Chapter VII

Zuko rushed in, swords raised. Jack came in alongside him, his fists glowing white, but they came to a crashing halt. There was nothing. Zuko looked around the cave, but it was just a little nook, nothing much. The sound of water dripping echoed from the back of the cave, a musty scent wafting in the air. He shot a couple of fireballs towards the back but all they did was hit the wall, illuminating the tiny little cave for a moment then dispersing to the ground. It made no sense. Where in the world had Joshua gotten to? He had gone in this cave, right?

"Where is he?" Said Zuko. He turned to Jack, who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Is he hiding in the ground or something?" Asked Zuko, his confusion lending to his anger. Once again Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"Stop doing that!" Yelled Zuko. Jack went to shrug his shoulders again, but then he noticed the glower on Zuko's face and thought better of it. Zuko turned back to the cave.

"Do you think it's possible that he went up the mountain while we were hiding underneath your little earth shield?" Jack went up to the cavern wall, running his hands along the rough stone. It was cold to the touch.

"Well, I guess it's not impossible, but it would have been extremely difficult; we were only underneath it for a second or so, I don't know if he would have had time to go uphill without being spotted." Zuko looked behind them, half expecting to see Joshua standing there laughing at them for thinking he was in the cave, but there was no one there, just empty space. He turned back around to Jack.

"Do the one thing with your feet." He said. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"What one thing with my feet?"

"You know, the thing were you can see with them. Like Toph." Jack laughed.

"Zuko, I'm a natural firebender, I don't know how to use earth sight."

"But you're good at Earthbending!"

"Ya, but not that good. I would need a lot more training and patience to learn to actually listen to the earth. I'm more of a mover than listener." Finished Jack, still running his hand along the face of the rock. Zuko groaned.

"Why did I pick you to come along with me again?" He said, slumping back onto the caverns wall. Jack started to tap the wall with a rock.

"Because you love my shining personality?" Said Jack. Zuko groaned again.

"I had to pick thee smart-ass." He said. Jack laughed.

"Hey, we grew up together, what did you expect?" Zuko shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, maybe a bit more concern or something like that. It's only my sister that's been captured you know!" Said Zuko, spinning the blades in his hands. Jack kept on tapping, his ear pressed up against the wall.

"Ya, I know. Believe me, I want to get her back to, but I figure that right now the best thing we can do is to relax and keep our heads cool. We can't be going at Joshua with emotions raging, he knows us too well, he'd just play it." Zuko sighed, pinching his nose.

"I know, I know. I'm just worried about Azula." He said, leaning back up against the wall. A chill spread up his spine as the cool rock sapped the heat from his body. It pricked at his back, the rough texture jutting out into his lower spine. He did not move; he let the pain take away some of his energy.

"So am I, but the best way to help out your sister right now is to keep calm and cool. We can figure this out." Said Jack. Zuko nodded his head. Ya, calm and cool, he could do that.

"When we deal with Joshua you are going to do some training with Toph. You are going to learn to see with your feet and bend metal." Said Zuko. Jack set the rock down with a little clatter, turning around to look at Zuko.

"What?" He said.

"You're going to train with Toph and sharpen your Earthbending skills. I can't have an amateur as my head bodyguard." Said Zuko. He had been meaning to tell him, but he figured now was as good a time as any. A smile spread across Jack's face.

"Is that so? And what if I don't want the job?" Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"If you don't want it I'm sure that I can find someone else." Jack shook his head.

"Don't worry, I'll take it. I just can't say how safe you're really going to be with me as your head bodyguard. I can't even find the guy that kidnapped your sister." He said, turning back to the wall.

Zuko sighed, leaning his head back up against the wall of the cavern.

"Tell me about it." He let his hands drop down next to the wall, the hilt of his blades knocking against the stone. An echo ran out behind him. Jack froze, turning to him.

"What was that?" Asked Jack. Zuko turned around, pressing his ear up against the wall and knocking against it with his hilt again. The knock echoed back behind the stone. There was something behind the wall.

"Watch out." Said Jack. Zuko stepped back, watching as Jack grabbed up then pulled down, pulling the wall to the floor like a curtain. A dark expanse lay behind the wall, moving down and to the left. Zuko poked his head in, throwing a fireball down the tunnel. It hit the wall down at the end at an angle, lighting the whole passage for a moment. It was empty, but there were some markings along the wall. Scorch markings.

