2- Return to Ignus Janjira.
A few hours later, everything in the palace was quiet, very quiet, as everyone was sleeping by then. Aang and Katara were sleeping peacefully on a shared bed in some room. It was the first time for him and her sleeping together in the same bed, just the two of them alone, so Aang was very happy for the long-awaited occasion, but it didn't look like he was enjoying it. Why? Because he was moving a lot on the bed. Aang was having a nightmare, and because he was the Avatar this one was not an ordinary nightmare. It was unique and special, in some matter: he was dreaming with some urban chaotic scenario. Aang found himself in some devastated city, all covered in dust, wreckage, fire and destroyed houses. The little boy stood at his surroundings shocked, alarmed and scared.
"What? What happened?" The little Avatar asked worried and frightened. "How could this happen? Katara! Sokka! Where are you guys?! Where are you?!" Aang called shouting almost desperate, but no one responded to him.
Then he heard a huge roar coming from behind. He looked up and at the distance and between the smoke saw two pairs of glowing and sinister red eyes belonging to two giant shadowy figures pointing at him, one bigger than the other, making some creepy cracking noises. Aang was forced to ran away from the figures who began chasing him all around the city in ruins. Aang had to go through the rubble all fast as he could, with big explosions happening behind him and from nowhere, like if they were also going after him. After running and gliding for a while one of those explosions almost got him, pushing him against the floor with force by its shockwave, but when Aang recovered, got up and looked at his back, the mysterious black mist figures disappeared. That left Aang truly confused, as…where did they go? Whatever they were. But then…Aang saw another weird thing that seemed to come from behind him: some huge and blue glow while feeling a bigger and powerful presence. He turned around and saw another strange gigantic figure moving between the dust clouds, but this one was different from the other two from before, this one looked bigger and more…human like, but not too much. Aang saw what looked to be one big and long tail passing all over him as the figure with spiked-like plates on his back turned around and let out some huge and mighty roar at the sky. It was so powerful that even was what made Aang to wake up from his dream screaming, sweating and scared. He breathed hardly before having a quick look at his surroundings. When he saw that everything was only a nightmare he relaxed and sighted in relief.
"Ugh…Aang? What's wrong?" Katara said, who woke up after hearing him scream and looking nervous. "Are you alright?"
"Oh, sorry Katara. I didn't want to wake you." Aang apologized.
"Are you okay?" She asked worried.
"I had a nightmare, but…I'm fine." He answered, not wanting to worry her.
"It's been a while since the last time you had nightmares. You wanna talk about it?" She offered, reminding the last time Aang couldn't sleep well.
"No. Not really."
And so, Katara though about something to make her little boyfriend to feel better. "Then…how about talking about something happier instead?"
"Like what?" Aang asked intrigued.
"Did you see that Toph seemed more cheerful in the party for Ursa today?" She said, with Aang nodding at it. "It's because her parents not only understood how her felt at long last, but they also were proud of her for what she did in the day of the comet."
"Really?"
"Yeah. She told me during the party. She said that her parents said it to her all by themselves."
"I'm glad for her. She must be very happy right now." Aang said smiling, glad to hear that good friend about his friend.
"Yes, especially now that she's sleeping like a rock."
The young couple chuckled at Katara's joke.
"Good one, Katara." Aang congratulated. "Thanks. Now I'm feeling better. You always know how to make it."
"I know, and I'll always will do." Katara said giving him a kiss in his cheek, making him to blush a little before going back to sleep. "Good night, Aang."
"Good night, Katara."
Aang went back to sleep too, not before of thinking about what was that dream about and what could it mean. Besides, when it comes to the Avatar, sometimes dreams turned out to be visions of some kind in the end, as he already knew from experience when he and his friends traveled around the world. But this one seemed to be different…somehow. And those giant clouded figures, they looked very big. He didn't recall having seen anything like that before. The only thing that looked anything similar to it was the giant lion turtle that he met before his battle with Ozai, but only that. So…what was all that about? And all that chaotic scenario? What could it mean? In the end, Aang decided to not give it much importance. After all, the war was already over and for good, so what else? The only thing that the young Avatar wanted now was to live a well-deserved calm and peaceful life with his dear and beloved girlfriend and all his loved ones. And with all settled, Aang fell asleep again quickly, but this time cuddling next to Katara, who smiled even already sleeping, like if she knew what was going on at the moment and joined him. At the same time, someone else was having trouble sleeping. In her bedroom, Ursa was also nervous and moving around the bed, breathing hardly and gasping in dreams. That was because…some memories of hers from long ago were getting back at her after many years, ones very peculiar. Inside her mind flashed memories of some uncharted and unknown island where she was many years ago, when she was a teenager; first, she saw images of a certain giant ape (King Kong) roaring while taking down an entire army of the Fire Nation, followed by others about some creepy and disgusting reptilian creature in some sinister bone yard (Skullcrawler) roaring at the sky, and last, ones of both creatures brawling on some marsh place near some shipwrecked ships (the battle of King Kong and Ramarak, the alpha Skullcrawler). Then she woke up the same way Aang did. After looking at her surroundings and seeing that was just a nightmare, she sighed in relief. Although, she realized of have recovered an important memory of her past. Now everything came back to her: when she met her friends on that trip, the island, its creatures…and its king. Everything regarding her experience on Skull Island. After calming down herself, Ursa put her coat on and went out to the garden quietly. There she sat down in front of the pond, looking at her own reflection in the water while thinking about her dream and another thing that seemed to be bothering her, until one thing came to her head at the moment fast like a lightning.
"Skull…Island." Ursa said for herself, finally remembering everything about what happened back then.
