Eye of the Storm

Page Fourteen

The next day began like any other. Quila and her mother were having tea with Gopan and his father, socializing and enjoying the afternoon. "So, business is still good for you two?" Quila's mother asked. "Yes, things have been selling well lately, and you two?"

"Mom's pottery has been especially beautiful these past few weeks. Things have been flying off the shelves."

"Quila, how has your waterbending practice going? Are you making progress?"

"I try to practice whenever I can, but the market keeps me busy. I'm improving with each practice, though! What about you? Can you still earth bend?" She asked Gopan's father. "I still have a bit of my old touch, but I'll admit I'm not the same as I was in my youth."

"I bet you could still kick up some dirt, Dad." They all laughed and a knock came at the door. "I'll get this." Gopan stood up and answered the door. "Mushi?"

"Gopan, I'm afraid it's urgent. There's not much time." He let Iroh in and he explained that the Fire Nation princess was preparing to take over the city, and the avatar and his friends were going to try to stop her. "We have to do something to help!" Quila stood from the table, but Iroh shook his head. "No. You two must leave Ba Sing Se and get somewhere safe."

"What? No way, we have to help!"

"You and Gopan are not fighters, I'm only coming to you because of the friends you have been to me and my nephew." He made eye contact with Quila, but she looked away. "I must go and help my nephew, but you have to escape." He left the small home. "I--Mushi, wait!" Quila ran out after him. "What's going on? Really?"

"My nephew has made great progress since knowing you, but I'm afraid with his sister's influence, I may not be able to get him to do the right thing. I do not want you and Gopan to get hurt when the Fire Nation arrives, and I know Zuko would not be able to forgive himself if something happened to you." She frowned. "Iroh...I..."

"Now go." He turned and rushed off. Her mother came out after her. "Come on, Quila, we have to get your pack ready." She urged her daughter inside and they began to pack Quila's belongings.

It wasn't until she and Gopan came outside that they saw only two bags were packed for them to take. "Wait. Why are there only two?" The parents exchanged a look. "We're not going."

"But Dad--"

"Not all of us will go, and we will only slow you down. You two have to run while you can."

"Are you two out of your minds!? There's no way we're leaving you behind!"

"You don't have a choice. The Fire Nation could be here any minute, and you two need all the daylight you can get to run far away from here." They were silent, and Gopan stepped forward, hugging his father. "I love you, Dad. Please be careful." Quila went to hug her mom. "You too, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie. Stay safe, and don't cause any trouble."

"Before we leave, we need to admit something to you." Gopan began, and he exchanged a look with Quila. They were leaving Ba Sing Se, no reason not to tell them, now. "We're the Black Bandits of Ba Sing Se." There was a short silence while they waited for their answer. "We know." Quila's mother replied. "You know!?"

"We've known for some time now. We're not happy about it, but you two are strong, and capable, and a team. Don't waste your talents out there." Gopan's Dad added. They both nodded, took their bags and fake IDs, and rushed off towards the Tram Station. Once there, they got their passports stamped, and were allowed to leave the city.

Gopan looked out the window as the sun was disappearing behind the horizon. "This is my first time leaving the city. I never imagined it being like this."

"I know, Gopan."

"I hope Nima will be okay."

"Your father knows how much she means to you, I'm sure he'll protect her." Quila tried to reassure him. Then, they passed the outer wall, and they were out of the city.

They stepped off the tram and into the outer world, picked a direction, and went in it. They didn't know when or from where the Fire Nation would be showing up, but they knew they needed distance from the city. "Gopan, while we're leaving. There's something about Mushi and Lee that I should tell you."

"What?"

"They're fire benders." Gopan started to laugh. "That's crazy! No they're not!" His laugh subsided when he noticed Quila wasn't laughing along. "You're not joking."

"Their real names are Iroh, and Prince Zuko. I saw Zuko fire bend when he was on the date with that girl, she didn't notice it." Gopan's face became serious again. "This whole time, they were from the Fire Nation. And you never told me?"

"I didn't tell anyone! Iroh had been good to us, and our friend, and I was still confused about Zuko, I didn't know what to do! And I'm not about to get on the Dai Li's radar considering our extracurricular activities." Gopan was silent. "I can't believe it."

"Iroh risked a lot to warn us. And he only did because he was unsure of what Zuko would do once he saw his sister again."

"Your little boyfriend is the heir to the Fire Nation throne, and probably helping take over Ba Sing Se by now."

"Hey! Don't call him that! I may have been confused before, but I'm not, now! Zuko and Iroh have lost my faith and my trust since I knew they were firebenders! And you know what the Fire Nation has done to me!"

"You're right. I'm sorry, that was insensitive." He apologized. "I'm stressed." She nodded. "I am too."

It had gotten dark, and Gopan and Quila were gaining a good distance from the Earth Kingdom capitol when they saw the avatar's flying bison soar overhead. They exchanged a look and raced as fast as they could after it.

The rushed out of the bushes, but tripped and ended up getting a face full of sand and dirt. "Quila?" She looked up to be attacked with a hug from Katara. "Katara! Sokka! But if you're out here, then..." She trailed off, sensing the atmosphere. Katara's eyes were red like she'd been crying. "The Earth Kingdom has fallen." She looked over, and didn't even have the energy to react to being in the presence of the Earth King himself. "What are you two doing outside of Ba Sing Se?" Sokka asked. "We got a tip that the Fire Nation was invading. What happened?" Quila asked her old friends as they parted. Katara began to explain the whole thing, "I was thrown in this prison, a cave underground. And I suppose it was the best it could be until they threw him down there with me-"

"Him who?" Gopan asked from Quila's side, standing up and brushing the sand off his pants. "Prince Zuko of the fire nation. And to think I almost trusted him down there! That didn't last long, only until he started attacking Aang." Quila and Gopan exchanged a look, the hurt evident in Quila's eyes. "So Aang and I were pinned up against Zuko and his sister, until the Dai Li agents came. Aang had to go into the avatar state, but Azula shocked him with lightning. I had to escape with him and leave Ba Sing Se, luckily I was able to heal him with special water. He's passed out now. It's all thanks to Zuko's uncle that we were able to escape. He held them off until we were gone."

"So he's probably taken prisoner by now..." Gopan said and they nodded. Quila looked down at the sand, she could feel that everyone there had had a long couple of weeks. "So...What now?"

"We fly on Aapa and try to find Dad, I guess." Sokka sounded defeated, Quila looked up at him "Hakota?"

"Yeah! He's somewhere around Chameleon Bay!"

"Um...Guys.. I know this is a lot to ask, but-" Quila was cut off with a hand on her shoulder by Katara, "We'd be happy if you and Gopan joined us."

Quila exchanged a smile with Gopan and they unloaded their things from their ostrich-horses and sent them off back into the forest. They loaded their things onto Appa, their flying bison and flew off into the air. Gopan gazed over the side of the giant beast at the ground below, it was a rough day, but at least he was excited to be out of the city that had always made him feel trapped.