now or never || an atla fanfic

𝔣𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡

Zuko planted his foot on the back of Long Feng's ornate chair, teetering it back and forth. "Where is the Earth King?"

Long Feng spat on the fire prince. "You'll never find him!"

Aang narrowed his eyes at the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se, who was visibly struggling under his tied restraints. He had the crazed expression of a rabid dog who'd been starved for weeks. His reaction just about confirmed their suspicions--the Earth King was captured--and none other than by Long Feng. After all, the Earth King wasn't even present at his own charity ball they'd infiltrated weeks ago.

Zuko grimaced at Long Feng's impudence, just about losing his patience. The prince pushed his foot a fraction further, and Long Feng toppled backward in his chair, followed by a resounding crack.

Aang felt bad for the floor.

Not long after they'd left the Swamp Tribe, the six of them began executing their plan. They'd be lying if they claimed that they'd stumbled across Long Feng by accident. Aang's visions at the swamp led them to believe that he was lurking around Lake Laogai, which was possibly the center of his corruption.

So they went right into the Earth Kingdom palace and sought out the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se. Within minutes the Avatar and the Fire Prince had disarmed the security on the whole floor of the palace. After that, it was just a matter of getting a hold on Long Feng.

Honestly, they really needed to upgrade their security.

The avatar uprighted the chair with a wave of his hand, peeling himself off of the wall. "Enough. It's my turn now."

Zuko stepped away, retreating to the corner of the office to search through Long Feng's enormous file cabinets. They hadn't made much progress nor had they gathered any useful information, albeit they'd stormed into the Earth King's palace ten minutes ago.

Aang began to walk around the chair, thinking aloud. "I don't believe I've properly introduced myself, your grace." He stopped pacing, and leaned forward. "Do you know who I am?"

Long Feng shook his head.

"Take a guess."

The grand secretariat tilted his head upward, challenging the avatar with a defiant gaze. "I'm the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se. Do you really think I'd care about some measly commoner?"

Zuko's eyebrows furrowed as he skimmed through the files. What the hell is Aang playing at here?

"Not just any commoner," Aang warned with a sneer. "The avatar."

Zuko's eyes widened, lucky that he was partially turned away from Long Feng to mask his look of surprise. He wasn't expecting Aang to reveal his identity so easily.

Long Feng's eyes widened. "But I thought--"

Zuko slammed the file cabinet shut, not finding anything useful.

Aang motioned his head at the grandfather clock--yet another priceless object--perched in the office, "You have exactly sixty seconds to start talking or there won't be a Ba Sing Se for you to go back to."

"Weren't all airbenders wiped out decades ago?" Long Feng spat. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Fifty-five seconds," Aang remarked passively, while his fingers curled into a fist at his side.

"You can't be serious. You're the avatar. You're supposed to be helping people and rebuilding," he reasoned.

Aang released his fist, planting his hands on the chair's armrests. "Trust me, you're about to find out what else I can do in less than a minute."