Chapter 6: Initial Complications

You have one week to forfeit your claim and position as the Fire Lord…. If you don't, then the beloved Capitol City of the Fire Nation with bathe in blood.

A soft silence befell upon the war room. The usual mundane sounds that wouldn't normally bother a soul now became extremely noticeable aberrations. The soft flaking of the flames surrounding the throne, the sweet chirping of the birds just shy of the window, the ambient footsteps from servants decorating the halls, even the light breathing of people and the subtle beating of other not-so-subtle hearts became particularly and irregularly resonant.

Everyone had their own way of digestion; some become quiet, others quite the opposite, some relax and think cool-headed while others lash out recklessly, some distract themselves while others delve headfirst into the problem to find a solution, searching hopelessly for a relief. But how are you supposed to digest the idea of your nation, your city, your home, being taken hostage… while the person responsible blames you for it?

There was no correct answer, only acceptable ones – mostly because this was all a matter of perspective. While some may be concerned about the death of the innocent and the guilty, others may also be concerned about the security and safety of the throne and their ruler.

While the Fire Lord, his fellow Generals and Councilman, the Avatar and Lady Katara digested the news, the unusual silence was broken by the opening of the doors and the resonating voice of one Southern Tribe Warrior.

"There's been another killing…" Sokka shifted towards the table while Aang stood up and circled towards the front of the table, where Zuko and General Fang wee seated. Sokka placed the photographs of the crime scene on the war table, Zuko and Aang peeked through the several head leaning over to get a more detailed inspection while Sokka spoke. "One Zhin Lee, Underground member – or I should say former Underground member. He was brought in for questioning by authorities for the rape of three women and the murder of two others. Due to insufficient evidence, crooked judges or bought out lawyers, he was always let off with mildly convenient penalties. He was found in the bedroom of his apartment, his throat slit, multiple bruises and cuts – cause of death was due to loss of blood."

"Also," Sokka retrieved a note from the folder containing the briefing and the photographs, "the assailant left this… its for you."

"Let's move this to my study, you all will be brief shortly after." the Fire Lord suddenly spoke up, eyeing the words: 'To Former Fire Lord Zuko', written on the cover of the white letter. Zuko hastily strode out of the room, ignoring the accusatory protests of his fellow Generals and Councilmen as he turned back towards his friends. "Aang, Sokka, Katara", Zuko called out and gestured for them to follow him, which they discreetly did.

As they hastily entered the Fire Lord's study, which was only a few steps away from the War Room, Zuko stood beside his office table, opening the letter as Aang closed the door behind him while Katara commented. "Well, their gonna chew your ass out for that later."

"Let them," Zuko retorted, reading the letter as he spoke, "Right now I'm just not in the mood."

"Are you ever?" Aang joked, making Sokka snicker and Katara lightly smile while Zuko glared at him dangerously.

"This is not a joke Aang, a man just died-"

"A rapist and a murderer", Aang shot back, catching both Katara and Zuko off guard as they wondered why Aang of all people was trying to justify murder – until they remembered.

"Honestly, I don't feel bad for him", Sokka commented nonchalantly.

"That still doesn't make it okay", Katara justified as she crossed her arms, glaring her brother and ex-boyfriend dangerously – mirroring her fiancé's expression.

"Just saying it could've been worse. Would you rather it be an innocent or a rapist and a murderer?" Sokka fought back, eyeing her sister as she gingerly shook her head and sighed in defeat. Sokka put on a knowing victory smirk before he turned back to the Fire Lord as Aang asked.

"What does the note say?"

"It says," Zuko sighed, holding the note up for everyone to glimpse at while he translated, "This is number one Fire Lord, every day you'll receive news of a body or several. Though, this can be the first and the last. Heed my advice Zuko, remove yourself from the throne and all this stops. The longer you drag this out the more blood you spill, and need I remind you; this blood is on your hands."

