Crossroads

AN: Hello!

Closer to the Goal

According to Rae, it never ceased to rain. Since he was taken from his parents' side, all he'd experienced were gloomy, sunless, cloud-filled rainy skies. He was tired of the gray that engulfed him. He wanted to return to his old life, but it was gone. His parents were dead; his grandparents were left in another village hundreds of miles away to fend for themselves. Everything he ever loved was taken from him. Rae had nothing else to live for. The son of the Fire Lord, Prince Rae, was dirty, hungry, and despondent. He'd never felt so closed to perdition.

The guard moved with an intimidating gait and a child hoisted on his shoulder. He wasn't attentive to the silent tears the boy shed for his lost innocence. Rae cried for all the things he would never see again. He lifted his head, casting his golden eyes onto the sky and offered the heavens an unspoken prayer.

Please, save Momma and Poppa. Save them!, he begged in his mind, as he shut his eyes tightly, and if you want, save me!

His selfless prayer must've caught the attention of one of the many entities that basked leisurely in the heavens, because it decided to gaze down at the small planet and see how humanity was faring. There are legends that at times, these gods spare their time and ears to listen to the pleadings of the few faithful humans that remain.

Perhaps, that's what happened to Rae. In his time of need, he thought of everyone else, except of himself. Someone or something above in the sky decided to intervene, taking pity of Rae's situation and interceded on his behalf, creating a new path in the child's destiny.

xX xXx Xx

Miraculously, it had stopped raining. The journey continued to be long. Zuko and friend had been riding since early dawn. They did stop for their usual eating and bathroom breaks. The travelers and their ostrich-horses were tired, but continued to press forward. They'd no set destination, but the desperate desired to find Toph's parents and Rae. No one spoke, unless it was necessary or to offer any comments. Haru and Zuko spoke the most, but only to point out a fault in the map or if they needed to take a detour from their path.

"Ugh! Are we close to a village? I'm tired of riding this thing," Sokka asked impatiently, as he galloped his animal next to Zuko's mount.

"Yes, we are closed to a village and should be stopping soon."

"Are you sure?" Sokka said, rolling his eyes.

"According to the map..." Zuko looked down at the map in his left hand and then smiled, pointing at the east with his index, he turned to Sokka. "If we follow the map in that direction, we should be at a small mining town ten miles from here."

"Are we going to stop this time? I mean, we passed a few towns along the way," Sokka said grumpily, "but we never stopped."

"Calm down, Sokka," Suki whispered in the young warrior's ear and patted his shoulder before gently kissing his cheek. "I'm sure that we are going to stop soon." She said, staring hopeful at Zuko.

Zuko looked forward and sighed.

"We are close, right?" Suki asked.

Zuko nodded and inhaled deeply. "Yes, we are. Should we stop?" he said over his shoulder and glanced at Toph.

"I don't mind stopping."

"Then," Zuko said indifferently, "we will stop at the next village."

"I told you not to be so impatient, love." Suki smiled at Sokka. The young warrior smiled broadly and nodded, forgetting about his discomfort or need to eat.

Zuko watched as Sokka and Suki went ahead of them. He turned, looking over his shoulder and glanced again at Toph before he returned his attention to the road.

"It's fine, Zuko." Toph reassured him. "Whether we stop or not, we are going to find Rae. I have a feeling that we are close to finding him."

"Yeah," he hesitated. "You have been quiet most of the day." He muttered, changing the subject.

"I have been thinking about my parents and Rae," she said.

"I thought that you were angry with me,"

"I'm not mad at you," she chuckled, giving his upper arm a gentle squeeze. "You haven't done anything to make me angry. I should be grateful to you..."

"Why is that?"

"You have been strong, Zuko. Without you as my pillar of strength, I don't know how I would have survived these past few weeks."

"Me strong? Are you sure you are referring to the right person?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes, you," Toph snaked her arms around his waist and pressed her chest flushed against his back and sighed. "You have done amazing. You haven't given up in finding our son." "I'll find him."

"I know." She reassured him. "I have a feeling that we are very close to finding our son, Fire Lord." She smiled to herself.

Zuko didn't reply. He kept quiet the rest of the ride. The animals grew increasingly tired as they trekked the incline and decline of the hills. They were only a few miles away from the closest village. Sokka glanced around as he patted his ostrich-horse's head and encouraged it to move forward.

"We are almost there," he encouraged the animal. The animal grunted, but pressed forward with an uncomfortable gait.

"I'm going to stop for a bit. My animal is limping." Sokka shouted and moved to the shoulder of the path. He got off first and then helped Suki get off their mount. Suki tied the animal to a low branch and proceeded to inspect its left leg.

"I think the ostrich-horse stepped on a spur." Suki said, as she pulled the thorny seed from the animal's foot. She looked up and didn't found Sokka near her. She inhaled in irritation and petted the animal's thigh. "You are going to be fine, my friend."

"Look, Suki," Sokka's voice boomed from behind the trees.

"But – the ostrich-horse?"

"Leave it tied there. You have to come see this!" he screeched urgently.

"What's the matter, Sokka? Are you all right?" she asked worriedly, as she ran to his side. "Oh my goodness!" she gasped when she reached his side.

They were standing near the edge of a cliff that overlooked the blossoming fields of wheat before her. She was awed at the perfection of the valleys below and the babbling brooks that intercepted the lush land.

"I want to live here!" he sighed.

"Have you ever seen anything this wonderful?" she gushed.

Sokka took her hand and they gazed at the scenery before them. His eyes scanned the open fields of corn, wheat, and budding flowers.

"What's going on?" Katara said, materializing from the shrubs. "I heard my brother scream." she asked concerned.

"Nothing, all is fine." Suki smiled at her friend. "He was just glad to be off our ride. Zuko's been riding us hard."

