Title: The Aftermath
Rating: T for now.
Summary: It is 10 years after the events of Sozin's Comet. Under the rule of the pacifist Fire Lord Zuko and the guidance of the Avatar, many expected the world to heal from the damages suffered during the century-long war. But evil is still afoot, and threatens to disrupt the peace once again ...
Disclaimer: I don't own any components of ATLA.
Chapter 1: 10 Years Later ...
In the palace of the Fire Nation
The burly figure made his way down the carpeted hallway, tray of food and tea in his hand. He threaded softly as he entered his son's room, making his presence known by a soft 'hmph'.
"Kuzon, you've got to eat", Zuko said in a low whisper.
His back toward his Father, the boy at his desk continued dabbing ink onto a parchment.
"Your Grand-Uncle Iroh caught a tuna koi today, I know how much you like breaded fish and deep-fried ash marrow so …"
"Can't you see I'm busy, Fire Lord?", Kuzon interjected, voice filled with disdain and hatred.
"I'll just leave the food here ..."
Zuko walked out of the room, feet dragging behind him as he did. He seemed tired, the trials and difficulties of the past few years evident from the perpetual frown he wore, as well as the miserable expression etched on his weary face.
Why did she have to ruin everything! Why couldn't she leave me alone!
The quiet lamentations of Fire Lord Zuko had never granted him peace, and it was no different this time, his regret and sorrow only causing him to spiral further into depression.
Back in the study, a flick of his Son's wrist summoned flames. Grand-Uncle Iroh's catch of the day was reduced to burnt flesh and ashes. A cracked ceramic teacup lay on its side, its contents forming a steaming puddle of greenish yellow water on the lush carpet flooring.
Somewhere near Omashu
"Where is Long Feng?"
Azula asked harshly as she gripped the tunic of a Dai Li agent.
"Last I heard, he ... he was in the Si Wong desert, building up his army.", the man stuttered.
Azula seemed to ponder this information for a moment, then turned her gaze back onto the green-robed figure.
"Where are all your Dai Li friends now? Running back to Long Feng to beg for his forgiveness?"
"I don't know where they are ... I'm done with Long Feng and the Dai Li. I'm going back to my family in Omashu."
Azula let go of the man's tunic and smiled. She stuck out a hand and gloved it with blue flame.
"I don't think so."
On Kyoshi Island
"Yue! Stop bothering your Uncle Aang or I won't let you have any of the cake he made for dessert!", Sokka's voice boomed across the courtyard, as his daughter continued her pestering of the Avatar.
"Just one more ride on the air scooter. Pretty pretty please Daddy?", Yue begged, her sapphire eyes sparkling with girlish delight.
"Okay, dear, just one more ride, but we've got to get back before your Mum realizes we're gone. " Sokka sighed with resignation. "You know its not safe.", he directed the latter words toward his brother-in-law Aang.
Aang gave a grim nod of acknowledgement, then smiled sheepishly as he took Yue once more round the courtyard.
Sokka watched on with a asinine smile on his wizened face. The years had not been kind. His numerous battle wounds had taken their toll, and he looked far too old for his 25 years. The scars and bruises he'd received in his combat against the rebel forces however, was nothing compared to the time he had to spend away from his family. For the past few years, he had spent months on ends away from his family, only returning for a few weeks each year. In fact, he had only arrived on Kyoshi Island last week, having been away for nearly 3 months, so despite all the aches and pains in his battered body, Sokka savored every moment that he spent with his family; his wife Suki and his daughter - oh how pretty she'd become - Yue. He still remembered the night she was born, the moon was bright and full in the night sky, as if his former paramour had decided to grace his daughter's arrival into this world with her presence.
Sokka sighed. He knew first-hand the pain of an absent father. He didn't want that for his 9 year-old daughter and his unborn child.
"Aang!", the approaching figure of Katara yelled out. "Stop playing around and get over here!"
"Yeah, Twinkletoes", an acerbic voice continued. "What up with the goofing off?"
