Chapter 7
The Wayward Ones
Zuko. Agnia Palace
It was the predawn hours in the Fire Nation's capital city. In the age old palace that housed the Fire Lord and his royal family, a cloaked figure crept through the dark halls. A pair of broadswords were slung along his back, and his scarred face was partially concealed by his draped hood of his robes. He was none other than Fire Lord Zuko, himself.
Zuko slowly crept through the halls, treading lightly and not making a sound to alert the guards and, even worse, his wife. He had a very important mission to accomplish and no one could stand in his way. His mission was to the Dempul Province in the northwestern part of the Earth Kingdom where there existed a group of people banished years ago from the Fire Nation; the Wayward Ones. And it was in his duty as Fire Lord to return them back to their homes.
He came across the secret entrance to a tunnel that lead out of the palace and into the city. The same one his sons and their friends used to escape four years earlier. In fact, Zuko himself had used it several times as boy, usually as a way to escape his father. He had a hunch that everyone in his past bloodline knew of it from their childhoods. Rumor has it, it was created by Avatar Jung when he was a boy and living in the Fire Nation.
But Zuko gave no second thought to the tunnel's origins as he made his way through, making sure the door closed up behind him.
He made his way out of the tunnel and into the city. He looked to the east past the ridges of the volcanic crater that Agnia lied in. The dark orange and purple light of the sun began to peak signaling dawn fast approaching. He scanned the cityscape for any early risers, but as he expected there were none. Although the Fire Nation was made up of hard working, industrialized people who would often be up at the crack of dawn, Agnia was populated mostly by nomarchs, overseers, and other citizens of the upper class. The sun will be well up before they would rise from their slumbers. With that in mind he dashed down the street, exiting the city.
After exiting the upper part of the city, he now found himself at the docks along the shoreline. Numerous ironclads of various sizes were docked along the piers, as was the method of transportation he sought; an airship. One of several in the Fire Nation's air navy, and the one he was planning on stowing away on for his journey to the Dempul Peninsula.
He removed his hood and sized up the airship. Steam was already rising from the smokestacks and the gentle hum of the turbines echoed along the docks in tune with the lapping of the waves against the shore.
He took a deep breath and sighed, "Let's do this."
He didn't even take one step forward without being halted by a sharp, yet monotonous female voice from behind. "Not running away again, are you?"
Zuko froze, instantly recognizing the voice. He turned and saw his wife, Mai, standing behind with a cross look and her arms crossed. The kind of look she usually reserved for their sons.
"I didn't even get a note this time," she antagonized.
Zuko sighed. She had to bring that up. "You can't stop me, Mai."
"There's a million ways a wife can stop her husband from doing something stupid," Mai replied coyly, "even if he is the Fire Lord."
Zuko glanced away, "I have to do this."
Mai relaxed a bit, "I know."
Zuko perked up, "You do?"
Mai nodded, "Zuko, I've known you my whole life. I know that once you have an idea in your head, it's damn hard to beat it out. Especially when it comes to honor and family."
"I feel a 'but' coming on there," Zuko commented.
"But," Mai said, "you are a leader of a nation. You must put your people's needs before your own."
"I am putting their needs first!" Zuko stated.
"Your people need you here!" Mai rebutted, "Not gallivanting off on some wild goose chase for you mother."
Zuko closed his eyes and lowered his head. A look that was usually associated when he was conflicted with an important issue.
Mai softened and closed the gap between her and her husband. She wrapped her arms around him, giving him the warmth and comfort he needed.
"It's been twenty five years, Zuko," Mai said softly, "maybe it's time to let go."
"I can't," Zuko replied defiantly, "I need to know. And so do all the other families out there with loved ones gone. I'm obligated to do this. If not me, then who?"
Mai pulled her head up and stared into his golden eyes, "I won't let you do this."
Zuko froze. Though the determination on his face remained unchanged, he was shocked to see how defiant his wife was. He'd never seen her like this before.
Mai broke the stare down with a soft, reassuring kiss, surprising Zuko who went along with it. Mai parted a few seconds later.
"At least," Mai continued, "without help."
Zuko smiled, a rare sight to anyone, "You mean it?!"
Mai nodded, "No husband of mine's going to stow away on an airship without some back up."
Zuko held her close and gave her a thankful kiss, "Thank you, Mai."
"You better go," Mai said, "the servants will be up in an hour, and I'm 'still asleep'."
Zuko nodded and turned to the airship, giving one last look at his wife before ascending the ramp. "I'll be in the cargo hold. Let me know when we cross over the peninsula."
Mai nodded, "I will."
Zuko got to the top of the airship's ramp and gave one last look to his wife before disappearing into the bowels of the flying machine.
