Okay, y'all, here's the second part. I didn't get many reviews last chapter, and that's kind of discouraging... Thank you to all you did review, but for those who didn't and read the story, and who read this chapter, please, please, PLEASE review? Pretty please? It really encourages me, and helps me feel like posting this story that I've worked for hours on is actually worth it, so please? :)
Sozin's Comet My Way
Part 2
The Old Masters
Sleep had avoided Katara for most of the night before she decided to give up on it. Her mind whirled with what Zuko had said to Aang… what he had said to all of them.
Katara shivered despite the warm breeze rising out of the ocean below the balcony railing she was perched on. The sun would rise in only a little while to light the world, but it couldn't shine any guiding lights on Katara's lost mind.
She knew her father would never do such a thing like Ozai did to Zuko, and it was hard to imagine such cruelty from a father to his son. The men of the Southern Water Tribe were strong and fierce in battle, but to their families, they were immovable guardians willing to sacrifice anything for those they loved. Why would any man do something so morbid and cruel to his own flesh? Katara shivered again, a tear of sympathy sliding down her cheek.
The sudden creak of boards behind her alerted Katara to her guest. She started, but the waterbender hadn't even had time to wipe away her tears and turn around before Zuko whispered,
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were out here…" Katara could hear him leaving.
"No, it's okay," she quickly spoke up. Zuko paused. "You can't sleep either?" she added with an understanding smile.
The firebender nodded, his eyes darker than usual. There were unmistakable rings under his eyes, and his mouth was a tight line. His exhaustion and worry were painfully clear in the tenseness of his body, but it escaped Katara's attention how he relaxed when he approached and sat down on the railing beside her.
"Are you worried too?" Zuko asked first.
"About Aang's decision?" Katara confirmed. "Yeah. At first I thought there had to be some way for him to stop the Firelord without killing him, but… what you said about the prisoners of war… it showed me that Ozai will do anything to get what he wants, just like Azula."
"Just like me," Zuko murmured, so low Katara almost didn't hear. But she did hear.
"But you're determined to do what's right," the waterbender quickly corrected, her eyes flooding with compassion. "You gave up everything you had and had ever hoped for to help the Avatar- Aang I mean. You're doing everything you can to teach him firebending, you brought my father back to me, you… you helped me find my mother's killer… You've done a lot, and it's not fair to compare yourself to Azula and Ozai. You would never…"
Zuko squeezed his eyes shut, his jaw setting. In profile, Katara couldn't see the scar, but she knew all too well that it was there, real, and it probably hurt a lot. Not physically, but emotionally. And that pain, Zuko couldn't escape. At least not yet.
Her hands trembling uncontrollably, Katara reached over and gently slipped her fingers over Zuko's scar, feeling for the second time the rough texture masking what would have been a perfect face. Zuko's eyes snapped open, but he didn't pull away. Katara could feel his face warming under her palm, and when the Fire Prince turned towards her, his deep gold eyes locking with her bright azure ones, she felt her cheeks burn herself. But she refused to look or pull away. He needed her comfort, and she would give it to him.
"This should have never happened to you," she began, her voice quaking with conviction. Zuko's eyes closed again, the lump in his throat working as he gulped. "No one, least of all you, deserves something so cruel. If we live through this, I promise I will do everything I can to heal you."
"You've taken care of enough people," Zuko protested, though Katara could tell how badly he wanted this. "I don't want you to have to take care of me, too."
"I don't have too, I want to. I want to try." Katara gave the firebender a small smile, and Zuko returned it. The strange shine in his golden eyes made Katara's spine suddenly tingle pleasantly, though she couldn't explain why…
"Hey, has anyone seen Toph and Aang?!" Sokka spoke up loudly from the doorway leading to the balcony. Katara pulled her hand away from Zuko's scar and hopped off the balcony, thankful for the bad light that hid her blush. Zuko slid to his feet and stood close behind her.
"It's barely dawn. Where would they be besides bed?" the waterbender asked first.
