Author's Note: After the last chapter, this one is going to be a bit more talkative. Also, we're going to meet the present-day Sebastian again. Anyways, thanks to everyone following this, and please review, I'd love to hear what you think. And as always, enjoy!
Caldera, a year after the war ended
"What do you mean, he vanished into thin air?!", Sokka raged at the Fire Lord. They had searched these horrific tunnels, and for what? For some ex-guard telling them that the person they were searching for just vanished, quite literally.
Zuko suddenly stood up from his seat at the garden pond, they could tell he was angry, but he held himself back. Getting close to the water tribe boy he stood almost a head higher, looking down on him, "I know it is frustrating, but I believe Kang Lee. He was way too afraid of everything to lie."
Sokka wouldn't give up that easily, "The only bad thing about his story is that it doesn't make any sense at all, besides that, he's totally believable.", he said in a sarcastic voice.
Before Zuko could explode, Aang quickly intervened, standing in between, smiling at both of them. "Guys, come on. I have an idea. Vanishing into thin air is something spirits are masters in. What if I contact them and ask them if they know anything?", leaving both teenagers in front of him staring at the monk. Slowly they nodded, it was probably worth a try, concerning they had hardly another trace.
Aang prepared himself for the rest of the day and when the sun set, he sat down under the cherry tree at the garden pond. He though it a good place, since there were at least some memories with Zuko's cousin there. Maybe this would help getting a spiritual connection. Soon his tattoos began to glow as he drifted into the spirit world.
Once he opened his eyes, he saw Avatar Roku next to him. His former self often acted as his spiritual leader, so he was not surprised to see him. "Greetings Aang. I know why you're here. Let me tell you, Zuko's unnamed cousin is not here, nor was he ever. He is not welcome here, nor did he choose to come."
As glad as Aang was to see the old Avatar again, he was immediately saddened by his words. "So, there is no possibility, no trace of him, didn't somebody see something, know something?"
The old man closed his eyes for a moment. "Well, like I said, he is not here. But I can lead you to him, maybe you can speak to him this way. But be aware that this poses a risk."
Aang was immediately his curious self again, "What risk exactly?"
Roku sighed, this child was way too enthusiastic about taking risks sometimes, "Well, he could reject to talk to you at all, also, it always poses a risk to face a predator. He could harm you, even kill you, especially in spirit form where you have no bending powers."
"But he's Iroh's son. He wouldn't do that for sure.", Aang replied, knowing that it was a rather weak point.
"Yes, he is Iroh's son. And Azulon was Iroh's father.", Roku said with a stern expression.
"But this could be our only chance to find him at all. I have to do it, for Iroh. He needs to know if one of his children is still alive.", Aang replied. Roku saw the determination on the young Avatar's face and sighed. Then he stood up, reaching out a hand to Aang to help him get up.
From one moment to the next the pond laid there in the afternoon sun. Aang was immediately aware that he was watching a memory. A boy, he seemed to be a few years younger than himself, sat under the cherry tree, reading a book. He had short hair with a few bangs falling into his face. He wore the usual dress for young fire nation nobles, a red tunic with darker red jacket and brownish trousers with black boots, his forearms covered in black forearm guards. His crimson eyes were focused on a book in his lap. Aang would've deemed it too much to read for himself. A slight smile played around the boy's lips and from time to time he shot a glance over to a maybe three years old boy, running around the garden, playing something. Aang did not understand what he was playing, but immediately saw that this was the young prince Zuko.
The older boy called out to his cousin, "Zuko, don't run around like that! You're going to get yourself hurt."
Little Zuko turned around and slowly walked towards his cousin, pouting. The older boy closed his book, not without leaving a mark in it, and got up to his knees. When the young prince stood in front of him, he patted him on the head, "Good boy. Do you want some cookies now? And later I'll show you some sword fighting moves I've learned?", the little boy's eyes lit up, he nodded enthusiastically. The older boy raised, "So, I'll get you the cookies, and you'll stay here and watch over my book, will you?". The little boy was again nodding.
Once his cousin was out of sight, a familiar silhouette was seen. When Zuko saw his father, he wanted to run up to him, hug him, earn his praise. He looked over to the book his cousin told him to watch and decided to leave it there, it was so heavy, it wouldn't fly away easily. The three years old then began rushing into his father's direction, who did not notice him at all. Zuko didn't really watch where he was going and soon slipped on the stones framing the pond, falling into the water with a loud splash. He couldn't swim, so he struggled a moment before he went under water. Something shattered, another splash was heard. Just as Zuko started to lose his conscience, a hand grabbed him, and he was pulled into a firm hug. Something propelled him towards the surface. He was dropped on the grass out of the pond, and someone shook his shoulders violently. When his vision finally cleared, he saw his cousin bent above him, a worried look on his face, water still dripping from his hair.