The four took a moment to register the message, it was silence once again, neither of them glancing at each other, all eyes focused on something and nothing in particular. That is until Sokka asked, "What 'advice' is this guy talking about?"

Without another word, Zuko handed Sokka the letter he received earlier, and the Southern Warrior read it over, eyebrows furrowing more so as he read on. "Fuck", he simply stated, folding the note and handing it back to Zuko.

"Yeah, fuck," Zuko mirrored his soon to be brother-in-law's statement as he placed the letter back and took hold of the photos. Flipping through them as he held them in his palms, Zuko handed them to Aang – since Katara was standing right beside him, she leaned in rather close and studied the photographs alongside him, their closeness not going unnoticed by the Fire Lord as he eyed them wearily for a moment.

"What more can you tell us?" Zuko asked, ignoring his fiancé and the Avatar for the time being as he turned back to Sokka.

"Well… it seems like they fought for a while in his bedroom. The vases there were smashed, the furniture burnt to a crisp, the walls painted with blood and sword slashes – it wasn't a particularly pretty sight." Sokka grimaced, recalling the sight of the man laid out on his broken bed frame on his back, his throat cut wide open, his windpipe peeking out while his mouth and eyes were wide open.

"Signs of forced entry?" Aang suddenly asked to which Sokka replied.

"Through the front door." All three benders eyed Sokka suspiciously, thinking he was making another badly timed joke while he shook his head, and hands and exclaimed, "No! Literally, through the front door. The key was still attached to the handle, the idiot was literally welcoming his death inside."

"Anything else, Sokka?" Zuko grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation as he sat down on his office chair.

"Well, the blood was fairly fresh. The body hadn't yet began decomposing so the killing took place within the last 24hrs. Yet, we got a call from the neighbours, saying they heard smashing and screaming from across the street and the authorities followed up and arrived at the apartment in 20 minutes. So, it took place this morning."

Katara's eyes widened as she instantly stared at Aang from the corner of her eyes. Ever since General Fang had mentioned a clown – who now called himself Amon – she couldn't get over the idea that he may be the same clown she saw during their engagement announcement. Furthermore, even though she only caught a glimpse of it, she couldn't shake away the greyness of his eyes – usually, the only pair of grey eyes she had witnessed only held joy, optimism, nobility, some pain, grief, and guilt, but mostly love and compassion – for her. Yet, the eyes she saw that day, for that brief fleeting moment, they were anything but.

She understood that it was highly unlikely, but ever since the reveal of a hooded clown killer, Katara couldn't shake the idea of her ex-boyfriend being Amon. It fit somewhat perfectly if she was being honest; the short slick haircut, the new personality, the grey eyes, the constant disappearing at night – yes, she had noticed – and the recent abnormal behaviour. She didn't want to believe it, but she couldn't shake the suspicion.

That is until it was revealed that Amon had stuck to his promise; the blood had already began spilling, it occurred this morning, and Aang was beside her from the moment she woke up at dawn. If he was with her, then it couldn't have been him.

Though, there could be more than one Amon; he could have someone dressing up as him as to clear suspicion but – there it was again, the doubt, until it was cleared up by her own emotional reasoning. Nah, Aang's not that kind of person. The guy couldn't even hurt a fly-ant, how's he gonna go around killing several criminals and councilmen? That's not Aang. I know him.

With the way she was thinking, Katara felt she deserved the detective title more than Sokka – even though it was literally self-implied.

"Are you going to adhere to the demands of this terrorist?" Aang spoke up firmly, snapping Katara out of her thoughts as she turned back to her frien- fiancé. She really had to get used to this.

Zuko sighed deeply as he frowned, spinning around on his chair and facing away from everyone. Peeking out the window, his elbows rested on his knees and his head on his combined knuckles as he spoke softly, "I don't know."

"Toph, do you mind if we take a small detour?"

She raised her eyebrow, 'eyeing' the Kyoshi Warrior suspiciously – though, in reality, she was looking at Mai while speaking. Poor Toph – though, to be fair, they were right next to each other.

