It was only expected that news of the discovery of the Avatar would have sent shockwaves through the court. The physical embodiment of the idea of balance, it had always been taken for granted that the Avatar would be opposed to the Water Empire's plans for conquest.
The royal family themselves were even coming down to the south to retrieve him. Katara could only see this coming down to one scenario.
They were going to kill the Avatar.
Once that happened; her, Sokka, and the rest of her family would likely be highly rewarded. Like she had said earlier they were almost royalty here. The Water Emperor could very likely grant him that title.
Yeah, as if.
Katara walked out of the solitude known as her mind to see her family. Sokka naturally was exaggerating the story, but she had to hand it to her brother; he was a natural born story teller.
"It took every ounce of my blood, teeth, and might to take him down! And we met him in his glowing blue eyes. You could see the vengeance coming straight from them..."
"The Avatar may have been a master of Air," Sokka echoed louder. "But in the end skill is what decided the battle. Katara helped too. We wouldn't have found him without her." He took a break to take the last jug from his cup and went to go fetch some more.
Kanna, at Katara's side, gave a loud cough as she cleared her throat. "Your brother. I'll tell what,"
"Don't take anything he says seriously, Gran-Gran. He's just drunk." Katara told her back.
Kanna grinned at her. "I know, but in a year he'll already be ready to join the men in war. I can feel it already. You and him are destined for great things."
Katara merely scoffed. "You can't accomplish great things when you're destined to be a healer for the rest of your life." She said bitterly.
"Dearest Katara," Kanna continued. "Remember that you captured the Avatar. That's sure to have its benefits in the eyes of the royals."
Katara stared sharply at her. "What?"
Though Kanna merely smiled. Katara was going to ask again, then her father, Hakoda, stood tall.
"My children, mother, and wife," Hakoda began looking passionately at the people he called out, even Sokka the drunk was silenced. "In two weeks time the royal family will be joining our home. Though it won't be for long, I expect us all to treat them with the highest respect. That means getting used to them sitting in our throne room."
With those words all Katara could want is for them to come and go. That message didn't make sleep easy that night either. It reached the point where she couldn't sleep at all.
What was her problem?! Is it the fact that the Avatar, master of all elements, was literally in their possession? Katara blinked, then a realization came.
"That it," She knew what she needed to do.
/
Katara took some turns here to there to arrive at the prison at a shorter time. When she arrived the warden was very...skeptical.
She wasn't going to give up now. "Lady Katara, daughter of the governor, here to see the prisoner."
The warden stroked his temple. Katara could tell he wasn't going to fall for the ruse so easily. "On whose authority?"
Katara put on a act to make herself sound offended. "Excuse me? The Avatar wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me." Then she went with her trump card. "If you don't let me in I'll tell my father on you."
The warden didn't show any sign of fear, but that had certainly gotten to him. "Fine. I'll give you seven minutes, nothing more. Be aware the Avatar is a highly dangerous (and precious) prisoner."
The warden swung the door open into the room. When the warden let her pass Katara smiled in success. She looked up to see the Avatar on the far end, behind bars, and in chains. He was awake and they looked at each at exactly the same time.
She expected him to be bad. Furious even. But he wasn't. In fact he even greeted her with, "Hey,"
/
Aang didn't hate her. He wasn't angry with her either. Despite her deception (or her brothers deception). He had already let that go. He couldn't be angry right now. What he needed was answers.
He waited until the door closed behind them. "Please, tell me what's going on?" He extended his neck to look at her in the eyes. "Why are you doing this to me?"
Katara, he remembered, was silent for a moment, then that was followed by a sigh. "I thought you would have figured that out already," She said.
"Figured what out?" He asked.
"You're the Avatar. Aka greatest enemy to the Water Empire."
"That's another thing. Why do you keep bringing up Water Empire? There was never a Water Empire. Only Water Tribe." It occurred to Aang that he could be dealing with a group of extremists.
"You've must have really be in that iceberg for a long time." Katara said as she sat down. "I'm thinking a hundred years."
