Chapter 4: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

In the quarters that had briefly served as Zuko's place of sleep for the few days he had been there, loud agitated grumbling with the occasional noise of furniture being abused could be heard. Inside, two people were searching in vain for something, anything that might mitigate their worries and abate their concerns, both knowing it was futile, but unwilling to accept it as they carried on in their search.

"Where is that idiot?" a fuming Toph asked, kicking a chair over.

"I dunno. I saw him late last night in a tower. He was feeling rather down," Ty Lee explained helpfully, looking under the bed.

"And?" Toph asked accusingly, her eyebrows furrowing into a meaningful glare as she turned to face Ty Lee.

"And what?" Ty Lee asked, dusting herself off as she got up.

"What did you do to him?" Toph took a step forward.

"What do you mean, 'what did I do to him?'" Ty Lee didn't back off, also taking a step forward.

"Well he's gone now, isn't he? And you were the last one who saw him!"

"I was trying to make him feel better!"

"Well maybe you should have tried harder!"

"Like how, Miss know-it-all, harder-than-nails?"

"Like knocking him out before he left!" Toph punched her own palm, for several reasons (to emphasize her point, to show how it's done, and to vent her own frustration).

"I didn't know he was leaving!" Ty Lee insisted, waving her hands around in increasing frustration.

"So much for the heart to heart talk you had!"

"Hey, we were making progress! He was opening up!"

"And what exactly did he open up about, huh?"

"He – he – uh – wanted to thank me for stuff I've helped with," Ty Lee said with a slight nervous edge to her voice, "and he was still feeling kinda guilty and responsible for all of this!"

"Oooh, wow. None of us knew he felt like that before. Yeah right, what did you say to him?"

"Me? What about you? I know you talked to him on the airship."

"So? That was ages ago!"

"Yeah, but he was really unfocused after it!"

"Just what are you insinuating?"

"Insinuating? I have no idea what you're talking about, but I think you might have done something inappropriate with him!"

Toph slapped her own forehead. "That's what I was – oh, nice try! But I won't fall for a cheap trick like that!"

"Trick?"

The two women now stood nose to nose, the eyes of one of them full of renewed energy, staring into blank eyes, which still managed to contain more than enough emotion in them to compete with the more lively ones.

"There's no way what I said could have started all of this, it must have been you! You did something funny, not hahaa-funny but sneaky-funny!" Toph said, her eyes becoming mere slits as a result of her glare.

"Yeah, well…" Ty Lee said, her fists clenching tight painfully, "You're not very funny at all, in any way!"

"Oh shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"What's going on in here?" Katara asked, peeping from behind the door to the room.

The two women who were now clutching each other's clothes, ready to tussle, looked at her in surprise, turned to each other, apparently came a silent conclusion and turned to look at Katara accusingly.

"What did you do to him?!" The pair asked in unison, both releasing each other and then pointing an accusing finger at Katara.

"Who?" Katara asked, stepping inside the room and closing the door behind her.

"Zuko!!" the two women chorused again.

"What are you talking about?"

"He's gone!!"

"What?"

"Gone!!"

"Really?"

"YES!!"

"Surely he wouldn't have…"

"What did you do to him?!"

"Could you two please stop shouting as one? It's bad enough when all the kids do it."

"What did you do to him?!"

"Nothing!"

The three women stood silently, all of them standing apart from each other. Even the united front of both Ty Lee and Toph had crumbled, as they had finally accepted pointlessness of bickering amongst themselves. Nothing was left in the room to help them drive off the guilt each one of them was feeling, for potentially having driven one of their friends away.

After having found out Zuko had disappeared, Katara kept replaying her last conversation with Zuko through her mind, blaming herself for speaking so harshly to him. Toph was also replaying her last moments with Zuko, but she was berating herself for her lack of words to the man. And as no real surprise, even Ty Lee reminisced over her final moments with him, she on the other hand wasn't sure if she had told him too much, or not enough.

All three stood silently, sneaking awkward glances at the others (well, except Toph, who was rocking back and forth on her heels in order to achieve a similar effect). It was only when Katara finally spoke out, remembering why she had come there in the first place that everyone relaxed, slightly.