Suki came up from behind her. "I thought that maybe it would be a good idea if Aang started early on firebending today, that way he could get a lot of training in before it got too hot. But when I went to wake him up, he was gone. I can't find him anywhere!"
"They're probably just training," Katara put in. "Toph would start early on metalbending to leave more time later for firebending. They'll be back in an hour or so…"
*~~!*!~~*
"Well I hope you're happy, Twinkletoes," Toph snapped, her voice harder than her element, hiding the fact that she was still crying bitterly. "Thanks to you running away, I'm stuck in the Spirit World! I can't see, I can't bend at all! How are you supposed to fix this?!"
Aang balked at his teacher's accusations. "Running away?! Is that what you thought I was doing?!" he demanded, his voice almost contending with hers in volume. "I was trying to find a way to beat Ozai and-"
Toph tried to point a hard finger in his direction, but thanks to her knew, complete blindness, she ended up pointing in the entirely wrong direction. "We told you the way to beat Ozai! Off him! Seriously, Aang, I knew you were a softy at heart, but it looks like your brain's gone to mush, too! We've given you all the advice you need, but you won't listen to it! Why not?!"
"My past lives know more about holding a person's life in their hands than any of you!" Aang exclaimed, slicing his arm through the air with the strength to cut a tree trunk in half if he'd actually bent any air. "They're more qualified to be giving advice than you-"
"Were they ever part of a war that's lasted for a hundred years that will destroy the entire earth if it's finished? Did they ever have to face a tyrant ready to scar and banish his own son? Who laughs his butt off while watching men speared by their own people? Have they?!" Toph had pointed again, and this time, she was a little closer to the target.
Aang could tell she would have beat the tar out of him if she could bend, but her blind eyes, rimmed with red from shed tears, revealed her clawing fear, a fear he had never, ever, seen in her before. Now was not the time to fight, he realized. Toph couldn't sea at all, not even through the earth. She had no way to defend herself in a strange new world full of incalculable dangers. And she was afraid. The earthbender was trembling, but it wasn't just from rage, it was from fear too.
"I… I don't know…" Aang admitted, his voice considerably softer. "But I guess it doesn't matter now. We have to find Hei Bai and get you out of here."
"And what about you?" Toph demanded, her voice still cold and ragged from contained sobs. "Gonna find all your past lives and have a big powwow on how to play tea with the Firelord? Fine!" She threw her hands up, taking a few blind steps forward. "Go ahead. Throw the world away. Just get me out of here, and then you're on your own…"
Aang's eyes widened in horror. "Wait, Toph! No!"
"Aaaaahhhh!"
"TOPH!!!"
*~~!*!~~*
It had been an hour. Katara looked at the sun, already a good distance above the ocean waves. Correction: it had been a few hours.
For the early part of the morning, Sokka and Suki had been down at the beach, leaving her and Zuko alone at the house. Zuko took it upon himself to practice bending lightning in the courtyard… with little success. The sparks that would appear at his fingertips would just fizzle out. Katara had expected him to lose his temper, especially considering his one-person audience. Maybe he wouldn't like failing in front of anyone? But to her surprise, the firebender remained strangely calm.
After what had seemed would be his first bolt of lightning just sparked out into nothingness, Zuko finally took a look at the eastern sky. Katara could see the sweat running down his back and arms, and she watched as the muscles that had been exhausted and limp tensed suddenly.
"Aang and Toph aren't back yet."
Katara nodded, her throat working nervously. She had been hoping to see Toph come marching into the courtyard with her bruised pupil behind her, but no such luck. It brought a terrible doubt to mind, a doubt that she felt guilty to admit to anyone, especially Zuko. He would be so upset, and probably more than a little disappointed, and if Katara would allow herself to have those kinds of harsh feelings for Aang, so would she.
He's run away again…
"We should start looking for them now," Zuko suggested, already running a towel through his damp hair and pulling on his shirt. He'd barely tugged on his outer robe when Sokka dashed into the courtyard, Suki right behind him.
"Katara!! Zuko!!!" Sokka yelled, breathless and looking utterly panicked. Suki's eyes, too, were wild with fear. "We found Aang and Toph!"