Once she knew he was safely inside, Mai turned and began her long walk back into Agnia.
Aang. Si Wong Desert.
The sun began to rise over the vast, numerous sand dunes of the Si Wong Desert giving them an eerie, yet beautiful orange glow. It would've been a beautiful sight if not for the scar of a crater that was once the great library of Wan Shi Tong.
A blast of air and dust blew a hole from within the crater sending a cloud of debris which frightened away a small pack of foxes which were camped near it. A flash of yellow and orange emerged from the newly formed hole and the figure landed with ease. The bald headed monk that was the Avatar stood strong with pride and determination as he surveyed the desert landscape. He turned down to the hole that lead down to the subterranean library and his face softened. Suddenly he felt remorse for the great spirit he'd just killed and what he did to his library.
Aang dropped his staff and gazed at the palms of his hands. He couldn't believe what he had just done. This recent power, Life-Bending, had been almost completely alien to him save for the last four years. Granted he's killed several Face-Stealers and Azula herself, but even he felt those deaths were justified. But what he'd just done, killing a spirit. There was no justification there; he did it in cold blood. Not only was this new power strange to him, it was also possessing him to do things he would never dream of doing.
He sighed and sat in the sand below. He leaned forward and covered his face, deep in thought. Aang knew he was on a slippery slope. He could not keep doing this. He was the Avatar. He was better than this.
Aang uncovered his face as a gust of wind picked up around him. There was only one person he knew of in the universe who could help him. Only this person had been dead for a millennia. Avatar Jung.
Aang took a deep breath and turned to the east, towards the rising sun. He closed his eyes and settled in a meditative position. Within a few minutes his tattoos and eyes glowed a brilliant white. He had crossed over into the Spirit World.
Zuko. The Airship
Zuko crouched behind a stack of crates in the cargo hold of the airship. They had been flying for nearly four hours and for all those hours he had been hidden in that cargo hold. It kind of reminded him of old times, before he was Fire Lord. In fact, this was vaguely similar to what he did shortly before the Fire Nation's attack on the North Pole all those years ago. In a way he kind of missed those days of adventure. Naturally he didn't miss how he constantly attacked Aang and his friends, but he did miss the over all adventure. Not that he didn't have adventures now, with the current war and all. But this was different. He couldn't explain it. Maybe it had to do with him being the Fire Lord, a husband, and a father now that made him less reckless than before.
Zuko smirked to himself as he reminisced. He highly doubted that now at the age of thirty four and with everything he had, he would risk life and limb sneaking into enemy encampments and swimming through icy tunnels like he did seventeen years ago. He figured it was just him growing up and maturing into the man he was to be known for the rest of time.
There was creak at the door which snapped him out of his thoughts. He tensed as he saw the crack of light from the open door slowly widen. The shadow of someone standing in the doorway alerted him and he instinctively reached for his swords.
"Zuko?" the shadow whispered in Mai's voice.
Zuko sighed and relaxed for it was his wife, his accomplice in this mission. He took a few steps away from the crates and emerged in full view.
Mai shut the door and stepped towards him. "We're about to cross over the Dempul Peninsula."
Zuko nodded, "Good. Does anyone suspect?"
Mai shook her head, "No. Lucky for us the winds forced us to fly over it anyway."
Mai paused and looked at her husband's face with a look of concern. She reached up and cupped his cheek, turning his head towards her. "Did you sleep at all?"
Zuko shook his head, "I couldn't. It's like before a battle."
"But you're not going into battle."
"I know but the anticipation's the same," Zuko said before her turned and grabbed a large bag that housed his parachute for his airborne landing. He slung it over his shoulder and turned to his wife. "Time to go."
They walked to the other side of the cargo hold to the access hatch for the outside. Zuko spun the wheel and released the hatch. With a gust of wind the door opened and revealed the mid morning sun and air. Down below was the brown and green mass that was the Dempul Peninsula.
Zuko stepped out onto the service ramp, still holding onto the door. He gulped out of his fear of heights, though managed to keep it out of sight of Mai who stood behind him.
Mai put her hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn to face each other. They gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like a lifetime before finally pulling into an embrace.
"Be safe," Mai whispered, fighting back tears, "for my sake."
Zuko nodded, "I will. And I'll be back before you know it."
Zuko parted and they looked at each other again.
"I love you," Mai stated for the millionth time in their seventeen year long relationship, but somehow this time the words were more profound.
Mai pulled him in for a kiss neither of them will ever forget; the kiss of a lifetime. Neither wanted it to end, but of course it was Zuko who would end up pulling away after several seconds.
"I love you too, Mai," he whispered before taking a step back to the ramp.
He slung the other strap of his parachute over his shoulder and looked down at the landmass below. He turned for one last look at the love of his life before taking a deep breath and making the jump.
