Why didn't you guys tell me I was misspelling Pabu's name!?
The sun was still shining, signifying it was at the least, early afternoon. It would be another hour or two before Korra and Zuko's war balloon reached the lake surrounding the Imperial city of the Fire Nation.
"You know, this will be my first time seeing the Palace," Korra began as a conversation starter. Zuko thrust his palm toward the opened furnace in the balloon, fire streaming from his hand.
"Really?"Zuko asked, half-interested. Korra nodded once in confirmation, watching Zuko continue to add heat to the furnace.
"Say," Korra added as an afterthought. "You've got to teach me some firebending techniques."
"I was under the impression that you were already pretty good at it," The prince commented with veiled sarcasm.
"Yeah," Korra agreed. "But the bending forms are way different in the future. It'd be cool to learn how you guys fight."
Zuko regarded her momentarily before shrugging. "Okay, sure. Why not." He palmed more flame into the furnace and watched the clouds rolling by. "We'll be close to the Caldera city soon, and we need to wait until tomorrow before we can sneak in, so I could teach you something once we find shelter at the Harbor City."
"Ladies, I'll need your help for today."
Mai was reading against a tree while Ty Lee was practicing calisthenics near the Turtle Duck pond. Azula had crossed the courtyard and was sitting on the railing next to the yard.
"Oh? For what?" Mai replied while not having moved from her reading position.
"I need you two to intercept Zuko for me. He's most likely going to be here tomorrow to rescue our dear relative."
Ty Lee finished her stretch to seat herself cross-legged. "Wait, you're not coming with us?" she questioned, slightly surprised at Azula's choice of words.
"Unfortunately," the princess confirmed. "Apparently, the Dai Li are having problems with some lowlife who's incapacitated some of the agents. I don't know how," Azula complained, "but it warrants an investigation."
"So where do we need to go?" Mai asked, having finally placed the scroll back within the folds of her robe.
"The Harbor city. He'd be foolish to risk finding shelter in the Caldera City."
"Sounds fun. Doesn't seem that hard of a job," Ty Lee observed, now stretching her arms.
"Oh, and Mai," Azula added, almost apologetically. "Watch out for his lady friend, she's quite dangerous."
"Lady friend?" Mai parroted with a raised eyebrow.
Azula shrugged innocently before walking back inside of the palace.
"Hey, what about that Tea Shop?" Bolin asked, pointing at a store that's sign said, 'Jasmine Dragon'.
"Well, we've already checked all the places we could, and the Palace is out of the question, let's go," Lin agreed. They entered the store, and Beifong instructed him to stay at the table while she asked the tea-maker. She rung the bell and waited patiently for the manager or assistant. Well as patiently as Lin could, with a hand on her hip, and her other hand on the counter.
When Uncle Iroh appeared at the shop counter, his eyes lit up almost instantly. Who was this beautiful woman?
"Good afternoon ma'am. What is a lovely woman such as yourself doing here?"
Lin raised a brow, almost flattered. Almost.
"I'm here on business. Have you seen a girl named Korra, or a boy named Mako?"
At this turn of conversation, Iroh was instantly serious. "Ah. I have," he said with a thoughtful expression. "May I ask what is your name?"
Lin sighed, deliberating whether she should reveal her name or not. The Beifongs were rich, but not extremely famous. Besides, the truth might get her closer to finding Bolin's brother and Korra.
"Beifong. Lin Beifong."
"Ah, the Beifongs," Iroh stated though remembering something. Toph's parents were slightly younger than the woman standing before him. Apparently, this woman must also be from the future.
"I know where you can find them. It will be a moderately long journey, however."
Korra and Zuko made it to the Harbor City without complications, where they tucked the war balloon behind some crates near an unused port.
"That should be well-hidden until we can get back to it," Zuko appraised, stretching his legs to loosen them up.
"Okay. So what's next? It's still going to be a long while 'till tomorrow," Korra replied while leaning against the wall and surveying the city. The area they landed in was the sparsely populated region, which was the less refined area of town.
"For now, we have to keep a low profile. We need to check into an Inn or something while we wait." Zuko looked across the cityscape, planning the best way to get to the Palace. He nodded once to himself and sat on a nearby crate next to Korra.
"Tomorrow, we need to get to the outskirts of the caldera city. It's a town full of nobles, so we need to stay on the border to attract much less attention," Zuko said. "From there, we can totally bypass the royal plaza by foot and reach the palace."
"Sounds like a plan," Korra appraised. She stood up and stretched her arms and hips. "Let's find this Inn so we can get to practicing."
Aang's eyes shot open. The weird thing though, was that he didn't feel any pain that he should have been feeling in his back or the bottom of his foot. Picking himself up from off the ground, he looked around, trying to discern where he was. He was currently standing in a pond, which was surrounded by trees from all sides. Passed the expanse of trees, there seemed to be a light shining through like sunlight, giving the whole place an ethereal quality.
Not to mention all the fog. Aang wondered if this was the Spirit World. Taking a ready step backwards, he pushed his arms outward, as though willing the water to move.
No reaction.
"Yup. Definitely the Spirit World," Aang commented, scratching his head. But what in the world was he doing here? He hadn't tried to meditate and wasn't contacted, as far as he knew, by a spirit of any kind.
"What am I supposed to do now?" Aang asked, throwing the question in the air. He was about to settle down and attempt to meditate when he heard noises stemming from one direction across the trees. Running towards the noise, he slowed down as he neared the clearing.
What met his sights was not at all what he was expecting. He saw a city, with lights everywhere. And in every direction, he could see moving things that looked like carriages, but wasn't being dragged by any kind of mount.
"That thing is moving itself. What kind of place is this?"
Suddenly, he felt reality shift and he could see everything occurring like a moving picture. He could see everything, but he couldn't interact with it.
I wouldn't leave yet, Avatar. You'll miss the main event.
The stage rose and showed a bound Tenzin and his children- Jinora, Ikki and Meelo
"No... they got away. We saw them get away!" Aang sees Korra yell from a balcony in the theater.
"Tonight, I rid the world of air bending. Forever," Aang sees a masked man say with cold decisiveness. This guy can take away someone's bending? Aang asked in disturbed awe.
"Amon, let them go!" Korra shouts, her hands gripping the balcony railing and for all intents and purposes, ready to jump down there and intervene.
"You're welcome to come down here and try to stop me," Amon retorts. He takes a step towards the three airbenders.
"Airbenders!" Aang cries out in surprise. This had to be a vision of the future! That means there are more airbenders, and this man is trying to end the cycle! Aang wished he could intervene, but he couldn't. The event unfolding wasn't physically happening.
"He's trying to bait you," the one Aang recognized as Mako, holding Korra back from doing anything rash.
"I don't care! We have to save them!"
"The Avatar needs to be reminded of the power I possess," Amon spoke into the mic, his dark confidence chilling even Aang to the core. This man was worse than Ozai!
Aang suddenly took a deep intake of air, this time a soreness definitely coming from his back.
"Why would I have a dream about someone who doesn't exist yet? Unless..." Aang sat up in the bed he had been unconscious on, holding his head in his hands.
"That guy, Amon, he must be here..."
As an afterthought, Aang noticed the red banners and the steel walls that surrounded him.
"Oh no..."