"Why? Where to?"

"We got word that Azula's visiting Ember Island – she was supposed to be at the Palace, but she changed her mind, I guess. We thought we'd catch up with her, you know, see how she's doing." Ty Lee answered, seeming as high-spirited and as cheery as ever, much to Toph and Mai's dismay.

"I don't know. I may try to throw rocks at her if she makes any snarky comments. Then she'll probably shoot lightening at me and the whole thing will get out of hand. Though I won't particularly mind, I'm sure neither of you would like me pummelling your so-called-friend half to death." Toph grinned mischievously while Mai remained bored, and Ty Lee snorted.

"I'll just chi-block both of you if it reaches that point."

"What about the Palace? Don't you want to meet Aang again Ty?" Toph smirked while Ty Lee blushed and glanced away – shying away from the fact she had a major crush on the Avatar during his teenage years while he was with Katara.

"Do you really want to go to the Palace? You know he will be there." Mai suddenly spoke, smirking a little as Toph's face fell instantly into a frown.

"He'll be there now? I thought – I thought he wasn't supposed to arrive till – "

"Sokka's been here for a couple days now, busy planning the engagement party and all that", Mai nonchalantly spoke, going back to her bored yet somewhat amused demeanour as she noticed Toph slump over and sigh in defeat.

"Fine, lets go meet Miss Crazy."

"Yay!" Ty Lee exclaimed as she cartwheeled to the Captain's quarters in excitement, likely requesting he change the course of the ship to travel to Ember Island instead of the Capitol.

"Why did you demand complete autonomy?" Katara asked, facing the airbender as they walked side-by-side, trailing down the beach.

She wasn't particularly concerned, but she was interested to know why Aang would demand such a thing. For all her life, the Aang she's known always worked to please others and to complete tasks within a set of rules – whether that be for regular locals, Republic City Council members, and Kings or Queens. However, now he was demanding complete autonomy? Something clearly didn't add up.

"So that I could work at my own pace and wouldn't be hindered by the Councilmen, Generals or by Zuko. I can only achieve results if they'll let me, and due to how strict these guys are when concerning powerful men, I figured I'd give myself every edge I could have over them." Aang reasoned, matching Katara's gaze as they walked towards the stairs, thus exiting the beach. "If they try to control me, then we'll get nowhere. We'll just but heads, make no progress with the investigation, and the bodies will just pile up."

Well, when he put it that way, she couldn't really argue with him. Katara knew first-hand exactly how strict the Generals and Councilmen could be; aside from a few decisions, they had complete and utter control of the Fire Nation. If they wanted to, they could boot Zuko off the throne – though they would need probable cause, which they had conveniently been offered on a silver platter due to Amon's threats.

If they had that same control over Aang, then this situation would only worsen, and nothing would get done. Amon would escape and would likely achieve exactly what he desires, more unnecessary blood would be spilt, the Nation would lose a promising leader and Katara would likely have to handle the responsibilities of Fire Lord – if she was to marry Zuko in time. So, in all honesty, Aang's logic made perfect sense to her, and all her doubts and suspicions were cleared for the time being.

"Well, that makes sense. But…" Katara furrowed her eyebrows, glaring curiously at him. "How did you know all this if you've been missing?"

"Just because I was gone for a short time didn't mean I wasn't still in touch with the world and all its troubles. I have done that before and paid the price… and I learn from my mistakes." Aang replied, finishing off quite mysteriously as Katara figured he must've been talking about being frozen in an iceberg of his own making for a 100 years. Though, something else he said caught her attention more so and she homed in on her target.

"I would hardly call 4 years a short time."

Aang shrugged his shoulders, answering nonchalantly as they now walked the trail towards the Palace, "I was only gone for 2 and a half years to be honest. Those other 2, I was just…"

"Away from me." Katara finished for him, hurt clear in her tone as she glanced away.

