Aang ran the entire way back to the room he and the others had managed to rent, a cloud of dust rising from the winds he left behind. He skidded to stop in front of the door and burst in. Sokka squealed and fell from his chair, Suki grabbed one of her fans and fell into a defensive position, while Zuko formed fire daggers in his hands.
Toph simply leaned back in her chair. "I don't know why you people don't believe me. I told you it was Twinkletoes, but noooo poor blind Toph must be wrong because anything coming at us with that much noise must be big and bad." She scowled at the rest of the group. "I hope you've learned your lesson."
Iroh walked in calmly from the small kitchen carrying a pot of tea. "I never doubted you," he said patting Toph's shoulder.
Aang sagged, panting and supporting his upper body by resting his hands on his partially bent knees.
"She's okay,"he gasped, rising slightly to smile his relief at the rest of the room.
Sokka jumped up from his chair. "You found her? Where is she?" he asked looking around.
Aang sobered. "No, I haven't found her, but I have reason to think that she is safe enough." He turned and made sure the one window in the room shut before grabbing a seat at the table. The rest of the group followed suite.
"One of the guards caught up to me near the well where Katara was taken," he whispered, "He said the king received a letter which Hua intercepted. Hua is working with this group, has brainwashed the King or something close to it, and is planning on helping commit genocide against nonbenders."
"So…what exactly makes you think Katara is safe?" Zuko asked.
"We've figured out that this group, the Purists, as they're calling themselves, have started some kind of…breeding center where they are trying to produce stronger benders, right? He coughed a little uncomfortably before continuing. "She must have told them she's pregnant."
"What?!" Sokka shrieked.
Aang waved his hands at Sokka defensively. "No, no, she's not. She's not pregnant, but if they think she is then she's already fulfilling their purpose for her, or at least part of it. I don't think they'll touch her as long as they think she's carrying my child."
"Wait…what? I feel like I'm missing half the story here….maybe more…" Mai said, confusion and shock evident in her face.
Sokka's head fell to the table. "I'm gonna barf." Suki rubbed his back sympathetically.
Zuko rubbed a hand down his face, dark stubble starting to show. "I think you can feel in the blanks, love," he said patting Mai's hand.
"Last night we got married."
The group minus Sokka and Zuko gasped. "Way to keep laying the bombshells on us Twinkletoes."
Aang cringed. "Sorry. We just wanted a simple service. We were tired of waiting and we were still planning on having the big ceremony, we just wanted to have something special for us."
"Congratulations, Avatar!" Iroh said, "This may actually help your wife even more. If you are legally married then the nations will be much more likely to offer their assistance."
Aang hung his head. "We tried that with Keui, but he's completely under Hua's thumb. She refused on the grounds that the marriage wasn't consummated."
"We need a plan." Sokka said rising from the table and grabbing one of his favorite things from the corner. He spread the map out on the table in front of the group. "I know those airships didn't have the Fire Nation emblem, but they were Fire Nation style. I'm willing to bet that their headquarters are somewhere in the Fire Nation."
"Just because they were Fire Nation style doesn't mean they came from the Fire Nation…"
Sokka raised his one good eyebrow at Zuko before continuing. "So I say we need to start our search there. With Zuko's help we'll have more scouts canvassing the countryside than we know what to do with. Iroh, would you be able to stay here and wait for the hawks to return? I don't think we can trust anyone else here."
Iroh nodded his agreement. "As soon as I get any information I will forward it on and then leave for the Fire Nation myself."
Zuko turned to his uncle. "Will you watch over Mai for me?"
"I'm going with you Zuko!" Mai said sharply.
"Mai, please. Think of the baby. I have no idea what we're getting into here and I need to know you're safe."
Mai's hands settled over her bump protectively. "Fine. But you owe me."
Zuko gave her a small smile. "That's a given."
Aang stood and leaned over the map. "So that's the plan for now. We have to figure out where they are before we can stop them and we have to stop them. I can't let what happened to my people happen again." He walked to the window and opened it, peering out. "We have about 5 more hours of daylight, so let's not waste time. We leave in twenty."
The group scrambled around gathering the few belongings they had managed to salvage and walked together toward the stables where Appa and Momo waited. It felt good to be doing something, to try and stay busy. It hurt to think. All he could see was all the horrible things that Katara might be going through….
He shook himself free of his dark thoughts and climbed from Appa's head and into the saddle. "Sokka will you take the reins for a bit? This is a lot of people for Appa to carry so we won't be able to move too quickly, just keep heading west. I'm going to try and mediate, see if I can get any information from the Spirit World."
Sokka nodded and carefully climbed down to Appa's head. He looked down nervously and muttered under his breath, "This never gets any less crazy."
Aang sat with his back against the saddle, facing the wind, using it to help clear his mind. He folded his legs and put his fists together so his arrows faced each other. He thought it would take him the better part of an hour to settle his mind enough to enter the Spirit World, especially since he wasn't near a particularly spiritual area, but within seconds his tattoos glowed and he found himself seated at the base of a huge tree.
It took him a moment before he realized he was seated beneath the great banyan tree from Foggy Swamp. He looked around carefully, but there was absolutely no one to be seen. He stood and walked to the great tree, wondering how he'd ended up here. "What are you trying to tell me? What am I missing?" he whispered.
He took a step forward and then was shocked to see he left a pale golden spot on the bark where his foot had been. It faded within a moment so he took another, then another. Finally, it clicked and he remembered. The tree's roots spread across the entire swamp, and because of that connection he had been able to find Appa and Momo the last time they had been in the swamp.
"That's it!" he said out loud. Just like what Huu said…The tree was one big living organism, just like the entire world. Everything was connected.
He jumped back into his body with a gasp, jolting the rest of team. He shielded his eyes from the glow of the setting sun and smiled at his friends.
"I know how to find Katara."
A/N: Thank you for reading! Please, please review and last but not least have a wonderful and very Happy Thanksgiving everyone!