Second chapter, here we go! It took me about 3-4 hours on the first chapter because I kept going back and changing the word play lol and may still do so. Always struggled with that. Oh well, you can only improve from where you were. Enjoy!
XoXoXo
Aang inhaled deeply before slowing releasing the breath, his mind clearing. He sat perfectly still on a large rock in the small garden behind Iroh's tea shop, taking in the tranquility of the early morning. The news of the missing girls had shaken everyone to the core, a crime rarely heard of, yet it hit the Avatar the hardest. He was the peace keeper between nations and the barrier between the Spirit World and this one. But he had been too busy trying to resurrect the world as a safer place, that he had neglected helping the people within that world. Conflict swirled within his mind, cracking his concentration and with a sigh, he fell backwards onto the pure white sand swirled around the garden rocks and trees. The sun had just begun to peak over the city, the cool night giving way to another torturous summer. Spring had come and gone with a blur, as had a lot of the past few years, and Aang couldn't help but reminisce about the days back at the Southern Air Temple. He could smell the honeysuckles and jasmine bushes as they began to bloom, the fruit trees with their flowers wilting as fruit grew from the remains. He could hear the other children running around and playing air ball or flying around on their gliders. A tiny Appa popped into his memories and he couldn't help but smile. Appa had always been there for him, through thick and thin. He felt bad for the sky bison; Appa had been frozen with him for 100 years, missing out on adventures and a lot of his life.
A slight tremor in the ground caused the Avatar to crack an eye open, feeling the sensation pulse through his body, entering through his palm against the ground. Although he was sprawled out on sand, it was easy figuring out who it was as he knew those footsteps anywhere.
"You can come over, Katara, I'm done meditating," Aang spoke before closing his eye once more, feeling the sun finally reaching his face. He heard the sand shifting beneath her feet before she stopped. The sand around him shifted slightly as she sat down, something clinking as she settled.
"I figured you were done, what with you sprawled out like a pig-chicken," Katara teased. Sifting through the basket she had brought out with her, the waterbender pulled a plate full of fresh fruit and set it next to her boyfriend before indulging in her own plate. Aang pushed himself up into a sitting position, his stomach growling loudly. "I knew I should come prepared, there's some steamed tofu and bean sprouts if you're still hungry." After Aang had stuffed some fruit into his mouth, he leaned over and kissed Katara on the cheek, his face looking like a chipmunk-squirrel.
"Thank you, Katara. I needed some food," As he kept stuffing the delicacies in his mouth, he noticed his girlfriend looked a little worse for wear. Her hair wasn't braided but it was hanging loose with it tied back at the base of her neck. The two strands of hair that normally framed her face, her 'hair-loopies', were braided and merged with the loose hair at the tie. Dark bags were under her eyes and she looked exhausted. Of course, Aang wasn't looking so bright and perky either. His mind had raced all night about the missing girls. Meditating hadn't helped much, and he debated going into the Spirit World to talk with his predecessors, but it was unlikely they would have an answer for him, or at least, the answer he was looking for.
"I take it you didn't sleep well either?" Katara spoke softly, snapping his attention back to her.
"I couldn't stop thinking about those girls, about how their families were destroyed just for defending their own child," Aang replied sorrowfully, his heart aching for the families struggling. "Maybe we should consult with King Kuei, he might have an idea of what's going on."
"It's possible, but I wouldn't get your hopes up too high, I get the feeling he won't have as much information as we'd like, Aang. I've been thinking of ideas all night, but some of them are…"
"Dangerous?" Aang finished for her, already not liking where this conversation was going. Although Sokka was the go-to plan guy, something as big as this just wasn't possible to rush head on into a possibly large, ruthless gang so any ideas were a gamble at this point. It could take weeks to plan out their patterns, habits, locations, if there were any connections to certain cities or areas…
"I have one idea… but you aren't going to like it…" Aang tensed up at her words, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. "It's really risky, even with our previous battle experiences. I haven't gone over it with Sokka, but I already know what he's going to say. And I know what you'll say as well," Katara looked at him from the corner of her eye, judging his reaction. Trying to calm his mind down, Aang released a heavy breath before closing his eyes, bracing for the idea.
