This chapter is dedicated to ell25.

The song for this chapter is The Scientist by Coldplay. Find it here, replacing DOT with . - http://wwwDOTyoutubeDOTcom/watch?v=V3Kd7IGPyeg

Chapter Thirteen - Hilarious

Zuko's instantly eager, pleading expression might have been funny in another, twisted world, but it was heartbreaking in this one. She could see hope beginning to gather, even through restraints placed on it, and reluctantly began to dispel it.

"It's not much. It's nothing really." Before his face shatters, she quickly clarifies. "But it is something." Then kicks herself for sounding like an idiot, and playing with his emotions. "The Boulder knows someone who knows someone who knows someone...well someone knows something. But all they know is that he's somewhere in the Fire Nation. That's all. And they mentioned the..." the next words are whispered "Western Air Temple."

Instantly, Toph is out of the door and raging towards the nearest means of transport. If she can't find anything she'll use rocks. Katara knows she would react like this. After she glances at Zuko's face, she realizes that he too is livid. He looks ready to explode. The temperature of the room grows as Katara puts herself between Toph and the door, which she realizes is an unwise move.

Toph is about to attack when she takes a deep breath and lowers her hands. Strange. Katara feels another of the many pangs she has felt. She doesn't recognize Toph any more. She hadn't managed to keep touch with anyone after the comet. Now she is beginning to get to know her friends again. Sokka and Suki have been sent a note explaining the urgency of the situation. Both of them had to be dissuaded (rather forcefully) from coming, and Hakoda also got a brief note. She has not explained things fully to him yet, but now he knows more than he did. He was angry, but that hopefully will die down before she returns to the South Pole. He has not come to see her, but this is only because of his deep trust for Zuko.

"They're dead," Toph says emotionlessly. Only the slight tremble of one hand betrays her. Zuko seems to forget whatever resentment he has had against her and nods in the background. Both of them are driven with purpose. Katara's anger is no less, but if there is one thing her time in depression has taught her, it is that there is a time for anger. Still, she knows that this control is precarious and that her anger will burst through given the slightest provocation.

"I don't care who they are," Toph growls. "My entire army is going after them," Zuko continues. Katara robs him of that idea.

"Zuko, I don't think you should go back to your palace just yet. This seems to have been a very elaborate plan. The Boulder told me all the news from the Fire Nation. Ursa, Mai, and some other top officials have been spirited away by the Den Bu to a location of safety, but the kingdom is in chaos. Some of the leaders in your army have been killed or defected, as have officials. No one knows what to do or expect." As she speaks, she can feel the weight of despair settling over the room.

Zuko's curses would have impressed even the pirates. "It can't be that bad. It can't be that easy for them to do that without even my knowing. The Den Bu* should have found this out. My council should have known!"

"Your council is corrupt and decaying," comes Toph's voice from the background.

"I know," Zuko agonizes. "But I was about to replace them and there were so many things..."

"There are no excuses for letting the lowest kind of people take over the place where Aang is buried." Toph continues as though she has not heard him.

Aang was buried according to the customs of the Air People. Katara had thought the nomads would have wished to have their ashes scattered across the sky, but apparently in death, they wanted earth around them. Shaking herself from morbid thoughts, she plans. She is the only one in the room with enough control left to do this. "So we can't reveal ourselves," she says. "We can live as we did when Ozai was ruler. All we need to do is to get to the area, and we can handle things from there."

"I'll get us there." Toph's control over herself is beginning to unnerve Katara in contrast to Zuko's boiling anger.

"We can do this," Katara encourages, but she feels the futility of her words as they are lost among the hopelessness in the room.

As they sneak their way onto a ship at night, Katara realizes exactly how bad things are in the Fire Nation. On a boat bound for the Fire Nation, they are on their way. Crouched in the corner of a storage room with a basket bumping against her hip at every slight movement, she recognizes this as a luxury when they are caught as they make their way out of the boat.

A thin man with parched skin gives them a once-over before leering in a manner that makes Katara want to water-whip him. Still, she decides to go the way of caution. "We got delayed making our way off the boat," she says. "Thank you for checking for us." She moves as to move past him, but he does not move.

"Oh, is that right?" he questions in a sing-song voice. "I know refugees when I see them. But I might be persuaded to let you pass."

"Do you mark the honor of married women?" Zuko rasps in an attempt to mask his distinctive voice. He has no need to. Most citizens do not even know the voice of their ruler. He is too reclusive for that, and they have never had the chance to know him, and thus cannot like him. Katara feels an arm coming across her shoulders as Zuko tugs her to his side. Toph still looks too young for anyone to believe that she may be married, even with Fire Nation customs.

In the action, Zuko's hood slips from over his head and even this man knows of his scar. Zuko grabs at the hood, but it is too late. The man backs up slightly, his mouth open. Zuko evidently decides to risk the situation. "As your Fire Lord, I demand you to obey me," he says, his voice slipping into the terms of the court.

"Your title doesn't mean anything any more," the man sneers. He opens his mouth to yell to his companions but only gets to the first syllable before Katara whips him across the head and he is knocked to the ground.

They make their way into an inn on the way to Konejita, the last town on the way to the Air Temple, and Zuko realizes that nothing is sacred any more, not in this new world. And a small part of his heart dies as he realizes that there is next to no hope for his land. The other parts are only held together by the feel of Katara's hand on his shoulder as she reads his emotions as adeptly as he can hers. Toph sits on the other side of the room in a reverie, not even returning to the morning's topic.

They sit in the room, the pieces of Zuko's world around them.

*Den Bu - Basically the most elite warriors and spies

A/N: Misleading chapter title! So...much...angst! I'm not leaving yet, there will be at least three more chapters before I go!

Also, there were next to NO reviews last chapter :( I wasn't encouraged to post at all. Thank you ell25 - this chapter is dedicated to you! As a reward, you recieve a drabble/ oneshot of your choice!