Then, a few seconds later after reminding about said matter, she grabbed her head tightly with her hands in pain as she felt some strong headache, but this was not an ordinary one, but from some different source, as some other past memory came right at her mind like a flash. In this memory of her, which looked like some flashback, was from many years ago, shortly after she and all citizens of the Ignus Janjira colony arrived to the capital city. There she was inside some big building of the Fire Nation's harbor where were some warriors that looked like being sick of some kind of illness (which was caused by the leaked radiation) on some white futons attended by the medical teams. The medics knew that those ill people were affected by some kind of poisonous gas, but they had no clue from its source or type, so they had no way to treat them properly. Ursa saw all with a concerned and confused face, as she had never seen anything like that, so she had no idea of what to do. Also, after they arrived at the harbor, she ordered a maid to bring her baby Zuko to the palace while she tried her best to ensure everybody to disembark the ship correctly. Meanwhile, Ozai also went to the palace to inform his father, Fire Lord Azulon, of what happened in the colony, so she was now alone supervising both that task and later the transportation of the sick soldiers to the medical post.
"Princess Ursa!" One of the guards of the place called coming at her fast before bowing at her.
"What is it, soldier?" Ursa asked.
"It's one of the ill men. He said he had something to tell you. Something important."
"What?" Ursa said confused. "Quick! Bring me to him!" She ordered, with the soldier nodding and guiding the princess among the affected ones.
Once they came near the one that wanted to see the princess, who was lying on the floor breathing hardly and looked like having all his body covered in ugly rashes, pustules and similar of some kind, giving him some sickly appearance, like the others. She kneeled down at his side, but he didn't say anything and looked at the guard. Ursa immediately understood that the man wanted it to be just the two of them.
"Leave us alone." Ursa ordered.
"Are you sure of that, Your Highness?" The guard asked.
"It's an order." The princess insisted.
The guard left at the end, leaving the princess alone with the sick man.
"Everything is alright. I will call the medics to treat you at the moment." Ursa ensured, but before she could call the medics, the man grabbed her arm weakly.
"No! It's…no use." The man said hardly and weak, like knowing that their medics couldn't do anything to his current state, with no way to save himself.
"But…"
"Don't worry about me, I…I'm fine." The sick man reassured. "In fact, I'm glad…to see and…meet one…of the ones…that helped us…by covering…our existence…since long ago. It's a…honor…to be in your presence…Princess Ursa. You…like General Iroh. The two…members…of the royal family…that survived…our expedition…to the island."
Ursa gasped surprised at hearing this, realizing to which secret organization that man belonged to.
"Monarch." The princess said, with the man nodding at her.
Then, he took out something from his clothes and gave it to the princess weakly. It seemed to be a bunch of scrolls and other paper things. Secret documents, which it could only be that coming from a member of Monarch's crew. "Take these, as well…all the equipment…from that bag." He said pointing weakly at some big bag near them at the left. "Please, keep them safe."
"What are these?"
"Our research…about what have…caused this. What happened…in Ignus Janjira…is not…what…everyone believes." He said before coughing.
"What? What are you talking about?" Ursa asked in low tone, making sure that nobody could hear them.
"Listen…Your Highness. This…world…never belonged…to us…or the spirits. It…belonged to…them. And we…don't know…when they will…reclaim it. Skull…Island…was just…the beginning. There's…more…out there."
Then some concerning thought came to the princess's mind at hearing that. "You mean…that what happened to the colony…was…?" Ursa asked a little scared.
"Possibly." The man of Monarch said before coughing again. "But…we're not…sure. Our main…priority…is to…prevent…the world…of knowing…this: to hide…the truth. Especially…on these times…and…from the Fire Nation. This was supposed…to be the responsibility of me…and my team, but now…it will be yours."
"Mine?" Ursa recalled confused.
"Princess Ursa, you must…keep these safe, no matter what. Once the chance arrives…you must ensure…to take these back to Monarch, to Dr. Serizawa. He will know…what to do with it. Contact him, you…will have to." He begged while holding her hands with his, feeling that his life was coming to an end. "Please, Your Highness. Monarch…needs you again. This...is so important. We need you…to fulfill…our mission. It must…be done."
With his last breath taken, the man closed his eyes and his hands fell slowly to the ground, passing away. The princess looked at him with sorrow for a few seconds. Next she got up and took the bag and left the building. Minutes later, she entered in her room with all the things. After putting them in the floor, she knelt down and opened some secret compartment that she only knew where there was something really big covered by a red blanket on its inside. She took the bag and the files and put them inside there before closing it by moving again the same piece of wall that she separated before in front of it. Ursa sighed before getting up and turning her attention toward the cradle, where little Zuko was looking at his surroundings with curious eyes and when his mother showed over him, he smiled at her, making the princess to smile too while taking her baby son gently with her hands. She sat down over the bed while cuddling her baby who let out a little yawn and fell asleep quickly, laying his head next to his mother. She just stood there holding her son in arms while looking at him in silence. That's where the memory ended. And so, with everything remembered now, Ursa went back to her room quickly but quietly at the same time in order to not wake up anyone. Once there, she looked where her secret compartment was, which fortunately was in the same place. She opened and saw that all the things that she left there hidden were still there untouched. She grabbed the files and checked them to ensure that they were intact, and they were.
Ursa sighed in relief while holding the files to her torso. "Thank the spirits."
