… I feel like a horrible person! I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR SO LONG! Please forgive me! *puppy dog eyes* Once again tho, thanks to everyone for all the support I've gotten for this story, you guys make me so happy!
Congrats to Niki for being the first one to identifying the episode the "Soldier Boy" song was from, Tales of Ba Sing Se! (IcePrincess013 also guessed the episode for this song!)
And thanks to all my reviewers for chapter four: FirWolf777, , Niki, Adriannrod Svit-Kona Sama, NorthernLights25, pureangel86, karu0792, Co-Co, paperbackwriter9, and IcePrincess013
And thanks to all of those who reviewed for other chapters, and especially to those readers who've been with me from the start! Love you guys!
IMPORTANT: just to clear up any confusion, I know the summary says "four years later"… eventually, there will be a time-skip
Book 4: AIR
By silver-nightstorm
Summary: Four years have passed since the end of the war and the Fire Nation is in despair. Young Fire Lord Zuko is on a mission to find his mother, and seek her political advice. Meanwhile, Aang hunts for remaining airbenders, leaving Katara alone. Zutara. HaruxOC. Taang. Suka. And one-sided ZukoxOC.
Chapter 5: Airbenders and Kidnappers
~Present Day~Western Air Temple: A Random Hallway Leading to the Eastern Terrace~
Crap! Haru sprinted towards the terrace, Hyun hard on his heels. He was in charge of the orphanage! He held equal authority to Uncle Iroh, and it was his responsibility to watch the children! And now, Nala might be hurt!
Haru was panicking. That much was apparent. Ty-Lee followed the mustached earthbender towards the terrace, cooing to Lu-Ten.
Nala… she was a nine-year-old girl, recalled Ty-Lee. She was a non-bender, but very skilled at targeting pressure points. Poor girl, Ty-Lee hoped she was alright. She'd grown quite fond of all her students, Nala especially. The girl had the most charming grey eyes, almost identical to Ty-Lee's own.
Ty-Lee sighed. She passed a girl in the hall, roughly fifteen-years-old. Her hair was covered; her only feature visible was her violet eyes. "Can you take care of Lu-Ten for me?" asked Ty-Lee.
"Not a problem," said the girl, taking the baby and walking down the hall. Ty-Lee sprinted towards the terrace.
~Present Day~Fire Nation Capital: Zuko's Chambers~
Zuko sat on his bed, memories flooding his head.
His mother talking with a dark skinned woman, laughing and joking.
Admiral—then General—Zhao appearing and embracing his wife, Maika.
Maika laughing in his embrace, while shooting Ursa a worried look.
Zuko and Tara hiding behind a tree, watching the whole thing.
Tara, her head covered in a crusty red substance as she was cradled in he mother's arms.
Tara, not remembering the face of her best friend.
Maika, devastated, refusing to talk to her best friend.
Maika and Ursa, arguing quietly.
Finally, the ruins of a chariot after a freak accident with a komodo-rhino.
A funeral pyre.
Maika. Tara. The last links to airbending. Dead.
Zuko sighed, and jumped when he heard the window slam open. "There's a door!" he shouted, and then stopped, seeing Aang in the window. The Avatar swung into the room, and Zuko stared at him. "He didn't tell you anything, did he?" The boy didn't respond to him. "Did he?" Zuko repeated, daring to hope for a minute.
The thirteen-year-old grinned at Zuko. "Saddle up, Fire Lord! We're going to the Earth Kingdom!"
Zuko just gaped at the boy. He came to his senses when Aang ran out of his chambers (using the door this time) and ran into poor Marco. The elderly man regained his footing and stumbled into Zuko's chambers just as the Fire Lord bolted out. Poor Marco was swept off his feet again as the Fire Lord shouted a hasty apology over his shoulder.
Marco sighed. That boy was going to be the death of him.
~Present Day~Fire Nation Capital: Mai's House… Mansion~
Time seemed to slow down for Mika. She sprinted into the courtyard after seeing the blind earthbender drop her son off the roof. She screamed at the same time, drawing the attention of the "catchers", namely her daughter and the bloodbender. She stopped, petrified, as she realized her son was about to splat against the tiles. She held her breath as Katara tried to bloodbend the little boy into a pond, and failed. She started to turn purple as she saw her daughter throw senbon, trying to pin the boy against the wall, missing. She collapsed when she saw the two girls run into each other trying to catch the boy.