Katara stood. "Really? Good-"
"No, it's not good," Sokka interrupted seriously. "Katara, they're in the Spirit World… both of them."
"What? How? Where did you find them?" The Watertribe girl demanded, her own worry rising up inside her. Only Zuko seemed to have missed the memo.
"Come one, come see!" Sokka urged, already turning and running back out of the courtyard and down a narrow path through the trees. Suki, Katara, and Zuko followed as fast as they could. "Suki and I were on the beach, and then Suki said we should look for Aang and Toph, since it had been a while," Sokka explained hurriedly as he ran. "We decided to check the beaches first, since they might be sandbending, and we stumbled across this weird cave. Their bodies were laying at the mouth of it, just limp. They were still breathing, so we knew they weren't dead, but they didn't wake up, and I figured they had to be in the Spirit World."
"But Aang's been to the Spirit World before!" Zuko called to him from the back of the group. "And Toph can take care of herself, especially with Aang there. Why are you all so worried about them?"
Katara answered first. "Aang once told me about his trips to the Spirit World. You can't bend there, which means that Toph is completely blind! Plus, there are dangerous spirits there. There's this one called Koh, who'll steal your face if you show any emotion around him. And there are others. Any number of things could happen to them, especially since they can't defend themselves!"
"But why would a spirit want to harm the Avatar, the bridge between worlds?"
"Who knows… But they do, and that's the problem."
*~~!*!~~*
Toph had never liked flying. But falling was even more unpleasant… especially considering she had no idea how far down it was, or even what awaited her at the bottom.
Suddenly, arms enveloped her, and she was twisted in midair, putting her back against the chest of the airbender that had caught her. The next second, there was a tremendous splash. Toph expected her nose and mouth to flood with water, but they didn't. Instead, she heard Aang grunt as he took the brunt of the impact for her, and when he released her, the earthbender tumbled into a shallow pool of water that would have hurt as much as solid ground from the height she'd fallen.
Toph sat up, looking in the general direction where Aang was laying. She was trembling all over, and hating herself for it, but at the moment, there was nothing she could do to stop herself.
"A-Aang?"
Aang groaned as he rolled over, and Toph realized he'd probably really hurt himself rescuing her. "Yeah?"
The earthbender took a shuddering breath and let it out. "Thank you…"
"It's okay." Toph felt the water around her knees slosh around as Aang stood beside her. The airbender slipped his hand into hers and pulled her up, keeping his hand securely wrapped around her wrist. "Let's find Hei Bai and get out of here."
"Both of us?"
"…No. Just you."
Toph groaned, but for once, she was too shaken to argue. Later. She'd tell him off later.
*~~!*!~~*
Katara felt her heart sink as she took in Toph and Aang's limp bodies lying over the sand in the tunnel's mouth.
"What now?" Sokka asked. "We have no idea how long they'll be out like this. They might not even have a way of getting back! Aang could miss the Comet altogether and not even know it!"
"Sokka's right," Zuko agreed, crossing his arms with a frown. "We need to start thinking of a backup plan."
"Aang wouldn't go into the Spirit World unless he knew he could get back in time for the Comet," Katara insisted, trying to keep the doubt out of her own voice. "Let's just wait a day or so. I'm sure they'll be back soon."
"A day or so?" Zuko repeated, incredulous. "But the Comet is coming in three days! Aang needs to face the Firelord before then!"
"I think we should wait, too," Suki spoke up. "Aang could be back any time, and he's our best hope of defeating Ozai."
Sokka sighed loudly, but nodded. "All right. How long then?"
"No longer than a day," Zuko offered. "That's enough, but not too much time."
"…Fair enough," Katara murmured, her eyes still glued to Aang and Toph's motionless forms in the sand.
Sokka was hesitant to relocate the bodies, but Katara pointed out that the high tide would drown them, and that they would find their way back even if their bodies were moved anyway. Toph and Aang were carried to the courtyard and placed in the shade, and though Sokka assigned the group to take turns watching for the return of their friend's spirits, Zuko stayed by them the entire time.