Next she put the files on the floor and took another thing out of her hiding place, the thing that was covered by the red blanket. She uncovered it, revealing what it was: some kind of giant sharp tooth, and it wasn't of any kind. That tooth belonged to Ramarak, the giant alpha Skullcrawler that she, Iroh and their friends encountered in Skull Island and was defeated by Kong many years ago. In fact, that was one of the teeth that the beast lost in the fight, so it seemed that she took it as some kind of souvenir, or perhaps it meant something else and more serious. Ursa looked at the tooth as another memory of long-passed battle came to her mind.
"Ursa?" A voice called from behind, startling the former fire princess who gasped in shock and turned quickly with a horrified expression, but she calmed herself down when she saw that it was just Iroh in his pajamas who entered in the room. "What are you doing?"
Ursa covered the tooth with the blanket and got on her feet. "Iroh, do you…remember it? That time, when we were…there, and everything that we saw and lived there."
Immediately Iroh understood what she meant, as he put some serious expression and closed his eyes. "Skull Island. Yes, I do. So many years have passed since then, but…I always thought about that experience and journey many times, and never talked about it with anyone else except you, not even the White Lotus. After all this time, why that again and now?"
Ursa first hesitated of talking about what was going on her head, but she knew that Iroh was more than trustworthy. "Remember everything you heard about what happened in Ignus Janjira?"
"Yes, that was 16 years ago. It was a tragic event indeed. No one saw it coming."
"So I thought back then, but now I think that was not from a natural disaster or something done by a spirit or similar. What happened back there…is not what everyone believed, including us."
"What do you mean, Ursa?" Iroh asked confused, not sure of what was she talking about.
"When we were evacuating the colony, I swear that…I heard something. Something that sounded to be…alive, and moving somewhere."
"Oh." Iroh expressed, finally having an idea of what could she meaning. "I see. I see."
"I had these thoughts for myself all this time, but now that the fight is over, I…I can do something about."
"Ursa, what do you intend to do?"
"I have to leave. I have to know what happened really there." Ursa explained herself, feeling herself like a little embarrassed. "I know that I just got here shortly, and it has been a very long time since I left but…I have to do this too. This is something that I must leave behind."
Iroh stroke his beard a few times while thinking about Ursa's words. Then, he said his opinion. "You must do what you think is right." That was his answer, what made Ursa smile, knowing that he understood her. "But also…I give you this advice, Ursa. Talk with Zuko about this as well. After all, you've just returned home shortly, so I believe he needs to know at least why you want to go again, even if it's just for a day or two. He deserves to know."
"Yes, I know." Ursa agreed lowering her head sad. But Iroh put a comforting hand on her shoulder, calming her a little before leaving the room. And right after opening the door, he took out something from a bag that he carried with since he came there and showed to Ursa. It was another tooth similar to the one that she had. Ursa nodded at him and showed the tooth that she had, revealing that both of them had at least one of them to remind them of what only the two of them knew and lived back then.
"Just think of it." Iroh said before putting the tooth back in the bag and closing the door.
Ursa went back to her bed and tried to fall asleep again, but in the end she couldn't. She got up, grabbed the bag and took out some strange technological advanced devices. Fortunately, among the files there were the instructions to know how to operate the devices, so it didn't took long for her to turn on the devices. And a few minutes later of putting all the equipment ready and working again, they began monitoring something, something that made her to wide her eyes in disbelief. Many days later, Zuko, who was wearing again his Fire Lord outfit and crown, was in a corridor walking with his uncle in the early morning while talking with him about some subject to seemed to be concerning him.
"You look worried, nephew. Is something wrong?" The former general asked the young Fire Lord.
"I don't know. My mother has been…really busy lately, or that's what I believe. She barely leaves her room these days. Maybe she feels a little unpleasant to be back here, something that I understand. After all that my father did and said…" Zuko explained.
"Oh, I'm sure that is nothing about it, Zuko. Your mother is very strong and you know it. In fact, I think it can be something different."
"You really think that, Uncle?"
The elder firebending master nodded him. "Haven't you asked her about it?"
"I…not really. I thought of giving her some time and space, so that could help her with whatever issue that might be troubling her."
"Then maybe it's time for you to ask her by yourself. Nothing bad can happen for that. Besides, you're the Fire Lord."
Zuko smiled at hearing his uncle's wise words, once again. "Thank you, Uncle. You know? Now that I think about it, all this time you've been more than only my uncle." That left a confused look at his uncle. "Back in the Northern Water Tribe, you said that you thought and saw me as your own son. Well, that's not the only case. The thing is…that you're the one who has been a real father to me. I fact, I told it right at my father's face."
A warm smile formed in Iroh's face while it looked like he was going to let out some tears. "I know. And I've to admit that I'm surprised that you did that. I wish I could have seen my brother's face that moment."
The two of them, uncle and nephew, laughed of this before sharing a lovely and warm hug. Sometime later at almost midday, Zuko came to his mother's room and knocked the door a couple of times.
"Come in!" Ursa said from inside.
Zuko entered the room, and then he became speechless of how his mother had reorganized her room. It was totally different from how he remembered when he was a little boy; there were some posters of news for the Fire Nation on the walls and each one of them talked about one specific matter: the incident of Ignus Janjira, but there also scrolls and papers with what looked to be graphics of some kind and maps focused on Red Sand Island, its areas and surroundings with marked places. There was also some furniture with books of scientific subjects. Now it didn't look like a bedroom, but some kind of work room for research. But…what kind of research? That was one of the questions. His mother had become a scientist in such short time? That sure had to be one of the other questions that passed through Zuko's mind in that moment. Ursa was sat in a chair in front of a table where some strange and highly technological advanced devices were put and doing something, and she seemed to be busy by checking some of the papers and scrolls that she barely realized that it was her own son who just came in.
"Oh, Zuko." Ursa welcomed, finally seeing that he was there. "Sorry, I'm a little busy right now."