When he saw that his cousin was opening his eyes, the older boy smiled at him, pulling the little prince into a hug. When suddenly they were parted by a big hand grabbing the older boy's sleeve, turning him around. His uncle towered above him with the angriest expression he had ever seen. "How dare you endanger my son? You should learn your place! You are a disgrace, an omen of bad luck for the whole nation.", with that he hit him. It was harder than a slap, he had been slapped before. Yet, no one would intervene when Ozai hit him again and again, eventually leaving him on the ground, "Don't you ever get near my son again.", he said, grabbing Zuko's hand, pulling the small boy with him.
The older boy just led on the ground for a few moments, breathing heavily. Then he shakingly lifted himself up, brushing the dirt from his clothes slowly going back up to the cherry tree, grabbing his book. He turned around towards his own quarters. While doing so his gaze brushed over the two spirits standing there. Aang wondered if he'd seen them. Suddenly the picture transformed.
They were standing in a dark room, lit only by a chandelier in the hand of a tall, black clothed figure. He was standing next to a door, while on the other side of the room a boy around Aang's age laid in a fancy bed, sleeping. The black figure raised an eyebrow at the spirits' entry. Then a smile appeared on his face. With a final gaze towards the boy's sleeping form, he quietly waved towards the spirits to follow him. The whole place he led them through was dark, apparently it was around midnight or early morning. The man did not speak, and Aang wondered if that was really Iroh's son.
Finally, he led them into a small room where he placed the chandelier on a wooden desk. He then got out of his black jacket, revealing a white shirt, black tie and dark grey vest underneath. He folded the jacket and packed it in a dresser, before he turned the chair from the desk around, and took a seat, one leg swung over the other casually. Aang noticed that he was wearing white gloves.
"To what do I owe the honor of the avatar's visit?", his voice was dark and low, but not without warmth. Aang was shocked for a moment. He was not used to somebody looking directly at him when he was in his spirit form. The man chuckled, "I'm sorry, how impolite of me. Please take a seat,", he gestured towards a single bed in the middle of the room, "since you're spirits, I won't ask if you'd like some tea or snacks."
Aang blinked twice, but then smiled and nodded, sitting down on the bed, of course, not making an imprint. The black clothed man eyed him curiously with crimson eyes, waiting for the young Avatar to speak. Avatar Roku's spirit still stood near the door of the room, he looked quite reserved. The man's gaze shifted to him for a moment, a smile forming on his lips, before he continued looking at Aang. He saw that the monk was struggling with beginning the conversation, so he stood up and bowed before the spirit. "Please, excuse me forgetting my manners. Your visit came rather surprisingly. I am Sebastian Michaelis, butler of the Earl of Phantomhive. At your service, young avatar.", then he sat back down in his chair.
Aang was rather taken aback by this, but decided to introduce himself as well, "Uhm, I'm Avatar Aang, nice to meet you, Mr. Michaelis.", he also bowed and took his seat at the bed again, "I'm looking for the second son of Iroh, Dragon of the West."
"What makes you think you could find him here? To the best of my knowledge, Iroh's second son is deceased. And even if he should be alive, why would you search for him anyway?", the dark voice was not unfriendly, but there was a hint of steel in it, maybe even hurt.
The avatar took a deep breath before he began explaining, "As far as I understand, we used a memory to form a spiritual connection, and it led us straight to you. Concerning you also match the description, especially your unusual eye color, I guess I already found who I was looking for.", Sebastian smiled at the kid. He for sure was brave, kind and honest, but also smart and determined.
"Indeed, you have. I am the second son of the Dragon of the West. So, why is it, that you of all people are searching for me?", Aang couldn't help but notice a slightly interested, maybe even amused undertone in the man's voice.
"Your cousin, Zuko, is my fire bending master and a good friend. His uncle, your father, is also a good friend, not only to me, but to our entire group. He has helped us many times, and although our relationship to him is not as close as Zuko's, who is like a son to him, we do care deeply about him.", he saw Sebastian smiling at him, his chin rested in one of his hands, apparently thinking of something.
Suddenly he was interrupted by the man's voice, "How are they?"
Aang looked at him, surprised by the sudden question, "They are fine, as far as I can tell. Zuko is now the Fire Lord and Iroh has re-opened his tea shop in Ba Sing Se.", earning him a surprised look from Sebastian, that quickly faded back into a smile, he mumbled under his breath, "Tea shop, you say? So, so…"
Then the avatar continued, "However, a few weeks ago, we decided to pay your father a surprise visit. So, we went down to the tea shop, only to find it closed, which is very unusual. Then we went to look for Iroh in his apartment, but it was all closed, even the curtains were shut, and no one would answer our knocks. Zuko was by then more than worried and kicked the door in. He told us to stay outside, so I can just tell you what he told us afterwards. Apparently, he found your father in front of your portrait, burning some incense, and the room only dimly lit by some candles. He didn't look like his usual self, rather quite in disarray, so much that Zuko was really worried about him. Your father then told Zuko about you and how incredibly sorry he is that he didn't protect you better, cared for you better back then.", he noticed the shock in the adult's face, but continued to talk, "Back in the Fire Nation, Zuko and we others then decided that the least we could do was to investigate what had happened to you and," he flinched a bit, "maybe we could find your remains, so that Iroh could give you a proper funeral. Of course, that has by now changed.", Sebastian's eyes were still widened in shock, yet his mouth went from a smile to a grin. "Apparently.", he said.