"I'm ready to hear it, Katara. But if a better, safer, plan can be made, I would prefer to go with that." Opening his eyes, he turned and looked into her sharp blue ones, giving a small nod for her to continue. Katara grasped his hand, squeezing firmly on it before continuing.
"Well, we know they're going after young women, probably the more beautiful the better, so… what if we set a trap up for them? Using me as a bait to lure them out into the open and then –"
"Katara, that's WAY too dangerous! What if something goes wrong, what if I can't protect you? I'm afraid if something happens, I may lose control and go into the Avatar State!" Katara watched as he became flustered, vehemently shooting down her plan. She knew it was dangerous, even for powerful benders such as themselves, but what other option was there to rescue the kidnapped women? This mission was going to be dangerous no matter how they looked at it. If it came down to it, she would surrender herself for the sake of the other women. If there were people who needed her, she would never turn her back on them, no matter the situation.
"Aang, it's just an idea. I'm sure Sokka can come up with something safer than that. I knew it was a dangerous idea, which is why I hesitated to tell you. I knew you wouldn't react well to it." She placed a hand against his cheek. "We have to rescue those women, Aang, they're in danger and who knows where they've been taken. We can discuss it later with Sokka and Toph, alright? But for now, I think we should get ready and head to see King Kuei."
"You're right, Katara, I'm sorry for getting upset about it. I just… don't want to see you get injured, I wouldn't be able to handle it if you got hurt because I couldn't save you." Aang took her face in his hands before bringing his lips to hers. They released after a few minutes, staring into each other's eyes. Katara's face softened and a small smile graced her lips.
"Why don't we finish up breakfast and head inside? Toph and Sokka should be getting up soon enough," Aang nodded in agreement and soon they had both finished their meals, satisfied with the food. Katara had packed everything back up neatly and stood up before she saw the mischievous glint in Aang's eye. Knowing that look, she readied herself in a battle stance, a sly grin gracing her lips.
"Last one inside is a hog-monkey?" Sand rained down as the two took off, laughing as blasts of air and water soared through the air.
XoXoXo
King Kuei groaned as he slid down his throne, the back of his eyes pulsing painfully. Bosco, his bear best friend, grunted at the king, nudging his hand. Kuei scratched the bear absentmindedly, mind preoccupied on the meeting going on in front of him. Well, meeting was a strong word… it was more like an all-out shouting match between children at who's plan of action was better. It had been going on for the past 10 minutes and frankly, the king was growing weary of it. A representative from the Fire Nation had arrived early in the morning for a scheduled meeting with the Earth Kingdom, entering the room while King Kuei's top generals were laying out multiple options for rebuilding the nation and preserving the colonies along the long conference tables. But as soon as the Fire Nation representative spotted a plan that would disrupt his people's colonies, the shouting began. The meeting hadn't been anything other than disruptive and the king was beginning to get a headache. With a dark thought, the king momentarily considered sending Bosco after them, but he quickly dismissed that idea. Bosco was a very kind and loving bear who would never harm a human. Maybe the Dai Li? That would be last resort, of course, if things got violent.
The large doors creaked open, briefly halting the two bickering generals. A messenger quickly walked to the center of the room before bowing, the tiny hat on his head nearly falling from his head.
"My king, the Avatar has requested an audience with you at your soonest convenience. Shall I escort him in?" King Kuei could barely contain his excitement. Finally! He got a break from the arguing!
"Of course, of course! Fire Nation General Fu Tauon, General Tien Min, if we may continue this after a short break? I'm afraid I must attend to other business at the moment." Both men looked at each other, more like scowled, but bowed respectfully before continuing their arguments, albeit more quietly, as they shuffled from the room. Kuei reminded himself to chastise both men later.
The messenger quickly bowed before hurrying from the room to usher the guests in. King Kuei watched with gleaming eyes as the Avatar entered the room alongside with his friends. Standing with his arms wide, the king beamed down at the group.
