Chapter 3
Contact
~oOo~
BB
Beast Boy could honestly say that the trip back to Titan's Tower was one of the most awkward car rides of his life. Though he seemed to be trying to hide it, it was clear that Zuko didn't think much of the green changeling. He told him he was exactly like Aang with Sokka's bad jokes, but only Zuko knew the meaning of this, and it seemed he wasn't going to explain further.
They all had agreed that the Firebender sit in the front seat, so Cyborg could keep an eye on him while he drove, leaving BB to watch him from the back of the car. It wasn't that they actually expected him to try anything, but they still didn't trust him.
The other Titans had been surprised, to say the least, at Robin's order to take Zuko to the Tower, but hearing the firmness of his voice, they decided not to question him.
And so here they were, driving through the streets of Jump City, bombarding the Firebender with questions and answering the many he had as well.
"So you're made of metal?" Zuko asked the cybernetic boy next to him.
"Not entirely," Cyborg answered. "But the majority of my body is, yeah."
Zuko seemed to think this over for a moment before saying, "My wife would love to get a hold of you". There was an awkward silence, in which Beast Boy could see a blush rise first to his best friend's face, then to the Firebender's as he realized what he just said. "That is…what I meant was Toph, my wife, can bend metal; she's the only Earthbender who can. And she loves finding new metals to bend into statues and stuff…I didn't mean that she would…" He sighed, apparently deciding it better to just stop talking.
Beast Boy couldn't take it anymore. He burst into laughter, holding his side as he threw himself onto the back seat. "Dudes, you should see your faces! They're hilarious!"
"Yo, shut-up, BB," Cyborg told him, his embarrassment replaced by anger. When it seemed the laughter wouldn't be ending anytime soon, he slammed on the brakes, sending Beast Boy –who was the only one not wearing a seatbelt- flying into the back of Zuko's seat. He let out an undignified squeak as his face met fabric.
After his initial shock was gone, the Firebender snorted. "Now that was hilarious."
"Was not!"
"Cyborg," Robin started, his face appearing on the screen built into the dashboard. "What's going on? I nearly ran into the back of the T-Car. Is everything all right?"
"Yeah man, everything's cool," he answered. "Just tryin' to get BB to shut his pie hole."
"Ah."
"Hey! I could have broken my neck!"
"That's why you're supposed to wear a seatbelt, Beast Boy," Robin told him, turning his attention back to driving as his face disappeared from the screen.
"Even Zuko's wearing his, and they don't even have cars were he's from, man."
"Fine," Beast Boy huffed, grabbing a seat belt and strapping it across his chest, where it clicked shut. "Happy now?"
Zuko mumbled, "I'm never happy".
"What?" Cyborg asked, confused.
The Firebender seemed to be lost in his own little world. Snapping out of it, he said, "Oh, sorry. My friend asked me that question a few years ago, back when I was trying to get them to trust me too…"
"What do you mean?" The cybernetic teen asked him suspiciously.
"It's nothing…I'll tell you when everyone's together. It's a long story; I don't want to have to retell it once we get to…wherever we're going."
Cyborg pulled the T-Car into the tunnel that traveled under the bay to Titan's Tower, silence filling the car.
"So…" Beast Boy started. "Your wife is an Earthbender?"
"Yeah."
"So she can, like, move rocks and stuff?" The changeling couldn't help thinking of Terra. He really hoped things didn't turn out like they did with her.
"Pretty much," Zuko answered. "But she's also the only Metalbender in the world, like I said earlier, and she's the only person, that I know of, who sees with her bending."
Cyborg glanced over at him. "Sees?"
"Toph was born blind," the Firebender stated, affection evident in his voice. "She feels the vibrations in the Earth, and uses them to find her way around."
"You must be pretty protective of her then, huh?" asked BB.
Zuko actually laughed. "Of course not."
This took the two teens by surprise. "Wait, what?"
"Toph hates being treated like she's weak; she'd kick my butt if I tried to protect her. She's proud of how she is, and she's not afraid to prove she's the best Earthbender there is." A pause. "I honestly don't think I would've even given her a second glance if she wasn't as strong as she is."
