Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to chapter 16 :) Thank you to everybody who reviewed last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one ^_^

16. An Eerie Presence

"How long do you think it's going to take for us to reach this place in the Earth Kingdom?" Sokka asked, leaning over the map as Zuko steered Appa.

"Not long – a few hours. We should be there by sundown."

"Sounds reasonable enough," Sokka nodded, frowning at the map.

"But how are we going to locate her properly? I mean, she's a bounty hunter – she'll probably have moved on by now!"

"The point of getting to this place in the northern Earth Kingdom is so we have a place to start. The people who live around here aren't likely to have missed a giant tracking animal with a hot middle-aged woman riding it passing by," Zuko explained.

"Um... right."

"So even if Jun has already headed off somewhere else by the time we get there, at least we have a starting point!"

"Fair enough..."

They flew on in an awkward silence.

Mai fell to the ground as Shang forced her into his bedroom.
"Get away from me!" she hissed, trying to swallow her panic. Showing her would only make her weaker. "Stay away!"

But shouting at him would do her no good. He forced her onto the bed and started to rip her clothes off.

"Azula, what are you doing?" Yue asked as the girl frowned at the image in the well.

"Let's see if I can use my mother's trick to help her," she murmured.

Ursa held Yue back so she wouldn't touch Azula as the Fire Princess lowered her face into the water of the well.

"Good luck, my darling."

Shang forced his lips onto Mai's as he pried her shirt away from her body and began to pull away her breast bindings. The girl struggled helplessly beneath him, trying to get him off her. But she wasn't physically strong enough.

Tears streamed silently down her face as she forced herself to show no fear. She knew she couldn't get out of it. If this would be her fate, then so be it. She just hoped he would spare her life long enough for her to get her revenge.

A sense of calm washed over her as she stared up at the ceiling. She felt herself stop struggling against him and stop crying. But at the same time, she felt him pause in undressing her. She looked to his face and he was looking over his shoulder, as if someone had walked into the room. Mai tried to look around him, but she could not see anybody.

"What?" she heard him whisper.

Looking back at his face, she found it draining of colour. He started trembling slightly, but quickly recomposed himself. But he did not return his focus to Mai. Instead, he let her up.

"Get dressed," he commanded. Mai only hesitated for a moment, wondering what was going on. Then she quickly redressed and then turned to face him again, keeping an eye on him and wondering what might be going through his head.

After a moment, he reached for her and grabbed her by the forearm. Mai panicked for a moment and tried to struggle against him, fearing that he had reconsidered letting her go unharmed. But when he started dragging her towards the door again, she let him.

She managed to click her brain on and told herself to take note of the passages in case she was able to locate and escape. An earthbender joined them after a moment and at some point, he made an opening in a stone wall they had stopped in front of. Shang forced her through the opening and she put her hands out in front of her to catch herself. When she turned to look at him over her shoulder, the opening was closing up again.

"Mai, are you alright?" Katara asked as she dropped to her knees at the girl's side.

Mai turned to look at her, a frown on her face, "Yea... I'm fine."

She got to her feet and looked around, only to realize she was back in the cave she had woken up in.

"What happened?" Katara asked, wondering why the girl wasn't in absolute hysteria. Had she not just been raped? But then again, it hadn't been all that long. Katara doubted that Shang would have been done with her that quickly.

"I... I'm not sure. He stopped," she said, shrugging, her voice returning to its usual bored tone.

"But why?"

"I dunno," Mai said honestly, turning to look at her in the eyes. "But... huh, never mind."

"No, c'mon, tell."

Mai shook her head gently, "It sounds stupid."

"Tell anyway," Katara said. Then, she cleared her throat and tried to make it seem as if she didn't care quite so much. "I mean, it's not like there's anything better to do than talk... about something," she said.

Mai looked at her and shrugged, "It just felt like someone was there. Someone other than me and him, I mean. Someone watching us. And the way he just stopped and looked over his shoulder... it was like he could feel someone was there too."

"Hmm..." Katara frowned. "Sounds odd."

"Yea... see, told you it sounded stupid."

"Well, it least it gave us something to talk about... for a few seconds anyway."

"Yea... right..."

He could not escape her.

Well, he couldn't prove it was here – he couldn't actually see her. But he could feel that it was her. And that scared him.