"Umm, Sokka… he's conscious, and eager to see everyone, so…" Katara mumbled.

"Huh?" both Ty Lee and Toph muttered back, as they raised their heads in surprise.

"Sokka, up, wants to see you," Katara said, rubbing her arm uncertainly.

"Why didn't you say anything before?!" The two asked in perfect irritated synchronization.

"Seriously, stop doing that, it's starting to freak me out."

***

"Hey, what took you so long?" Sokka asked as he got up from his bed. It wasn't an easy process, like one of the elders, he strained with all of his might just to ensure balance on the stable surface of the floor. The cane helped, at least.

He heard Toph and Ty Lee give a collective gasp.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, nothing I can't get over," Sokka tried to say in a reassuring voice as he winced at the exertion of standing. The tightly wrapped bandages around his left leg itched so much, but he'd been told not to scratch if he wanted to walk properly again.

Sokka turned his eyes up to inspect the two women. Ty Lee had her hands in front of her mouth in an expression of shock as her pretty eyes seemed to glisten with tears held back in check.

Toph, on the other hand, kept her head down, her long bangs managing to completely conceal her face. Even so, Sokka could tell she was reacting just as badly as Ty Lee was to his condition. Her fists were held so tightly that they were actually shaking with tension.

"C'mon, it's not so ba-" Sokka meant to say, but was interrupted as Ty Lee rushed forward to embrace him. He dropped his cane as he brought his hands up to guard himself from what was bound to be yet another characteristically painful hug from her (especially painful considering his condition), but the hug never came.

"Huh?" Sokka asked, mystified.

Ty Lee had stopped in midstride as the cane had fallen over, she stared at it intently, before she quickly bent over, picked it up and handed it over to Sokka. "Better not give you a hug, eh? Haven't really been having a good track record with them lately anyway," she joked nervously, rubbing her hands together shyly.

"Nah, it's okay," Sokka said with a gentle smile, "just be careful, okay?"

"Okay," Ty Lee whispered as she cautiously draped her arms around his broad shoulders, careful not to squeeze him in even the slightest way, no matter how much her body told her to do otherwise.

"What about you, Toph? Plenty of me to go around," Sokka asked her, grinning, as Ty Lee let go and backed off hesitantly.

Toph stood still, keeping her head down as she mumbled something inaudible. Her fists opened, her fingers flexing briefly, before they returned into tight fists.

"What was that?" Sokka asked, trying to wobble up to her, but deciding against it as a pain shot through his left leg. Instead he fell back on his bed.

"Nothing…" Toph muttered, "glad to see your okay…"

"Yeah, you too," Sokka replied uneasily.

The three friends remained silent until Katara showed up, all giving her an awkward 'hello'. She gave them all a funny look. Things were starting to get a bit too solemn around here.

"Okay guys, ne need to shape up. People are depending on us. I've been preparing a diplomatic trip to the leaders of the Northern Tribe and the Earth Kingdom for a while now, and I'd like it if you'd all join me," Katara said, continuing her inspection of the three. "Look, just because Zuko's gone, doesn't mean –"

"Zuko's gone?" Sokka asked, reading too much into the statement.

"Uh, yeah, he left us… for some reason. I thought the others already told you," Katara asked, giving the two other women a quick glance.

"No. Just what –"

"We don't know, Sokka. He left, that's all we know, I swear," Katara interrupted Sokka, "But we have more important things to worry about. I'm sure he's fine, anyway."

"If you say so," Sokka said, looking down at his feet. "Yeah, diplomacy, really should have given that a better chance, shouldn't we?" he added timidly.

"Yes, but that's behind us now, we need to focus on the future."

"Sure."

Everyone was quiet for a long while, letting the current situation sink in, until Ty Lee spoke up, remembering something she had heard earlier.

"Uhm, I hate to be the one to say this, but – well, I overheard Zuko and Hefeng talk about it – but Aang… what if he isn't coming back?"

"What?" Katara asked in disbelieving shock at the mere thought.

"What if he's – you know?" Ty Lee asked nervously, her foot twisting around fretfully.

