Daughter of the Moon - Book Two: Earth

Chapter 17.2: How To Find a Bison

- Elara -

The plan to find Appa was simple.

Step 1: Find one of those creepy Dai Li agent people.

Zuko had a suspicion that the Dai Li had something to do with the disappearance of Aang's bison (something about how Jet went missing after being arrested and had never come back), so he decided that capturing one of their agents would lead us right to our target. Zuko had also assumed that if the Dai Li was not involved with the bison's disappearance, then they would have the internal workings to figure out what had happened to him anyway.

Step 2: Jump said Dai Li agent.

We had to get our desired information somehow, and it actually wasn't as difficult as it should've been. All we had to do was memorize the Dai Li patrol routes and wait for one of their agents to foolishly go on patrol on their own. Zuko and I had adopted our vigilante aliases once again (sort of. Zuko had managed to find a Blue Spirit mask and a set of dual swords, but I was stuck with whatever I could make out of condensed water), and in the dark of the night we jumped, captured, and gagged the Dai Li agent who had made the mistake of working alone.

Step 3: Interrogation.

Zuko didn't let me see this part (even though I wanted to) because he claimed that he was going to have to use the infamous "Zuko Way" to get the information we needed. I suppose some part of Zuko didn't want me to see the creature he would become behind closed doors with that poor agent, but to say curiosity practically killed me would be an understatement. I had no idea what the Zuko Way was supposed to be (even though he had threatened to use it on me a few times before), but whatever it happened to be worked. Actually, it had been extremely effective. I swear, Zuko was in and out of there in less than ten minutes, and he had collected all the information that we needed.

And Zuko was right. The Dai Li was behind Appa's disappearance, and he had figured out exactly where they were keeping him—Lake Laogai.

Step 4: Travel to Lake Laogai.

By this point, our plan was no longer a plan—we were just rolling with the punches—quite literally. The Dai Li agent had told us that they were keeping Appa in an underground labyrinth buried beneath a massive lake somewhere within the outer ring of the city. It was the same place the Dai Li had carried out all their illegal and secret activities (some things that Zuko and I considered dealing with later). Seeing that we had no idea where this secret base was located, we forced the agent to lead us there and open the gates so that we could get in without raising any unwanted alarms.

Step 5: Break into Lake Laogai and dispose of the loose end.

Zuko wanted to kill the agent that we had captured so that he wouldn't squeal to his companions. I said we shouldn't. We went with my idea (of course), but I made sure that he would be quiet just long enough for us to get in and get out (although, we hadn't really thought that far in advance). Zuko and I were on our own, and neither of us knew how much time we really had.

We slithered through the halls of this strange, underground asylum, and I did my best to ignore the way the crystals seemed to cast wicked shadows on the walls as chants of dozens of captured women followed down each corridor. I wasn't too sure what a Ju Dee was, but I figured I wouldn't be too excited to go and find that out. Sure, I was a tough girl, but I didn't want anything to do with dark spirits and haunted caves, so I made sure to stay extra close to Zuko as he charted the way to our final destination; cell number 5354.

Just as the Dai Li agent had instructed, the cell we were looking for was the very last cell in the very last hallway of the compound, and I silently prayed to the Spirits that Appa was actually tucked behind that massive iron door. Zuko let me pass as I whipped out my Moon Blade, crafting a makeshift key out of condensed water to pick the lock (letting Zuko just blast through the door like he normally did would have probably drawn too much attention, after all). It took a few tries to get it right, but it didn't take too long before the lock clattered to the floor, the door swinging open as it revealed a massive creature stored inside.