The hours passed by far too slowly for the firebender's liking. At first, he trained some more with lightning, and Katara watched him as she usually did, but after an hour or so, he had to stop for fear or working himself to the Spirit World himself. By that time, it was about noon, and Sokka and Suki decided to go for a quick swim to escape the heat. Zuko refused to leave the earth and airbender's sides, and so Katara decided it would be best for her to stay with him, just to keep him company.
Sokka and Suki obviously forgot the time. They'd been gone until the sun was low in the western sky before the couple came running back from the beach, even more panicked than before. Zuko sighed loudly.
"What is it, now?" he asked exasperatedly, slumping on the stairs.
*~~!*!~~*
"So let me get this straight… you have no idea where Hei Bai is?"
Aang would have loved to let go of the earthbender's hand if it hadn't meant letting her trip over a giant gnarled root in the path. He carefully guided her over it and answered,
"Well, no. Last time I saw him, Roku called him to me."
Toph's tiny first finger poked the hand that held her wrist, making Aang flinch. "So then? Just call Hei Bai, too." And before Aang could stop her, the blind girl threw back her head, opened her mouth, and hollered, "HEEEEEEIIIIIIIIII BAAAAAAAAIIIIIIII!!!!!!" To Aang's horror, the sound echoed so loudly and so far through the still of the Spirit World, that it probably reached Koh's ears in his old tree. Panicked, the Avatar clamped his hand over Toph's mouth, listening with held breath as the noise reverberated again and again, eventually dying away into the depths of the dead swamp.
"Be QUIET, Toph!" he hissed darkly, pressing his hand against her lips as hard as he could without hurting her. Thankfully she couldn't bend to feel his heart pounding with wild fear in his chest. Suddenly, something warm and terribly slimy ran over his palm. Aang recoiled in disgust, shaking his hand furiously and wiping it on his pants. "That's disgusting!!!" he cried, trying to keep his voice down and still voice his revulsion.
Toph ignored him splendidly. "Can't you call Roku then?" she asked, keeping her tone bored. "Or would you like me to?"
Aang nearly jumped on her again, but Toph held up a hand, almost poking him in the eyes. "Relax, Twinkletoes, I was kidding."
With a frustrated sigh, Aang rolled his eyes. "I've been trying to call him, but he won't come."
"Well, keep trying. I don't have to earthbend to tell that this place is giving off some bad vibrations."
*~~!*!~~*
"There's a FIRE NAVY SHIP going past the island?!" Zuko and Katara exclaimed in unison.
"It's a patrol ship, I'm sure of it," Sokka admitted. "It was moving too slowly to be anything else."
"Well, what do we do now?" Katara thought aloud, just as the sickening screech of metal on metal rose up from the beach.
"They've landed," Zuko announced grimly, making for the beach before anyone could stop him. He moved like a ghost through the underbrush, wincing as he heard Sokka crashing through the bushes behind him. This would never work if the oaf didn't stop making noise!
Finally, the Watertribe warrior stumbled up beside him. "So what's your plan?" he inquired, trying to match Zuko's own silent, fluid motions.
"We're going to take that Fire Navy ship," Zuko hissed back as they neared the shore. "Then I'm taking Appa, and I'm finding my uncle. He's the only one who can help us now that Aang's trapped in the Spirit World for who knows how long. You, Suki, and Katara will stay behind with Aang and Toph's bodies.
"There's a messenger hawk on board that ship, no doubt. If Aang wakes up in time for the Comet, send me the message and meet me in the Earth Kingdom."
"And if he doesn't wake up in time?" Sokka dared to ask.
Zuko paused, his voice going sad. "Then my uncle and I will do our best to stop Ozai ourselves with whatever troops we can find."
"And how do you plan to find your uncle?"
By this time, they were right on top of the beach, the girls joining them. The small Fire Navy ship's prow had lowered, and a undersized band of Fire Nation soldiers had marched off, probably to search the island. They could easily be defeated.
"I have an old acquaintance in the Earth Kingdom that can help me," Zuko replied in answer to Sokka's question. And then he sprang.
