Chapter 7

Then, he could see her. Her hair, her eyes, her body, her perfection. It was all exposed to him. And there was nothing separating them, but at the same time, everything was.

He wanted to feel her again, to touch her. His hand reached for her, with out asking his head for permission. But, he couldn't reach far enough. She was always too far away

from him. He took a step forward, but he hadn't moved. He tried again, and nothing happened. He then decided he would try running. But, the distance between them never

closed. He wanted to yell her name, to catch her attention somehow, but his voice was a whisper. Small tears began to spill from his eyes and drip off of his chin. He tried

screaming, but his voice remained silent. After a while, he realized he couldn't even speak. He was nothing. He couldn't move, or reach out to her, though she was right in front

of him. Her voice rang in his head, which caused him even more pain. Now, he was desperate. He fell to the floor, and let his tears drain until there was nothing left, and he

could no longer cry. He screamed her name, and this time, it made a sound. His eyes sprung open and he tried again. He screamed her name countless times, but she couldn't

hear him no matter how hard he tried. He screamed so many times, he hardly lost his voice. She turned around to look at him, but she saw nothing. She turned back around

and walked away until she was completely out of sight. He tried to crawl out to her, but he was stiff. He couldn't move at all anymore. The farther she walked away, the more he

lost who he was. The more his voice faded, and the more he became statue like, the more he wanted to die.

Zuko's eyes opened with terror and he sprung up from his sleeping position. He sighed, realizing it was just a nightmare. He rubbed his eyes and lifted himself from his bed. He stretched and trudged to his bathroom, having to kick his way through the mess he made. Zuko had other things to worry about other than how clean his bedroom was. He stared at his sink, staring into the drain. It was pitch black, and looked never ending. He sighed and turned the water on to wash his face. Zuko looked up at the mirror, and noticed that nothing was looking back at him. His reflection was gone. The only image he could see was the reflection of the wall. He shook his head, maybe he was still not all the way awake. But, nothing happened. He splashed his face quickly with water, and looked back up. He sighed with relief, when he saw his reflection staring back at him. Zuko rested his hands on both sides of his sink, and closed his eyes. He waited until no more water was dripping from his face. Then, he reached for his towel. When he was done, he checked his mirror one more time, just to make sure he was still there. He was. His shoulders slumped, and he started his office to see if there was any reports of her. He kicked the door open, remembering the many stacks of useless files he had thrown in front of it. He locked the door behind him, and sunk into his chair. He stared at the three new files in front of him, and sighed. Zuko began flipping through them, until a name caught his eye. He saw the name 'Sokka of the Water Tribe' on a new file he hadn't read before. Maybe he got my letter. Zuko thought, feeling a bit eager for the first time all week. Took long enough. He added. He peeled it open and saw the words ' Dear Zuko ' and the words ' From your buddy Sokka ' He began to read,

Dear Zuko,

I got your letter. It came late, since, you know, the fact that we are pretty much on the other side of the world.. Sort of.. Any ways, I wanted to tell you we are on our way. Suki is coming too, I thought she could help.. Probably. It might take us a while to get going, since I have to tame the Unagi.

Zuko snorted and read on,

And about what happened, I'm really sorry man. I'll do everything I can to help you find Mai.

Zuko shot his head down, and slammed his eyes shut. His hands curled into fists, and he clenched his jaw. He had been trying not to think about her name, just hearing it said out loud made him want to cry or break something, or both. He cleared his head, and drew a big breath, and continued reading, now prepared for what he might come across again.

I've been thinking about it a lot, and I remember her not being the ' I got lost on the way home' type of girl. I know it's hard for you to think about, but do you think she might have been, you know, taken?

Zuko's hands curled into fists again, and fire escaped from his mouth. He shot his head down, trying not to burn the letter. But part of him wanted to burn it. Every sentence pained him. Zuko failed to contain himself, and he turned and smashed the vase that was on the corner of his desk. The sound of it shattering against the floor made his eyes widen in shock. He stared at the pieces of glass on the floor, and caught his breath. He looked down at the floor beneath him. He had thought of that being a possibility before, but that was when he was still determined on finding her. He slumped back into his chair, and the words of his mother ran through his head, Never forget who you are. And the inscription on his old dagger rang in his mind, Never give up with out a fight. Thoughts of his mother now roamed his mind, the two people he loved the most were missing. He remembered sending some of his highest skilled troops on a mission to find his mother, until he had the time to help. Now he wished he had them back. He needed them. Zuko had almost forgotten about the letter, and took a deep breath to continue reading,

I know the chances of that are small, in this time of peace. But, I just wanted to make sure you knew it was a possibility. I'm pretty sure you want Aang's help as well? Did you send a letter? I guess we will find out when we get there. Oh! That reminds me, Suki just told me it will take to long to tame the Unagi, so we are taking these big lizard snake things! I heard they are really fast, and scare away other animals, so that will be good.. And if you are planning to write back.. Do you think there is any chance of Azula or Ozai being the ones behind this whole thing?

Your buddy,

Sokka

Zuko was too shocked to react, or be angry again. That was something he hadn't thought about. Azula hated him, and now he was pretty sure she hated .. her too. Ozai hated him as well, but there was really nothing he could do. He was locked up and his bending was completely gone. If it was either of the two, it had to be Azula. But she was pretty much locked up as well, in a sense. He rubbed his temples, trying to clear his head, but he was too agitated. He could imagine Azula's blood drawn eyes, searching for his beloved. Her evil hands gripping her, holding her captive, and there was nothing she could do. Zuko pounded on his table, in order to distract his mind from thinking that way. He began to write a letter to the institution his sister was now living in. It asked to double the guards that surrounded her room and windows, and asked to make sure she had no contact with the outside world until she was better. He set it in the pile of other letters that would be sent later that day. Then, another thought crossed his mind. Maybe Ozai and Azula were working together some how. The prisoners were aloud to write a letter once every two months to their families. And the institution had a delivery system. Zuko lifted himself from his chair, and started for the prison to pay his father a visit.