As soon as he disappeared from Mai's sight, she broke down in tears. She was never one to show her emotions, least of all sadness. As much as she wanted to believe he would come back, she couldn't help but feel in the pit of her stomach that this was the last time they would ever see each other.
Zuko fell through the air like a rock. He'd only done a sky jump like this once in his life and even then he felt more panicked than any other time before in his life. He'd have no trouble trekking it through a blizzard in the North Pole, braving the great desert of the Earth Kingdom, or, hell, even a psychotic Azula during Sozin's Comet. But falling through the air at extremely high altitudes was up there with the things that scared the living hell out of him.
As the land of Dempul came closer with every second, he remembered the instructions Jet gave him during his first experience. While he couldn't tell the approximate distance between him and the ground below, he could make out the individual trees of the forest so he figured he was close enough.
He quickly changed his position in the air and pulled on the lever on his pack to release the parachute. The red and gold cloth shot out of the pack and jerked him back as he began to slow his decent. He held on to his pack for dear life as the wind carried him across the tops of the trees. He panicked and reached around for something to slow his descent for he was heading in too fast. Nothing. His eyes widened in fear as a large gust of wind picked up and pushed him towards the trees. He was now barely scaling the tops of the tallest evergreens.
Zuko frantically and uselessly kicked his feet in an attempt to stop it, but the wind had other ideas. Another gust blew and this time slammed him into the trees.
"Oh shit…" he cursed as crashed through the treetops.
He was now below the treetops and the parachute above, which continued to drag him around. Branches and twigs hit him from nearly ever direction as he was pulled through like a rag doll.
He looked forward and saw a particularly large, thick branch rushing forth to collide with him.
Zuko winced and turned his head away.
As soon as he finished his sentence, Zuko felt the wind-knocking pain of the human body colliding with a twelve inch thick oak branch. He gasped and held onto the branch to prevent him from being pulled any further. The parachute, however, had other ideas for it kept trying to yank him away from his branch.
Zuko suddenly remembered his swords and strained his arm back to reach for them. With much struggle, he managed to grab hold of the hilt of one of his broadswords and with one fluid motion, sever the ropes connecting him to the parachute.
The parachute, now released, blew off in the wind. But the sudden release of tension caused Zuko to snap back and fall down to the forest floor below. He screamed as he hit more branches and, eventually, the ground itself. He hit it hard and was immediately knocked unconscious as the leaves and branches from his earlier impacts fell around him.
Aang. The Spirit World.
Aang opened his eyes to see a completely different world than the desert wasteland that was once before him. There was no mistaking the pale, eerie aura of the landscape was none other than the Spirit World.
He gulped and rose to his feet. It's been four years since his previous visit to the Spirit World, and that wasn't the most pleasant experience. And this visit seemed even stranger than his last. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something definitely off about this place. Something elusive, hidden. Something dark.
He shrugged it off as his nerves getting the best of him. He had a mission to accomplish; he had to find Avatar Jung.
So with that, he closed his eyes and concentrated his thoughts on his Avatar Spirit.
"I need to talk to Avatar Jung," he called unto it.
He waited with his eyes closed.
Nothing happened.
Aang opened his eyes to see for himself. He looked to his left, then his right.
Frustrated he shouted to the whole Spirit World, "I'm looking for Avatar Jung!"
He waited and, again, nothing happened. He huffed and did an about face only to come face to face with the 1,000 year old Avatar Jung.
Aang was startled by his appearance and stumbled back, tripping over a root and falling on the ground.
Avatar Jung looked down at Aang. "You wished to speak to me?" he asked in a ghastly voice.
Aang was at a loss for words as he looked horrified at Jung's appearance. Unlike Roku, or any other Avatar's spirit he'd come in contact with, Jung's was the most horrific, grotesque looking of them all. It's as if he embodied the last physical state he was in before he died. His body was charred and blistered as if he endured the most hellish of fires. His hair was missing, as were his eyebrows, and the rest of his face bore scars that would put Zuko's to shame. In addition to that, his body looked ridiculously thin, though from what little he can make out in the black robes the ancient Avatar wore. And his face, pale white. Like a ghost, not a divine spirit.
"You…" Aang stammered, "you're Avatar Jung?"
Avatar Jung nodded and replied in a cool gravely voice, "What do you want?"
Zuko. Dempul Peninsula.
"Where did you find him?" a cool, yet unforgiving voice questioned.
Zuko tilted his head, but it was faint enough not to gain much interest to his captors. He opened his eyes, though, only to find he had been blindfolded.
"About a mile out in the woods," a soft feminine voice replied, "He was unconscious."