*~~!*!~~*
The deeper they went into the Spirit World's twisted swamp, the more Aang felt that Toph was right. He could practically smell the danger lurking just out of his view, but who (or what) it could be, he had no clue. Possibly Koh… but they were a long way from his old tree dwelling. Still, he could never be too careful.
Leaning over, Aang whispered as quietly as possible, "Toph?"
He expected her to be rather loud in her reply, but the earthbender's ears were sharp. She could pick up the tremble of genuine fear in his voice, and wisely kept herself in check.
"Yeah?"
"Try not to show any emotion… okay?"
"Why not?"
"If you do, a spirit called Koh could steal your face. I can sense danger nearby. I'm not sure if it's him, but I don't want to be caught off guard."
"Why does he steal faces?" Even with her doubts, Toph had pulled all emotion from her face. Her blind eyes were glued ahead, fully trusting him to lead.
Aang nearly frowned at her ridiculous question, but he checked himself just in time. "How am I supposed to know?"
"I don't know, shouldn't the all knowing Roku have told you? I mean, you are asking him for advice on how to save the world from destruction. Of course he can tell you something as trivial as this." Though her voice was coated with sarcasm, Toph's lips didn't even twitch.
"Aang… It's good to see you again."
*~~!*!~~*
Suki tied the last knot on the unconscious bundle of bruised Fire Nation soldiers they'd just taken down. "Well, that's all of them," she announced. "That was almost too easy."
"It's a stroke of luck this ship came by when it did. You guys will need it," Zuko said firmly. "I'll be taking Appa to find my uncle, and this will be your only way off the island."
Katara's eyes snapped to him. "What are you talking about?"
"Aang could be trapped in the Spirit World for a long time," Zuko reminded her. "Katara, he might miss the Comet. And in case that happens, I told you we would need a backup plan. So this is it. If anyone can help us, it's my uncle."
"But how are going to find him? And why are you making it sound like you're going alone?" Zuko couldn't ignore the fierce edge to the waterbender's tone.
"That bounty hunter and her shirshu that I used to track you down can find any person anywhere in the world," the traitor prince explained. "She'll find my uncle with no problem. And I'm going alone because someone has to stay and watched Aang and Toph and send me a message if they wake up in time for the Comet. If they do, this ship is your only way off this island and to the Firelord."
"You still don't have to go alone, though," Katara protested. "If Aang misses Sozin's Comet, then you'll be the only one close enough to the Firelord's attack force to stop him before he destroys the Earth Kingdom. And you can't do that alone. I'm coming with you."
"Sokka and I can stay behind," Suki agreed. "You should go now, and hurry, too."
"Yeah, the sooner you find your uncle, the sooner you can foil Ozai's plan," Sokka added, wrapping an arm around Suki's shoulder. "The sun hasn't even set yet, and Appa's been lazy for far too long. A nice, nighttime ride to the Earth Kingdom will do the big guy good."
Appa was saddled and flying less than fifteen minutes later, with Zuko at the reins and Katara leaning forward in the saddle.
"Are you excited to meet your uncle?" she queried, her mind flashing back to that scene in The Boy In the Iceberg play. The prince was probably really scared to face him after all he'd put his uncle through, and Katara knew somehow that he would feel better if he talked it out.
"Yeah, I am," Zuko admitted. "But I'm worried too. I'm worried he'll be so angry, and that he won't forgive me… which I guess I deserve."
"Your uncle will be nothing but proud when he sees you," Katara assured him with conviction. "He loves you, no matter what."
"… I hope you're right."
*~~!*!~~*
"Roku!" Aang exclaimed, catching the reflection of his past life in the water licking at their ankles. "Where have you been?"
"We were just talking about you…" Toph mumbled to herself, but Aang didn't notice her comment in his excitement.
"I've been looking everywhere for you, Roku!" the young airbender bubbled as his past life took shape out of the water. "See, Toph got trapped accidentally here and-"
"-You seek advice," Roku finished. He looked to Toph, his gold eyes settling fondly on the young earthbender. "First thing's first, Hei Bai will see you out."
