Eyo, readers! I am back. Didn't think I'd be back, huh? Oh well. I'm terrible at updating. Anyways, recap time!

Please, tell me if this chapter sucks or if something doesn't make sense or if there seems to be a HUGE problem in the story telling. : ) I'd rather find out sooner, so I can rewrite it, rather than find out later and be royally screwed.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I do own the plot of this story, though. **heart**

Zuko shoved Toph against a farther wall, glowing fists pressed firmly against the rock on either side of her head as he leaned his head down closer to the Bandit's ear, "I was in a meeting, Mai was…

Outside the Fire Nation Palace, in the courtyard, the Fire Lady played with young three-year-old Keiji.

"Well, isn't this a sight to see!" cackled Azula, "Little Zuzu and his girlfriend - or should I say wife? - have had some offspring!" She threw her head back as another peal of laughter flew from her lips and filled the courtyard. "Your mama is so funny, Keiji. Isn't she?"

"Keiji! Keiji, get away from her! She's not good!" cried out Mai as she realized how futile her struggle was. Tears were starting to form at the brim of her eyes. No matter how hard she fought, how much she wanted her baby back in her arms, Mai became aware she wasn't going to be able to do anything, "Keiji, sweetie, please! Get away from he--"

"Shut up, you're not my mama!" screamed Keiji, unable to take it all.

Then, there was complete and utter silence. Except for the cries of the little turtle-ducklings as they crowded around the still form of their mother, whose shell was broken and seared from a bolt of lightning.

Sadly, it was still a beautiful day.

***

By the time his tale ended, lava-like oozes of rock were dribbling down the wall on either side of Toph like candle wax. Just from the vibrations in the air, and the tiny twitches through the rock that traveled up through her feet, the Blind Bandit could tell that the Fire Lord was shaking. The plip plop of small droplets of water hit her feet caused shivers to curl up Toph's spine. Curious, she reached up to feel Zuko's face. Yes, they were his tears. From Zuko's flinch at her touching his face, though, Toph quickly withdrew her hand, feeling her stomach knot as her flesh left his. It wasn't the tears on her feet that made her stomach churn and her skin feel like ice, however. What had frozen her thoughts, almost stopped her heart, was the fact that Zuko's son was in the hands of Azula.

She wasn't quite sure what to say or what to do. The young woman could only imagine the worries that were floating along in Zuko's mind now, about his son. A small lump of guilt bubbled up in her head at having earlier hit Zuko, believing he was hitting on her so soon after Mai's death. But, before she could apologize, questions started to bloom in her mind, one after the other.

"How do you know all this? You were in a meeting! Why didn't you go after Azula right away? Don't the others know about Keiji?" blurted out Toph, confusion coloring her words. She never even heard of Mai getting pregnant! At that realization, a tinge of fire gripped her heart and her stomach. Ah, childhood crushes, don't you ever die?

Zuko had been waiting for those questions. Toph wouldn't have been the Blind Bandit if she didn't have some ounce of sense. That didn't make it any easier for him or his pride, though. One of the hardest things he had chosen to do was hold back on going after his sister. Ever since Mai died, the Fire Lord had to hold back on running out of the palace, hot on the trail of his psychotic sibling, hailing hellfire and dragon rage in his wake. As much as it hurt him, as much as it made him sick with disgust at his own indecision, Zuko also had a nation to attend to.

"Azula is powerful. If I were to leave my nation, fail in rescuing my son, she could take over and start what our ancestors had started." murmured the Fire Lord as his ego took another stab. Yet, his nation was very unstable. Raids from rogue groups that were still hurt over the war, economic issues stemmed from taking responsibility for the destruction of sacred buildings and whole villages, laws that citizens couldn't stand, disputes over land, disputes over love, laws that didn't work, laws that worked too well, petitions. Politics were a big business, especially in a nation that was still trying to make up for the past hundred years of war. Zuko couldn't just leave it to run itself and, if he had, his sister may have taken his absence as a chance to take it over. Even if he left his uncle in command, the years had taken their toll on the great general.