"You really love her, don't you?" BB asked softly.
"I do. I mean, if it weren't for her, my life would be so different right now; the whole world would probably be different. She gave me a chance when no one else would." He laughed, though it sounded sad. "Even after I accidentally burned her feet, she still stuck up for me." Zuko turned his head away and looked out the window. Beast Boy thought he saw a tear roll down his unscarred cheek, but he knew better than to mention it. He understood all too well what it was like to miss the one you loved so much it hurt.
Apparently sensing the dark mood settling over them, Cyborg asked, "So where'd she learn to see with her bending?"
His subject change seemed to have worked, as Zuko turned back to them and smirked, not unlike what Robin would do. "A giant badger-mole."
~oOo~
R
Robin pulled into the garage behind the T-Car to hear Beast Boy chattering happily with the newest resident of Titan's Tower.
"Dude! Your animals are like…freaky combinations of ours." He proceeded to turn into a badger, then a mole. "See?" BB asked, turning human again. "What other animals are there?"
Zuko looked surprised at the shape-shifter, but quickly recovered, saying, "Um, well, there are ostrich-horses, komodo-rhinos, flying bison, lemurs-"
"You mean this?" The changeling turned into a lemur and Zuko's one eyebrow rose.
"What is that? Lemurs have huge ears and wings on their arms."
"As much as I love discussing animals," Raven sighed before BB could retort, "can we move this conversation elsewhere?"
"Yes," Starfire agreed. "We would all be most comfortable in the room of living."
Nodding, Robin motioned to Zuko. "This way." Once they made it to the main room, they sat he Firebender at one end of the large U-shaped couch, while the Titans sat across from him. "Tell us everything."
For the next few hours, they listened as Zuko told them about his world; Benders, the Avatar, the Spirits, the hundred-year war, and the role he and his friends played in ending that war.
He explained that they started out as enemies; they, a group of kids with the weight of the world on their shoulders and he, a banished prince who wanted nothing more than to please his father and return home. Unfortunately, the only way to do that was to bring the Avatar home in chains.
"No one had even seen the Avatar in a hundred years." Zuko laughed bitterly. "Ozai sent me away believing I'd never come back." It appeared to Robin that he refused to even acknowledge the man as his father anymore.
"But you did return, yes?" Starfire asked.
Zuko nodded. "Eventually. I chased Aang and the others halfway across the world in the name of the Firelord. After failing to capture him in the north, Ozai got tired of hearing about how his son lost the Avatar again. So, he labeled my uncle a traitor and me a failure, then sent my sister to bring us back." He told them how they escaped; lived as fugitives; how he began stealing as the Blue Spirit to survive, even though he disliked it –something Robin could sympathize with; and how they eventually became refugees in a place called Ba Sing Se.
The Titans listened intently to the rest of Zuko's story; his betrayal to the Avatar and his uncle; returning home a hero; the startling revelation of the identity of this great-grandfather; his leaving the Fire Nation to join the Avatar; and how they all worked together to defeat his father, his sister, and his country to end the war and bring balance to the world. Zuko ended by explaining the events leading up to his kidnapping.
Throughout the entire story, Robin glanced at Raven, who sat next to him, to see if the Firebender was telling the truth or not. As Zuko spoke of his own world, Raven gave her leader small nods, confirming truth. It wasn't until he got to his escape from Slade that the empath frowned. Before Robin could say anything, however, she put a hand on his arm, shaking her head slightly.
There was a long pause after Zuko finished. He coughed, his throat obviously sore from talking for the past two and a half hours. Noticing this, Starfire rose and flew over to the sink to get him a glass of water.
Finally, Beast Boy broke the silence. "…Wow," he breathed.
Everyone nodded, that one word seeming to match the other Titan's thoughts as well. Robin knew it fit his. He wanted to confront the man about lying, but he trusted Raven, so if she felt it wasn't time for that yet, he would leave it be…for now.
While Zuko thanked Star for the water, Cyborg yawned. "Well, I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready to call it a night." He glanced outside, seeing the sun was already peeking over the horizon, he corrected, "er…day".