"No, I don't," Katara answered frostily.

"You don't? Really?"

"No."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"And I thought I was dense," Ty Lee said, giving a feeble chuckle.

Katara gave her a reserved glare.

"Sorry," Ty Lee muttered shamefully, head drooping as she back away.

Sokka limped forth, to defend Ty Lee's words. He felt something needed to be decided about a matter he hadn't dared to touch for years, not because he was expecting Katara to lash out at him, but the complete opposite in fact. He really didn't want to hurt her like this, but it was finally time to face facts. "Katara, I think she had a point. We have to explore the possibility that Aang might have died ten years ago… and that maybe there's a new Avatar already in the world."

"No, that can't be. Aang is alive, he has to." Katara said with sombre defiance. She was unwilling to even accept thinking about it, but even so, doubts she had carried for years suddenly started to break free from behind the wall she had built to keep her insecurities hidden from her family."He couldn't just have died… it's not possible."

"Katara… I know it doesn't sound right, but it could have happened. We can't just ignore something like this… If Aang has died, then we need to find the new Avatar and train him or her, it's our duty and responsibility," Sokka said sadly. He really regretted having to do this to his sister.

"No! Aang can't be dead!" Katara whimpered, burying her face behind her hands, hiding the tears she had been unwilling to shed since the day Aang had left. "He can't!"

"I'm sorry, Katara," Sokka said softly as he held his sister close to himself, as if to protect her from the pains of the world.

***

The sun was setting as the four friends got onboard their newly acquired airship. Sokka wobbled forth first, eager to prove to everyone they didn't have to worry about him. He thought they had bigger problems to worry about than him in any case. Katara needed to accept her loss along with everyone else. Toph, was staying at a distance from him wearing a slight frown, he couldn't tell why. And even something seemed off about Ty Lee, he couldn't really tell what. Just how long had he been out?

And where was Zuko? Even though the man was probably alright, Sokka couldn't shake the familiar discomfort he had felt when Aang had disappeared years ago. What if the man wouldn't return either? Was he going to lose another friend? Damn it. He couldn't deal with another friend disappearing, feeling deep down that he should have been there by his side, both Aang's and Zuko's when it had mattered the most. He felt like he'd let them both down.

And know, as he grimaced at the shooting pain in his leg, biting down on his tongue as to not make a sound the girls could hear and worry about, he felt even more useless than he ever had as an awkward teen who couldn't bend amongst a group of masters. What if he couldn't fight anymore? What if he couldn't protect his friends and family?

Damn it, Zuko. The girls need someone to lean on who isn't already leaning on a crutch of his own… I need you too. Who else am I going to go out drinking with? Heh. Ouch, no more funnies, makes my ribs hurt, Sokka thought to himself as he settled in inside the airship's main hold.

A small moan escaped through his clenched teeth as he sat down, causing Toph, unknown to him, to likewise grit her teeth. She wanted to go over to Sokka and apologise for what had happened to him, but for the first time in her life, she was afraid. She couldn't understand it at all. She stood silently in the dark hold, as far away from Sokka as she could, trying to muster the courage she had always possessed before, but for some reason it was gone and not showing any signs of returning.

Ty Lee lounged in the middle of the hold, humming gently to herself, still wondering about Zuko. Had she said too much, too little? She still couldn't decide. And as no answer seemed to be forthcoming, she decided to drown out the nagging doubts with a happy tune she'd heard him sing to himself once, when he had thought he was alone. It had been something about the seasons. She had thought it was beautiful in a sad yet hopeful way. She still did. She hoped, like the shifting seasons of Zuko's tune, things would change, hopefully for the better.

Katara had decided to stay on the deck. There she could wave goodbye to her children, as they disappeared into the distance with the airship's departure. She had promised them she would return. They had argued against it in the quaint way that children always did, but she had made them understand that she had something very important to do. But she would come back. Somehow, it all felt rather hollow. It was all almost exactly what Aang had told her before he had left.