"About time," Toph snapped sarcastically. "I thought I'd never get out of this icky place."
Roku ignored her rude comment and made a sweeping gesture with his hand. Almost instantly, an enormous panda bear bounded out of the swamp, skidding to a halt before Roku. Aang helped Toph up onto the spirit's back.
"I still think you should come too," Toph admitted firmly. "You won't get any different advice from him, trust me."
Aang shook his head, then realized Toph couldn't see it. "I have to, Toph. Killing goes against everything I've ever been taught, everything I believe in. If there's another way, I want to find it."
Toph glowered at him, her blind eyes cold and blanker than ever. "Fine then." And with that, Hei Bai turned and dashed away into the murky swamp, pulling a small cry out of Toph at his speed. Aang watched her go sadly. He wanted her to understand, but she wouldn't.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh, Aang turned back to face his past life. The solemnity he saw there made his heart fall immediately.
"Aang, you know our shared past, and through your experience in the cave you entered before you came here, you get to see all the struggles you've had to face up until now."
"Yes…" Aang replied slowly, bowing his head. "How did that happen?"
"Ember Island is a very special place in the Fire Nation," Roku explained. "Many believe that is just a pleasant vacation spot, but it isn't. It is far more than that. It will show you who you truly are. I suspect that has already happened for you at that ridiculous play…" the firebender chuckled at his younger self's incredulous look, "but that cave that you entered showed you something even deeper.
"Ever since you were born, Aang, all the knowledge of your past lives has been a part of your unconscious mind. In the cave, that knowledge was released, showing you, in every form, who the Avatar truly is, who he and she has always been, and what he and she had to overcome to be it. In each life, you will find a trial so intense that it changed the history of that Avatar forever. It may not be as pressing and dangerous a matter as killing the Firelord and ending the war, but it was nonetheless just as difficult.
"It was a point in your life that you had to face every time, Aang, the point at which being a normal person became impossible. At that moment in time, you were forced to give up everything you thought you were certain of, and throw yourself into the unknown. That is the test of true maturity, Aang, and it is what you face now."
The Avatar's spirit paused with a sigh. "My test of maturity came when I had to sacrifice my friendship with Firelord Sozin. We were as close as brothers, but when he began the Earth Kingdom colonies… I realized it was time to leave our past friendship behind. And yet I did not. I did not let go, Aang, and the world has suffered for an entire century because of my mistake. I failed, and I will forever be ashamed of it."
Aang let his chin hit his chest, defeated. "I guess I have not choice then. I have to kill the Firelord."
Suddenly, a roar split the air, followed by the echo of a scream. Toph's scream.
*~~!*!~~*
Katara couldn't help but slide closer to Zuko as they made their way through the seedy little Earth Kingdom bar. She didn't even have to taste the food for this place to make her stomach flip. Just a glance around at some of the dangerous looking fellows sitting in the shaded corners told her this bar was not for the faint of heart.
Not that she was scared. She would just rather be anywhere besides where she was right now.
"Jun," Zuko was saying to a scary looking black haired woman with the tattoo of a coiled red snake on her shoulder. Katara immediately took her eyes off a couple of big men holding knives and dangerously full mugs to join the firebender and bounty hunter.
"Well, if it isn't my old friend, Angry Boy," Jun observed, her tone bored, then looked Katara over. "I see you two made up, though she's still too pretty for you."
Katara's eyes snapped open, and she flushed madly, looking away. Zuko, too, appeared rather flustered. He cleared his throat loudly, trying to keep calm.
"I need you to find someone. My uncle."
"You're awfully good at losing things, aren't you?" Jun sighed. "Oh well." She stood from her chair, finished her full glass in one swallow, and led the way outside the bar. "Nyla!" she called to her shirshu mount, who had been busy growling at Appa at the end of her strained tether. Appa had wisely kept just out of reach of the shirshu beast's paralyzing tongue.
Jun ran her gloved hand over Nyla's snout. "What do you have with Uncle Lazy's scent on it?"