"Cyborg's right," Robin spoke up. "It's been a long night. We could all use some sleep. Star. Would you show Zuko to one of the guest rooms? Doesn't matter which, they're all the same."
"Of course!" the girl replied happily.
Before they could leave, Robin told the Firebender, "we'll send someone to come get you for lunch".
Zuko bowed, then he and Starfire disappeared from sight as the doors slid shut behind them.
"Is it really a good idea to send her alone him?" Cy asked.
Robin turned to Raven. "She can take care of herself," she answered. "Besides. He's not going to try anything. Not yet."
~oOo~
Rae
Raven wandered into the living room at around three in the afternoon to hear the usual argument of meat vs. tofu between Cyborg and Beast Boy. Ignoring them, she made her way to the cupboard to grab her teapot. After filling it with water and setting it on the burner to heat up, she glanced around. "Where's Star?" she asked Robin, who was reading the newspaper across the room.
He glanced up long enough to respond with, "went to get Zuko".
She was surprised to see the Tamaranian returning merely seconds later with Zuko in tow. Raven had thought for sure the young man would be practically impossible to wake up after last night's events, but he looked as if he hadn't slept at all. He had a huge bag under his right eye and his hair looked like it had been tied back half-heartedly. Even so, she could feel the sheer determination radiating off of him.
The empath still didn't fully trust him, but it had already been decided they would help Zuko return home, so she and Robin had agreed to stay quiet and just keep an eye on him. They'd be ready if this turned into another Terra incident.
"Raven," Zuko started hesitantly. "Beast Boy mentioned last night that…that your spirit can leave your body and go wherever you want it to?"
"It's called my soul self," she replied, sending a death glare to the green titan, who turned into a mouse and let out a nervous squeak. "But yes, I can."
She could feel hope swelling inside him.
"I was thinking; Aang is the bridge between my world and the Spirit World…and my great-grandfather was the Avatar before him, so in a way, I'm kind of connected to the Spirit World too…"
"You want me to try to contact your friend through his connection?" Raven asked.
"Yeah." Relief washed over Zuko's features, as he didn't have to elaborate on his idea. Raven guessed he didn't know much about the subject to begin with; that this was really a last resort kind of plan. "T-that is, if you didn't mind?" he added, sheepishly. It was brutally obvious he desperately needed sleep, but she could see now why it refused to come to him.
Raven was silent a moment before she finally decided. "I guess it's worth a try."
"So, you actually think all this spiritual mumbo-jumbo hoohah will really work?" asked Beast Boy, waving his arms above his head to emphasize his question.
"His logic does make sense…I think," added Robin, rubbing his chin. "Who's to say it won't?"
After turning off the burner, her tea clearly going to have to wait, Raven motioned for Zuko to follow her farther into the room. "We won't know until we try."
They sat facing each other in front of one of the room's large windows that overlooked Jump City, Zuko on the floor, Raven hovering about a foot in the air in a meditative position.
"Focus on your friend," she told him. "On the link you two share with the Spirit World."
"My great-grandfather?"
Raven nodded and closed her eyes. The Firebender closed his as well, concentration etched on his face.
"Azarath, metrion…zinthos." With that, her soul self rose up, looking much like a large bird, and dove straight into the raven-haired man.
~oOo~
So
The Universe just loved messing with him. All those years of acting like men were so superior, and his wife had just given birth to their second daughter. Of course, he loved Yuuki –she was daddy's little girl- and little Kya, but it had been no secret that he had really wanted a son.
" Oh, come of, Sokka. You're nineteen. You have plenty of time to have a whole litter of sons."
"Easy for you to say, Aang. You and Katara already have a son." Sokka glanced over to watch his daughter try to block the path of Tenzin, who was desperately crawling away from the motherly three year old. Though she looked much like her mother, she acted a whole lot like her aunt. Poor girl. Kya held a striking resemblance to her namesake; dark complexion, dark hair, and breath-taking blue eyes –both children seemed to get the dominant trait for the eyes of the Water Tribe.
"So is Katara still in there helping Suki with the baby?" Aang asked, changing the subject.