That was impossible. "A hundred years?" He asked, astonished.
"Yeah, me too." She agreed. "But think about it. You know nothing about the Water Empire, and I'm betting you don't know about the war either."
If Aang was drinking water he would've spit it out. "A war?!" Things weren't looking good. "I need to get back to the Southern Air Temple."
Katara negatively shook her head. "There wouldn't be a point. Nothing or anyone is there." Aang remembered her brother saying the same thing after their encounter. Yet they didn't give any reasoning behind it. Until now. "You aren't going to like this. One hundred years ago the Water Empire made themselves known to the world by harnessing the power of the Super Moon. It was with that power they used to hunt the Air Nomads into extinction."
Aang's world finally crumbled. Everything he knew was gone. A tear hit the ground; he was crying.
Katara was unsettled by the display of emotion. She wasn't going to comfort him; she wasn't his mother. Besides, death happens and he should just deal with it.
"Look, I'm not here to give you a history lesson," She asserted. Aang cleaned his tears and listened to what else she had to say. "I came here because I need you to teach me your secrets of waterbending."
That wasn't a demand. In a way it sounded like she was genuinely asking. "Couldn't you just have a master teach you?"
"I wouldn't be here if that were possible." She crossed her arms. "It's a law that women are forbidden to learn waterbending. We are only allowed to heal." Aang could feel a change in her tone. Sorrow? Compassion maybe. "That's why I'm asking you teach me."
Aang could tell she was desperate. He wished that he could help her in the way she wanted, but he couldn't. "I'm sorry, but I don't know waterbending."
Katara felt a stab in her back. "What?"
He repeated. "I don't know waterbending. I don't even know earth or firebending."
Katara wanted to snap. She couldn't believe it; she wasted her time for nothing. She filled herself with false hope and this is what happens. "Ugh," She went under her breathe.
The water tribe girl stood up. "Then please consider yourself useless, Avatar." She was done.
Just before she left out the door Aang called out, "Wait!", She stopped. "My bison Appa. He's okay, right?" Katara didn't answer. "If he is please take care of him."
Katara didn't owe him anything. Not after this. She left out the door without saying another word.
/
On the first day of his search, Zuko takes himself into his quarters to do some meditating. He stayed calm and tried not to panic.
Everything about the Avatar is unknown, including his heritage...for the most part. The Avatar spirit passed on from one nation to the next. That gave him something to go off of.
Avatar Roku died along with Fire Lord Sozin, so the next Avatar had to pass into the Air Nomads.
Zuko breathed, though the annihilation of the Air Nomads took place twelve years afterwards. Say the Avatar were to escape. That would make him more than a hundred years old. That raised the question on why he stayed in solitude for so long? That didn't make sense.
He gritting teeth showed his rising frustration, the candle lights grew bigger, then he breathed.
He couldn't be reborn into the Water Empire. Surely they would have already taken advantage of what could be their greatest weapon. Zuko kept in mind it was common knowledge that anyone from the Water Empire was a savage. He didn't like to think it, but the thought came to mind that they would torture and kill their own if they had too.
Disgusting.
Next was the Earth Kingdom. This could either be the worst or the best case scenario. Sure the Earth Kingdom was massive, but the Water Empire ruled most of it.
At least Zuko could be assured that he wasn't reborn into the Fire Nation. Any true son of fire would have already made himself known.
That settled it; he would check any Earth Kingdom land that wasn't already conquered. Zuko checked with his captain to see what was closest. That turned out to be Gaoling.
They were there by dawn...
/
Zuko walked casually through the streets of Gaoling. He wore fine silk, and the crown the identified him as a prince was absent. He didn't want anyone finding out his identity.
If he was going to find the Avatar and even get some information; he picked up a whisper or two about underground fights. He knew where he had to look.
As in response to his thought, Zuko rounded and corner and saw a group of earth kingdom girls. He asked them some questions, then they treated him like some thug or peasant. That had crushed his confidence somewhat. This went on all the way to the afternoon. He to admit people shunning him like this was destroying that optimism he already had.