"Azula." Breathed Zuko. Jack looked at the scorch marks.

"Yup, I would recognize those anywhere. It looks like they took a little detour into the earth." Said Jack. Zuko nodded his head.

"Shall we go in?" Asked Zuko, putting his swords back and creating a ball of fire in his palm. Jack smiled, creating a ball of white flame in his hand.

"Ladies first." Said Jack.

"Age before beauty." Retorted Zuko. They both smiled. Jack was just stepping in the tunnel when the sound of feet at the cavern entrance made them turn, both of them shooting a blast of fire. The figure at the entrance fell to the ground with a cry, plastering himself just below the inferno.

"It's me! It's me!" Yelled Aang. Zuko looked at Jack, a slight grin on his face.

"Sorry Aang, we thought that you were Joshua." Said Jack, walking over and hulling the airbender up off the ground. Aang brushed himself off, looking at them.

"Ya, we heard all the racket and came over to investigate. We figured that you had found him." Said Aang. Zuko nodded his head.

"Joshua and Azula are down this passage." Said Zuko, pointing back to the tunnel. "Jack and I are going to see where it leads." Aang looked at the tunnel behind them.

"That's not creepy or ominous at all." Said Aang. Zuko shrugged his shoulders.

"That's where my sister is, so that's where we're going. I want you to go back over to the northern side of the mountain and find Toph and Sokka, bring them over here. Have them come in the cavern after us, we're probably going to need Toph's sight." Said Zuko. Aang nodded his head.

"Alright, what do you want Katara and I to do after that?" Asked Aang.

"Go out and find Mai and Ty-Lee, they're along the beach. Take them back to the palace. After that you and Katara get back on up and circle the area. Wait for our signal, then come in and help us."

"What's the signal?" Asked Aang. Zuko and Jack looked at each other.

"Aang, we're two firebenders. What do you think the signal is going to be?" Aang sat still for a moment, thinking about it, then it hit him.

"Ohh, okay, that makes sense. Alright then, we'll get right on it!" Said Aang, hopping back out of the cave. Jack turned to Zuko, an amused smile on his face.

"That kid cracks me up." Said Jack, walking over to the tunnel.

"He's really something." Replied Zuko, stepping in behind Jack.

The two made their way into the tunnel, lighting their way with fire. The walls were damp and cold, a musty smell lingering on the walls, as if the tunnel had been lingering for a long time. The air was stale, like that of a mine shaft. Drops of water echoed down the tunnel, reverberating across the stone walls and pass them, continuing on and increasing in noise with every moment.

"I don't think that Joshua made this tunnel." Said Jack, following the path to the left. Zuko kept behind him, glancing ahead.

"What makes you say that?" He asked, slightly out of breath. Jack paused for a moment, listening down the tunnel.

"Well, first off, I don't think Joshua knows how to form arches like this." Said Jack, pointing to the roof. Zuko looked up, noticing the entire tunnel was one long arch, thus removing the need for support pillars as the stone literally pressed against itself and maintained its own weight.

"His Earthbending is too sloppy for that." Continued Jack. Zuko nodded his head.

"Ya, he was always pretty good at fire and air."

"The sneaking death." Replied Jack. Zuko smiled at the memory, the smile quickly vanishing as he realized that the name had become an all too true representation of his old friend.

"What did you see at the prison?" Asked Zuko. Jack sighed, continuing down the dark passage.

"Bodies everywhere. Some of them looked as if they had exploded from the inside out. Severed heads and limbs, crushed bodies, it was horrifying. I couldn't believe that Josh had done it." Said Jack, his voice shaking slightly. Zuko shook his head.

"Well, I guess it's not that big of a surprise, considering what Azula did to him." He said. "To both of you." He added.

"Ya, well, it still doesn't make what he did right. Or, for that matter, what I did." Zuko nodded his head. They had talked about it.

The two continued down the passage, following it as it slowly ran deeper and deeper, heading back the way they came. Zuko felt as if they were walking into the heart of the earth, being swallowed up by the stone around them with every step. Something inside of him wanted to go back, to leave this frigid tomb, but he persevered; he had to find his sister.

As they moved on the air became thinner and thinner. A burn was developing in his lungs as his body began to crave oxygen. Eventually they both stopped, taking a second to get a breath.

"Let's kill the flames a sec, okay? It's sucking up all the air in here." Said Zuko, his breath ragged. Jack merely nodded his head, sweat dripping down his face even with the frigid air around them. Both of their flames went out, the air almost instantly becoming a little fresher.