"Avatar Aang and friends! Welcome back to the Earth Kingdom! How have things been for you these past few months?"
Aang bowed respectfully to the king, as did the others apart from Toph, beaming back just as much.
"Things have been well, your highness, thank you. I hear you've been trying to reorganize the Earth Kingdom."
"Ah, well, unfortunately plans have become a bit side-tracked at the moment, but they'll get back on track soon! But enough about that, what can I help you with, Avatar?"
The group shared a look before Katara stepped forward, her hands clutched against her chest as she hesitantly approached.
"Your highness, there have been rumors about women all over the Earth Kingdom being kidnapped. We were wondering if you had possibly heard anything about the disappearances?" The grin on the kings face suddenly dropped, his face becoming serious. The atmosphere became heavier in the blink of an eye. The king let out a heavy breath as he sat back on his throne and hunched over, his hands crossing beneath his chin.
"I have heard rumors of such a despicable thing happening within my kingdom. It greatly pains me to see my people losing their children so violently. Some of my men have even heard stories about families who have succeeded in preventing their daughters' kidnapping, but by daylight they were found to have been burned to death within their homes." The king briefly closed his eyes, brow furrowing as if deep in thought. "I have tried to send a small platoon to hunt down those monsters, but barely one third of my men returned, the others having been killed or captured by those thugs."
"Your highness, would it be possible to see the reports your men made? We'd like to get as much information on them as possible in order to figure out where they'll strike next and crush them before they see what hit them." Sokka emphasized his statement by punching his palm. Toph let out a small snicker before adding, "Or what they didn't see!"
"Ah, the reports? They should be somewhere in the records hall. I'll have one of my men bring out every file regarding that case. We've been monitoring the situation for a few weeks now, just after it started to become a more pronounced issue. Even after investigating and trying to plan their movements, we just can't seem to figure them out. Why would they need these women? What are they doing with them? According to one of my Dai Li, the leader of the group, a man named Zanui? He seems to be a very powerful, ruthless firebender. But there's something off about him,"
"Something off?" Aang inquired, curious about this powerful bender. King Kuei nodded solemnly.
"My agents tell me he seems to possess some sort of…hypnosis, I suppose. They watched as he easily lured the women to him, though I'm afraid I don't have much more information on him apart from that. Possibly there is something in the library about his past, but it could take days to find his name, if there is anything related to him within the room. You and your friends are more than welcome to search any and all documents I have regarding the matter. If needed," King Kuei added, "I can arrange some rooms for you if you have nowhere to stay on your trip."
"That's very generous of you, King Kuei, we would like to accept your offer for rooms. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask." Aang placed his palm against his first and bowed. King Kuei let out a small laugh.
"There is no need to be so formal, Aang, we are all good friends here. But if the need arises, I shall be requesting your assistance. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have two children to attend to. Good day, Avatar." Once the two groups had gone their separate ways, Team Avatar began to search for clues in a large meeting room they were guided to. There were large shelves of books and files stacked nearly 20 feet tall in neat rows throughout the room. On the far side, a fireplace was crackling gently while providing warmth to the large stone room.
Neatly lined along one table was a small stack of papers and a thin book. Katara carefully picked up some of the papers, holding them up to see them a little better. On the first one was a crude drawing of what she supposed was the leader of the group. Though, he looked more like the terrible drawing Sokka did of Zuko. "Hey, Sokka, this looks like your drawing of Zuko from two years ago! See? He even has the spiky hair!" Katara showed Aang and the two burst out laughing as Sokka marched over and snatched the paper, complaining that his drawing looked better than that child's scribbles. Toph sensed her way to a chair before plopping down in it heavily and kicked her feet up onto the table. It was going to be a long day of information studying, so she made herself comfortable and began picking the crud out from in between her toes.
~End~
End! Yay! This one is a little shorter, about 800 words shorter, but that's okay. I've had two good reviews already and I can't wait to see what you guys think of this chapter! Be warned, I may go back and redo the first chapter, or any chapter really, at any time if I feel the need to make it better. Thanks for reading!