Aang sighed as he dipped his head before panning to glance at her, "I didn't want to be…" When she didn't reply or show any signs of his statement registering, he sighed again, "Everything was just so hectic. I wanted to return to you but the world –"

"Needed you." Katara interrupted him again, finishing his sentence for him as he had done to Lenzo this morning. "I get it, I understand. That's not what bugged me though." She wished she could take it back right then and there. She did not want to steer the conversation this way, but she couldn't help it; harbouring her pain for all those years only left her feeling all the more emotional, and she needed a release.

Aang raised his eyebrow, clearly intrigued and yet confused as he asked while they walked up the stairs, now walking down the halls nearing the Royal Garden, "Then what does? Or did?"

Katara sighed again. She wanted to talk about this when they first reunited, but when she saw him that night, all her once thought forgotten scars had freshly reappeared, searing onto her mocha skin as she grimaced in remembrance. Thinking of Aang in that sense brought back the same feelings of heartbreak and betrayal, and though she knew that they were just rumours, when so many other people within her tribe, her father and Zuko as well were telling her the same thing, she couldn't help but let the doubt creep in – even though the large part of her that loved Aang never truly believed them.

"Did you…" She hesitated for a second, "W-were you with other… other girls, while you were a-away?"

Aang's eyes furrowed further in confusion as he studied her face for a moment. Her voice was clearly laced with hurt, but even her eyes were watering now – clearly, she was being seriously and obviously she doubted his faithfulness. He certainly hadn't expected this so soon, and though he had initially thought he was ready, in the moment… now, a lump had formed in his throat that he had to gulp down before he tried to speak.

"K-Katara I-"

"Hey, Aang!" Sokka interrupted, shouting across the hall as he gestured Aang to follow him, it seems that his timing was both perfect and horrible at the same time – depending on whether you were a Waterbender or Airbender. "I need to speak to you. Its about Amon."

"In a minute!" Aang shouted back, "I'll meet you in the Library in a while!" Sokka nodded as he turned to leave.

"Just go," Katara retorted, turning to leave as a single tear ran down her cheek.

However, she halted – or rather, Aang grasped her hand and turned her back around to meet his steady yet concerned gaze. She panned slowly, body slumping forward, head still dipped. Unable to meet his gaze, she continued glancing away, even when his hand reached out to stroke her tear-stroke cheek lovingly.

Even though he wanted to tell her exactly what had happened to him, he himself was still unsure as to what she was insinuating. He wanted to hash out everything right that very moment, to have it all out in the open so she wouldn't be confused or hurting due to him. But he couldn't. This was a tornado of emotions and misconceptions he knew neither of them wanted to ride that very moment, and if they had tried, they would only cause more confusion and hurt each other even more – not to mention Aang's plan could be greatly jeopardised. So, instead, he pulled her close and embraced her in his arms.

She was rigid at first, trying her hardest to not respond, to not give into him so easily… but this was Aang. And she really had no resistance towards him. So, after a few fleeting seconds, Katara began shaking as she embraced him back – her arms wrapping around his torso, gripping onto the back of his robes as she dug her face into his chest. With his hand stroking her back while the other stroked her hair, Katara sighed heavily in relief, now completely melting in his arms as she halted her tears for the time being.

"I've only ever loved one girl, Katara… and you know exactly who that is."

That simple sentence, that simple reassurance, that was all it took; warming her heart once again as she broke the hug to beam at him. It often frightened her just how much influence Aang held over her emotions. When they were together, he could turn her occasional sour and bitter mood into joyful and full of laughter. At the same time, he could anger her tremendously, getting under her skin like no other and lighting a fuse within her like only he could. He could also embarrass her greatly, though she made him blush countless times both during and after the war, teenage Aang was on a completely other level when regarding teasing and embarrassing the poor Waterbender. Aang could make her heart ache with jealousy as girls swooned around him, and he could make her heart flutter with love when he spoke such loving words and kissed her with such tremendous passion.