"Hmm," the man with the cool voice pondered, "Well he's obviously Fire Nation. But who he is and how he got here is beyond me."
Zuko sighed, he couldn't take much more of this, "Why don't you remove the blindfold and ask me, to find out?"
"He's awake," the man noted, then spoke to the girl, "Close the door. We don't want him seeing out least he be a spy."
Zuko heard footsteps, probably from the girl obeying the man's orders. "I'm not a spy."
Zuko heard the footsteps approach him. "Sure, that's what all spies say."
He felt a tug on his blindfold and within a second, it was off. Zuko looked around and took in his surroundings. He was in some sort of small hut made of sticks, adorned with animal furs as carpet and blankets. It reminded him of the igloos in the Southern Water Tribe, though not nearly as cold.
The only two people in the hut were a young woman his age or a couple years younger, and a middle aged, worn man who would be around his father's age had he been alive today.
Zuko looked down and noticed he was bound to the center support pole jutting from the ground. The knot was good and tight and prevented him from firebending. They must have dealt with firebenders a lot. Maybe they were the Wayward Ones.
"Who are you guys?!" Zuko exclaimed in his usual angry voice, "And why am I tied up?"
"We'll ask the questions, spy," the woman glared at him.
The man smirked, "Dear daughter, he deserved to know who's captured him. After all, he's only going to be killed later on."
Zuko gulped.
The man made eye contact with Zuko, "I am Sokor, leader of the Wayward Ones. And this is my only daughter, Setara."
Zuko's face softened, "You're the Wayward Ones?"
"Very observant," Sokor stated flatly.
"But you're the people I've been looking for," Zuko stated.
"What, the Fire Nation still banishing people to this spot?" Setara antagonized.
"Who are you?!" Sokor spat.
"My name is Fire Lord Zuko. Son of Ozai and Ursa," Zuko confidently stated, "and I come here in peace."
Both looked taken aback by Zuko's proclamation. After a few seconds of silence, it was Sokor that broke the ice. He leaned in closer to Zuko as if looking for something hidden in it.
"Well, well, Setara," Sokor observed, "It appears we are in the presence of my long lost nephew."
Aang. The Spirit World
"Wow," Aang noted at a complete loss for words to say to the spirit, "you look nothing like the other Avatars."
Aang got up so he can stand at eyelevel with him.
"After death the Avatar may choose how he wishes to be portrayed as a spirit," Jung replied.
"So why would you choose to look like a fried mummy of a corpse?" Aang asked, demonstrating his natural, curious nature.
Jung glanced down and sighed, "I have committed many horrible sins in my mortal life. Claimed many innocent lives and nearly destroyed the world in the process. All for, what I thought to be, the greater good. And for that reason I decided to punish myself to look like this so that I, nor anyone who saw me, will forget the horrible things I brought unto the world in my lifetime."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Aang stated, "I have been having horrible dreams coupled with the harsh reality of the world in its current state. I need your wisdom."
Jung was unmoved, "What sort of dreams?"
Aang sighed, "The end of the world."
"Have you not dealt with the possibility of the end of the world, like so many Avatars before you?" Jung asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Yes, but not like this," Aang said, "In my dreams, I see my Avatar Spirit rising in an evil form and wiping out the world in an incredible display of power."
Jung's eyes widened slightly in interest.
"I feel that there may be some kind of… Dark Avatar or something that's going to rise," Aang continued.
Jung shook his head, "There can only be one Avatar."
"Even if, say, one were to come back from the dead?"
"No one can return from the dead," Jung replied, "At least not in a state you'd wish to see."
"Then what is it?!" Aang shouted.
Jung sighed, "Aang, I want you to listen closely. And I want these words to sink in as deeply as possible."
Aang nodded and listened.
"The Dark Avatar is," Jung continued, "you."
Zuko. Dempul Peninsula
"You're my uncle?!" Zuko asked unbelievably, "Wait, so you're my mother's brother?"
Sokor nodded solemnly.
"Great! Then maybe you can help me," Zuko said.
"Help you?!" Sokor spat, "Why should I help you? It was because of your family that we were all banished here."
Zuko looked down, knowing Sokor was right.
"So you're the new Fire Lord, eh?" Sokor stated, sizing him up, "Must've been a sight to see old Ozai croak. Pity I missed it. I hope the Avatar gave him a horrific, painful death."
"Actually the Avatar spared him," Zuko corrected.
"Pity," Sokor stated, disappointed, "But I'm surprised to see you as the Fire Lord, Zuko. I always figured Azula would be the one to take the throne."
"She's dead too," Zuko stated, lowly.
"By the Avatar?"
Zuko sighed, "Yes."
"So with Ozai and Azula out of the way he let you become Fire Lord, the lesser of three evils?" Sokor smirked.