To Katara's utter shock and horror, Zuko pulled an old sandal out of his robe that smelled worse than all the sewers of Omashu compressed into a ratty little straw bundle. Nyla didn't even have to get near the thing to pick up its scent, and she was on the move before anyone could blink.
"Hey!" Zuko shouted. "Wait for us!" He scrambled onto Appa, pulling Katara up beside him, and flicked the reins. Katara, meanwhile, squeezed her nose shut with her forefinger and thumb, and covered it the rest of the way with her other hand.
"Zuko… please, can't you throw that thing away?!" she cried, her voice nasally and muffled under her hands.
Zuko cocked his head at her, holding up the sandal, which she automatically flinched away from. "But what if we lose the scent?"
Katara shook her head furiously. "Oh trust me, that's a stench I don't think any of us will forget, least of all Nyla."
With a final shrug, Zuko tossed the old sandal over Appa's side.
They traveled through the whole night and most of the next day, all the while following Jun and Nyla below. The scenery changed may times, from dark forests to open plains and canyons to mountains, and the hours passed by in comfortable silence. Katara and Zuko switched holding the reins in order to allow the other some rest, but eventually, they came to their destination, the southernmost tip of the Earth Kingdom, a little village tucked into the bend of a river. Without a care, Jun led Nyla right through the main boulevard, sending panicked citizens everywhere.
Zuko hurriedly landed Appa in a patch of trees near the village and dashed after the shirshu, Katara on his heels. Screaming women, crying babies, and cursing men met their eyes as they entered the streets, searching for the bounty hunter and her mount. Finally, they found her. Iroh's trail had led them all to the last place it should have, at least in Zuko's opinion.
A teashop.
Nyla paced outside, kept at bay only by her master's orders. This has to be the place.
"That's where my uncle is…" Katara could hear the unsure shake in the firebender's voice beside her. Quickly, she put a hand on his arm.
"He'll be happy to see you, Zuko," she said quietly, looking him straight in the eye, "I know he will."
Zuko hesitated a moment more before allowing a grateful smile to cross his face. Together, they made their way to the front door.
"Okay," Jun drawled, "I found your uncle, now I'm done." She cracked her whip across Nyla's side, and the shirshu roared, galloping away. "See ya!"
Katara started towards the door before realizing that Zuko hadn't made a move. The waterbender looked up at him, pulling her brightest smile. "You can't chicken out now," she prodded gently.
Zuko gave a heavy sigh. "I know," admitted, making his way forward slowly. Katara could see his hand trembling as he reached to open the door. But when the door swung open and they stepped inside, all they saw was a regular teashop.
*~~!*!~~*
Aang lurched forward into the swamp. Roku had disappeared, but it didn't matter. Toph was in danger. Growls and hisses of fury echoed off the thousands of trees, telling of the battle being fought. But Aang didn't have to wait long to see it for himself.
Hei Bai, in his angry new form, swiped at an enormous, twisting, stretching, hissing creature. Aang's heart shot out of his chest before sinking back into his toes, taking his stomach with it.
Koh.
But Toph? Where was Toph? Aang tried to ignore the fury of the spirit battle to find his friend. He'd heard her scream, could she have…
No! There she was, off a ways, lying face first in the mud. Aang scrambled over to her, lifting her out of the mud and turning her over. Her eyes were closed, and her body hung limply in his arms.
"Toph? Toph!"
No response.
Suddenly, from behind, Aang heard Hei Bai roar with pain. The Avatar refused to turn, knowing the fear and fury in his eyes would cause him to lose them. He bowed his head over his friend, whispering her name while desperately trying to regain his composure.
"Young Avatar… how are you?" The deep-throated purr sent shivers clawing up Aang's spine, but he kept his face emotionless. Koh twisted around him, coming to the front where they could see each other eye to eye. In the background of his consciousness, Aang could hear Hei Bai struggling to get up. "I told you we would meet again…"
Suddenly, Toph stirred. Her eyebrows met in a frown of pain, her lips curled as she groaned. Aang threw his hand over her face to hide it from the hungry spirit above him. Koh lunged. Hei Bai screamed.
