Chapter 1: Euphoria's Aftermath
The voices of all the Avatars echoed through what seemed to be indefinite space, "Your destiny has only begun, Avatar Aang."
Aang opened his eyes to find himself in a dreamscape, surrounding by fog and dozens his past incarnations. Through the mist, he saw blurred outlines of certain individuals, like the ears on Kuruk's polar bear hood and Kyoshi's fan-shaped headdress. The only clear things Aang could see through the vapor were their eyes, glowing bright blue. He bowed.
"What do you mean? I thought I fulfilled my destiny as Avatar – I defeated Fire Lord Ozai over a year ago. Now the world is peaceful," Aang stated, hesitant. His voice sounded like a whimper compared to the boom of his collective past lives.
"Unless you resurrect the art of Airbending, the Avatar will be no more in four generations. Yet, there will be no end to evildoers who wreak havoc on earth."
"I don't know how to teach people Bending," responded Aang. "I'm pretty sure the ability to Bend is something that people are born with. Isn't that why everyone else on earth can only know one type of Bending or none at all, except for me?"
"You have been endowed with the gift of Energybending."
"But I can only take Bending powers away," Aang replied.
"There are properties of Energybending you have yet to unlock. Go forth and seek out the mentor that has taught you to unlock your spiritual powers before. As of late, he has moved to the Southern Air Temple. Fate does not end so early in life. Your destiny has only begun, Avatar Aang…."
The mist began to fade and Aang heard someone calling his name.
"Aang? Aang! Wake up!"
Gray irises met cerulean as Aang opened his eyes to find Katara standing over him, looking concerned. Sleep still clouded his consciousness, so he merely stared at her without saying anything. He turned his head to the window and saw the sun floating high above his home in the Fire Nation Capital.
"What time is it?" mumbled Aang with a yawn. "Did I oversleep?"
"Yeah, by a lot," Katara responded, relieved. "It's one o'clock in the afternoon. The maid came in here a few hours ago, but when she tried to wake you, your arrow started glowing. Then she sent a messenger to find me in the plaza. Were you having one of those Avatar visions again?"
Aang nodded and added, "They kept repeating that my destiny wasn't fulfilled or something. But I mean, I defeated Ozai – what more is there?"
"Maybe they meant your destiny to finally have lunch with me and Zuko at that new place that opened up on Iroh Avenue," joked Katara. "You and Zuko have been so busy with political business lately – the three of us haven't spent time together in weeks!"
"I know, I'm sorry," Aang replied. "I have so many meetings to go to with political officials of every nation – I've probably seen Earth King Kuei more than Appa these past few months. I thought that after the war, everything would be peaceful and relaxing, but I haven't had time to do anything."
"Especially decorate this bedroom," Katara added. Aang looked around at his beige walls, devoid of any adornment. In his room, there was only a modest bed, dresser, and nightstand. Aang shrugged and sat up in his bed. Closing her eyes, Katara leaned forward and kissed him briefly on the cheek. She whispered, "Good morning."
Aang smiled warmly at the gesture, but his joy dissipated as he remembered the rest of his dream and how he was supposed to somehow master another property of Energybending, along with keeping up with his political duties as Avatar and friendships. Because he was constantly flying from Capital Island to Ba Sing Se to the North Pole, he barely saw his old friends – Sokka and Suki were living in the South Pole and Toph was training with Bumi in the Si Wong Desert. Sighing, Aang wondered how he would manage yet another tremendous responsibility while keeping the world safe.
"Shall we find Zuko?" asked Katara, snapping Aang out of his thoughtful reverie. "I wonder where he is."
It had been exactly a year since Zuko had confronted his father about the whereabouts of his mother. Striding down the stone-walled halls of the Prison Tower Crater, he rubbed his eyes to combat his sleepiness. When he wasn't resolving arbitrary political squabbles, discussing territorial claims with Earth Kingdom officials, spending time with Mai so that she wouldn't be upset with him, or engaging in other Fire Lord duties, he slept. Thus, he hardly ever slept. He had been so busy for the past year that he had lost sight of one of his main goals once the war ended – to find his mother, or at least find out what happened to her.