"Why do you think I'm sitting out here?" Sokka retorted. The Avatar nodded knowingly. "Seriously though, Aang, I can't thank you guys enough for coming out here."
A hint of a blush crept onto the monk's once childish face. "I told you already, it's no big deal. Katara wanted to be here for the delivery and Kyoshi Island isn't that far from the South Pole." His gaze flickered over to his son. "We weren't sure how well Tenzin would do on the trip, but he seems just fi-"
"Aang?" Sokka asked nervously as his friend went silent midsentence. The familiar glow from the teen's eyes and arrow tattoos didn't go unnoticed.
Without much thought of anything else, the Water Tribesman jumped to his feet and ran into the house.
The women where startled as he burst into the bedroom, causing Kya to start crying.
Suki picked her up and tried to soothe the baby as Katara asked, "What's wrong, Sokka? You look like you've just seen a ghost".
"Aang just went into the Avatar State."
~oOo~
Aa
He was surprised to find himself here. He had gone into the Avatar State a few times since his fight with Firelord Ozai, but it had been quite a while since Aang had been to the Spirit World.
Not knowing what else to do, he wandered around until at last, he saw a familiar face.
"Roku?" he asked, walking up to his past life. "What's going on? Why am I here?"
"I do not know, Aang," Roku replied. "There seems to be…intruders in the Spirit World; spirits that have forced their way here."
"Wait, I thought you said you didn't know."
"I only answered one of your questions. I do not know why either of us are here," the older Avatar responded.
Before Aang could say any more, Roku pointed, saying, "they are here".
As the forms shimmered into view, the Airbender gasped at what he saw. There was a pale girl dressed in dark blue and black that he didn't recognize, and standing next to her, looking a bit disoriented was…
"Zuko?"
"Aang…" the Firelord said, his voice quivering a bit. He was dressed in his heavy robes, his hair neatly pulled back into a half top knot, his crown glistening within it and a freshly groomed goatee on his chin, something the Avatar was quite jealous of. In all, he looked exactly as he had when he had seen him a couple months ago.
"What's going on?" Aang asked him.
"I…"
"You're going to have to hurry, Zuko," said the girl in a monotonous tone. "My powers can't keep us here very long."
"Who is she?" the Avatar couldn't help asking.
"This is Raven," Zuko answered quickly. "She helped me contact you. Anyway, I need you to do me a favor, okay?"
Aang was shocked at the desperation in his friend's voice. "Of course, Zuko, anything."
The Firelord sighed in relief. "I need you to go to the Fire Nation. Tell Toph and Uncle that I'm okay and…and that I'll try my best to find a way to make it back home by the time the baby is born."
"What do you mean, Zuko? What's happened?"
"Tell them they can't try to rescue me, no matter what," the man continued, ignoring his friend's questions. "We'll all be in danger if they do."
"Answer me, Zuko," Aang ordered, his voice demanding.
Before Zuko could respond, Raven fell to her knees, clutching her arms around herself. "I can't hold it any longer," she told them weakly. "The link is slipping."
As their images began to flicker, Zuko told his friend in a voice that sounded far away, "tell Toph I love her".
Then they were gone, leaving the two Avatars behind.
~oOo~
Ka
The trio had worriedly gathered around Aang, waiting for something to happen, preferably, for him to return. Katara held Tenzin as she watched her husband, not caring the ten month old was playing with her hair loopies –this was a very common thing for her.
After what seemed like hours of waiting that couldn't have been more than a few minutes, the glowing dimmed, then vanished, leaving a weary-looking Aang behind. Sokka caught him before he could fall off the porch.
"What happened?" the young man asked. "One minute you're fine and the next you're glowing it up."
"We have to go to the Fire Nation, Katara," the monk suddenly stated, not bothering to answer his friend.
This caught the Waterbender by surprise. "Huh? Why?"
"I think Zuko's been kidnapped."
A/N: Dun, dun, duuuuun!
So, I managed to get a hold of my mom's computer for a while to type this up. I already had most of it down on paper, so it didn't take long. I don't know how long it'll take to get the next chapter up, hopefully not a long time, but I'm giving no promises on that. xP
Anyway! R&R!
As always, I own nothing. ;A;