The Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior

Chapter 53 [~|~] Return to Omashu

A.N. Hello my lovely readers! Here's the next update, which turned out a lot longer than I expected! I rewrote this chapter like six times because I couldn't decide what to include or not here, but I hope you guys enjoy it! 

"I can't believe it. I know the war has spread far, but Omashu almost seemed . . . untouchable," Aang trailed off, obviously distraught at the discovery.

"Up until now it was. Now only Ba Sing Se is the only great Earth Kingdom stronghold left," Sokka sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"This is horrible, but we have to move on," Katara spoke to Aang, who shook his head.

"No, I'm going to find Bumi," Aang replied firmly as Sokka stepped forwards.

"Aang, stop. We don't even know if Bumi is still . . ." Sokka didn't dare finish the sentence as Aang turned to glare at him.

"What? If he's still what?" Aang demanded, causing Azara to jump in.

"Around," she spoke softly, placing a hand on Aang's shoulder. "I know you had your heart set on Bumi, but there are other people who can teach you earthbending."

"This isn't about finding a teacher. This is about finding a friend," Aang announced, turning back to Omashu.

"Well, how are we going to get in? We can't just walk in like last time," Katara asked as Aang thought over their options. Raising his finger, Aang smiled and turned to the group.

"I have an idea."

They walked carefully down to the bottom of the trench surrounding the city as Aang pointed out a secret entrance hidden below the bridge. "A secret passage? Why didn't we just use this last time?" Sokka questioned as Aang pulled off the cover to the passage, releasing a flow of sewage. Azara wrinkled her nose as the stench hit her.

"That answer your question?" Aang joked, leading the way into the tunnel. Azara followed after Katara, using a wall of flame to push the sewage away from her. Reaching the end, Azara jumped up and looked around the city, which appeared largely abandoned. She could see several rows of houses and streets, yet there were no citizens out and about. Not even a single light on in a house.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought," Katara commented as Sokka dragged himself out of the tunnel, covered in sludge. Katara quickly spun around, using water to wash the sewage off of her brother. Aang airbended at Sokka, drying him off. Azara stared at the three pentapi on Sokka's face as the Water Tribe boy began to freak out at the sight of them.

Aang tackled Sokka to the ground before shushing him. "Shh! Stop making so much noise. It's just a purple pentapus," Aang pointed out, rubbing the head of the pentapus, causing the creature to let go of Sokka's face. As they pulled the pentapi off of Sokka, Azara spun around at the sound of footsteps.

"There's someone here," she whispered, pulling her hood over her head. The last thing she needed was to be recognized.

"Hey! What are you kids doing out past curfew?" a guard barked as a group of Fire Nation sentries turned the corner and walked towards them.

"Sorry, we got caught up. We're heading home now," Azara replied calmly as the guard stared at the marks on Sokka's neck.

"Wait, what's the matter with him?" the guard asked, pointing at Sokka. Glancing nervously between each other, Katara stepped forwards.