Blazing Crystal (Revised Version)

Chapter 39: A Taste of Victory

Chapter 39: A Taste of Victory

Katara stared down at the letter with horror, reading over the contents in disbelief. She looked at me with question as the last two minutes sunk into her.

"Where did you get this?" She looked back down. "That's definitely an official seal."

Sokka had been petting Appa still, and pondering over our next steps, but he overheard our conversation and stepped over to Katara reading the letter over her shoulder. Zuko waited for someone to explain what was going on from where he stood a little off from the group. Aang and Toph stayed quiet in curiosity as well from where they were still beside Appa.

As Sokka read the letter, his eyes narrowed in fury. "What?! The Dai Li knew about Omashu and didn't do anything! What's wrong with these people?!"

At the name Omashu, Aang quickly stepped over and grabbed the letter from Katara. He read the contents quickly. His eyes widened when he heard the drastic plea from his friend Bumi through the words.

Gritting his teeth, he snapped, "Bumi asked for help and was ignored!" He looked at all of us with fury. "That's it! We're getting to the King right now! It's time we take Long Feng and his followers down." He turned and walked over to Appa. "Who's ready to break into a palace?"

Zuko was astonished by Aang's suggestion. He had no clue what was going on and was trying to understand. "What? We're breaking into the palace? Why?"

Sokka beamed with excitement, ignoring his question. "Bring it on!"

"Wait!" Katara exclaimed. "Long Feng is in control of the city. His conspiracy with the Dai Li is too powerful. I think we should just keep flying and leave this horrible place behind us. I don't think you can go on much longer anyway, Crys."

"I'm fine," I promised, trying to sound convincing. "The sooner we stop the Dai Li then the sooner I can rest. King Kuei needs to know about the war if we're ever going to get one step closer to winning."

"Yeah!" Aang jumped back in. "And now that we have Appa back, there is nothing stopping us from telling the Earth King the truth about the conspiracy and the war."

"See! Aang and Crys are onboard!" Sokka was pumped and ready for an ambush. "It's the whole reason we came here in the first place... we have to try."

Katara let out a heavy sigh. "Well, I guess if the Earth King knew the truth, things could change..."

Toph pointed her finger at Sokka. "I don't trust the new positive Sokka. Long Feng brainwashed you, didn't he!"

Zuko looked at Toph with surprise. I gave him a small smile, saying, "Don't take her seriously. She's kidding."

Toph nodded in agreement. "You'll learn, loverboy."

Sokka broke back in. "Enough chitchat! Let's get moving."

Zuko argued. "Wait! Can someone catch me up? Why are we breaking into the palace?"

Katara scowled. "No! He can't come! Last thing we need is him knowing our plans."

Aang argued. "Katara... I trust Zuko. I know you're not thrilled with having him in the group, but I can sense he really has changed. Give him a chance."

She huffed and turned her back on us, heading back over to Appa. I frowned with dismay, wishing there was something I could do to ease the tension. I knew this was something Katara and Zuko would have to work out over time.

Aang turned back to Zuko. "So... to get you caught up, we learned about an eclipse that will be happening a little bit before Sozin's comet. Your dad plans to use the comet to destroy the Earth Kingdom because it will give him and firebenders like you insane power. We're hoping if we get the Earth King on our side, we can get the reinforcements we need to stop the Fire Lord on the day of the eclipse."