Chapter 21: Earth King

"Good afternoon, your royal highness!" Aang said.

The Earth King just looked at Aang in surprise and smiled.

"So you're the Avatar! I've read many stories of you when I was a child. I always found them fascinating." The King said.

The bear next to him just groaned in amusement as he waved his paws at Aang.

The Earth King turned his attention to the bear and pet him on the head.

"Haha! Bosco seems to like you." The King said with a smile.

Aang, now off the table and on the floor, bowed his head slightly.

"Please, Earth King, sir, I need to speak with you as soon as possible-" Aang began.

"I believe we have reached a breach of etiquette. Please, King, step back. It wouldn't do you good to get hurt." Long Feng interrupted Aang before he could finish his sentence.

Lu Chen just sneered in his mind. 'Yeah, right. If he really cared about the King, he wouldn't manipulate him.'

Lu Chen then stepped up to convince the King of a meeting before Long Feng can guide him away.

"I apologize if we have offended you, My King. We simply must have you talk with the Avatar as soon as you can. It is of the utmost importance. There is the threat of a possible attack from the Fire Nation. The Avatar fears they are looking to start a war with the Earth Kingdom." Lu Chen claimed, weaving a convincing lie while making sure only the Earth King, Long Feng, and Team Avatar could hear.

(A/N: At least more convincing than telling him there is currently a war going on for the past 100 years that he was totally unaware of.)

The Earth King looked at Lu Chen with a serious face.

"That does sound serious. But do you have proof?" The Earth King said.

"Yes. We do. It's in the outermost wall." Lu Chen said confidently.

"Hmm... If what you claim is true, I'll need to see the proof right away. Long Feng, get a carriage ready." The Earth King commanded.

Long Feng started looking a little nervous.

"My King, surely you can't believe these children! You should not waste your time or risk your safety going to the outer wall." Long Feng suggested.

"I can't do that Long Feng, I can't take the risk of my people getting hurt because of my inaction. If it's nothing, then I only lost a bit of my time. Ready the carriage." The Earth King refuted.

(A/N: If you didn't know, the Earth King is actually pretty competent and also kind to his country's citizens. He was just severely held back by Long Feng.)

"Earth King, wait." Lu Chen stopped him.

The Earth King turned to Lu Chen.

"Yes? Do you have something to add?" The Earth King said impatiently.

"I believe we have a better form of transportation. One that you may like." Lu Chen said as he politely beckoned the King to the rear exit.

"Aang, please call Appa." Lu Chen asked.

Aang nodded and took out his bison whistle and blew on it.

After a few seconds, the flying bison can be heard overhead as he roars.

"Wow! Is that a sky bison?! I've read about them! They fly! I thought they were extinct!" The King said excitedly.

Appa landed in front of Aang with his tongue slightly sticking out.

'Man, even in reality, Appa having his tongue out like a cat is still cute.' Lu Chen thought as he smiled.

The Earth King carefully approached Appa and touched his fur. Aang went up to introduce Appa to the King.

"Appa, this is the Earth King. Be very polite. Earth King, this is Appa, my best friend." Aang said as he grinned wide.

Appa turned to look at the Earth King then smell him. Appa groaned slightly and gave the King a single lick.

"Ah?! Oh, hahaha! What a wonderful creature! Very friendly. I bet you and Bosco would get along just fine!" The King began petting Appa's head.

"So, My King, would you like to ride to the outer wall on Appa? It's should be much safer than riding a carriage through the rough parts of town." Lu Chen suggested.

"Oh, I most definitely would! Let's head over there now!" The King exclaimed.

Appa lowered himself and offered his tail to Team Avatar and the King.

The King was the last to get in Appa's saddle and Long Feng tried to follow suit.

"Sorry, Mr. Long Feng. There's no more room. You'll have to get to the wall on your own." Lu Chen sneered.

Long Feng stopped, offended, and turned to his King for help.

"Sorry, Long Feng. I don't want the sky bison to be burdened by too much weight. We'll meet at the wall. I'm sure having the Avatar and his friends as bodyguards would ease your mind." The King said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Lu Chen just smiled tauntingly at Long Feng. 'Luckily, the King has a fondness for rare animals.' He thought.

"Appa, yip yip!" Aang yelled.

Lifting us into the air, Appa began flying while Aang steered us to the outer wall.

"Oh my! Th-this is terrifying! A-and amazing!" The King screamed.

Sokka and Toph inched closer to Lu Chen, away from earshot of the King.