"Well, I think you've been busy since lots of days." Zuko rectified while having a look at the room. "You didn't show yourself most of the time recently."
"I'm sorry. I've been…focused on something."
Among the news posters, Zuko could see what some intriguing things: in one was written "Ignus Janjira's Poisonous Crisis Grows.". Other said "Fire Lord Azulon and Prince Ozai recently denies the existence of affected colonists' hometown." while another had written "Cover-up in Red Sand Island?" on it. On another one could read "Poison Zone: security tightens around fallen colony." Or "Strange poisonous gas leaves Fire Nation colony uninhabitable."
"So…how is the restoration of the nation going? You're not going through some much hard duties, right?" Ursa asked.
"Oh no. Everything is going fine." Zuko reassured. "It's curious. If it's like since father was defeated, our nation became free from some kind of grudge that anyone thought about. It's surprising how many people really hated Azula, him and his predecessors for everything that they did. It's only…they couldn't express it just like that." Then some of the books caught his eye and picked them. "Echolocation?, Parasitic communication?"
"Oh, hey. Please don't." Ursa pleaded, getting up and putting the books as they were before. "I have everything the way I like it. I'm just…I'm interested in bioacoustics."
"Since when you have become scientist?" Zuko asked confused.
"Well…it's a long story."
"Mother, what is going on?" Zuko asked, this time more serious. "Are you alright? You're…you haven't been yourself recently."
Ursa knew that she couldn't continue with that weird acting anymore. Besides, he already caught her, and she saw that her son was worried about her and it was her fault. She sighed in defeat before deciding being sincere with him.
"Alright. I'll explain you everything. I'm so sorry of having you worried and everyone else." Ursa apologized, lowering her head in shame before looking at his son's eyes again.
"It's okay." Zuko answered putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "So, what's this all about? Ignus Janjira?"
"Oh, yes. You probably don't remember it."
"Remember?"
"You were just a baby when it happened, it was 16 years ago. You see, Ignus Janjira was the most recent colony of the Fire Nation. It was founded in Red Sand Island, in the Earth Kingdom a few days after you were born. The colony was gonna have the honor to celebrate the visit of the new member of the royal family for the first time, but then…a disaster happened. The entire island was stroke by a powerful earthquake and became engulfed by some strange poisonous gas that leaked out from the mountain that collapsed. Everybody was forced to evacuate in time and leave their homes behind. In the end, all citizens had no other option but to return to the capital."
"I don't recall of having hear anything about it."
"That's because your father and grandfather forbid everyone to talk about what happened there and pretended that incident to have never happened, and so any sign of the existence of the colony. They didn't want it to reach any ears of their enemies, for them to see the Fire Nation not almighty as it was considered, but vulnerable and weak, that it could be defeated. That's why both you and Azula had no knowledge of this. But your father and I were there when it happened. We saw it when the colony fell."
"I see." Zuko said, starting to understand it. "So right now that place is some kind of forbidden dangerous zone."
"Yes. It's called a quarantine zone. But it doesn't end there."
"What do you mean?"
"When we came back here, I found one man that told me that the disaster that doomed the colony wasn't what seemed to be. You see those?" Ursa said pointing at the devices.
"Yeah. Honestly, I've never seen anything like that." Zuko confessed. "And they looked to be…ugh, how is it like Sokka would call it? Very advanced technology?"
Ursa chuckled a little. "Yes, it is. That's the equipment that the man and his team were using on their field operations. It was not easy, but I've finally managed to use them properly."
"You mean researching? About what?"
"Of what really provoked the colony's downfall. As you see, Honey, I've learned a lot thanks to this. Now I know that the poisonous gas that left the colony uninhabitable is called radiation, and it's totally different from any other kind of poisonous substance. It has been something unknown not only for the Fire Nation, but for the entire world."
"Wait. How do you know all that?" Zuko asked again, this time more confused than before.
"Because of all this, I've already told you. In fact, the new readings are exactly like they were on that day." Ursa explained, but then stopped by realizing something. "Oh my. That means…that he maybe was right."
"Mother, I'm not following you, you…you lost me. What are you talking about?"
Ursa was gonna say something when one of the devices of the table started beeping, like some kind of alarm. Ursa went to check the device, which was some kind of scanner, and what she saw made her wide her eyes in surprise and disbelief.
"What is it, mother? It's something bad?" Zuko asked worried as he saw his mother reaction at the monitor.
"I don't know." Ursa responded. But then she recovered her composure and some face of determination appeared on her face. Then she began preparing some luggage. She also turned off all the equipment and put them in their respective bag. It was like if she was preparing herself for departure.
"Mother? What are you doing?" Zuko asked, having no idea of what his mother was planning to do.
"I'm heading back out there, Zuko." Ursa answered directly.
"What? To the colony? No. I don't think so." Her son opposed at that. "You said it yourself. That place is too dangerous."
"Don't worry. I've some special suits made for protecting people from radiation."
"Even with that, I don't want you to go back there."
"One hour, in and out."
"Are you even listening to me?!" Zuko exclaimed, feeling tired of being ignored by her. "I'm the Fire Lord, and I'm telling you that you're not leaving again!"
"Zuko! I have to go!"
Seeing that everything was turning into some uncomfortable and tense argument, both mother and son decided to calm down after watching at each other. Ursa became then shocked at seeing her son with tearful eyes.
"I don't want you to go, not again." Zuko begged hardly, struggling for not crying. "I cannot lose you again. I…I'm not that strong. If it would happen, I couldn't endure it."