She was about to fall over dead when she heard Tom-Tom's voice say, "Again! Again!"
Tears blurred Mika's eyes as she ran towards her son, engulfing the child in a hug. Mai stiffened as her mother shot her a death glare, and Katara turned red with shame.
Toph laughed. Katara spun around to glare at the blind girl, realizing it was futile. "Cool it, Sweetness!" said Toph, jumping off the roof. "The kid didn't go splat, or were you guys all too occupied to notice it? What does that mean?"
Mai's eyes widened, "He's an airbender!"
Mika stood up, continuing to glare at her daughter. "What were you thinking?" she snapped. "Didn't this ever occur to you as being dangerous and stupid?"
"We had it under control…"
"And your brother almost died!"
"Mom!" Mai screamed. Mika's eyes widened, and she became instantly silent. Katara and Toph stared at the soft-spoken girl in astonishment. Mai… had screamed.
"Mom," repeated Mai, calmly this time. "We knew what we were doing. I mean, we're not children! We just fought in a war! It's about time you trusted me to do things!"
"How can I trust you when you just threw your brother off the roof?"
"If you hadn't walked in, Katara and I would both be paying attention enough to catch him if anything went wrong. But we already knew nothing was wrong." Mai too Tom-Tom from her mother's arms. "He's an airbender. And I think you know why!"
Mika's look of guilt was all the girls needed as confirmation.
"You had two other brothers…"
~Two Months Ago~Fire Nation Capital: Extreme Security Prison~
A hooded figure scaled the walls of the Fire Nation Extreme Security Prison. The prison was becoming famous—it had held three out of the five living members of the Royal Family. However, the figure was not concerned with this. The figure was minding its own business… breaking into a high security prison.
Just a normal day for this figure.
Climbing to the top of the tower, the figure pulled its cloak tighter to itself, showing a feminine build. She started to shimmy across the side of the tower, towards a barred window—if it could be called that. She prayed to Agni that she wouldn't be incinerated for lateness.
~Two Months Ago~Fire Nation Capital: Azula's Prison Cell~
Ex-Almost-Fire Lady Azula tapped her fingers against her handcuffs irritably. Her guest was annoying her very much. She was late. Now, Azula was not a very punctual person herself, but anyone who was late for a meeting with the princess usually found themselves in a very awkward situation. As a result, most people were not late for meetings with Azula.
Then again, thought Azula, the stupid redheaded girl had never been too smart.
Violet eyes in the window made the Princess jump to her feet. "Where have you been?" she hissed. "We don't have much time to speak now!"
A surprisingly low voice came in through the window. "Sorry, Fire Lady. I was held up."
"By what?" growled Azula. "What could possibly be more important that your life?"
A sharp intake of breath was heard. "Pardon me, my lady…" the voice stuttered. "I meant to disrespect."
Azula sighed, "Never mind. Is everything in place?"
"Yes," said the voice. "My sister was picked up with the last group of orphans. We will kidnap the airbending boy before anyone suspects a thing."
Azula smirked. "Good. The poor Avatar won't know what hit him!"
"You are quite smart, my lady. Faking craziness so you wouldn't be kept in a higher security prison, truly genius!"
"Thank you, dear Maika!" Azula did the best to toss her hair while chained up. "Soon, the plan will be in play. Soon, the Fire Nation will come crashing down around my dearest brother's ears."
Azula laughed maniacally as guards entered her cell with food. The violet eyes were nowhere to be seen.
~Present Day~Western Air Temple: Eastern Terrace~
Haru burst onto the terrace to see a girl skipping around. "Isn't that…" his voice trailed off.
A boy in a wheelchair nearly ran into the mustached earthbender. "Haru!" he shouted. "Did Hyun tell you?"
"Tell me what?" growled Haru. Nala was fine. She was the girl skipping around! What was Hyun panicking about if she was alright? She came to a stop next to Teo, her grey eyes shining.
"I can airbend!" she sang.
Haru's jaw dropped open just as Ty-Lee cartwheeled into the room. She took in Haru's blank stare, Hyun and Teo's happy faces, and Nala's not pan-caked body.
