Responses to Reviews:

Phieillydinyia: Spoilers!

RonaldM40196867: I do not think so, no, but I would not consider myself an expert.

As Always, Please Review, and we join our hero after a short time jump, one month after the army of Omashu sets off to war...

Bumi walked into the throne room, nervously.

It had been a month since the army had departed, and little had been heard from them since. In the absence of the King, the actual job of ruling the city had fallen to his brother, the third man in line to the throne, Prince Regent Gazar. Bumi, as the next most senior man in the line of succession, sat on his council, but Gazar did not like him and made no secret of it.

For once, Bumi was actually dressed like a nobleman, largely because the guards on the door at the first meeting had refused to let him in when he came dressed as he normally did.

"Ah, Bumi, how nice of you to join us," the regent told him.

"Yeah, sorry about that, the road was blocked," Bumi told him apologetically. "Some dispute involving a cabbage merchant."

Gazar gave an oily smile, and in his most insincere sincere voice, told him "well, you could have used the mail chute then! After all, it's what you're good at."

"Can we just get on with business?" Bumi asked, sitting down.

"Well, we only have a few matters of importance today," one of the beaurocrats also in attendance spoke. "To begin with, people are complaining that one of the main roads is in poor condition and needs repairs."

"Just send a work team to deal with it," a rather bored sounding Gazar decreed.

"The work team went to war," one of the nobles pointed out.

Gazar buried his face in his hands. "Fine, send soldiers to do it then, we have them don't we? Now can we just move on?"

"In terms of disputes, we have five that have been brought before us. They will be heard before a magistrate later today, but one of them is a murder."

"A murder?" Gazar perked up. "What happened?"

"Ghastly affair. The perpetrator went a little mad, it seems, just started throwing rocks at people in the street. They killed one woman and wounded two more, before soldiers were able to subdue them."

"Do we know why they did this?" Bumi asked.

"Doesn't matter why they did it, the facts speak for themselves!" Gazar stated. "I take it the appropriate punishment will be administered?"

"That is for the magistrate to decide," the official pointed out, and decided to forge ahead with other business.

"Our scouts report no Fire Nation activity on our side of the passes."

"And the army?" Bumi asked urgently.

"No sign of them. We haven't had contact in several weeks, and this has not changed."

Bumi slumped, still worried.

"Anything else?"

The official shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid not. It's been rather a slow day."

Gazar quickly stood up. "Well, nice speaking to you all then. If you'll excuse me, I have some... important, business to get on with. Goodbye!"

And with that, the regent turned and walked away into the depths of the Palace.

Bumi shrugged and turned to leave the other way, out into the city.

A flying rock crashed into a wall, splitting into hundreds of tiny pieces that fell to the ground. Bumi was standing in a little arena he had fashioned in the courtyard, practicing his earthbending.

He stamped his feet, and a pair of smaller rocks burst free of the ground either side of him, rising until they were either side of his head. He then thrust his arms forward, and they followed the first rock projectile into the wall of his arena.

A series of quick punches sent five more rocks flying down range, before Bumi stomped his foot again and an enormous pillar of rock reared out of the ground, tipped over, and flattened a section of wall.

"Very impressive," a voice came from behind him. Bumi turned to find the same servant who had been with him on the stairs watching him.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"I suppose I should be asking you that, given it's my job," the servant replied.

"No, thanks, I'm good," Bumi replied. As he turned away, though, a thought occurred to him.

"Did you have any brothers?"

"What?"

"When the army went to war, I mean. Are any of your brothers with them, or a lover, or a father, or whatever?"

The woman considered.

"I do have a brother there, yes," she replied.

"Do you worry about him?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Every day."

Bumi stamped his foot again, and all the rock he had displaced in his training sank back into the ground, to be instantly replaced with a flat stone surface. He walked over to where his ornate robes from that morning's meeting had been left, and put them on.

"I've just realised, I don't know your name," he said after a while.

"My name is Amisha," the servant told him.

"Pleased to meet you, Amisha," Bumi told her, bowing. "My name is Bumi."

"I already know what your name is."

"I know, but we're only just now being formally introduced."

Amisha laughed. "Well, in that case, it's nice to meet you too, Bumi."

With that, Bumi began to walk indoors, and for the first time noticed how hungry he was.

"You wouldn't happen to know what's for dinner, would you?" He asked Amisha.

"Not off the top of my head."

Just then, there was a commotion behind them. Bumi whirled to find a messenger bursting into the courtyard. By the looks of him, he had been running for a long time and was very tired, and his expression was not a happy one.

"What's happened?" Bumi asked, alarmed.

"Di...disaster!" The man cried, trying to catch his breath.

Bumi's heart sank.

"What do you mean?"

"They were... too strong! They knew we were coming, somehow! We were outflanked!"

"What happened to the army?"

"Practically wiped out! I only barely escaped!"

Bumi stumbled backwards in shock, only barely taking in this information.

"What happened to my father? What happened to my brother?"

"What happened to my brother?" Amisha put in, tears in her eyes.

"I... don't know." The man conceded, shaking his head.

Bumi leaned against a pillar, trying and largely failing to keep it together. So his family was dead, and there was nothing stopping the Fire Nation from advancing on the city. He felt the sting of tears in his eyes too.

Except no, wait, a voice in his head told him, that's not what the man said. He said he didn't know what happened to them, not that they died.

So you're telling me there's a chance, another voice replied.

Precisely.

The cogs in Bumi's head began to turn.

"Ready my armour," he said, in what he hoped was a confident voice.

"What?"

"I said, ready my armour."

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to find out if my family is still alive," Bumi told them, straightening up. "And hopefully stop the Fire Nation at the same time."

"By yourself?" Amisha replied incredulously.

"If I succeed, great. If I fail, then what do we have to lose at this point?" Bumi pointed out.

"Alright, but you're not going alone," Amisha told him. "I'm coming with you."

Now it was Bumi's turn to be shocked.

"What?"

"You're not the only one who has family out there," she replied, "and if you're going to find them then so am I."

"It'll be dangerous," Bumi told her.

"Do you think I don't know that?"

Bumi had to concede that she made a good point there.

He smiled again.

"In that case, welcome aboard!"

Together, they went inside to prepare Bumi's armour.