Zuko began to shiver as the warmth from their flames disappeared. Without heat it was actually really cold in the tunnel. Zuko gritted his teeth; he hated the cold.

The two sat there, waiting until their breath became regular once more. Zuko tapped Jack on the shoulder, or at least, he thought it was his shoulder.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"Ya, but how about this time I light the flame. That way we can save more of the air." Zuko thought of it for a moment.

"Sure, your flame's brighter anyways." Replied Zuko.

"Okay, here we go." Said Jack, a white flame leaping to life in his hands. The two continued down the passage, looking from side to side and tapping on the walls occasionally to make sure that they missed no side passages, but there was nothing. After roughly half an hour or so of travel in the same direction the ground leveled out, and even started to climb again, which was a little reassuring; at least they were heading up and out of this tunnel, or at least they were heading up. However, there was still no sign of Joshua or Azula. Zuko sighed.

"You know, Joshua might not even be down this way. This could have just been a convenient find."

"What about the scorch marks?" Asked Jack. Zuko shrugged his shoulders.

"Josh could have planted them there." He said. Jack wiped his nose.

"Alright, say that he did plant them there. Then why the heck would he lure us into the cave in the first place? He could have just hidden in here and followed it to wherever it led." Said Jack.

"Well, we could just be walking straight into a trap." Replied Zuko. Jack sighed.

"Ya, I guess you're right. Still, I don't see where this is going."

"You'd have to light the path that way then." Said Zuko, pointing past them and adding a bit of humor to their situation. Jack chuckled, amused.

"Not bad, not bad." Said Jack, turning back around. Zuko started to follow, pausing a moment later as Jack froze. There were voices up ahead. Namely, there were two yelling voices up ahead.

"You are a fricking prisoner, start acting like one!"

"You're so tough when I'm all bound up, let's see how you do with my hands free, you won't be giving orders then!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Why in the world can't you listen!? Don't you understand that I could stick you right now!?"

"You don't have the guts to stick me!" Jack looked back at Zuko, mouthing their names. Zuko nodded his head. He needed nothing more than to hear their voices to tell who it was. The two began to sneak forward, listening to the screams as they became louder and louder.

"What in the world was your plan anyways? To kidnap me and bring me down here and try to torture me? Really, that was it? Did you really not expect my brother to come after me? He still cares about me you know."

"Ya, well, that makes one of you." There was a moment of silence after that, Azula's voice coming back softer after that.

"I care about my brother." She said. Zuko felt something pull at his heartstrings. The pain that sat in her voice made him truly believe that she cared for him, at least a little. Though it could just be a ploy to make Joshua drop his guard, or become distracted. Joshua's laugh came back cold.

"Sure you do, as far as you can use him to advance your own agenda!" Another laugh followed Joshua's statement.

"Azula, you're too easy to read. You're cold, calculating, detached. The only thing that holds merit for you is the use that you can get out of something. When it's all used up it's time to throw it out and find a new one. That is what you do with your servants, your friends, and your family. They are all merely pawns." Zuko felt a knot develop in his throat. There was truth to his words.

"Everything you do is a plot, a twist, a scheme. There is not a single action that you take that is not staged or thought of. I doubt you've ever done anything in your life that was off of a whim." Zuko could sense Jack's body tense as he took in Joshua's words. It was true, all of it. They both saw Azula like that; cold, calculating, always trying to find her next advantage. It was what made it so hard to get close to her, so hard to love her. Even as her brother Zuko found it difficult to believe anything she said, always thinking that she was trying to get at an angle. The worst part about it was that she always was!

"I've changed." Said Azula simply. That elicited a long, hard, laugh from Joshua. Zuko could feel his own throat tightened as he realized he did not believe her either. No matter how hard he tried, he was with Joshua on this, she could not be trusted.

"You've changed? Really, you, have changed?! Are you kidding me! That has to be the funniest thing that I've ever heard! Do you really think that someone like you could ever change?"

"Jack did." Replied Azula tacitly. Joshua huffed.

"Ya, well, that boy ain't right in the head. Must've gotten knocked upside the noggin one too many times and now can't think straight. Probably your fault as well, poor kid"

"Or he's actually changed and doesn't want revenge. Is that so hard to believe? We used to have a pretty good life together, all he wants to do is rebuild that." Said Azula. Zuko peered ahead to Jack, who was still walking forward, slowly. What had he been doing in his visits to Azula? Zuko shook his head. That was not important right now. Right now they needed to get his sister back form that lunatic.