Ursa felt sad for seeing Zuko that way and also herself guilty for making her son feeling like that. He didn't want what happened that day of his childhood to repeat again. She pulled Zuko to her gently inside a tight comforting hug.
"I'm sorry, Zuko. I didn't want you to felt like this." Ursa said comforting her son before looking at him in the eyes while gently touching his face with her hand. After a few seconds of bonding, they undid the hug. "But I really have to go. Since I became princess against my own will, I stood here spending most of my life without doing anything of value. But that all changed when you and your sister came. And when the colony's disaster happened, I knew that one day I would be able to do something of value. Something that could help many others. Someway to make it up for all the time I didn't do anything good during the war."
With those pleading words, Zuko began to see what his mother really meant with that, and so began to reconsider what he said before without thinking it twice. "What do you think could be happening there?"
"I think…they're covering up something. Something that they didn't want others to find out, especially your father, grandfather and any high-ranking member of the Fire Nation. They've been doing it all these years. Besides, one of these days, since we came back home, I contacted a man who knew the one that gave me all this. He runs a cargo boat offshore. Every day he went right past the island. So he placed a couple frequency monitors on buoys for me." She explained while changing her royal clothes to the ones that she had during her banishment behind a wood wall for changing clothes. Later she came out already prepared. "Some days ago…I checked this thing like every other day just for the kick. Some days ago, I'm tuning in and…" Suddenly, Ursa stopped with her explaining at realizing some crucial detail. "Oh gosh: there it is. That's it." She said a little surprised.
"What? What do you mean?" Zuko asked confused, a lot because of all his mother's words that he couldn't understand right then and what she meant. Definitely it looked like she had been studying a lot lately, even if she looked a little obsessed with whatever she was talking about.
"Whatever "it" is that's in there. Whatever it is they're guarding so carefully…started talking again. And I mean talking. I have to go back to the colony. I need to give them the information that they missed. I need to give them what they couldn't recover. I need to…I have to complete their mission. That way, I'll know the truth at last…and end this."
"Why can't you just let it rest, mother?" Zuko asked, seeing that his mother was not gonna change her mind.
"Because it's the last thing that holds me still to the past. I need to do this, so I can finally leave it behind, once and for all." She confessed, lowering her head.
That's what Zuko needed to made up his mind too. "I understand." He said putting a hand on her shoulder, catching her attention. "But you don't have to do this alone. I'll go with you, alongside my friends." He decided with determination before smiling at her, making Ursa to smile at him as well.
"Then we better prepare ourselves."
That same afternoon, Zuko and Ursa, joined by Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph and Momo were flying on Appa over the sea in direction to the almost forgotten place. All members of Team Avatar changed to their outfits and looks they had in the welcoming party.
"You know? I thought that since we brought back Zuko's mother everything would be calmer, peace and quiet. And here we are, on one last mission again." Sokka expressed, sounding like if he was a little frustrated.
"Sokka, even if the war is over, our duty still goes." Katara retorted. "Rebuilding a world after 100 years of war is not as easy as doing house chores."
"She's right. There's a lot of pending accounts that needs to be fixed before peace can be reestablished." Aang supported from Appa's head holding the ropes of his bison.
"Besides, even if I like some times for relaxing, I love the job of being heroes, and we're too young to quit so early." Toph opined with her arms crossed behind her head besides her legs also crossed.
"Okay, okay, I get it." Sokka defended. "And…also I had to admit that I probably would miss our travels around the world."
"I'm sure that it will be enough time for lots of things to be done before finding what would be our place in the new era of the world." Suki reassured.
"So…where did you say we're going, Zuko?" Aang recalled.
"To Red Sand Island, in the Earth Kingdom."
"Red Sand Island?" Sokka said confused. "I don't recall that the Fire Nation had presence there during the war."
"Yeah. We heard that place was forbidden to go. That it was cursed or something and it was dangerous to go there." Katara added.
"What?" Aand said surprised. "Then why are we traveling there? It makes no sense."
"What do you know about Ignus Janjira?" Zuko proposed to his friends.
"Hum…not much." Sokka said after a few seconds reflecting. "Only some tales about it."
"Well, it sounded more like some legend or myth to others." Katara corrected.
"Honestly, all this time I thought that it was just some kind of rumor." Suki admitted.
"Ignus Janjira? What's that?" Aang asked intrigued.
"Oh, yeah. You were still in the ice, so you wouldn't know of it." Sokka reminded.
"Not only him. I haven't heard of that name in my life either." Toph revealed.
"Ignus Janjira was said to be one of the colonies of the Fire Nation in the Earth Kingdom, the most recent of them. But…one day, some kind of disaster happened and that same day the colony was left abandoned."
"You mean like…a natural disaster?" Aang tried.
"Well, I heard that it was some powerful earthquake that destroyed it." Katara reminded.
"Yes, but that was just one part of it. Actually, it was some strange kind of poisonous gas that came from beneath the mountain of the island. It was freed when the entire mountain collapsed." Zuko revealed.
That left the Avatar and the others surprised and without words.
"Wow. Wait, how do you all that?" Sokka asked intrigued.
"My mother told me." Zuko said, turning his sight to Ursa, who was petting a sleeping Momo while looking to where they were going, before looking at his group again. "Surprisingly, I was there when it happened. I was only a baby back then. I had no idea that I also witnessed its downfall, alongside my parents."
"But if it was abandoned, why nobody knows what really happened there?" Suki asked confused.
"My father and grandfather, that's what happened. They didn't want the news of the disaster to spread to the rest of the world, fearing that everyone could see that they could be vulnerable in the end. So they got rid of every proof of its existence and forbid everyone to name, talk and mention a word about both the colony and the incident. Like if it never existed."