But today, he finally had a few hours to spare. Last night, he decided to confront former Fire Nation officials who were in charge of exiling traitors in their cells. It was time to take charge of finding his mother, the only person who supported him unconditionally during his childhood. Zuko wanted her to be proud that he hadn't succumbed to the lust for power that Azula and Ozai fell victim to.
"Fire Lord Zuko," said the prison guard, nodding his head in acknowledgement as Zuko passed. "Are you here to speak to a specific prisoner?"
"Bring me Kyo, former Secretary of Internal Affairs," Zuko replied, absentmindedly touching the burnt skin beneath his eye. For the longest time, this scar had marked him as an exiled prince on a wild goose chase. Now, he was renowned for his courage for standing up to Ozai. Tracing the wrinkles of his charred face, Zuko wondered what his mother would think. Would she be petrified that her own husband nearly killed his son, or would she just sigh, knowing all along that Ozai was capable of such horror? Zuko never did know how his mother and father ended up together, especially given their polar opposite temperaments.
"You wished to see me, Fire Lord?" a contemptuous voice questioned from down the corridor. Zuko looked ahead to see a pale, thin version of the once-muscular official who served under his father. Kyo, dragged over in chains by the guard, glared daggers at Zuko.
"Kyo," Zuko acknowledged and bowed respectfully. Even though Kyo had worked for his father, he was still Zuko's elder and deserved respect. In response, Kyo spat at Zuko's feet. The guard smacked him upside the head and Kyo coughed hoarsely, flecking saliva on his wispy beard. "I need you to tell me where my mother was exiled after Fire Lord Azulon passed away."
"She's dead, boy," he snapped. Zuko launched himself at Kyo and grabbed the front of his shirt, glaring daggers even sharper than Kyo's. Though Zuko had overcome a lot of his past anger issues, he had no patience for stubborn, pompous ex-officials.
"Tell me where she is!" Zuko demanded.
"For no reason at all?" hissed Kyo, his copper eyes narrowing until they became slits. "I recall your father was far superior to you at negotiation."
"What do you want?"
"My freedom."
"No. You were a supporter of my father and his imperialistic conquest of the world. I can't allow you or anyone else who supported him roam around without consequence."
"I suppose your mother will roam around unfound, then," retorted Kyo with a smirk.
"If you don't tell me where she is, I will place you in a cell with Azula," threatened Zuko, melting Kyo's smirk off of his face. Although Azula had been sent to a mental health facility after the Battle of Sozin's Comet, she had burnt the place to cinders. Currently, she was the only prisoner at fully-staffed Boiling Rock Prison. Knowing he had the upper hand, Zuko added at a whisper, "Don't forget – she still knows how to Firebend."
"You're not serious."
"When it comes to finding my mother, I mean what I say."
"Alright, alright," muttered Kyo. "Just don't put me anywhere near that psychotic mess of flame and…" he shuddered. "The group of the government in charge of exiling usually left traitors in the middle of the Si Wong desert to die. We bought off a group of Sandbenders to pick each shipment up at the dock and leave them in the middle of the desert. However, with your mother's shipment, another group of Sandbenders ambushed our group and kidnapped the traitors."
"So she could still be alive?"
"They had no reason to kill her. The Sandbenders are motivated by profit – they likely sold her to be a servant to a wealthy household in Ba Sing Se or another Earth Kingdom city."
"Thank you," said Zuko, bowing again. Kyo sniffed haughtily and the guard tugged on his chains, indicating that they were returning to his cell. Zuko exited the prison and stood outside for awhile, looking at the star-studded sky. Remembering how he and his mother would often sit outside before his bedtime and look at stars, a wave of nostalgia overcame him.
"You would always wish on a star for good fortune for me," he breathed, talking to a mother who had been in his heart, but not his life, for years. "You've probably wished since that day you were banished for us to be reunited. I know I have."