Jack froze, turning back to him.

"Zuko." He whispered.

"What?" Asked Zuko, ready to hear his plan. Jack breathed in, spending a moment in thought.

"I'm sorry for swearing at you." Said Jack. Zuko blinked. Wait, this was an apology? What, now!? Couldn't he have picked a better time? Well, he was apologizing, he might as well accept it, as misplaced as it might be.

"Uhmm… okay. I'm sorry for swearing at you to, and for accusing you of being with Joshua." He said. Jack nodded his head.

"Right then, now that we got that out of the way how about we get to this?" Zuko shook his head. He would never understand what was going through that kid's head.


Aang sat on top of Appa, flying through the air with Katara beside him. They had already found Mai and Ty-Lee wondering around at the beach. Ty-Lee had been accumulating a large collection of shells that she was storing in Mai's pack, while Mai actually searched for Joshua. They had not come across anything, except for sand and a constant mist that made them shiver. By the time that Aang had shown up they were thoroughly soaked and ready to get back to the palace to dry off.

After dropping them off at the palace, Aang and Katara had gone off in search of Sokka and Toph. He realized that he had done what Zuko had asked in reverse order, but the beach was right there, so he had just figured to go and grab the girls first.

After a few minutes of scanning the mountainside they had come across the path that the two had taken, or at least, it was the path that they thought the pair had taken, as it was the only path around. However, Sokka and Toph were nowhere to be seen. They flew up and down the mountain looking for those two, but they did not see anything that lead them to believe that those two were in the area. They only had the path. Eventually Aang decided to go down on foot and investigate while Katara kept flying a search pattern with Appa.

"Be careful!" Called Katara as she soared up into the sky with the bison.

"You too!" Called Aang, watching until Appa and Katara were mere specks in the distance. He was at the base of the mountain where Toph and Sokka had started, or at least that was what he assumed. He believed they had followed the broken path, but that was only because there were some light mud prints from where Sokka's boots must have walked. That, and the fact that this was the only path on the north side of the mountain made it a pretty safe bet that they went up this way, unless Sokka had decided to go rugged and hike up over the boulders. Which, as Aang thought about it, became a more and more likely possibility.

Aside from Sokka's footprints, however, it was bare, the hard rock taking no impressions, not even of Toph's feet. Aang sighed. He was going to have to just climb.

Taking off at a jog, Aang hopped up the mountain, enjoying the crisp chill mountain air. It felt like a light frost kissing his face, lifting away his worries. The sensation reminded him a lot of the air temple he had grown up at.

After twenty minutes or so of jogging and reminiscing, he realized that there was no way he was going to get Toph and Sokka over to the tunnel on time. He was just going to have to hope that Zuko and Jack could take Joshua on their own. It seemed plausible.

Aang continued up the side of the mountain, coming at a stop some distance up. He looked at the ground, noticing a clear trail of destruction that had blended in with the rest of the jagged slope. It looked as if Toph had decided to use some Earthbending to speed up their ascent.

Pulling out his bison whistle he gave it a blow, waiting a minute or so until Appa appeared again in the sky. He shot up a pillar of flame to make sure that Katara knew where to go and then sat back and watched them. She flew in, coming in to a stop amongst the rubble.

"Wow, how did we miss this?" She said, sliding down off of Appa.

"The terrain made it blend in. It just looked like the rest of the rocks from up high." Said Aang, walking over to her. Katara looked around.

"I notice that Sokka and Toph still aren't to be seen." She said. Aang nodded his head.

"Yup. I figure that they might have made it all the way to the top and over. Who knows, they might have just kept going on their earth-sled. They might be on the other side of the island by now." Katara sighed.

"That would be just our luck. We know where that lunatic is but my brother is off on the complete opposite side of the island." She said. Aang laughed.

"Sokka does have a tendency to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." He said. Katara smiled.

"Tell me about it."

"Go ahead and take Appa and fly low, staying close to the path. See if you can't find the end of it." Said Aang. Katara nodded his head.

"Alright. If it goes on past the peak I'll come back down and get you." She said.

"Sounds like a plan." He replied, starting off at a jog. Katara climbed back on Appa, flying past Aang a moment later.