Zuko closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to control the fire in his gut. The warmth from his hands dissipated, and, when he finally opened his eyes, he was staring into the glaring, determined - even if unseeing - eyes of the short earthbender. Just the strength in Toph's demeanor gave the firebender a clench in his chest. She'd go to any means to wring an answer out of him, even if it meant beating him to a pulp. Yet, from the softness of her touch earlier, it seemed almost impossible that such a duality could exist in the rough and tumble young woman. A thought kicked in his mind that, years ago, he was the same: stuck between evil and good, unable to choose the side he belonged upon. The only difference was that Toph was able to mesh hers into an magnificently strong personality, whereas his watered down his own or made him look like a bi-polar loonie.

"I asked everyone to come here to help me, but I couldn't bring myself to ask them to risk everything they've made over the years," whispered Zuko, his voice hoarse with pain, "Keiji was born three years ago, when there was a huge uprising in our nation and many natural disasters hitting the world. Mai and I believed you all had your own problems to tend to and, as you could guess, she and I are..." He paused, a bitter taste rising in his mouth as he realized his tense mistake, "Were a bit private with some of our affairs."

"And how did you find out what happened between Mai and Azula?" pressed Toph.

"Azula left a calling card," muttered Zuko, closing his eyes as he fought down the bile. It was a terrible scene to replay in his head, but he knew his sister's spite had no boundaries. He pushed himself away from the wall, away from Toph, not trusting how his stomach was wobbling. The last thing he wanted was to vomit upon his last chance for help. Instead, the Fire Lord stalked over to the balcony's edge and gripped at the railing with strong, calloused hands. Once he steadied his mind from the reeling images that were left burned into his synapses, he finished, "She left Ty Lee, hanging from one of the sakura trees by kunai through her hands and two boulders tied to her ankles. Not dead, but almost, from a few hours worth of torture. Yet, even a few hours seems like months with Azula. Ty Lee was able to tell us what happened to Mai and what Azula had done to her after intensive healing from a few water benders in Ba Sing Se."

For once, Toph was without a retort, a remark, a word. Her green eyes were wide as her imagination painted the bloody picture in her head. Though she didn't know the color of her friend's eyes and hair, nor how Ty Lee even looked now, the Blind Bandit's mind could still conjure some gruesome images. Toph would never know, however, that reality had trumped the horrific images that were dancing around her head. All this information was too much - Azula, Keiji, Mai, Ty Lee - and it made Toph feel like the world was falling back into super chaos. Trying to scrabble onto the pleasant peace that had been in existence for years after the war, Toph tried to thwart what was truly happening, "But, Ty Lee is one of the Kyoshi Warriors! How could Azula get her without Suki knowing?"

Yet, the acrobat had informed Zuko of everything and just as he was about to open his mouth, a voice from the doors of the balcony cut him off, "She, along with two others, had just been sent out to help the Earth King. There were a few rogue Dai Lee that were trying to wrought control from him. Ty Lee was the only one who could disarm them of their abilities long enough to hold them prisoner, until Aang could permanently remove their abilities."

Zuko wheeled around, caught off guard by the voice. Guilt hit him as he looked into Suki's grim countenance, which was only amplified by the fiery light of candles behind her. Toph had jumped, surprised she hadn't felt the vibrations from Suki as the Kyoshi leader crept up on them. The woman warrior took a few more steps onto the balcony, glancing from Zuko, to Toph, and then back to the Fire Lord. Something was simmering in her dark blue-grey eyes as she advanced on the man, who stood like a heavyhearted child with bad news for his mother.

"I'm sorry, Suki, I didn't wa---"

The strike from hand to face resounded and echoed off the balcony, bouncing off alleyways and rooftops in Ba Sing Se like an erratic bird trying to take flight. In a growl, the Kyoshi leader spat out, "Don't you ever keep information involving my warriors, my sisters, from me, Zuko. Ever."

Again, please tell me if something seems off or incorrect, and I'll work on fixing it. :D

Thanks for reading!