Zuko lifted his head up defiantly, "I became Fire Lord because I joined the Avatar and helped him stop Sozin's War. I started restoring our nation's honor. And I'm still continuing that now."
Sokor raised an eyebrow, and Setara gave him a quizzical look.
"I came here to personally pardon you and the rest of the Wayward Ones and allow you to come back home."
"Home?!" Setara repeated very excitedly.
"Yes," Zuko nodded, "I'm sorry for being so late about it. Years ago when I first took reign I sent an official letter of pardon to welcome you all back. I don't know what came about it, but I'm here now to heal the horrible scars left on the people by my family."
"Very touching, dear nephew," Sokor said, "but why should we trust the son of the man who banished most of us here in the first place?"
"You have been forgiven," Zuko repeated.
"Forgiveness isn't going to get me my twenty five years back!" Sokor shouted, "After we were banished I organized all the Wayward Ones to settle here in hopes that someday the war would end and Ozai's family eradicated, then a new dawn would emerge for the Fire Nation to allow us back home."
"A new dawn has emerged," Zuko said.
"As long as you family's bloodline rules, the Fire Nation will remain unchanged," Sokor coldly stated.
"I'm sorry," Zuko said.
"Hmph," Sokor responded, "'Sorry'. What would you know about being banished anyway?"
"Plenty," Zuko sighed. There was clearly no getting through to this guy. He was stubborn and bitter, though who could blame him? "Fine," Zuko grumbled, "If you and your people are so complacent here, could you honor one request for me?"
Sokor nodded with a grunt.
Zuko sighed, "I wish to see my mother."
Neither Sokor, nor Setara, said anything for several seconds.
"I'm afraid that will be impossible," Sokor answered.
Aang. The Spirit World
"What?!" Aang exclaimed, "How can you say I'm the Dark Avatar?!"
"I can see it plainly written all over your face," Avatar Jung said.
"That's crazy," Aang replied, "Name one evil thing I've done in my lifetime."
"Every Avatar walks that thin line between love and hate," Jung stated, "Some better than others. The Avatar is the sole person in the world who actually possesses the power to do great harm or great good to the world. It all depends on how you use it."
"And everything I've done has been in the name of peace," Aang stated.
"Stealing the soul of Azula was in the name of peace?" Jung questioned, "What about destroying the great library and Wan Shi Tong, all of which predate me by thousands of years? What were those in the name of?"
Aang sighed and looked away. Those two things have been haunting him since the moment he did them. "Azula threatened everything I've been fighting for. She had to be destroyed."
"And Wan Shi Tong?"
Aang closed his eyes. He really didn't have an excuse for that. All he can remember that he was so possessed by his power that he lost control of his inner self. His calm, gentle soul was out the window.
"Exactly," Jung answered for him, "I've gone down the same path once before. And I can tell you right now the end result is not a good one."
"But what must I do to preserve peace and prevent the end of the world?" Aang asked.
"Your journey will be a difficult one," Jung said, "It's not like when you faced Fire Lord Ozai, or even Azula. Here you'll be forced to fight your demons, both inside and out. Darkness and chaos have spread from the Spirit World to the mortals'. And you'll be forced to make the gravest of sacrifices. You're on a slippery slope right now, Aang. The things you want, peace and the survival of all, are not the decisions the Avatar must make. Your duty is to the balance of the world. Peace is unobtainable to mortals, and the end of the world will come if the gods and spirits will it. Know your limits, Aang, and you will not repeat the mistakes I made."
And with that Avatar Jung dissipated with a wisp of smoke into thin air. Aang sighed and sat back down, covering his face with his hands. What was he to do? What could he do?
Zuko. Dempul Peninsula
"What do you mean it's impossible?!" Zuko exclaimed. This guy was really starting to irk him. "I haven't seen my mother in twenty five years and I demand that you bring her here!"
Sokor laughed, "You demand it?! Funny, you don't look like you're in a position to be making demands."
"Do it or I will see to it that this place is erased from the map," Zuko growled.
"So we go from promising forgiveness to threatening to destroy us?" Sokor cocked his head slightly, "Not a good way to win me over."
"Just tell me where she is and I'll be on my way," Zuko pleaded.
"I wish I could," Sokor stated, checking his nails in much the same way Azula did, "but she disappeared long ago."
"What?"
"She didn't agree with how I ran things here, so she ventured deep into the Earth Kingdom," Sokor stated, "Had to have been almost twenty years ago."
"And you have no idea where?" Zuko asked.
"No."
Zuko sighed, realizing how much more difficult his mission was coming. "Then just let me go and I'll leave your people for good."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, your highness," Sokor grinned, "See you being here makes it easier for me exact revenge on the Fire Nation."