"Azula wouldn't have this trouble," He thought.
As he was walking he saw to teenagers about his age. "Excuse me," He cut the conversation polity. "I'm looking for a tournament to bet on."
The first teen looked at him smugly. "Sure we can help you out," He lead Zuko to believe. "It's on the island of none ya' business."
The teenagers snarked and laughed as they went on their way. Zuko was angered. His firebending was lit in his hands. This was the final stray. He was about to teach them a lesson.
"Calm down there, hotshot,"
A warm hand grab his; he ceased his fire just as it happened. He turned around to see it was a earth kingdom girl, with pigtails and green eyes. She was smiling.
"Don't let them get to you." She advised him. "Those guys are jerks and they aren't worth your time."
They got away, is what went through Zuko's mind. Probably for the best. So now it was just him and the earth kingdom girl.
"I heard you were looking for the underground ring. I can help if you like?" Zuko's optimism rose up to the point it created an expression on his face. "You seem happy,"
Zuko groaned. "Yeah. I didn't have a good day."
"You could use some fun. Lets make a date out of it."
There wasn't time for fun; he had to find the Avatar. This girl however was persistent. "Fine."
The girl giggled again. "Let's go, then." She stood up, then as a seeming afterthought, gave him a short bow. "Name's Jin, by the way,"
Zuko awkwardly gave her the same bow. "Lee," He lied.
/
They sat in the high seats of the stadium. Groups were coming in together, no fights had began yet either. For now it was just Zuko, Jin, and silence. Lee, the disguised prince went by, was trying to avoid conversation.
Jin, unlike him, was an initiative taker. "So, what brings you to Gaoling?"
"I'm looking for an earthbender. One with talent." It wasn't a total lie. Any Avatar was bound to be a prodigy at their home element. The thought of Azula being the Avatar was followed by that thought. That would be a nightmare.
To Jin his explanation made sense. "So where are you from?"
"The Fire Nation,"
Jin brightened. "I've always wanted to go to the Fire Nation. What's it like? Do you really have dragons? Oh, and have you ever been to the palace?"
In his mind, Zuko could answer this questions without a problem. "In the Fire Nation it's...hot. We do have dragons, but no one has seen them for a century, so I guess we don't too." Damnit this was awkward. "So where are you from?" Gaoling of course. Stupid question!
"Actually, funny you ask that," Zuko faced Jin for the first time in their conversation. "I'm from Ba Sing Se."
"What? Impossible. Ba Sing Se was conquered by the Water Empire thirty years ago."
Jin sipped her tea, eyes at the ground. "You aren't wrong. I was only nine at the time, by my grandmother got me out. She wanted me to live a better life."
From the way she was dressed it didn't seem she was ravishing in riches. A better life must be a flexible term.
"What about your parents?" Zuko curiosity asked.
"Never had them. My dad ran away before I was born and my mom died at birth."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Zuko offered helplessly.
"It's okay." Jin smiled sweetly. "It sounds weird, but I haven't told anyone this. It's great to get it out."
Needless to say, meeting Jin only strengthened his quest to bring balance.
"I am your host, Xin Fu," the host, apparently named Xin Fu, announced. "Are you ready for Earth! Rumble! Six!"
The entire croud erupted into cheers. Zuko's attention was immediately shifted towards the arena. Now was the time. Any one of these earthbenders had to show some sign of Avater-ness.
"Now, give a warm welcome to the terror from down under, the rock-hard newcomer who's already tearing up the Earth Rumble world, the one, the only, Boulder!" The crowd screeched his name high. they got to what the announcer accurately described as 'the moment we've all been waiting for': "The Boulder vs. your champion, the Blind Bandit!"
Zuko nearly jumped from his seat. "Wait she's actually blind?"
Jin confirmed. "As a wolf-bat."
"But she's a little girl,"
"That's correct,"
Zuko was bamboozled; he had to be missing something. "How are you so okay about this?"