The forest spirit threw itself over Aang's head, bashing Koh in the side and sending him to the ground. The two spirits tumbled over and over each other, Hei Bai swinging his arms, punching and bruising again and again while Koh's innumerable legs caused gashes. The serpent-like spirit wrapped itself around Hei Bai's gut and pulled, but the forest spirit rolled over on his back, crushing Koh underneath him. But that close, Koh's clawed legs slashed through more flesh, cutting deep. Hei Bai howled mournfully and fell, but Koh had already unwound himself, escaping another crushing.
Aang, meanwhile, attempted to drag Toph away from the battle, but she was struggling too much, still dazed from her fall off of Hei Bai. The forest guardian had fallen to Koh before the Avatar had time to make real distance. Turning from the fallen spirit, the Face Stealer examined his prey. Oh how he wished to have the Avatar's soft young face, but the boy was doing a good job of keeping his emotions hidden, even in the stress of the battle and trying to keep his friend from harm.
His friend…
Koh smiled, hissing with morbid glee, and threw himself forward. The young earthbender's blind eyes snapped open, though they would do her no good. The last emotion on her face was confusion. She couldn't feel the danger.
"Aang…"
The Avatar fell back into the mud, his friend yanked from his arms by the Face Stealer. Aang's vision cleared just in time for him to see Toph's body hanging limply from Koh's mouth. The spirit gave one last exaggerated suck, then released the earthbender, who fell like a rag doll to the ground below him.
"NOOO!!!!" Aang screamed, scrambling to his feet and running forward. Koh charged to meet him, Toph's face where it shouldn't be. The airbender didn't care if his face was a mask of rage soon to be removed. White anger blinded him, followed by real white light. And then all was dark.
*~~!*!~~*
Zuko glanced around the teashop, trying to find any sign of his uncle. The man standing in the kitchen was watching him closely, but when their eyes met, the stranger turned away and moved into the back room and out of sight. Zuko glared after him, taking a guess.
His uncle was in that room.
The man soon returned to the kitchen, and Zuko hurried over, happy for Katara's nearness to him at this crucial moment.
"Excuse me," Zuko tried to address the man politely, but his excitement and anxiety made his voice curt. "I want to see my uncle. You know who he is." It wasn't a question.
The man nodded quietly and pointed to the back door. "Your uncle and the others are all waiting for you. Katara of the Southern Tribe, you must enter as well."
Katara started. "How did you-"
"You must hurry," the man insisted calmly. "There is much to be done in very little time"
Zuko frowned at him, but complied. Katara nearly jumped when the firebender took her hand and squeezed it lightly before releasing her and opening the door.
They found themselves in a small spice cabinet. Zuko started to step out to demand what kind of a joke the man in the kitchen was trying to pull, but the door closed in his face before he could move.
The firebender didn't even have time to get angry either. Suddenly, the stone floor beneath them shifted, and they found themselves going down. Zuko turned just as the light of several lanterns greeted them.
"Welcome, young ones. We may now begin."
Zuko could feel tears welling in his eyes. His uncle's voice… that was Iroh's voice. And then his eyes adjusted to the damp darkness and he realized that the old man was not alone. A circle of elderly men surrounded him. Katara seemed to recognize them.
"Master Pakku!" she cried, hurrying over to him and bowing. The Northern waterbender stood and repeated the motion, smiling fondly at his new granddaughter.
And of course, Katara knew some of the others as well, and she greeted them all in turn. Jeong Jeong the Deserter, King Bumi of Omashu, and Piandao, Sokka's sword master. She wished to learn all their stories, but they each told her that there would be time for that later. Right now, they had to plan. And then all eyes turned expectantly to Zuko, who just stood there, staring forlornly at his uncle, who returned his stare with a firm, thick gaze.
"We have much to discuss," Iroh began, never taking his drilling eyes off of Zuko as he sat next to Katara, who had taken her seat of Master Pakku's right. "But most importantly, where is the Avatar?"
To Be Continued…
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