Aang kept moving along the path of debris, looking around for any sign of Sokka and Toph, but there was none, just shattered rocks. Wherever those two had gotten off to it probably was not anywhere close to here. After moving up the mountain for a few minutes Katara came back, picking him up. The trial had stopped at the peak, where a piece of earth that did not belong rested. Aang climbed aboard and they took off, landing at the end of the trail.

The two disembarked and began to comb the area, trying to find any sign of their missing friends. Aang came across some shattered rocks. There was also some volcanic glass, covered in blood, shooting up out of the ground. He called Katara over.

"Look at this." Said Aang, kneeling down next to the volcanic glass. Katara bent down and looked at it, touching the blood.

"It's still fresh." She said, rubbing it between her fingers. Panic shot through Aang.

"They've been attacked!" He exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He looked about, expecting to see their disfigured corpses. Katara laughed.

"Aang, I think there's an easier explanation." She said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Aang turned back to her, perplexed.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, considering the fact that they were surrounded by rocks, and Toph would have been able to notice anyone approaching for miles, I think it's safe to say that they weren't attacked. I think the more plausible explanation is that when they got up here Toph hopped down from her sled and didn't bother looking where she was going and landed on the volcanic glass. Then she blew up in a fit of rage and threw some rocks around." Said Katara. Aang thought about it for a moment. It made sense. Toph did have a short temper. It just seemed a little forced.

"You sure?" Asked Aang. Katara nodded her head.

"Ya, pretty sure." She said. Aang turned around, looking about.

"Where are they then?" He asked. Katara shrugged her shoulders.

"They're probably back at the palace by now. That's why we couldn't find the komodo-rhino." Said Katara. Aang nodded his head.

"Ohh, ya, that makes sense." He said. Katara smiled.

"Of course it makes sense, I came up with it." She said, turning around and walking back over to Appa. Aang stayed for a moment more, looking around. Katara's explanation was sound, but there was still something eating at him. Something just did not fit in with this picture, he just could not put his finger on it. Eventually Katara called out to him.

"You coming sometime today?" She yelled. Aang took one last look around, then turned and went back, hopping on Appa alongside Katara.

"We'll go back and check the palace first to make sure that they made it alright, then we'll round up my brother and head back to the tunnel." Aang nodded his head, looking down as they flew up and away. He scanned the ground for any sign of movement, anything that did not fit with Katara's story, but he could not find anything, so he merely turned back to the reins, guiding Appa towards the palace.

Aang landed in the courtyard right outside the main doors. Hopping down off of Appa he told the shaggy beast to wait for him, receiving a grumbly growl for a response. They were just going to rush in, check up on Toph, grab Sokka, and make their way back over to Zuko and Jack.

However, when they went inside, they could not find Sokka or Toph. They searched high and low throughout the palace looking for the pair but there was no sign of them anywhere. Eventually Aang stumbled across Mai and Ty-Lee, the two pacing about in the library. They looked up at him when he entered the room.

"Did you get him?" Asked Mai. Aang shook his head.

"We can't find him." He replied.

"I thought you said he was down the tunnel?" Said Ty-Lee, a confused look on her face.

"No, I never said he was down any tunnel." Replied Aang, wondering as to what tunnel they could have possible be referring to. There were not any tunnels where Sokka had been, were there?

"Are there any tunnels on the northern side of the mountain?" Asked Aang. At this point Mai looked confused as well.

"I thought that you said that it was over on the southern side where Zuko was searching?" She asked. Aang froze.

"Wait, what are we talking about here?" He asked, completely lost in the conversation.

"Joshua, in the tunnel, on the southern side of the mountain. You said earlier when you were dropping us off here that Zuko had found a tunnel in a cave where Joshua had disappeared to and that they were going in after him. Now you're acting as if you've never heard of such a thing." Aang's face turned red.

"Ohh, ya, right. No, I thought that you were talking about Sokka." He said.

"Why would we have been talking about Sokka?" Asked Ty-Lee. Mai ran a gloved hand over her face.

"No, I was not talking about Sokka Aang. I was talking about that lunatic that's running amuck at the moment." She said. Aang laughed nervously.

"Ya, I knew that. Well, uhm, I don't know whether or not they've found him, I haven't been back over on that side of the mountain yet." He said. Mai groaned.

"Then why are you back here? Did you expect us to be toasting a victory already? Joshua may be crazy, but he's dangerous, it won't be that easy to take him down."