"What are you saying?" Zuko asked with a hint of fear in his voice.
"Please, like I'm going to tell you," Sokor rolled his eyes. He walked over to Zuko and tightened up the ropes. When finished, he patted him on the shoulder and rose with a smirk on his face. "Get nice and comfortable, dear nephew. You're going to be here for a while."
And with that Sokor walked out. Setara gave one last compassionate glance at her bound cousin before following her father out of the hut.
Sokor and Setara. Dempul Village
Sokor and Setara walked through the small village that was made up of dozens of other fellow Wayward Ones. The village was comprised of little more than poorly assembled huts made of mud and branches, and tents made loosely from various types of scrap cloth. They appeared to be a nomadic people, though weren't used to the idea of picking up and moving with the change of the seasons.
Setara looked at her father curiously. "Why did you lie to him?" she asked.
Sokor put on a sly smirk, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Setara stepped in front of him, blocking him from walking forward. "Yes you do. You know exactly where Aunt Ursa is."
Sokor sighed, "We can't tell him."
"And why not?"
Sokor brushed past her and continued down his path, "He doesn't deserve this kind of closure. He doesn't deserve to be happy. Not after what his ancestors did."
Setara rushed to catch up with him, "Why should we punish a son for what his father did? The man came here practically begging to have us back."
Sokor chuckled, "Cute, isn't it?"
"He's your nephew!" she exclaimed,
This time it was Sokor who stopped abruptly, "Did it ever occur to you that he will upset the very life I worked so hard to make possible?"
Setara shook her head silently.
"You were too young to understand," Sokor continued, "But I shaped and made this tribe into what it is today. I paid for it with twenty five years of my life."
"So why don't we have a new beginning back home in the Fire Nation?" Setara asked.
Sokor smirked, "We will. But, we'll return home on our own terms."
And with that Sokor turned and walked away, leaving Setara standing there. She was conflicted. At one hand she felt her loyalty to her father and what he did to make their tribe survive through the years. But on the other hand, her curiosity and idealistic nature wanted her to believe her newfound cousin.
She shook her head and headed the opposite way back to their hut. At least there she could sleep on what she wanted to do. Her father was in no hurry to kill his biggest bargaining tool.
Setara. Sokor and hers hut
Setara lied down on her bed, if you can call it that. It really was nothing more than a few dingy wool blankets that were probably older than her and a mattress made up of a thin layer of pine needles. She found herself jealous of Zuko, thinking he probably slept on down feathers and silk sheets his whole life. He wouldn't know anything about sleeping in the dirt for days on in. Spoiled Fire Lord.
But on the other hand, she couldn't help but want to know more about her newest known family member. Her father rarely told her of their history other than their ties with the royal family and Avatar Roku. Zuko was a mystery to her, as was his entire line. Sure, his family seemed to have more bad than good, but he seemed like an almost genuinely good person, despite his hot headed behavior.
Her eyes drifted past the fire and to her father's side of the hut. There by his bed, where at a much simpler time both her parents slept, was the footlocker he treasured more than anything. A mysterious box that was strictly off limits to her as a child, and as she matured she learned to forget about the box's contents. She simply figured they were nothing more than sentimental keepsakes he and her mother kept from the homeland.
Setara blinked as an epiphany hit her. Her father was out fishing with some of the other men of the village and wouldn't be back for at least an hour. She could easily open it and take a peak at what's inside.
With that in mind she rolled off her bed and crept over to the footlocker. Why she crept, she had no idea. No one could hear, let alone care about what she was doing in the hut.
She reached the footlocker and reached her hand over it. She cautiously hesitated, never having been this close to it without reprimand. Her fingers traced the latch. There was no lock on it for locks were hard to come by in their way of life. With a deep breath she flipped open the latch and pried open the lid. She reached inside and pulled out the first thing she saw; an old piece of parchment. Setara gasped as she read its contents.
Zuko. The Hut
Zuko tugged at his ropes in an attempt to loosen them. He had overheard earlier from Sokor that he and some of the men would be out fishing, which gave him the best chance to escape. That is, if he could actually get out.
He struggled again, but the knot refused to budge. Sokor sure knew how to tie a decent knot.
Zuko stopped, out of breath. He inhaled deeply and used his Breath of Fire to try and burn through the ropes. Unfortunately it only singed part of the ropes and burnt his hand.
"Ahh!" Zuko shouted as the flames burnt the skin.
Just then he heard the door open. He looked up and noticed Setara standing in the doorframe.
"What are you doing?" she hissed.
Zuko glared, "None of your business."
Setara took a step forward, letting the cloth door close behind her. She slowly reached into her pocket and pulled something out. Zuko held his breath as he realized his fears to come true. Setara brandished a small knife and held it at the ready.