He took Mai back to her prison and left her there in the hope that she would go away. But that eerie presence that told him that she was there did not leave him. It followed him. He ran from it, quite literally, causing a few Dai Li agents that he passed to stop and stare briefly. And it left him wondering if perhaps he was going mad.

But that feeling had to be real.

He ran to his room and shut the door loudly behind him. But she followed him into the room.

"I know you're there," he whispered. He leaned his back against the door and tried to control the thudding of his heart. "Ok, look, I let your friend go, see?" She didn't leave him. He realized he was panting and his legs began to give in beneath him. He let himself slip down the door to a sitting position on the ground. "What do you want from me?" he gulped. "I'm sorry..."

Sokka had insisted on taking over flying Appa after he had started complaining of Zuko's steering skills. The others had urged him to just listen to Sokka and let him drive to save them from having to endure yet another argument. Having a brawl in mid air as they had been at the time was not exactly the brightest of ideas.

The Water Tribe warrior brought the Bison down on the edge of the town Jun had last been sighted in. Appa groaned in relief as he settled down on the solid ground, absolutely exhausted because of the long amount of time it had been since he had last flown with so many passengers.

"Good Appa... jeez, all this flying makes a guy hungry. Hey, Suki, pass me my backpack would you?" he called over his shoulder. With a sigh, the Kyoshi Warrior threw his pack at him. "What it! There's precious food in there!"

"Sokka, we're on a mission to find your sister and the Avatar –"

"And Mai!" Ty Lee put in.

"– and all you can think about is your stomach?" Zuko growled. But his face held a slightly amused smirk of victory – if Sokka thought Zuko didn't really care about Katara then he had better take a look in the mirror in Zuko's opinion.

"Look, if I don't eat, I'll die, and then I won't be able to help my sister," Sokka said, shoving his hand into the depths of his backpack and fishing around blindly for a bag of blubbered seal jerky he'd packed for himself. But he could not find it. Instead, he pulled his fingers away with a yelp when they brushed up against something furry.

Chattering and excited, Momo leapt out of the bag and started clinging to Sokka's head, glad to have been released from his baggy confinement.

"Momo! No! Oh, please tell me you didn't eat ... aw, you did!" Sokka moaned, turning his bag inside out. "Stupid lemur!" he shouted, grabbing his furry little tail and flinging him to the ground with a huff.

"Hey, be nice to Momo!" Ty Lee shouted disapprovingly, back-flipping out of the saddle and landing neatly next to the little fur ball sprawled on the floor. She picked him up gently and started stroking him as she cradled him in his arms. Seeming to like this attention, Momo cuddled up to her, causing her to swoon. "He's so cute!"

"He ate my blubbered seal jerky!" Sokka whined.

"Sokka, nobody cares about your stomach!" Toph informed him bluntly. "Now focus! We have to go into the village and ask around about Jun – we can get food while we're there."

Sokka mumbled indignantly to himself and crossed his arms over his chest.

"She's right, Sokka," Suki said sweetly, coming up to sit beside him. She wrapped her arms around him and cuddled him. "It'll all be ok." She gave him a little peck on top of the head and he sighed.

"Fine... let's go then."

They left Appa where he was, deciding he was safe on his own there and they all trooped into the village, Ty Lee still holding Momo in her arms.

As soon as they passed by the first pub, Sokka steered them in.

"Eat first, then we'll ask around for the tracker chick," he said.

"We can ask around for her in here," Zuko informed the other, knowing the information would be useless to Sokka, who wasn't even listening. "She likes to hang around pubs and bars and all that where she can get drinks and get money by arm-wrestling buff guys."

"So, chances are, she's been in here?" Toph asked as they all found a table. Sokka picked up a menu and scanned it with eager eyes.

"Yep."

"Hey, if you guys don't hurry up, I'm gonna go order without you," Sokka warned.

Zuko sighed, "Then go! We've got things on our minds that are more important to us than our stomachs."

"Guys, calm it down," Suki said, sitting between the two boys in the hope to reduce the chances of another fight.

"I'm gonna go order," Sokka said.

"Um, excuse me, lady," a gruff voice spoke from behind them. They all turned to see a man tapping Ty Lee on the shoulder. He held a mop in one hand and a murky bucket of water in the other. He stood tall with jet black hair that shone a little in the light. His skin was a deathly pale colour and his eyes were hard and black. "No animals inside. Take your little friend outside before I paint the walls with his guts," he warned, pointing a finger at Momo.