Jin wouldn't admit to it, but this wasn't the first time she attended an earth rumble. "The Blind Bandit has a notorious reputation."
Jin wasn't wrong. After witnessing the Blind Bandit clean the floor with the boulder he realized what a fool he had been. From a good estimate she couldn't be more than twelve. Azula was proof how powerful a twelve year old bender could be if trained properly.
Could this girl be the Avatar? It was too soon in the search and luck was never in his favor. On the other hand she was bending blind. This was true skill. Following the rest of the matches no other bender had shown this type of skill. It was then he knew he had to contact her somehow.
The announcer called out an offer of a sack of gold to anyone who could beat the Blind Bandit.
His next decision may not have been wise.
"I will!" Zuko announced loud enough for Xin Fu to hear him, and gaining the crowds attention in the process.
Xin Fu accepted this challenger. "We have a challenger!"
"Lee, you can't fight the Blind Bandit." Jin warned him. "She'll clobber you,"
"I don't want to fight her; just need her name,"
The next scene played him in the arena across from the Blind Bandit.
"What are you staring at?" she snapped suddenly, shocking Zuko into momentary speechlessness because he hadn't imagined she was aware of him at all. "Well?" she prodded impatiently, tapping her foot.
"I…uh…well…" And then because he hated being put on the spot, Zuko demanded rather bluntly, "Aren't you blind?"
"Yeah!" she confirmed without shame. "You got a problem with that?"
Ignoring her attitude, Zuko followed up with yet another forthright question. "If you're blind, then how did you know I was staring at you?"
Zuko ignored her attitude, then proceeded with a following question. "If you're blind, how did you know I was staring at you?"
She snorted. "If you can walk, how come you can't take a hike and get lost?"
Her earthbending attack was quick and subtle. Before he knew it, Zuko was plunged into the air, then hit the ground.
"The Blind Bandit remains undefeated!"
Zuko rolled upright with a painful groan; he looked from the corner of his eye to see the girl on her way.
"Wait, you can't leave!" He barked at her. He attempted to get up, yet his back was in much pain.
"Watch me," And that was the last he saw of her. For now.
With another painful groan Zuko rested his head on the ground, eyes closed. He reopened them to see Jin standing over him.
"I warned you," She teased him.
"She was fiercer than I thought," Zuko groaned. "I need to find out her name and where she lives,"
"Lee, your obsession with a twelve year old girl is starting to worry me." Jin blinked.
Zuko's upper body bounced up. "It's nothing like that. I assure." Zuko couldn't reveal his true identity and motive. "I can't tell you why, but I think she might be someone important,"
Jin retorted with, "You aren't the first person to say that. The rumors go from her being a secret Earth Kingdom princess to her being a long lost descendant of Kyoshi."
Jin offered her hand, Zuko took it. Both making an effort to get him off the ground. Afterwards they left that tournament and hopefully wouldn't have to come back.
/
Jin told Zuko she had great time and they could hopefully see each other again. Zuko highly doubted that. It was a shame too; he actually liked Jin. She wasn't some girl who wanted him for his title or someone his pierce tried to force on him. She was just an Earth Kingdom peasant with a story, beauty, and made great company.
Oh well, he guessed. He needed another lead. How could she just disappear out of nowhere? Was she a spirit? No. Someone had to know something.
He snapped his fingers when it finally occurred to him. "The announcer, that's it!"
Xin Fu's office was small and dank. No guards in sight. He had gotten in quite easily.
"Hey, aren't you the kid who got his butt kicked?" Is how Xin Fu recognized him.
Zuko groaned. "Don't remind me,"
Xin Fu didn't say anything. Zuko's permission to go on. "I want to know the identity of the Blind Bandit,"
"You aren't the first," Xin Fu responded immediately. "I have no reason to tell you. I keep the secrets of my clients. Especially the ones that make me good money,"
Zuko had been rejected for the last time.
"Now, get out, or-"
Zuko broke the desk between them, immediately after Zuko had Xin Fu's back against the wall.