"No, I know that. I'm just looking for Toph and Sokka, we thought that they had come back here." Said Aang. Mai shook her head.

"You are the only person we've seen since you've dropped us off." Said Mai.

"Well technically he's the second person we saw. Because, you know, we saw him before. Ohh, wait, does that make him the first?" Asked Ty-Lee, confusing herself. Mai and Aang both stared at Ty-Lee for a moment, confused by even her train of thought. Ty-Lee turned red as she realized the absurdity of her own statement.

"Anyways." Said Mai, turning back to Aang. "You said that you can't find them?" She asked. Aang nodded his head.

"Ya, they're missing. All we found on the northern slope was a pile of rocks and volcanic glass with blood on it, we couldn't find them."

"Where did you find the volcanic glass, at the bottom or top of the mountain?" Asked Mai, her countenance gaining an even sterner air than usual.

"Or in the middle?" Asked Ty-Lee, not entirely sure what the pertinence of the question was but trying to help out. Aang was confused.

"Right at the top, at the peak." Said Aang. Mai's face grew grave.

"But I thought that the volcanic glass sat towards the bottom of the mountain. I don't remember finding any at the peak?" Said Ty-Lee, looking back at Mai. Aang felt something jump in his chest.

"What are you saying?" He asked.

"The volcanic glass doesn't occur naturally up at the peak, which means somebody had to make it from the earth around them and bring it up out of the ground." Said Mai.

"That means that it wasn't an accident, they were attacked." Said Aang, connecting the dots. His stomach started churning. Mai nodded her head.

"But, their komodo-rhino was missing. There's no way that Joshua could have made it down the mountain, hide the komodo-rhino, and get over to the other side to attack Zuko and Jack. There just was not enough time" Said Aang.

"If it wasn't tied up then it probably wondered off. Komodo-rhinos are fairly stupid." Said Ty-Lee. Mai nodded her head, giving her agreement.

"It's not too far-fetched to think that the beast just wondered off, thus making you think that they must have come back to the palace." Aang ran a hand over his bald head.

"This is not good." He said, the anxiety rising up in his chest. He could feel it crawl around inside, eating away at his nerve like some infectious disease. Soon his lungs would seize up and he would begin to panic, then he would be a withering mass of flesh on the ground.

Aang smacked himself, shaking the feeling off. He needed to get a grip! His friends were in danger, he could not afford to have a personal breakdown at the moment!

Mai and Ty-Lee looked at him with concern on their faces, obviously perplexed by his odd behavior.

"Everything okay?' Asked Mai. Aang looked back up at them, realizing that they had been watching him the whole time.

"Sorry, I'm just kinda stressed out at the moment." He said, leaving the room. He nearly ran into Katara as he left, stopping just short of her as she rounded the corner.

"I can't find those two anywhere! I' beginning to think they aren't in the palace at all." Said Katara, throwing her hands up.

"It was a setup." Said Aang, walking towards the front doors. Katara stood stunned for a moment, a confused look on her face.

"What?" She said, running to catch up with Aang. Aang explained what Mai and Ty-Lee had told him while they mounted Appa, grabbing the reins and taking off immediately.

"How can you be sure it was a setup?" Asked Katara, still not fully convinced with Aang's theory.

"When have you ever known Toph to step on something she didn't want to when surrounded by rock? She's never done it before, and I don't think she's starting now." Katara was still not convinced.

"But with all that's happened, surely don't you think she could have been distracted by her grief or something? It doesn't necessarily have to be a setup." Aang shook his head.

"I think she was distracted; that's why Joshua was able to get her in the first place." Katara shook her head.

"I just can't believe it; I don't want to believe it. Toph and Sokka would never let themselves get caught!" Aang could hear the trembling in her voice as she began to grapple with the possibility that her brother had been abducted by a lunatic.

"Look Katara, I know that you don't want it to be true as much as I do. If it was Joshua then there's no telling what could have happened to them. They could both be dead right now, or worse, so we at least need to consider the possibility." He turned to look at Katara, seeing the tears trailing down her face.

"I can't lose him." She said. Aang could feel the pain in her voice as she spoke, the fear of lost that was haunting her. He felt it too, it was like a weight inside of him, growing with every passing moment.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers between her chilled flesh. He gave her a reassuring squeeze, turning back to the mountain. They had to find them.