"Um... do you work here?" Ty Lee asked meekly, clutching the lemur to her chest.

The man nodded, keeping his eyes glued to the little animal. "I'm a bus boy and I work here this night every week."

"Oh, ok, I'll take him outside and... leave him there," she said, awkwardly standing up and shuffling outside.

The man cast his eyes over Zuko, Suki and Toph, who were still sitting around the table before he began to move away.

"Ah, excuse me!" Zuko called after him, thinking quickly. The man turned around to look at him. "We need to ask you a few questions – we're trying to find somebody. A woman by the name of Jun. She's a bounty hunter and was said to have passed through here recently."

The man stiffened for a moment and frowned, "Sorry, I don't help out stalkers."

Zuko frowned deeply, "We're not stalkers. We need her help in finding someone else – my wife has recently gone missing. Fire Lady Katara. Our friend Avatar Aang is also missing. We want her to help us find them."

The other man scrutinized Zuko harshly with his dark eyes, "You're the Fire Lord?"

Zuko nodded. "And I've worked with Jun once before. If she could help us now, her reward would be... more than decent, I'm sure you would agree."

There was the sound of shattering glass somewhere in the background and a hard old voice shouted out, "Hey, bus boy! Enough chit-chat! Come clean this mess up or ye won't get paid!"

With one last heavy look at the group, he disappeared to clean up.

"Well, that went well," Suki sighed sarcastically. "Jeez, what a creep!"

Ty Lee rejoined them and sat back down, "What did I miss?"

"That guy who told you to get rid of Momo wouldn't tell us about Jun," Zuko informed her.

"Did he actually know anything? Who knows, maybe he didn't."

"Something about him told me that he did know. He just didn't trust us. Toph?" Zuko asked, turning to her to get her opinion. "Um, Toph, are you alright?"

The girl had a frown on her face and she looked as if she was trying hard to concentrate. "Yea, just..."

"What is it, Toph?" Suki asked, leaning in closer.

"It's nothing, don't worry. I think I must need food more than I realized – my senses of perception aren't up to scratch. It might also have to do with being on Appa again..." she sighed. "I'm gonna get some food. Sorry guy, excuse me." She got up and disappeared.

Sokka came back carrying a large bowl of meat and rice. He had already started eating it before he sat down. "What's with Toph?" he asked with his mouth full.

"I dunno," Suki said.

Sokka shrugged in indifference and kept cramming his face. The others went up to get food one by one and they ate mostly in silence.

"What took you so long?" Ty Lee asked as Zuko sat back down – he had been the last one to go up.

"I asked the guy behind the bar what he could tell us about Jun and saw that creepy bus boy glaring at me from the other side of the room. It was like he knew what I was asking about or something..."

"Hm?" Sokka asked, lifting his head. He'd finished eating and had just about fallen asleep with his head on the table, despite the noise in the background. "What's with the creepy bus boy?"

"When you went up to get food, the bus boy came over to tell Ty Lee to get Momo outside. Before he could go, Zuko asked him if he knew anything about Jun and he gave us this look... and he wouldn't answer the questions and just said he didn't help stalkers. He walked off first opportunity he got," Suki explained.

"He was creepy," Ty Lee put emphasized.

"Toph, are you sure you're ok? You look a little off," Zuko said, starting to worry for her. She had become very quiet since the bus boy had appeared and hadn't loosened up at all since he'd left again. Her face was slightly pale and there was still a frown on her brow.

"Yea, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

She nodded, "I'm just gonna go step outside."

"I've got a better idea," Zuko said, finishing off his food, "let's all head back to Appa. I'll tell you what the bar tender told me."

They all agreed to that and filed out of the pub and walked off. It was already dark and strangely quiet. It was one of those nights when people would subconsciously glance over their shoulders to make sure they weren't being watched and double check to make sure all of the doors and windows to their houses were shut and locked properly. And as the group of five reached Appa, they could have sworn that someone was following them.

"Let's start flying already. We'll rest some place else," Sokka said, trying not to appear frightened. But in all honesty, nobody was about to disagree with his ideas to leave. There was an eerie presence in the night and none of them liked it.

As they ascended, the feeling of being watched faded, but did not disappear completely. But each of the passengers on Appa's back told themselves that nothing could keep up with Appa while he was flying.

Much to Ty Lee's relief, Momo had found his way back to the Bison and she cuddled him gently, sighing in relief and stroking his fur. He chattered a little uncomfortable with the vigour of her petting.