"I'm going to ask this again," Zuko voice was as calm and intimidating as it could be. "Who is the Blind Bandit?"
/
And that's how his search led him to the Beifong household. It was protected by guards, Zuko believed this was the time to reveal himself as a Fire Nation Prince.
That of course got him in. The Beifong's invited him to dinner with open arms. It was no surprise that the Blind Bandit recognized him, and she wasn't happy about it.
"Welcome, Prince Zuko to the estate of the Beifong's," Her father said, warm and inviting. "We are honored to have such a high esteemed guest in our household,"
The Blind Bandit's real name was revealed to be Toph. That was an odd name.
Dinner started, and the conversation followed. "I am curious to know what brings a prince all the here?" Toph's mother asked. "Me and my husband have heard the Fire Nation wasn't doing fair in the war."
Zuko had to correct her on that statement. "The Fire Nation has been doing a great job at holding back the Water Empire."
"But are you winning?"
"Well, no," Silence of tension broke out through the dinner table. "The Fire Nation does have a plan. The Avatar has returned, and we plan to train him...or her," Zuko quickly looked at Toph then back to her parents. "We can still win this war?"
"I see," Toph' father said. "So where is this Avatar?"
Zuko couldn't answer that question. He didn't know for sure if Toph was the Avatar. Now wasn't the right time to ask her parents if he could test that theory. "I don't know..."
/
The prince now sat outside in the garden. Zuko had made a fool out of himself at dinner. As he was sulking, Toph came behind him.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna kick your butt like last time," Toph assured him. "Truce?" Toph put her hand out. Zuko shook it in return.
"What are you doing here?" She asked him.
Zuko felt this was the time to tell her. They were in private without whispering ears. "Look, I know this is going to sound crazy, but-"
"You think I'm the Avatar," Toph finished for him.
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"Your heartbeat was going crazy when it was brought up." Toph explained to him. The earthbender then kicked off her shoes. Letting out relief. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm no Avatar."
"No visions, no past lives, or anything?"
"Nope. One hundred percert all earthbender," Toph did amuse the thought. She imagined that she would've been unstoppable. "By the way, Cupcake," Was her new nickname for him. "If you want my advice, you'll hightail it out here right now,"
Zuko blinked. "Still hate me, huh?"
"That's not why,"
"Then-"
Suddenly the ground itself seemed to shift under him. Before he could turn, before he could run, the earth rose up and instantly his body was encased in stone.
He cursed, trying to wiggle free. With his arms encased and locked to the wall, he couldn't bring up any fire.
A group a earthbenders emerged from the shadows. The most surprising part of this all was that Toph's father was with them. What the hell was going on?!
"Toph, go inside," He ordered her.
Toph looked at him, then at him. Zuko was hoping she would deny that order and free him. Unfortunately, she did just as her father said. Agni, he cursed.
"Why are you doing this?!" Zuko demanded to know.
Toph's father pulled a scroll from his sleeve. He presented the seal of that scroll to Zuko.
Motherfucker. "That's...that's the Water Empires scroll." It was as obvious as day. "You're working with them! Traitor!" He cursed him.
Toph's fathers voice became cold. "I am no traitor. I know which side is going to win, and I don't serve you. I'm putting my daughters safety first. I won't have her die because of some nonsense war,"
"Your daughter isn't even who you think she is! She's the champion of the Earth Rumble! Your daughter is-"
"That is enough. How dare you?" Zuko had awoken a beast inside of him. "If you are going down, prince, at least go down with dignity. Never insult my daughter by associating her with a barbaric sport!"
Zuko had nothing left to say. He couldn't firebend, he couldn't move, He couldn't do anything. Never had he felt so useless.
"You're going to the Water Empire. Whether you like it or not
Men, take him away,"
Toph's father had just given him a death sentence without even knowing it.
They were dragging him away in chains. If he was like Toph, who could see with vibrations; he would feel her almost sad and wistful. She followed his vibrations until she couldn't feel anything anymore.