"Hey, you said that 'a war may start with the Fire Nation', but that's a lie. Why didn't you just tell him about the real war?" Sokka whispered.

"Well, you know how suspicious it was that no one in Ba Sing Se mentioned anything about any war, and how Joo Dee would always deflect any mention of it? It made me suspicious that the King may also be ignorant of the war. My suspicions were answered when he didn't correct my statement about a war 'starting' rather than it already being ongoing for 100 years." Lu Chen explained.

Sokka just looked at me surprised.

"Your one smart guy, Lu." Sokka said, putting a hand to his chin while nodding.

"Oh? Not using my full name anymore?" Lu Chen said as he elbowed Sokka.

"Eh, figured it would be fine. It's easier to say, anyway." Sokka shrugs.

"Looks like I'll have to call you another special name then" Toph added.

"Ugh, please don't tell me your gonna call me some weird nickname like how you call Aang 'Twinkle Toes'." Lu Chen complained.

"Hmm~ How about I give you a choice. LuLu or Luey?" Toph asked.

"Pfft- LuLu." Sokka snickered.

'Ugh, they're both pretty bad. LuLu sounds feminine and Luey sounds like some sailor boy from an old 40s cartoon.' Lu Chen thought.

"Only those choices? Can't you just call me Lu?" Lu Chen said.

"Nope! I gotta give you a nickname only I can say." Toph declared.

'... You're lucky that you looked cute when you said that... LuLu sounds best when coming from a girl at least.' Lu Chen thought as he made his choice.

"Fine. You can call me LuLu. And only Toph can call me that, Sokka." Lu Chen said as he glared at a snickering Sokka.

"Oh, don't mind me. I won't be calling anyone anything... LuLu." Sokka said.

Lu Chen frowned as he blushed a little out of embarrassment. He took a pebble from his belt pouch and flicked it at Sokka's head.

"Ow! Ok, I deserved that." Sokka said.

Sokka moved up the saddle to talk to the Earth King

The rest of the ride was silent, as Appa flew his way to the outer wall.

Toph, hanging onto Lu Chen's arm, speaks up in a small voice.

"I knew you were strong, but I didn't realize you had something inside that head of yours." Toph said as she smiled while knocking on Lu Chen's head.

"What? What're you talking about?" Lu Chen asked.

"I mean back when you were convincing the Earth King to visit the outer walls."

"Oh. Wait, what's that supposed to mean? Are you insinuating I'm a numbskull? I'm smart." Lu Chen half-heartedly complained as he crossed his arms.

Toph stayed silent and just caressed Lu Chen's scar on his forehead.

"... You sure didn't show it before." Toph said sadly.

Lu Chen took Toph's hand and held it tight.

"Sorry... I admit I wasn't very smart in making my decisions early on. I guess... I wasn't aware of how dangerous this world can be." Lu Chen said as he recalled the first battle with Azula.

'I died before, and I'm not afraid to die again, but since this was a kids' show in my past life, I guess I just took the reality of this world for granted. I was stupid to think Azula or any other enemy would pull their punches. They don't have directors and producers preventing them from killing anyone openly.' Lu Chen reflected.

Lu Chen wrapped his arm around Toph's shoulders. She accepted the embrace.

"I promise I won't get hurt again. I won't make stupid decisions in battle and I will make my life a priority. I promise." Lu Chen reassured.

Toph just closed her eyes and leaned into Lu Chen's chest.

"...You better." She whispered.

Hearing how much Toph cared for Lu Chen, he felt his heart start to ache.

He had been looking at Toph and the rest of the team as just cartoon characters up until this point. He had realized this world is his reality when Azula had almost killed him, but it seemed the crack that she had formed on Lu Chen's blind eyes had begun to crumble.

Lu Chen looked at the darkening sky with a new goal in his mind.

'Until now, I've been living like this world is some safe heaven after my death, treating things that happen in canon as trivial matters that will solve themselves. Treating these very real people as cartoon characters. Even Toph. I can't just treat her as my favorite character, I have to love her like she's a real person and not someone on a TV screen. I must be better than before. I must get rid of problems by their root... I don't want Toph to worry about me... and the first problem I will solve is Long Feng.' Lu Chen thought.

Lu Chen's eyes became cold at the thought of what he needs to do.

'This world is real. This world is at war. A lot of people die in war, and some need to die. Long Feng will continue to have control over the Dai Li, even in prison. Without Azula in the picture, it will be up to me to get rid of him, permanently.' Lu Chen thought as he clenched his fist.

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