Chapter 16

"Avatar Aang!Toph!" Iroh stepped forward as the two kids alighted from Appa.

"Uncle Iroh!" Aang and Toph exclaimed as they rushed into the open arms of the loving man.

"It's so good to see you, Aang", Iroh smiled sadly at the boy, "Although I wish it was under better circumstances."

Aang's heart sank at his words. He could tell from the tone of his voice and body language that they had probably not made much progress in tracking Katara,

"It's been three days, Uncle", Toph spoke when she saw Aang was unable to reply. "Have there been any strong leads?"

"I'm afraid not", Iroh shook his head dejectedly, "We are doing everything we can...spies have been following every movement of our prime suspects, our undercover agents have also seen nothing of suspicion. But none of the suspects with the most to gain from such an act have proven to be the culprits. However, we were able to track the kidnappers trail to the shore so it is possible they went by boat thereafter. Yet, no further contact has been made by the kidnappers since...", he paused and sighed, "...since they left a note for Zuko."

"What did the note say?" Aang perked up with hope.

"It revealed that the attack was not meant for Zuko as we had originally thought. They had come for Katara. But they did guarantee that they needed her alive."

"For what!?" Aang spat out. "What could they possibly want from her other than to use her to blackmail us?!"

"We don't know yet. All they said was that they needed her for some very important work."

"So if it isn't the Ozai society or the local rebels...who could it be?" Toph muttered more to herself than anyone.

Silence reigned for several minutes as they stood engulfed in worry and frustration. At long last, their gloom was interrupted by a gentle voice.

"It's good to finally see you again, Aang", Ursa smiled and walked out to the courtyard. "And you too, Toph."

"Firelady Ursa", Aang bowed and greeted her.

"Aunty!" Toph rushed ahead to embrace her prompting Aang to raise his eyebrows in bewilderment.

"Let us head inside", she ushered them towards the dining hall. "It's getting chilly out of here."

As they followed the Firelady, Aang walked beside Toph and whispered.

"Since when do you call Firelady Ursa, 'Aunty' ?"

"Since I spent a summer helping Zuko and Uncle negotiate the terms of the new trade deal with the Beifong estate and other prominent Earth Kingdom businessmen. In fact, it was Aunty's idea that I start my own bending academy."

"I see", Aang replied and couldn't help but smile at the affectionate expression that had spread across Toph's face. "Looks like you're really close to their family."

"Whatever", Toph elbowed him in the side with a grunt and walked ahead, leaving a grinning Aang behind.

They entered an empty hall that had already been set for dinner. As they sat around the table, Aang felt himself calming down at the smell of a home cooked meal. They ate slowly and in silence until Iroh finally spoke.

"There is one other lead that the White Lotus is investigating. Lian...you may know her as Madam Wu", Iroh smirked as he looked at Aang who sure had enough had his mouth wide open in disbelief, "mentioned the reappearance of pirates in the Earth Kingdom waters near Makapu. Although, it doesn't seem likely that that has anything to do with the Fire Nation or Katara, it is the only other bleak hope we have as of now."

"Wait, who's Madam Wu...never mind, if it's important, I'll know soon enough", Toph shrugged.

"So that's where we will go too", Aang replied in a somber tone.

"Are you sure it is wise to ignore the more probable suspects and bet on a wild chance? The White Lotus has not been able to track any suspicious activity yet...but the region is quite vast."

"If the royal guards have had no luck, what is the use of doing it twice? And you said they went by boat...maybe they do have some connection to the pirates...maybe it's not a coincidence. If we leave now, we can cover more ground with Appa than the White Lotus", Aang thought out loud.

"We may be able to cover more ground that way", Toph leaned back, "but we'll have to be really lucky to find something useful from the sky. Going by ground may be slow but it's a better way if we want to talk to people, look for tracks, and for me to feel for underground hideouts."

Aang's frown grew deeper as he felt torn between the two options. The thought of more time passing by as they hunted for the attackers terrified him.

"Wait", Toph suddenly sat up and looked around, "Where's Sparky?"

"Oh yeah", Aang leaned forward, "Is he in some meeting?"

"Zuko…", Iroh spoke in a sullen tone, "took off when he received that note. He didn't want to waste any time waiting for...well, he thinks pursuing them alone would give him a better chance of tracking them down. Whatever that means."

"He may be right", Toph picked up another piece of meat, "he has succeeded in the past with his stealthy ninja ways. They won't see him coming."

No. No. No.

Zuko's entire body shook as he saw her blue eyes glaze over and the voice that would always comfort him become mechanical.

"Good girl", Tanaka sneered.

Zuko growled and finally pushed through the fog in his head. He stood up with a jerk, catching them off guard. With a sudden spin, he kicked at the guard's ankle toppling her to the ground. With his hands still tied, he rushed towards the stranger and flew at him kicking him square in the chest.

Tanaka coughed and sputtered as he reeled from the impact of the kick. He leaned forward on his knees, rubbing his chest in an attempt to catch his breath. Before he could stand back up, he saw a foot coming straight at his face, knocking him back and filling his mouth with the metallic taste of his own blood.

Zuko roared again as he high kicked the guard coming at him once more, and then jumped over the wooden circle towards Long Feng who stood calmly at the center. Before Zuko could make any contact with the Dai Li leader, he felt his body being sucked back by an invisible force. He crashed against the wall behind him as stone cuffs pinned him to the wall by his wrists and ankles. The impact threw the gag off his mouth and he bellowed in rage as he was held firmly in place.

"You won't get away with this!" Zuko yelled. "I will stop you."

"Guards", Long Feng ignored his rants. "Unchain her."

Zuko watched as the guards slowly removed the layers and layers of chain that bound her. He winced at the bruises and scars the chains had left on her arms and legs, but Katara didn't budge. She didn't stretch her aching body or massage her chafed skin.

They then unlocked the clamp around her jaw and as her mouth was released from its cage, Zuko's heart pounded with uncertainty. Katara didn't move. Neither did she speak. She just stared ahead like a lifeless puppet.

A part of Zuko clung to the hope that Katara was stronger than the Dai Li's brainwashing technique and that she was just pretending and that this was part of her grand plan to escape.

"Katara", Long Feng spoke once again in the soothing yet commanding voice. "Welcome to the cause. You are now an ally of the Dai Li and the Fifth Nation"

"Thank you."

Zuko could feel his heart sinking with every word. He could no longer control his tears.

"Are you ready for your first mission?"

"Yes."

"This is the Firelord", Long Feng gestured towards Zuko, "Do you know him?"

Katara slowly turned to look at Zuko.

"Katara…", Zuko looked at her beseechingly. "It's me...Zuko."

"No, I do not", Katara spoke betraying no emotion as she turned back to look straight ahead of her.

"The Firelord is an enemy of our cause", Long Feng approached her with his hands behind his back.

He stood in front of her and his figure towered over her as the lamp shone eerily in the space between them.

"Your first mission", an evil smile began spreading across his lips, "is to eliminate the Firelord."