"So Zuko, what did you find out?" Suki prompted as Sokka turned around on Appa's head to join in the conversation.

"She was there. He knew who I was talking about as soon as I said her name; I didn't even have to describe her – he did it for me. Tattoo on the arm, black hair, pale and flawless skin, dark eyes, giant animal thing with a freaky nose and a dangerous vibe about it..."

"Well, from the sounds of it, we're on the track of the right girl. What else did he say?" Sokka said.

"She was at the pub every night for at least a week after she turned in her last bounty. The regulars got to know her pretty well and her boyfriend started working as a bus boy there – that's the creepy one. But she disappeared off with her animal about two weeks ago and they were surprised when her boyfriend didn't go after her. But apparently she started heading east in search of a decent bounty to start tracking. From the sounds of it, her boyfriend is getting into the business with her and plans to ditch the pub as soon as she chooses her next victim."

"Well, why didn't he take us up on our offer then? I mean, we told him you were the Fire Lord – I don't think there are many people who could compete with you when it comes to giving a good reward."

"I dunno," Zuko shrugged. "He didn't seem to trust us. Maybe he didn't believe us."

"Or, maybe that Jun chick has him on a really short leash," Sokka said with a grin on his face. Nobody laughed.

"Or maybe he's really obsessive and overprotective," Zuko said. "Anyway, I'd say that our best bet is to travel east to the next village and ask around there to see if she's passed through."

"Good idea," the others chorused.

"When are we going to land for the night?" Ty Lee asked, sounding uncertain.

"Later," the boys answered in union, a little too quickly for the others not to pick up on the note of fear they held. Silence fell on them all like bricks. They rode on into the night and stopped at the next town to the east, found a stable for Appa to stay in and an inn for them. Ty Lee managed to smuggle Momo in with them unnoticed.

It wasn't until somebody knocked on the door that Shang realized that quite some time had passed and he had fallen asleep.

"Who is it?" he asked, standing up abruptly and trying to keep his voice steady.

"A messenger. Long Feng requests a meeting with you in the main chamber immediately."

"Um, yes, of course. I will be there right away," Admiral Shang replied.

He waited for the messenger to walk away before he let out a held breath. Then, he looked around the room edgily.

Then, shaking his head angrily at himself, he told himself to pull his head in. He composed himself and then stepped out of his room and followed the passages to where he knew to meet Long Feng. Much to his relief, her eerie presence faded away as he went.

Azula opened her eyes and found herself back in the Spirit world. She looked at her mother and Yue and smiled, "I saved her."

Ursa smiled and stroked her hair, "Yes, you did. Well done, darling."

The feeling of being watched had increased again by the time what was left of the gang woke up. It was midmorning and the sun was bright and up ahead of any of them.
"We'll ask around town straight after breakfast," Sokka decided, patting his stomach

The others nodded in agreement. They headed out into the village and ate breakfast before they began their scavenge for information. They split up into two groups – a girl's group and a girl's group after Sokka and Ty Lee had an argument over which gender would be able to find more information. So Ty Lee, Suki and Toph headed off in one direction while Sokka dragged Zuko reluctantly in the other. They agreed to meet outside the inn after two hours with whatever information they had to share and then evaluate.

"Ok, the barkeeper in that creepy little shack we passed on our way into town says she was here two nights ago. She was in a bit of a brawl and absolutely kicked ass – from the descriptions of the fight, I pity the poor fool who challenged her," Sokka said solemnly.

"He also said that she was looking for a bounty to follow and continued east the next morning," Zuko added – the vital piece of information that actually mattered, unlike what Sokka had shared.

"Hey, I was getting there!" Sokka huffed.

"Sure, whatever you say, Sokka," Zuko nodded, not really paying him any attention. "What did you girl's find?"

"A guard told us that she'd asked about the bounties around the area and had taken a copy of a few wanted posters. He asked her if she planned to choose any of them but she said she doubted it because the pay was too low," Suki told them.

"We'll see what she says about the price of the task we have for her," Zuko murmured. "Anything else?"

"No. Well, actually... um, Toph?" Suki asked, frowning at the girl. Ty Lee shuffled her feet uncomfortably.

"Toph, what do you have for us?" Zuko asked, trying to keep calm. There was that frown plastered to her brow again. She was quiet. Too quiet.