Aang went on, "We searched in the records of the reign of Azulon and while he did not write down what exactly happened to you, we now had a direction to look into. So, we went down in the tunnels underneath Caldera. And after some time, we found the tunnel leading to the room where it, well, uhm, we are not entirely sure what happened to you, but you know which room I mean."
Sebastian nodded slowly, the grin was completely gone from his face and was replaced by a stern expression.
"We opened it up and first found bloody footsteps and other traces leading down the tunnel to a room full of corpses. Maybe you can tell me what exactly happened there, because there are a few points that we didn't really understand. Anyway, later a former palace guard came to Zuko and told him what he had seen this evening. How you came out of that door and killed his colleagues, but sparing him, telling him to go.", the Avatar eyed the black clothed man closely. He looked shocked, maybe too much information at once.
Sebastian's voice was almost a whisper, "Kang Lee.", he closed his eyes, a slight smile playing around his lips. In the end it had been a good decision to let him live. With his normal voice he then asked, "you said you had questions? If you want to, I'll answer them to the best of my abilities.", smiling at the monk.
Aang nodded, "Yes, for a start I would like to know what happened back then.".
Sebastian closed his eyes for a moment, before he began, "Alright, but I'll leave the bloody details out, I guess, it is not really age appropriate for you.", he chuckled, "At this evening I was preparing a special tea blend for my father. He would return from a campaign with my brother in a few days, and knowing that he loves tea, I thought it the perfect welcome gift. Suddenly my grandfather and some guards knocked at my door, and I was taken to the room you mentioned. I tried to struggle, but I couldn't get anywhere. In the end, I was chained to some sort of ancient altar, they took most of my clothes off and began their ritual. At some point the sacrification process began, basically meaning that they began ramming daggers into my body over and over again. I felt myself bleed out, drifting into what felt like sleep, but I knew it was death. The blood loss was obviously way too high. Just when I closed my eyes, I noticed the candles being blown out. Suddenly there was a lot of fear in the room, and my eyes opened again, glowing, bright red eyes. I sat up, breaking my chains like it was nothing. Then I just let my instincts take over, causing all the corpses you found. Only slowly I noticed the changes to my own body. But it didn't matter to me at the time. What was important was, that they had made a mistake in their ritual. A miscalculation that had in the end, cost them their lives."
Aang stared in shock at the man. They had suspected that somehow Iroh's son, Sebastian, was responsible for the situation in the tunnel and the room beneath, but to hear it in his own words was different. Stuttering he asked, "What mistake?"
This earned him another chuckle from Sebastian, "Back then I had no idea. By now, I know that, to properly do that ritual, you have to call out the sacrifice's name on one point. And since I did not have a name, it did not work. Let me tell you, rituals involving the devil are way complicated and often go the wrong way when the details aren't done in order. Calling me "This boy", simply does not work."
"So, after all, Azulon's decision not to name you saved your life?", Aang asked curiously.
Sebastian sighed, "I guess you could say so, but don't take an example. Not giving a child a name is a grave sin, it causes all kinds of trouble. Not just in this world, but also in the afterlife. The Shinigami will have problems with this soul, and it makes an easy prey for demons. Besides the obvious problems in this world, I mean, you can't just yell the child's name to make it stop running around a pond, just for example.", Aang had to stifle his laughter at that remark. He had a feeling, Sebastian knew all too well which memory he used to locate him.
The dark clothed man smiled at the kid, before his expression became serious again and he continued with his story, "When I left the room, I blacked out for several minutes. The blood loss was high and the sudden changes to my body were also hard to process for a moment. Then I began crawling out of that tunnel. As I proceeded, my injuries began healing rapidly, so I was standing again when I opened that door. You know the rest from Kang Lee."
After this they both went silent for a moment. Aang looked at the ground when a thought crossed his mind, "You mentioned your body changing. What do you mean? You look pretty normal to me."
Sebastian sighed and closed his eyes. Then he smiled, opening them again. His eyes were glowing, bright red eyes with slanted pupils, "How else would you describe this, Avatar?", he asked, showing off white predatory teeth. He then removed his gloves, revealing a strange symbol on one of them as well as the black color of his fingernails.
Aang shrieked back, stuttering, "What are you?".
Sebastian tilted his head to the side, "Good question, but you should rather ask, what have I become? Thanks to these idiots back then I became a demon. That's what it is. You see now, I do have some doubts that my father would welcome me back into the family."
Aang gulped. The monks had told him about demons, but he had never taken that seriously. He also suddenly understood why Roku didn't want to come here, what he meant with "Predator". Sebastian's chuckle pulled him out of his frozen state. His eyes had stopped glowing and he sat there, smiling at the young avatar.