Zuko walked crouched behind Jack, hugging the wall. They moved forward slowly, taking their time as they approached. Azula and Joshua were still yelling at each other, currently exchanging insults. The screams came from right around the corner, their yells growing louder and louder with each step. Jack leaned up against the corner, taking in a deep breath. Zuko placed a hand on his shoulder, letting him know that he was ready to move. He took in a deep breath. It was time for some payback.

They sprung around the corner at a sprint, Jack with fire in his hands and Zuko with his swords drawn. The two quickly came to a halt, shocked at the empty hall in front of them. Torchlight came from up ahead at the end of the hall, the sound of a metal being scratched at now coming down at them.

"Will you stop scratching at that stupid lock? You'll never get it open."

"I've got this thing open hundreds of times before! I had to make sure that I could get in."

"If you opened it before then why is it locked now?"

"Because if it was not locked and someone had come down here they would have known that someone else had been here and then they would have changed the locks, or destroyed the tunnel. I couldn't risk that happening."

"Ohh, look at you Josh, always one step ahead of everyone else."

"Shut up!" Jack looked back at Zuko, holding a finger to his mouth. Zuko nodded his head. Joshua had not heard them charge around the corner, which was a good thing, as that would have gave him ample opportunity to threaten Azula and halt their charge. That, and it was kinda embarrassing to charge around the corner with weapons drawn and no one to fight.

Coming up to the next corner Jack pressed himself against the wall, making sure to take a quick peak this time. He looked back at Zuko, giving him the thumbs up. They were around this corner. The sound of chains falling to the ground echoed in the hall with a loud clatter.

"Ha! Got it! Told you that I knew how to get in!"

"Good for you Josh, you took off some chains without bending, so impressive." Zuko could hear Azula's eyes rolling. He shook his head. She was just adding fuel to the flame. The sound of a door being shoved open brought his attention back to Joshua.

"Doing something without bending is quite satisfying. Besides, since I didn't damage the lock or break the chain I can close it behind us so that they think that no one's been here." Azula laughed.

"And how are you going to do that and get on the other side of the door?" Said Azula. There was a moments silence as Joshua contemplated this fact.

"Shut up." He replied. Azula laughed, very loudly.

"You are an idiot!" Footsteps echoed down the hall, then a loud smack, flesh on flesh. There was another, and another. Zuko tried to move forward, but Jack grabbed him and held him back. He struggled for a second, then sat back.

Too close. Mouthed Jack. Zuko nodded his head, the rage coursing through his body. How dare he touch his sister!

The sound of footsteps walking back to the door was followed by a grind as the door was pushed further opened.

"And in we go." Said Joshua. Zuko tapped Jack on the shoulder. Jack held up a hand, three fingers up. Three. Two. One.

The two rounded the corner, having only a split second to take in the scene. Joshua was standing in front of a doorway, cobwebs and dust hanging on it. A pile of chains and a large lock with a golden dragon on it sat at his feet. A dark passage with wooden stairs sat behind him. A torch sat on the wall, lightened. Azula lay against the wall, roughly five feet from the right of Joshua. Her hands were behind her back, no doubt secured.

Joshua saw them first and immediately made a move to go for Azula, but Zuko shot a blast of flame between the two of them. Diving back, Joshua tried to bring the walls of the tunnel in on them, but Jack shoved his arms out and kept them up, shooting a fireball from his foot at Joshua. Joshua dove back into the hall and fled up the stairs.

"Go after him, I'll free Azula!" Yelled Jack. Zuko looked at his sister, noticing the cuts and bruises on her face. He started to lean in to help her, but she rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm fine, brother, go after him before he gets away." Zuko felt stung at her response, but at least she was safe and still spirited enough to insult him. Turning to the door, he dashed in, running up the stairs with swords at the ready.

He sprinted as fast as he could, trying to catch up with Joshua. He heard crashing up ahead and a door being slammed open. The walls shook as the door opened, some dust falling down and covering his face. He hacked, blinking the dust form his eyes. Taking another four stairs, he came to see the door closing in his face.

Swinging his swords around, he whipped out a fireball, sending it crashing into the door before it could shut. It buckled and shattered, stone bits flying all over the place and into a large, open hall. Joshua flew back, slamming into the wall and landing on his feet. He shot back a couple of black flames at Zuko, making him deflect it with his blades. Joshua followed up his attack with a couple of boulders, then dashed off with a blast air. Zuko shattered the boulders with his blades, then charged in after him, freezing as he stepped into the all too familiar hall.