"So they covered up all." Toph deduced, with Zuko nodding at her.
"And what is that is bothering your mother about it?" Aang asked to the Fire Lord.
"I'm not sure, but she is convinced that what happened there long ago wasn't what everyone believed back then."
"Hum…well, maybe it could be something provoked by some enraged spirit."
"No." Ursa responded immediately at hearing the Avatar's words, who turning her sight at the group. "It wasn't a spirit. It was…another thing."
"Another thing?" Katara recalled confused and a little worried. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. Besides, there's no spirit that can be related with something like radiation."
"Radi…ation?" Suki said, strange by such word.
"It's that how that poisonous gas is called?" Sokka asked.
"Yes. But it is not like the other types of poisons. It's something you cannot see, smell or touch." Ursa explained about what radiation was more or less. "It's invisible and it contaminates everything that it covers. It can make a person very ill, I saw it myself. It affects you from the inside out, and once you know you're sick because of it, it's too late, and…there's no way to cure it."
That made almost everyone to shiver in fear or shallow hardly, now knowing how dangerous radiation could be.
"But if it wasn't neither a spirit or some ordinary earthquake, what caused that which doomed the colony?" Toph asked now truly intrigued.
"I don't know, but we're going to figure it out." Ursa declared, decided in solving the mystery of such tragic event.
After a long distance of flying the group finally spotted Red Sand Island, all covered by some casual mist. Aang ordered Appa to land over the water near the limits of the island and before reaching the beach, which were blocked by some old looking metallic wire fence that stretched far and wide around the island in order to keep anyone far and out of the contaminated area. The Avatar and his friends could even see a yellow warning poster that had written on it "Warning: Quarantine Zone." alongside the emblem of radiation. A sign that the entire island was polluted and all its places were highly radioactive.
Aang shivered a little scared of the spooky place that lied up ahead. "This place looks very creepy."
"Yeah, no doubt." Sokka agreed a little scared too. "It really looks like something terrible happened here long ago."
"A scary long-abandoned city in ruins? Sounds cool." Toph said, making the rest of the group to look at her with a scowl.
"So now what? We can come a little closer?" Katara asked to Ursa.
"No, we cannot go farther from here, no without having protection. The bison and lemur can't follow us beyond the fence; it would be too dangerous for them. They will have to wait here." Next, Ursa got up and reached to one of the big bags that they brought with them. Then she began taking out some kind of special brown gray suits and weird masks. "These special outfits will protect us from radiation, isolating us from it. And the masks will allow us to breath filtered and clean air."
"Well, that's good to know." Zuko expressed relieved.
However, Toph groaned at hearing that, as she didn't like a lot the idea of wearing that kind of suit because she would be completely blind then with her feet covered as well. "We have to wear it for real?"
"I'm sorry, Toph, but there's no other option." Katara said taking her protective suit. "You heard Ursa, we cannot take any risk."
"Don't worry. We'll take you by the hand." Sokka ensured before throwing one of the suits to Toph, who got herself all covered as she couldn't see it.
"Yeah, that's good to know." Toph said sarcastically in defeat, not too excited about the alternative solution for her peculiar case.
After everyone put on the protective suits and masks and checked that all of them worked fine, Katara used her waterbending to create an opening on the fence by cutting some part of the front with some water slashes. Next she froze the surface of the water to create a path that reached the shore. With everything ready, the group began to walk passing the fence, leaving Appa and Momo behind for their own protection. Sokka and Suki grabbed Toph's hands with their own and were guiding her slowly because she couldn't see anything by wearing the suit and Ursa carried the bag with all the equipment and files inside. After walking passed the beach, the group became surprised and stunned at their surroundings (except Toph, because she couldn't.): an entire city with no sign of human life since years, all covered in the mist. It was a real ghost town; the houses were old-looking, with cracks formed in the walls and roofs and mostly covered by climbing plants, bushes, trees or other plants. Some of them were completely in ruins already. And not just only those, everywhere was filled with trees and plants. For being a highly radioactive place it seemed to be full of life. At the moment, the mist suddenly disappeared, allowing everyone to have a better look to everywhere.
"Wow." Aang expressed amazed for what he was seeing. "It's real. It was real: Ignus Janjira."
"Yes, it is." Ursa confirmed. She also couldn't believe that after all those years, she was back there. "We're here."
"It's hard to believe that this was once a Fire Nation colony long time ago." Zuko admitted as he and the others began exploring all over the place.
"Talking about colonies. What do you intend to do with the other ones that the Fire Nation have in the Earth Kingdom?" Ursa asked to her son curious, changing the subject to another one that was also concerning.
"They will be no colonies anymore." Zuko revealed, what left his mother surprised, not expecting an answer like that. "My friends and I have decided to turn them into a place where people from all nations would live together in peace and harmony. It will be the fifth nation, a symbol of restoration and balance for the world."
"Really?" His mother said, with her son nodding at her.
"We even have decided a name for it. The United Republic of Nations. A gift for the world and something to mark the beginning of the new era." Zuko confessed before continuing advancing.
"You're truly going to be a great Fire Lord, Zuko." Ursa said, feeling herself more proud of her son already.
"It is as if nature has reclaimed the entire island after the Fire Nation left." Aang deduced amazed while seeing lots of birds flying over them.
"Yeah but…this place looks like being full of life. Which seems totally the contrary for an extremely deadly place." Katara observed too, sensing that something was out of place.
"Ursa, one question." Sokka called. "How long does it take for radiation to disappear?"
"I'm not sure of it." Ursa responded. "I think…50 or 100 years."
"WHAT?!" The entire Team Avatar yelled in disbelief.