Katara furrowed her brows and crossed her arms.

"I know what you are going to say, Katara," Suki sighed. "It's just a comment. Forget that I even mentioned it..." she said and then turned to Sokka. "Is something wrong?"

"Girls, wait here," he ordered and ran back to catch up with the others.

"What's wrong with him?" Katara asked confused.

Suki shrugged and turned around. "He's calling for Zuko."

"I wonder what could be wrong." Katara muttered under her breath.

Zuko steered his animal halted, when Sokka ran towards it. Startled, the animal leaned forward to bite the young man, but Zuko quickly pulled back the reigns. "Are you mad? You want to die?"

"Zuko," Sokka said breathlessly.

"What happened? Where is Suki?" Toph asked worriedly. "Is everything all right? Katara?"

"They are fine. There is something that you need to see," he said urgently.

Zuko stared at Sokka and hesitated to get off the animal, but Toph smiled. "Go ahead. We'll get the animals tied to the branches. Go!" Toph ordered, when she noticed Zuko's reluctance. "I'll be fine. I'll take care of the ostrich-horse." She said and got off her mount. Zuko nodded and followed after Sokka.

"What's going on?" Zuko asked irritated, as he trudged behind the warrior. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Just follow me and you'll see." Sokka stopped a few feet away from the cliff and pointed at the east. "There. Do you see it?"

"What am I looking at?" Zuko asked, narrowing his eyes and blocked the sun with his hand.

"Over there!" Sokka grunted.

Zuko inhaled a deep breath and gritted. "Tell me what am I looking at?"

"Over to the left,"

"Where?" he said annoyed. "I don't know what I am looking at!"

Sokka grumbled something under his breath and walked around the Fire Lord, until he stood behind Zuko. He took Zuko's head in his hand and guided it to where a turned Fire Nation carriage was lying. "There. The turned carriage at the bottom of the hill. Do you see it now?" he paused, taking his hands off Zuko. "It belongs to the Fire Nation!"

"Are you sure it belongs to the Fire Nation?" Katara asked worriedly, as she played with her hands.

"I can't see so well," Zuko shrugged.

"I have a spyglass in the bag," Suki said excitedly and ran passed them. "I'll be back."

"That looks like a Fire Nation emblem, Zuko." Sokka said, standing next to his friend. "I'm certain."

"You think?" Zuko asked concerned. "Do you think that Rae might be there?"

"I-I don't know. I hope he is... not. I don't think that anyone could've survived something like that." Sokka said in a low voice.

"Why is a Fire Nation carriage here in the Earth Kingdom?" the Fire Lord asked gravely. "I ordered-"

"I know." Katara said.

Suki returned with the spyglass in her hand and Toph and Haru trailing after her. "I found it..." she trailed off.

"Let me look at it," Sokka said, snatching the contraption out of her hands.

"No, Sokka, wait a minute. Let me first!" Suki said, brushing Sokka's hand off her shoulder. She adjusted the contraption, until she had a better, clear view of the object. "It's definitely a Fire Nation emblem engraved in the carriage or what looks to be a Fire Nation emblem... I can't tell, Zuko. It resembles the one that you have on your ring," Suki chimed in, pointing at the ring the Fire Lord wore on his middle finger. "It looks like the tumble broke several of the wheels."

"Do you see any thing, Suki? Guards? R-Rae?" Zuko asked.

"No," Suki paused, "but there are a few people... They are dressed as peasants," she added, "and they are trying to get something from the carriage. I think that we should check it out."

"Yes! We should. How many people are there?" Sokka accented his head.

"Do you see Rae anywhere?" Toph asked, clasping her hands over her heart.

"There are three men... and..." she trailed off, "they are pulling a woman out of the carriage. She looks pretty bad..." Suki said in a low voice. She scanned the area surrounding the carriage and sighed. "No, I don't see Rae, Toph. I'm so sorry." Suki said, as she lowered her spyglass.

"It's okay. It's not your fault," Toph says dejectedly.

Suki stares at Toph and her heart aches to see her despondent friend. "I'm sorry, guys."

Zuko clears his voice and looks sternly at her. "Can I borrow that?" Zuko asked.

"Sure, here," she nodded nervously and handed him the spyglass and returned to Sokka's side.

"The carriage..."

"What about it?" Haru asked intrigued when he joined the group. "What did I miss?"

"The carriage has the old Fire Lord's emblem."

"The old... Fire Nation... emblem?" Katara asked from behind Haru. "I don't get it."

"No." Toph said. "He didn't say anything about the Fire Nation emblem... He said something about the old Fire Lord's emblem. What do you mean by that, Zuko?"

"I have to go... I have to find out who are these people." Zuko said hastily and tossed the spyglass on the floor. Toph followed after him, asking him questions, but he moved faster, until he was by his ostrich horse.

"What's happening?"

"The carriage used to belong to Azulon... my grand-father." He said tensely. "Each Fire Lord has his own unique emblem. My mother left in one of those! One that looked exactly like that, Toph!" He said, as he untied the ostrich-horse from the low branch.

"I'm coming with you," Toph said.

"No. You stay here and wait."

"NO! You don't tell me what to do! I've followed you around all this time without questioning your motives, Zuko! I won't do it anymore if I know that your life is in danger! I won't." she shouted.

"Toph,"

"No, Zuko!" she said, her stubborn chin sticking forward, as she challenged him.

Angrily, Zuko gave in. "Fine. Then let's go."

And together they went to investigate. The closer they got to their destination – the carriage pulled to the side of the dirt road – their hearts grew louder. Zuko had a nagging feeling. The wait and anticipation was too much for the benders. Toph clenched her fists and silently prayed that she was one step closer to finding her missing child.