Red carpeting, large white pillars, golden trim glinting in the fire light. He was back in his palace. The tunnel had led back to his palace? Joshua had come back to the palace?!

Zuko shook the thoughts off, seeing Joshua's black figure dashing off down the hall. He took off after him sprinting and calling out, hoping that someone was nearby. Mai and Ty-Lee should be in the palace, right?

Joshua was pulling ahead of him, running down the hall. Zuko threw fireballs at him, missing every time as Joshua bobbed from side to side. Turning around, Joshua blasted a column of flames at Zuko, making him tear through it with a thrust of his blades. Joshua shot two more boulders at him, then leapt into a spinning kick, blowing a blast of air at him. Zuko shattered the boulders and rolled underneath the wave of air, closing the distance with Joshua.

Raising his blades, Zuko struck at Joshua, instead finding a rock wall. He broke through it to find the area behind vacant. Tumbling through the rubble, Zuko got back to his feet and continued after Joshua.

Running around the corner, he found a white blade coming for his throat. He dropped to the ground and slid on his knees, whipping his head back and out of the way. The blade smashed into the pillar above him and dissolved into dust. Zuko rolled back to his feet, turning to attack Joshua. Two white blades came down on him, deflected by his swords. Zuko spun and slashed low, but Joshua let his blades disintegrate, dropping his hands and recreating two new blades to block Zuko's blow. Luckily he did not have time to forge the blades completely enough to cut through Zuko's blades. A thought struck Zuko at that moment; diamond resistant blades.

The two exchanged blows in a flurry, Zuko working his firebending in and getting off a shot or two while Joshua had to focus his energy and time on forming and reforming his diamond blades.

They moved about, slashing, hacking, blocking, and dodging. Zuko's form was superior to Joshua's and his blades quicker, but Joshua merely had to drop his hands and recreate his blades, keeping him in the fight.

Zuko blocked a blow from Joshua then spun to his left, sweeping low with his swords. Joshua jumped his attack and came down with a single blade, trying to stab it in Zuko's chest. Sidestepping the stab, Zuko hit Joshua in the side with the pommel of his sword, spinning and nailing Joshua with a blast of flames while he was stunned. Joshua literally shook of the attack, dropping low and sweeping Zuko off his feet with a leg kick.

Zuko fell down to his back, putting his hands on the ground and launching himself back to his feet with a kick up. Coming back to his feet, he spun and slashed, catching some of Joshua's coat. Joshua returned it with a stab at his stomach, which Zuko blocked. The two kept fighting, their blades ringing out in the hall. Piles of ash began to accumulate on the ground as the battle raged on, sweat pouring down both of their faces.

Eventually Zuko went for a high attack, swinging his blades down at Joshua from two different sides. Instead of blocking them Joshua went down to a knee and thrust his hand straight for Zuko's abdomen.

His blades came to a halt as a sharp, searing pain cut into him. He could feel his blood pump out of him, spilling over onto Joshua's hand. He smiled at him with that menacing grin, his eyes turning completely black for a moment. He pushed Zuko back, letting Zuko's body tumble to the ground.

Zuko's blades clattered against the marble as they fell out of his grasp, his hands clutching at his stomach. Blood spurted onto his hand, pain throbbing with every heartbeat. Joshua leaned over him, grinning, his hand sparkling as a diamond blade formed in his grasp. Zuko threw a fist at Joshua, a burst of flame sending him flying off of him and into the hall.

Grunting, Zuko hauled himself to his feet, blood trickling down his body. He was beginning to fell woozy already, the effort of standing sapping him of the last visages of his strength. He faced Joshua, looking at his old friend's grinning face.

"You really think you were going to beat me, huh, Zuzu? Come on, you couldn't beat Azula, let alone me!"

"Azula always beat you." Grunted Zuko, the very statement causing him great pain. Joshua titled his head back and forth.

"It was more like fifty-fifty." Replied Joshua, black flames burning in his palms.

"You wanna bet?" A bolt of lightning shot through the hall, striking Joshua in the side. He went flying through the window and into the garden right as Zuko's vision began to blur, spots dancing before his eye. He saw commotion ahead of him, several different blurred figures rushing to and fro. There was more noise, things shattering and the sound of thunder, then he fell to his knees. Someone came up to him, sliding on their knees and calling his name. He tried to focus on the voice, to see the face, but he began to fall, then all went black.