It was truly frightening… just how much influence he had over her. Though, she noticed, she didn't particularly mind it – most of the time.

She didn't recognise it at first but once she cleared her thoughts, she realised just how close their faces were. Apparently, while Katara was daydreaming, she had subconsciously leaned forward, catching the Airbender by surprise as a sweet smile subconsciously invaded her velvet lips. Aang, in turn, grinned at her; though it was part of his plan to have her back, he didn't think it would be this quick. However, he didn't really want to complain either, though he was rather selfless, his Forever Girl was the one guilty pleasure he would never trade. Even if he couldn't have her, he would ensure her happiness hadn't faded from existence; if she was truly happy with Zuko then he'd let her be – that was his original plan. Yet, judging by the way she still seemed infatuated with him, he tweaked his plan slightly to ensure she was happy… with him, instead.

Blurring out everything except the gorgeous Waterbender in front of him, Aang smiled back as he slowly leaned forward, not noticing that a certain Fire Lord had witnessed their close embrace, his loving words, and now… this.

And he didn't allow it to go on any further, rightfully so, in his case at least.

"Katara! Can I speak to you?" Interrupting their little moment, Zuko gestured towards his study, to which she nodded and followed – disengaging from the Avatar and offering him a small smile before she entered the room.

"What's up, Zuko?" Katara asked casually, closing the door behind her while Zuko leaned back on his table.

"Katara, I want you to be honest with me…" Zuko hesitated; he knew asking this was risky as Katara was as loyal as a person could get, but everyone has their cracks. And even though he'd rather not believe it, maybe… just maybe, Aang was her crack. "Is there anything going on between you and Aang?"

"No", she answered simply, without hesitation. "We're just friends."

"Then what was that I saw out there?"

Katara glanced away, not out of shame or guilt – as Zuko had thought – but mostly because she wasn't particularly enthusiastic about voicing her rocky history with Aang at that moment. Though Zuko had tried to get her to confide in him a couple nights ago in the Gardens, before Aang arrived, she really had no interest in airing out her rather conflicted past with Aang to others – especially her fiancé.

Steeling herself, she met his gaze as she glanced back and spoke firmly, deciding to be honest as she didn't want to start fighting with him – and knowing their tempers, they likely would.

"We were talking a bit about our past and… I asked him something and he… he comforted me."

"That's it?" Zuko raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms against his chest as he eyed her.

"That's it. Nothing happened."

"So… you weren't gonna kiss him?"

What?! Where did he get that from?! Though it was a fair assumption, seeing as how subconsciously she was leaning towards him, when she regained control of herself, she tried backing away – just then Zuko had broken them apart. So, though she necessarily couldn't say she didn't want to kiss him, she could say that during that specific moment, she wasn't going to… at least, that's what she concluded while replaying the scene in her head.

"Zuko! Of course not! We're just friends. Nothing is going on between us!" Katara exclaimed.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." Zuko raised his hands in surrender as he shook his head. "It just seemed like… for a moment there –"

"Well, keep your assumptions to yourself."

There it was: silence yet again.

It seemed like ever since Aang had arrived, even before him as a matter of fact, Zuko and her rarely interacted. Normally they would just sit in awkward silence or be doing something that required their full attention. And even when they did talk, it was usually regarding the Fire Nation, politics, or other worldly matters. Never once did they just sit down and talk; about everything and nothing in particular. They never once joked around during their conversations, though, with Aang – for her – it seemed so natural; to just lose herself in the moment, to laugh the loudest, smile the widest, to just be herself. Even when she was in pain and rather upset with him, Aang knew exactly what to say to reassure her, to make her feel treasured – kind of like how Zuko had witnessed him do a few moments ago and years ago during their travels.

Maybe it was just Aang. Maybe he just had that type of effect on her, the kind that no one else could ever hope to achieve. The kind Sokka had on Suki. The kind Zuko had on Mai….

