals, glancing at Aang. "We just need to figure out a way to show Toph where they are. We can ask her; she'll know what to do." He got on Eld to go back to the palace.

Aang quickly hopped on Appa, following as Eld flew off. "Zuko, shouldn't we produce a mask?" he asked after him. "I think it'd help better."

Zuko shook his head. "Sorry, Aang, but I don't like to produce anything we don't need to. Plus, inventing a mask could take months, or even years. Toph is a better tool than any invention."

Once they were in the palace, Zuko headed to Toph's room, where she was hanging out with Katara. He knocked before entering. "Hey, guys, I think Aang and I figured out a way to get on that island," he announced. "There are plants that emit gas when they're touched, and those are what knocked us out. Delun and his soldiers, or whatever, must have known that. And they're earth benders, so they could uproot any plants they choose." He smiled at Toph. "Who wants to do some gardening?"

"They're very busy indeed," Aang muttered, following Zuko into the bedroom where the two women were talking on Toph's bed. Zuko and the airbender chuckled.

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious right now?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"I mean, technically yeah, since you're an earthbender you can uproot the plants," Aang explained.

Toph sighed. "So much for a day off."

"That's what I said," Aang agreed.

Toph stood. "Fine, let's do this. The faster, the better, and safer, too."

"Sure," Zuko agreed.

"Katara are you coming with us or staying with Athlea?" Toph asked.

"Speaking of Athlea, where is she?" Aang asked. Toph shrugged.

Katara shook her head. "I'm going to stay here. I'll call Dai and Sokka and tell them to come back. They went horseback riding. I'll go tell Athlea what's going on, too." She jumped up and slid out of the bedroom door.

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A/N WE BACK AT IT, let's see what they go get into smh