"It's just..." She looked to either side of her at Suki and Ty lee. "I – I thought I saw that creepy bus boy from the pub at the other town while we were walking around."

Zuko frowned deeply, not liking that one bit. The others all watched his face to see his reaction.

"Toph, are you absolutely sure you saw him?" Zuko asked in a low voice.

Toph shook her head, "I don't know – the vibrations I get from him are... different."

"Different?" the other four repeated in sync.

"Yea..."

"What makes them different?" Suki asked.

"Well..." Toph rubbed the back of her neck. "Guys, this is going to sound absolutely crazy, but he doesn't appear to have a heartbeat."

They were goggling at her. She didn't have to see them properly to be able to figure that out.

"Look, I'm probably misreading him or something. I mean, a man without a heartbeat is dead, and the creepy bus boy moves and talks and breathes, so he's definitely alive... right?"

It took the others a moment to respond.

"... Yes, right! I mean, it's impossible for him not to have a heartbeat," Zuko said.

"Exactly!"

"Yea!"

"Of course!"

"Sorry for worrying you guys. I think I might be losing my touch or something," Toph apologized.

The others told her not to worry and they continued east to the next town after lunch. The locals there told them that she had passed through without stopping and so they flew east one more time.

"Alright, dinner before we do anything else!" Sokka called.

The others didn't mind taking a break and sitting down on something that wasn't flying. They headed into the nearest tavern and sat down to eat. Just as they were finishing, Toph's eyes went wide.

"Guys..." she whispered. They all snapped their heads in her direction. "He's here!" she whisper-yelled.

"Who?" Sokka asked.

"The creepy bus boy," Toph hissed, cocking her head to the side.

As discreetly as they could, they peered round to where she had indicated. Sure enough, he was at the other side of the tavern, seemingly paying no attention to them. But none of them doubted for a second that he was watching them out of the corner of his eye. They knew it was no coincidence that he was there – he'd followed them. But how?

"Ok, I'm officially freaked out," Sokka announced, drawing the attention to him. "All in favour of skipping this place now, say aye."

"Aye."

"Aye!"

"Aye."

"Aye."

Without another word, they all pushed back their seats from the table and shuffled silently outside, panic rising in their throats. They started heading towards Appa, who they had left on the edge of the town and Momo chattered quietly as he flew to Ty Lee's shoulder.

Just before they could enter the trees, Sokka stopped dead in his tracks.

"Sokka, come on!" Suki hissed.

"Guys, look!" he said, letting his voice shoot up to a normal volume which caused the others to flinch. But as he said it, he pointed around towards the back of the tavern they'd just exited.

A grotesque- looking animal had its head sticking out from behind the building and was peering at them curiously as it raised its mussel into the air and sniffed cautiously. It was a predator like no other they'd seen before and by no mistake, Nyla – Jun's shirshu.

As they all turned their bodies towards her, she shied away behind the building and, forgetting about the creepy bus boy who appeared to have been following them, they quickly ran over to the back of the building.

Nyla put as much distance as she could between them hiding in an alleyway where she was cornered. They others appeared in the entrance to the alley and stopped, knowing the danger they could bring upon themselves if they got much closer.

"Hey there, remember us?" Sokka asked playfully. "Where's Jun?"

Of course the beast didn't answer and instead, Sokka took a daring step into the alley, mustering up all of his confidence. Then he took another step... and another... and –

"Sokka! Stop! Don't get so close!" Suki warned in a panicked voice.

"Relax," he waved her off. "I have a way with animals."

"Sokka!" All four of his companions jumped at him and grabbed him by the arms as Nyla growled at him for coming so close to her. They began to drag him back out of the alley and he protested loudly.

"You've been stalking the wrong woman," a rough voice said from the entrance of the alley. Zuko, Sokka, Suki, Toph and Ty Lee shot their heads around to look at who had spoken, but to everybody but Toph, he was a black silhouette.

"You again!" Toph cried.

The next thing they knew, they were on the ground, completely limp.

Dun! Dun! Dun! xD I bet everyone reading this story knows who that was – those of you who already know his name, do not spoil it for the others! They're probably checking my reviews for spoilers... lol. So say no names! (doctor Anthony and Thunder, that includes you guys!).

Alright, so tell me how you all liked that in a review. Remember, I need five (5) reviews or no updates! Thank you for reading. Hope you liked it ^_^ now REVIEW!!!

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