"Our engagement party is in a few days…" Zuko trailed off, trying to fill the silence in the best way possible.

"I know."

He leaned off the table and slowly walked over to her, "A lot of people are going to be there; our friends, your family, my family."

"I know", she sighed as he drew her closer.

Cupping her face in both his hands, Zuko leaned down somewhat, caressing her cheeks with his thumb as he softly spoke, "Let's not fight… let's be happy. For them, for each other…" he trailed off, leaning closer to her lips after every syllable.

Though Katara suspected that Aang may have been with other girls while she was alone, waiting for him in the South Pole, she couldn't exactly say she knew for a fact. However, she was engaged; she had to get over the Airbender and maybe being intimate with Zuko would help her with that. Yet, at the same time – just like when they had kissed for a brief moment a few nights ago in the Gardens, Katara recognised she didn't particularly want to move on… no matter how hard she denied it.

As his lips neared hers, she came to her senses when she thought of Aang. There was no reason for her to feel guilty or to think of Aang; they broke up and hadn't been together in nearly 4 years – she had no obligation to him, truthfully speaking. Yet, she couldn't get over the fact that she felt like she was betraying him – or rather, betraying her feelings for him, whatever they may be. So, just as they were about to make contact, Katara panned her head, and thus, his lips met her cheek instead.

"Not right now, Zuko", she sighed again as she wriggled out of his arms and shuffled out of the room – leaving a rather disappointed and dread-filled Fire Lord in the room alone… now drowning in his anxiety. He's taking her away from me, she won't even kiss me – Zuko thought. Slowly but surely, the Fire Lord was doing exactly what Aang wanted him to do: Zuko was doubting her and unknowingly pushing her towards him.

anayeli12: I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, Aang's plan and Azula's participation will soon come into play fully, I'm just tryna set it up properly and not rush into anything. Normally, many authors and I have also done this, would just time skip weeks and months after. I'm trying not to do that, to build suspense, I need to make this seem like a ticking time bomb, and that can only happen if in the story, every day, every hour, every minute and every second counts - and soon, it'll all make sense.

nateC13: I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far, I certainly enjoy writing it. Hopefully, you like this chapter just as much :)

TheQuietReader23: Amazing review, first off. You're character will soon come into play btw. But yes, you are correct, Aang and Azula's plan will centre around Katara's loyalty and Zuko's trust. Though I teased Aang and Katara's breakup a bit in this chapter, it will all be revealed in Book 2, but I'll comtinue dropping hints, you're on the right track btw. I liked writing the interrogation scene, I've been rewatching Mindhunter - great Series btw, and that kinda inspired me for that. Though, I do have a fanfic Idea that is also inspired by Mindhunter and i'll get to work on it soon - its different to anything I've written and there's nothing like it on any Avatar related page, well, to my knowledge at least. Plus, Aang being dominant and assertive is always a nice note in my book. You are correct about Zuko fueling his own anxiety at the hands of Aang and Azula. he's allowing them to toy with him and doesn't even realise it. Though, in Katara's case, I've made her smarter than she is in most fanfics and lets just say she won't be her usual oblivious self. Love can be blinding, thats' all I'll say regarding that. Yes, your assumption that the generals and Councilmen will allow the Avatar autonomy in time is fair, seeing as how blood has already been spilt, first the Indians, then Zayn and now this Underground fellow. It'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds, I promise you that. (Btw - my responses always follow the format of your review; if you're confused, I answer your questions and assumptions in the order you present them in your review - I'm looking forward to reading your review for this chapter).

jonners2314: Not really no, though Amon isn't trust worthy at all right now, his badassery just makes him so likeable lol. But his and Aang's actions will be revealed soon so stay buckled, you'll like him even more later on. But I'm glad you like it, I like writing Dark Aang stories as he's got great potential to be a Dark OOC character - plus, he's a chad when he don't give a fck.