"And I thought that being trapped inside an iceberg was too much." Aang expressed stunned.
"Where are we supposed to go, Ursa?" Suki asked next.
"To our old house of here. There's something that I must look for inside there."
The group turned their attention next to a pack of wolves that were running at their direction. But these only passed through, ignoring them completely.
"What is it? What happened?" Toph asked without a clue of what just happened.
"Ok. That's definitely out of place." Sokka said pointing at the wolves which kept running. "I mean, isn't this supposed to be a deadly zone or what? That should include animals too."
"They looked scared. What spooked them?" Aang asked curious to Katara.
"I don't know, but I agree with Sokka. If we've seen wolves here, that means something is not right here."
"Anyway, we should keep going." Zuko advised. "Come on. Let's go. It's only another two blocks, at the other side of the beach, I think."
By seeing the wolves and birds there and the words of the Water Tribe siblings, Ursa also deduced that something was not like it supposed to be there. She took out some small device from her pocket, a radiation detecting device. She turned it on and saw surprised and shocked that its numbers were in zero. Translation: there was no radiation there or their levels were normal, which means that it wasn't dangerous. So there was no danger in the end of being affected.
"Mother!" Zuko called his mother, snapping out of her trance. "Are we going home, or what?"
And then, for everyone's shock, Ursa decided to take out her mask at the act, something that alarmed everyone present there.
"Whoa!" Aang exclaimed alarmed.
"No wait!" Katara warned.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" Sokka asked.
"Are you crazy?!" Suki added.
"Mother?!" Zuko said worried.
"It's okay, everyone! I'm fine." Ursa reassured, calming everyone down while breathing deep and calmed. "It's clean. I knew it. The radiation in this place should be lethal, but there's nothing."
"So it seems that this radiation thing was disappeared sooner than we thought." Toph theorized.
"Or someone has been lying about this radiation matter all this time." Sokka deduced.
"So can I take off this unnecessary creepy guy custom already? I wanna be able to see again if that's not too much saying."
"Oh, yes. Yes, you can take off your suits now. After all, there's no danger." Ursa confirmed.
And so everyone took off their suits and masks.
"Ah, finally. That's how I like it." Toph expressed relieved to feel solid ground once again, and suddenly she became amazed by all her surroundings. "Wow. It really is a ghost town."
Without their anti-radiation outfits, the group was able to continue their exploration of the colony better. It didn't take long for them to reach the old house of the royal family. The place was all covered in dust and with some cracks in the walls, besides of having plants, fungus, mold and lichens all over the place, both outside and inside. It even had some stinky smell in some parts of the house. Everything was so quiet…when suddenly everyone heard Katara and Suki screaming in horror from a room. Their boyfriends came to their aid in no time, taking down a door in the process and putting themselves in front of their girls, ready for protecting them from whatever was messing with them.
"What is it?!" Aang yelled with his staff ready.
"Where's the attacker?!" Sokka added with his special black sword forged from a meteorite ready.
"Roach!" The waterbender and Kyoshi Warrior leader girls yelled cuddling at each other, shivering and holding hands while pointing to a giant cockroach that was still in the wall of the right near some plants with their two other hands.
That made the two boys to look back at them with some funny and stunned faces.
"Really? All that just for a simple bug?" Sokka asked in disbelief pointing at the insect.
"Not just a simple bug, but a roach!" Suki insisted.
"Yeah, so what?" Aang asked lightly like it was no big deal.
"So what? It's a big one!" Katara exclaimed.
"What's wrong with you two?! It's just a bug." Toph said entering in the room and passing between the four of them.
"Oh sorry. It's not like everyone here is blind like you Toph, so they cannot see how disgusting are some kinds of creatures!" Katara protested with her arms crossed at Toph, who was cuddling a giant millipede on her hands that she took from one of the plants.
"It's just amazing how such a powerful waterbender and a fearless warrior and leader are scared from such a tiny creature that would never harm any of them."
"If you were able to see it like us, you wouldn't say that." Suki defended.
"Then I'm glad of not being like you two, because I would die of embarrassment." Toph said before leaving the room chuckling, making Suki and Katara to get mad and leave the room in other direction muttering complaints about Toph and her immunity against disgusting looking bugs.
Both Aang and Sokka stood there puzzled with nothing to say. They just looked at each other and shrugged in confusion.
"You know? Sometimes girls are weird." Sokka confessed while and Aang continued exploring the house. Then, the little airbender seemed to be concerned about something.
"Sokka, I…I wanted to talk to you about…you know, Katara and me…being together. I know this must be a little…uncomfortable for you, so…"
"What?" Sokka said confused turning at him. "Are you still worried about that? Come on, Aang, that's already in the past. I told you I'm fine with that." He reassured to his best friend putting a comforting arm around Aang's arm.
"So you're okay that we're a couple?"
"Of course I am. I cannot think of a better person for my sister to be with. Plus you're the Avatar. What could be safer than that?"
"Oh, well, thanks Sokka. I'm glad to know that. Now I'm feeling better."
"Absolutely. Right now we only have to worry about whatever the future might throw at us." Sokka said, right before some debris fell in front of him, forcing him to stop right where he was, something that also startled Aang. "Besides of getting out of this house without ending buried under it."
After ensuring that the rest of the roof was not going to fall, Aang and Sokka left from there quickly. Meanwhile, Ursa went inside what was her old room and began inspecting all the drawers looking for something of value for her. Then, in the last one and under some dusty old clothes, she found something: some kind of medallion with a red jewel inserted in its center. That was what she was looking for.
"Thank goodness." Ursa said relieved holding the medallion in her hands.