"Aunt Toph!", Yue eagerly jumped off the air scooter and ran towards the blind Earthbender, smothering her with a forceful embrace.
The Steelbender buckled under the assault of Sokka's little girl.
"Feisty little devil, aren't you?", Toph remarked. "You sure are Snoozles's kid."
As Toph continuing wrestling with the boundless ball of energy that was Yue, Katara gave her husband an embrace of her own.
"I'm worried, Aang.", Katara whispered as she lifted her eyes to meet his.
Aang gave her a reassuring peck on the mouth.
"About what?"
"Everything! It's been 5 years, Aang, 5 insufferable years since Azula got out! And we still have no idea where she is! I mean after what she did ... who knows? She's a walking hazard, a dangerous thing we just can't just ignore. And the rebel movement is growing stronger each day, and try as hard as he might, Sokka can't fight them all off. And, Toph has scoured every part of the Earth Kingdom, from Omashu to Ba Sing Se; heck, she's even checked out Whaletail Island and the Rarok Archipelago! But she's found nothing! Absolutely nothing! The only place left on the map is the Si Wong Desert, but we can't just storm into Sandbender territory and accuse them of harboring a megalomania and his rumored army!"
Katara's stopped, as she realized her niece was staring at her, trembling blue eyes filled with confusion and fear. Sokka led his daughter away, knowing this was a conversation neither he or his daughter wanted to overhear. A reluctant Toph followed, moaning about 'marital woes'.
Twirling a lock of her long dark hair, Katara continued,
"I know Appa only just fathered a few bison cubs, and you're slowing rebuilding the Air Nomad civilization, but we could really use some Avatar power. The world is about to fall into another war, and there has been enough bloodshed already. Aang, please ... talk to Roku, ask Hei Bai for help, ask any of your Spirit World friends for their help.You know we need it."
Aang looked away, a curious look in his dark gray eyes.
"I left my people once, I'm not leaving them again, Katara."
"But ... the world, Aang, it needs you ... you're the Avatar, you have to ..."
"I'm sorry, but I've made my decision. lt's final. The world has to heal by itself, and time will do its work. The underlying tensions that still exist will be eradicated eventually. We just have to be patient and let nature take its course. Besides, we've been having such a great time in the Altai Mountains, with the Airbenders, Bison, Lemurs, everything I thought I'd lost, I have gotten back. I can't just leave it behind. ", Aang paused, his face wrought with emotion. "I understand if you don't wanna come back with me, I really do. But for now, my place is with my people. And the world doesn't need me. There's nothing I can do for the world, I've fulfilled my job as Avatar by taking down Ozai. Rebuilding the world? That's the job of the next Avatar. "
Katara raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"There's something you're not telling me, aren't you?"
Aang's gray eyes widened with surprise and guilt.
"You've been hiding it from me for a few years now, I know, Aang, don't act all surprised, you're as easy to read as the coloring scrolls the kids play with in the temple."
Katara closed the distance between them and whispered reassuringly:
"It's okay, dear, I know you'll tell me when you're ready. But as your role is to be with your people, mine is to be with Sokka on the battlefield."
She leaned forward and rested her head on Aang's shoulder. He had grown very much taller since hitting puberty, she mused.
"I'm gonna miss you."
"Me too, Katara."
Husband and wife hugged, bodies locked in a passionate embrace. Aang ran his fingers through Katara's lush chocolate-brown curls, pressing his body close against hers. He lifted his head and stared into her deep blue eyes - god she was beautiful - before planting his lips on hers. He kissed her wide-mouthed and hungrily, tongue forcefully parting her mouth - an action, he considered for a brief moment, Gyatso and the other Monks if still alive, would have frowned upon - before Katara gently broke it off.
Face flushed, she said rather non-committally, "We better get back to Sokka's place, we are here to celebrate Suki's pregnancy after all."