"Wait!" Zuko panicked as she approached him, "Don't do it. You need me alive, you know it!"
"Quiet!" she hissed.
Setara knelt down to him and Zuko turned his head away and shut his eyes as she lowered the blade. He heard the sound of cutting and then quickly felt the tension on the ropes disappear.
He opened his eyes and held his hands in front of him for the first time in hours. "Wait, what?" he looked up at her confused.
Setara put the knife back in her pocket. She then pulled a rolled piece of parchment from her other one and handed it to Zuko. "Read this."
Zuko stood up and read over the paper.
"Look familiar?" Setara asked.
Zuko glanced over it. The paper was old, but far from ancient. His eyes widened as he recognized his own handwriting, and they grew even wider when he recognized his own red Fire Lord seal stamped at the bottom of the page. "This is the document I sent to you guys sixteen years ago!"
"My father hid it," Setara explained.
"Ok, that explains why you guys never came," Zuko said, "So what do you want me to do about it?"
"Nothing," Setara said, "You did your part, but I plan to expose this letter to the others."
"You seem pretty complacent here," Zuko noted.
"Only because I don't know any better," Setara said, "Trust me, I want to go back to the Fire Nation. I want to live in civilization. I want to be reunited with the rest of our family, but my father has held us here as prisoners for years."
"You're going to do this all by yourself?" Zuko wondered.
Setara shook her head, "No. I'm going to find the one person I know they'll listen to."
"Who?" Zuko asked.
Setara reached into the same pocket and turned out another piece of paper. This one was a map of the northern Earth Kingdom, with a clear route traced from Dempul to clear across to the Northern Granite Mountains north of Ba Sing Se. "What is this?" he asked.
"It's a map to your mother."
Sokor. His Hut
Sokor walked into the hut carrying a caught fish on a string. He looked around the small hut to see his daughter gone. He glanced back outside. Most of the villagers were back in their dwellings for the night and she was not in sight. He frowned and stepped all the way inside.
Once inside he surveyed the inside of their little dwelling. Something seemed off to him. He walked over to his bed and dropped the dead fish on his footlocker. It was then he realized that the latch for it had been flipped up like someone had opened it. Curious, he pulled the fish off and opened it up.
He glared with the anger of a thousand dragons when he saw his most important keepsake, the one thing that kept the status quo, was missing.
"Zuko!" he growled and slammed the lid shut.
Sokor spun around and stormed out of his hut.
Zuko and Setara. The Hut
Zuko looked at her incredulously, "You mean this is the map of where my mother is?!"
"Yes," she answered impatiently, "Now, if you don't mind, I managed to secure two ostrich-horses away from the village, and I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible."
Zuko nodded and stashed the map in his pocket. He quickly gathered up his broadswords and his rucksack, and threw them both over his shoulder.
"Ready?" Setara asked.
Zuko nodded and they started to make their way outside. Suddenly there was a bright orange flash of a fireball that exploded right near the entrance which pushed both of them back.
"What the…" Zuko questioned.
He looked up to see Sokor standing in the charred entrance of the hut. Zuko stood up defiantly. "Out of our way!"
"You are not leaving this hut!" Sokor stated defiantly, "Release my daughter, and I promise not to kill you as slowly."
Setara stood up, "I am nobody's prisoner."
"Don't tell me you're throwing in your lot with him," Sokor scoffed, "Remember what he did to your family!"
"I do," Setara said, "But I now realize that our family is not as pure as you make it."
"What are you talking about?" Sokor raised an eyebrow.
Setara took out the parchment Zuko sent years ago and held it up. "Does this look familiar to you!"
"Give the map back, sweetheart," he feigned a smile, trying to win her over.
"No!" Setara shoved the paper back in her pocket, "I'm taking this to Ursa. She's the only other person, besides you, who the people will actually listen to."
"You will do no such thing, I forbid it," Sokor growled, "Now, I command you to give me that paper!"
"I am not listening to you anymore," Setara stated. And with that, she jumped forward and unleashed a powerful stream of fire from her hands.
Sokor was quick to react, but completely blindsided by her attack. He was only able to create a small fire shield to absorb most of the impact, but was blown back several feet.
Zuko, with his mouth agape, looked at her, impressed.
"Come on!" Setara shouted at Zuko and she bolted out the entrance.
Zuko blinked then snapped back into reality. He dashed out of the hut and ran after her.
Both took off through the village as fast as they could. The blow Setara delivered to her father was only able to knock him out for so long.
"Wait up!" Zuko called out after her. Damn her and her young age. He was definitely getting old if he could barely keep up with a girl in her early twenties.