Suddenly, she stood around looking at the room, like if she was looking at it with some nostalgia. And that made her feel a little sad. Shortly, her son entered in the room.
"Hey. Are you okay?" Zuko asked worried at his mother, who only lowered her head in sorrow.
"This…is where we were going to celebrate your first birthday." Ursa said hardly and with tearful eyes, almost at the point of crying.
"Mother." Zuko said giving her another comforting hug. "I think we should keep going. Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Yes." His mother said cleaning her eyes and showing him the medallion. In that same moment, Aang and Katara entered in the room.
"What's that?" Katara asked curious.
"It's an old family relic. It was from my grandfather, Avatar Roku." The former princess revealed. It was something that also caught both Katara and Aang by surprise.
"WHAT?!" The couple said together in disbelief, startling both Ursa and Zuko a little.
"But...I thought Fire Lord Sozin was your great grandfather." Aang said to Zuko.
"And he is. He was my father's grandfather, but surprisingly Avatar Roku was my mother's grandfather."
"You knew that too?!"
"Yes. Actually, I discovered it shortly before the Day of Black Sun. Uncle told me about it."
"He wanted to make sure for you to follow the path that your grandfather wanted you to go." Ursa added, what made her son to give her another smile.
Zuko and his mother left the room, leaving Aang and Katara still shocked by such revelation.
"Zuko is…the great-grandson of Avatar Roku? The Avatar that preceded you? Your past life?!" Katara said, still trying to assimilate such unexpected thing.
"It…it seems that way." Aang said stunned just like his girlfriend. "I guess the story of the Avatar and the Fire Lord repeated again after all."
"Yeah, but this time…it became just like it should have always been." She added smiling at him, making her boyfriend to return the smile to her.
Then they heard some kind of noise coming from outside the house, a noise that was getting louder and louder by the moment.
"Hey, do you hear that?" Toph called to everyone. "What is that?"
Everyone got out of the house and saw something unexpected in the sky of the area: they saw a huge airship flying over them, but it wasn't from the Fire Nation. It only resembled it a little as it had its same design, but it wasn't red, but light black and it didn't have the Fire Nation emblem, but another one that was totally unknown for everyone except Ursa: the emblem of Monarch. So they were in the right place, and none of them realized that it was almost at night, but they didn't seem to take about that detail at the moment.
"It's one of those airships." Suki recognized from their battle of the day of Sozin's Comet.
"But it's not from the Fire Nation. It doesn't have the emblem." Sokka distinguished pointing at the airship.
"I don't understand. What's it doing here?" Katara questioned confused, as it was supposed that no nation had known activity on that island.
The group decided to follow the unknown airship to wherever it could be going. After passing through some streets running, they stopped suddenly while watching which was the airship's destination in the distance: the crater of the old mountain of the island that collapsed during the disaster, but there was something strange in there. The place of the crater was occupied by some buildings constructed all over the area (which looked similar to some of the buildings from the future Republic City in form and design). Those looked different like anything that Aang and his friends had seen before, besides of having their own light, and they didn't seem to come from torchers or fire. It looked like some place made with advanced technology, and the crater place was now united with the city with some big stone bridge that acted like some faster way to reach the crater zone. Despite all that, there was one thing that was clear about that: it seemed to be some kind of secret outpost or something like that.
"What…is that?" Aang asked stunned.
"Are they rebuilding that part of the city?" Zuko asked confused too.
"I don't know. I haven't seen nothing like it." Ursa opined. "But it doesn't look like it either."
And then Toph felt something coming at them. "Guys, we're not alone."
Suddenly the group found themselves surrounded by earthbenders that appeared from everywhere, but there was something weird about these benders: they didn't wear the ordinary and familiar outfits of the Earth Kingdom warriors. Instead, they had some strange light black uniforms with the same emblem that the airship had, not to mention that these uniforms looked to be different from other types seen in any of the four nations, they looked like coming from something advance, just like the outpost of the crater zone. Team Avatar took their fighting poses, ready for fight in case it could be necessary.
"Hold right there!" The captain in charge of the team of unknown soldiers demanded loud and clear. "This is a restricted area. Stay your purposes."
"Don't attack! Easy. I'm the Avatar." Aang identified himself.
"Better say we're Team Avatar." Sokka rectified.
"Avatar Aang?" The captain recalled confused, just like his warriors who calmed down, just like Aang and his friends. "Fire Lord Zuko? Wha…what are you doing here?" He asked stunned and curious, as they didn't expect to find them there.
"We could ask you the same." Toph answered.
Ursa walked at the newcomers and stood in front of them bowing lightly. "I'm Ursa, former princess of the Fire Nation. I've to go and meet someone called Dr. Serizawa. It's something important."
The soldiers of Monarch became both surprised and shocked as they began mumbling something related to that.
"We're glad that you're here at last. We're waiting for your arrival." The captain said, like if he was relieved of knowing who she was. "After all these years, we're starting to think that you wouldn't come."
"Well, I've had some…hard setbacks." Ursa apologized smiling in shame.
Zuko and the others had no idea what was going on or why it looked like his mother seemed to know that people, but at least they were not enemies and they were not going to arrest them for trespassing, so for the moment it was fine for them.
"Come with us, this way." The captain offered, with the former fire princess nodding at him before looking at her son and his friends and doing the same, telling them that it was okay.
And so the group began being escorted to the mysterious outpost while Aang used his whistle to call Appa so he and Momo could meet with them before reaching there. No one had any idea of what exactly was going on there, but they're going to have their answers very soon, right there, on the crater place, without knowing that said place was much more than it looked like: the slumbering place of a living being from a long ago forgotten era.