At the North Pole
"Okay, Students, today we're going to be learning basic waterbending forms. Try to practice them with moving water, and focus on the speed, rather than power", Pakku announced to his group of aspiring waterbenders. A quick glance over his class revealed the bright eager face of a young child, who stood out like a. He sighed wearily as the enthusiastic kid jotted down notes in a weather-beaten parchment. No matter how many times he'd try to chase him out, the little rascal kept popping up in his classes. Pakku had learnt to ignore him.
After all, what harm could it do?
"As you all know, the rebel movement is growing stronger each day, and although the Earth Kingdom has thus far held its own, we cannot rely on them to forever act as our buffer state. You're not going to like it, but I'll be moving ahead of schedule, and by the end of the week I should expect all of you to have mastered basic ice construction as well as controlling the speed of moving water. Next week, we will be starting on more advanced techniques that will require a lot more finesse and panache. As such our sessions will have to be stretched till nightfall.
A collective groan emerged from Pakku's ensemble of gangly teenagers. Only the rogue kid seemed to be happy, with an asinine smile plastered over his goofy face. He seemed out of place among the people of the Northern Tribe, as he'd inherited his Earth Kingdom father's raven hair and green eyes. No one really knew why his father had settled down in the North Pole. It was common knowledge that his late wife had been of the Southern Tribe, but no one had bothered to find out about his history, preferring to leave things unsaid. The less known about someone, the better, it seemed.
In Ba Sing Se
"Bosco!"
The flustered King Kuei yelled out, his regal robes fluttering behind him in an odious green mess as he fled down the hallway to embrace his furry companion.
"Oh, I've missed you! Has General How treated you well?"
A frown suddenly appeared on the previously jovial face of Kuei.
"Oh my goodness, your fur, I can't stand to allow for this!"
Fussing over the matted clumps of fur on Bosco, and frantically summoning his royal hairdressers, Kuei failed to spot the missile of Earth that hurtled towards his midsection and sent him flying across the room, his back impacting the marble columns of his palace.
As Bosco growled in anger, a dart embedded itself into the lower back of the bear, forcing the otherwise magnificent creature to crumble into a collapsed heap of fur and bone. The royal servants fled the scene, panic and fear overruling all other emotion.
From the corner of the hall, a tall menacing figure emerged, long unruly strands of grayish-black hair hanging from his head to his hunched shoulders. The man's full figure was revealed as stepped out into the light, and Kuei, summoning the reserves of his remaining strength, looked toward his assailant. Eyes of gold stared back down upon the Earth King.
"Men, secure the premises, we are not to be disturbed."
The assailant's crew complied, moving swiftly across the hall and covering all entrances.
"Now, Mr Earth King, you will tell me where it is. If not, your precious pet there," the man with the golden eyes pointed to the fallen bear, "will be systemically dissected one organ at a time, in a painfully long drawn-out procedure."
The stranger smirked, knowing he'd successfully manipulated the 52nd Earth King into doing his bidding.
Outside of a Tavern in the Earth Kingdom
"You know you'll need much more than that for my services", the raven-haired beauty said as she patted her Shirshu, whilst eyeing the sack of gold coins offered to her.
"I'll get you the money, just help me find her ... and you'll be duly rewarded", the charismatic brunet with the brown eyes replied. "She's fairly important around these parts, and she owes me ... big time."
The man paused, taking the stalk of wheat he'd been nibbling on out of his mouth. He withdrew a hairpin, passing it over the nose of the bounty hunter's pet.
"Well, if she doesn't pay me the rest of the cash, I'll turn you in. You do know there's a bounty on your head right?", the lady with the dark hair continued. Noticing that her pet, Nyla, had already picked up the desired scent, Jun impatiently added. "Enough with the dwaddling, let's go find your girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend ...", Jet muttered silently as he hopped onto the Shirshu.
With a flick of Jun's whip, they sped off into the forest, Nyla's head constantly moving and shifting as she followed the scent of the woman Jet desired to meet.