Back in the village, a crowd grew around the pile of smoldering embers that buried Sokor. A few seconds later a furious, deranged Sokor incinerated the wood pile over him and leaped out. Without a second thought, he charged in the direction of the two escapees.
"Come on," Setara shouted to Zuko who was falling behind. "We're almost there."
She pushed through the brush and into a clearing. There stood two ostrich-horses grazing in the in the meadow. She heard some crunching of leaves and twigs and turned to see Zuko come up behind her.
"We better get moving," he stated, out of breath, "Could've sworn I heard ol' Uncle Sokor coming after us."
Setara nodded, "Let's go."
She dashed forward to the ostrich-horses, while Zuko stopped to catch his breath.
"What's taking you so long?" Setara called back, "You getting old or something?"
"I am not old!" Zuko shouted back at her. He took a deep breath to calm his breathing and took off after her.
Setara hopped aboard the first ostrich-horse followed by Zuko on the second.
"Yip, yip," Zuko shouted to his, however the ostrich-horse did not respond.
Setara turned to him with a raised eyebrow, "'Yip, yip'?"
Zuko shrugged, "Too many dealings with a sky bison."
Setara shook her head, clearly missing the source of the inside joke.
Behind them a blast of fire scorched a hole through the brush and Sokor jumped into the clearing. He held his fists at the ready. "Get off that thing now!"
Setara and Zuko turned and glared at Sokor.
"Not happening," Zuko stated.
Zuko and Setara both kicked the sides of their ostrich-horses. The animals bolted off at quick speeds out of the clearing.
Sokor let out a scream of frustration and fired one, last wild fireball at them, clearly missing and setting a nearby bush on fire. Having clearly lost the battle, he glared off in their direction as the forest burned around him. He slowly reached in hi pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. A map identical to the one Setara stole. The chase had only just begun.
Aang. The Spirit World
Aang sat on the stone pentagon from which he entered. He had been contemplating his next course of action for hours now.
Although Avatar Jung had sound advice, it wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to save everyone on the planet and give everlasting peace to the world. He was tired of war, tired of loss. He wanted it all to end, but how?
Aang heard the words echoed by Koh four years ago, "Life-bending. An ancient, and powerful form of bending… The power of a god in your hands."
Could Koh really be the answer he's been searching for?
Aang shook his head. It couldn't be. Koh was one of the most vile things about the universe. One Spirit he wouldn't mind destroying. But then he thought back to what Roku said a few days ago. Something about seeking out the knowledge of Koh to prevent the end of the world.
Aang sighed. Was that the only answer? He knew full well what happened to Jung and his dealings with Koh. And Aang definitely didn't want to turn into a monster.
But Jung's advice didn't sit well with him. Stand by and watch the world rip itself apart. What kind of Avatar advice was that? Aang knew his duty was solely to the world and he promised himself a long time ago he would do whatever was necessary to save it.
Aang rose to his feet. He now knew what he had to do.
He will seek out Koh.
Aang turned and walked in the direction of the mangrove forest where Koh dwelled. Hopefully there he would find his destiny.
Aang's body. Si Wong Desert.
Aang's body sat motionless in the darkness of the desert. His skin burnt from being in the constant sun all day.
Behind him a duo of sand-benders hopped off their sand boat and looked down into the crater.
"Hello?!" one of them called out to Aang.
No response.
"Come on," the first sand-bender said to the other and they ran down into the crater.
They reached Aang who still appeared unmoved. The sand-benders were amazed at his glowing tattoos and eyes as he sat there in the dirt.
"What is it?" the second sand-bender asked, nervously.
The first sand-bender rubbed his bearded chin. "I know who he is. We had a run in with someone who glowed like this nearly seventeen years ago."
The second one shrugged.
"The Avatar," the first sand-bender stated.
"By the gods…" the second one muttered.
They both looked to the east. The early traces of dawn were approaching.
"Grab him," the first one ordered, "The sun will be up soon. We'll take him back to the village."
They grabbed both ends of him and hoisted him back up to the sand boat. Once loaded up, the first one looked back and earthbended the ground underneath Aang's glider and shot it back to the sand boat. As soon as he caught it and stowed it safely on board, they kicked up the sand and took off to the sand-bender's village.
A/N: Ok folks, I'm back. Not the best chapter I've written and I hate chapters with lots of exposition, but the story needed it. And sorry, no RoKya, ShaoZek, Kataang, MaiKo, or Jian-Tom. But, rest assured you'll see some more of at least three of those ships in the next chapter. So. . . yeah. R&R and I'll try and keep consistent about posting. No promises, though. College apps are up and I'm trying to transfer to film school. But I promise to finish this story by the time The Last Airbender is released.
Peace, my friends.