"… What did I just miss?"
~Present Day~Western Air Temple: Girl's Dorm~
"You're a smelly little thing, aren't you?" Lu-Ten giggled as the girl wrinkled her nose at him. The baby reached out his hand and tried to grab the teen's red locks of hair, she smacked his hands away. "You don't have any manners either!" she snapped. "How old are you?" She decided he was three years old. Why? Because, it seemed like a fitting number.
Lu-Ten started to wine, his eyes filling with tears when the girl smacked him. "Oh geez…" she mumbled. "Please, please, please don't cry!" She sighed as the baby began to bawl. "Just my luck… a hysterical three-year-old on my hands…"
A knock on the door startled the teen. "Come in?" she said. Sokka walked into the room.
"Kyra!" he said, looking at the girl. "I thought I heard noises from here so…" He noticed the bawling baby. "Do you want me to take him off your hands?"
"Nah," said Kyra. "I'm fine."
"You sure?" asked Sokka, scratching the back of his neck. "God knows I need to practice holding kids…"
"Why? Is Suki pregnant or something?" asked Kyra.
"I thought everyone knew already!" said Sokka, grinning sheepishly. "I guess I just spilled the beans!"
Kyra laughed, waving bye to the swordsman as he walked out of the room. She smiled, cooing to Lu-Ten. "Who's a good little airbender?" she whispered. "Who's a good little airbender?"
~Present Day~Somewhere on the Outskirts of the Fire Nation Capital: Appa's Back~
Zuko lounged in Appa's saddle, comforted by the familiar movements of the bison. He looked at the clouds, there were a few really strange shaped ones—for example, a bunny. Zuko smiled for the first time in months as his thoughts started to wander.
Inevitably, his mind drifted to the topic of a certain bloodbender. Zuko sighed, shaking his head. He had to get the girl out of his thoughts; it was bad for both him and Mai.
Mai. Zuko sighed again. Things weren't working out with the girl the way he wanted things to. He loved Mai, he truly did, but Mai wanted him all to herself. And Zuko couldn't give her that.
Once again, he started to think of Katara. She looked very good in Fire Nation colors—Zuko had a partially selfish motive for giving Katara a whole new wardrobe, all in red and gold. He remembered her look of distaste, asking for something—anything—blue. Zuko had just laughed, and said she looked good in anything. He'd left the room too quick to see her blush and happy smile.
Her hair was beautiful, he just wanted to run his hands through it, and her sapphire blue eyes were enchanting. And her lips. Zuko still remembered their kiss from Sokka's wedding. He sighed.
He was so dead if Sokka found out.
Aang's voice startled the Fire Lord from his musings. "So they just gave you all this time off?"
"All this time…" Zuko's voice trailed off questioningly. "Wait!" He sat up straight and looked at the Avatar. "Aren't we just going to see my mother? Don't you know where she is?"
"She's in the Earth Kingdom!" replied Aang cheerfully. Zuko sighed with relief. "I just don't know exactly where…" he mumbled.
Zuko glared at the boy. "I don't have enough time to search the entire Earth Kingdom! You might as well have not found out anything!"
"Well, we know she's not in the Fire Nation or the Water Tribes!"
Zuko sighed. "I'm sorry, Aang. I just… I don't have the kind of time necessary to find her."
"You really miss her, don't you?" Aang smiled sadly. "With the monks, we don't really have mothers and fathers. Monk Gyatso was the closest I had to a fatherly figure. When I thought I was going to loose him, I was so angry. And when I couldn't find him… that was the worst…"
"I can help you look for a month, but I will need to get back to the Fire Nation after that," said Zuko.
Aang smiled, "I'll continue looking after you go back."
Zuko smiled, happy for the Avatar's friendship. A thought struck him. Should I tell him that Maika is dead? Zuko wasn't sure, if Aang knew the airbender was dead, would he still have a reason to search for Zuko's mother? Would Aang still help his friend, despite not being able to find a hint about airbenders?
Aang sat on Appa's head, smiling. "I can't believe we're so close to finding airbenders!"
Zuko swallowed, and sat back down. He kept his mouth shut; he only hoped Aang would understand.
~End Chapter Five~
I'm so sorry for the late update (I'm such a horrible person!) But I hope you guys like this! Please review!