Even though Aang never really left her thoughts, even for a day, today Katara had finally come face to face with what she had tried to deny for years. Maybe it was time to let go…

She remained on the deck until the coldness of the eventual night descended on her. Ty Lee and Toph had each regularly come to fetch her down into the hold, worried about her, but she had quietly reassured them that she was fine and just wanted some time alone.

When Sokka had painstakingly limped up to check on her she finally relented, telling him she'd come down soon. He'd made a joke about being hungry, they'd both chuckled weakly, and then he had slowly wobbled back down, leaving her behind, sensing that she shouldn't be pushed at the moment.

For all of her interactions with the three others on the airship, she had never turned to face them. She had always answered their questions in a polite and curt manner, as to not worry them. When she finally decided to go down and get some sleep with the others, she wiped away the tears she had kept hidden from them throughout their journey.

***

Far away, on the borders of the South Pole, in a modestly sized village, a hooded man walked towards the small harbour, searching for the fastest way out of the country. It didn't take long for him to find a ship operated by a gang of waterbenders, specializing in fast deliveries between the South Pole and the Earth Kingdom. Paying them enough for an exceptionally fast journey to the Earth Kingdom came easily enough as well. For the Water Tribe, money had far less value than in the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom. The Water Tribes lived in places where hunting was the main source for occupation, allowing a man to properly feed his family well enough that way alone. And if he did need tools, weapons or clothing it was just a matter of trading food and furs for what was needed typically.

Zuko could never understand such a simplistic lifestyle. He had lived in palace for most of his life, and even in his exile had had more than enough money to buy more than just the necessities he had required on his hunt for the Avatar. Reducing one's life to the bare necessities like this, like when he had been on the run from the Fire Nation, were the worst things imaginable in his opinion. For starters, how could you get properly brewed tea in such conditions?

In any case, the waterbenders were more than happy to take him along with the other cargo they were taking with them to trade. With the small income they had generated from their transaction with Zuko, they would all get several rounds at a proper Earth Kingdom tavern. Some of them actually offered to buy him a drink or two with the money he had given them, but Zuko respectfully declined. He had work to do, and he didn't know if he had a time limit or not.

Azula was out there, still dangerous. She'd killed a lot of people before, saying it was with his interests at heart. The letter she had left for him hadn't filled him with much hope that she had changed her methods. He was responsible for her. He'd let her out of his sight.

And then there was this damn conspiracy to deal with. Best chance he had, Zuko reckoned, was to head for Ba Sing Se. It was where he had been heading when this whole mess had started. And if he was lucky, he might find Azula there too. She had said she'd gone after the mastermind in her letter, and Ba Sing Se was the only clue he had as to where that person might be.

He settled in between a couple of barrels with crossed arms, troubled by the whole ordeal. But as the ship began moving, with waves rocking it at a gentle rhythm, he felt the familiar calm that only a journey bestowed upon him. He was going somewhere, he had a goal. Even if it wasn't entirely clear what that goal was, at least he had something to chase after. It filled him with a sense of focus and reassurance, allowing him to let go of all the troubles in his head concerning his friends so he could concentrate on the mission.

Ty Lee would bounce back as she always did. Nothing could disturb that bubbly mind of hers for too long. Toph might get angry and punch some things, but she'd get over it. She was like a rock, steadfast and strong. Katara would let go of her anger, she always did. She was such a kind soul, hatred had no place in her heart. And Sokka… he'd live. And with the help of those three women, he'd overcome any sickness or injury, while Zuko would be out there, making sure they would all have the time to heal that they needed.

Together, they would be okay, safe and sound.

Goodbye, guys.

All that was left for Zuko to do was risk his and only his life in the process, as it should have been from the beginning. It had been foolish to include everyone else in his little adventure. Maybe Ty Lee had been right from the start, maybe he had just been looking for a way to relive his glory days, bored with the monotony of the court. Well, he'd gotten what he'd wished for and then some.

Zuko focused on his breathing, allowing the troubled thoughts to drift away with his warm breath into the salty breeze. Soon, nothing but the mission remained. Azula. Conspiracy. Ba Sing Se. He would get to the bottom of it all, saving everyone else from a burden that was his to bear. He would give anything to make sure no one else would have to suffer because of him.

Anything.