ehh, reviews on next chapter xD

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Chapter 22

Zuko had tossed and turned for at least 3 hours now. There was absolutely no way for him to sleep. Please Mai, just stay safe. Please....

He kept her image in his head, and kept replaying that last perfect moment they had together. That moment miraculously calmed his mind until he was fast asleep.

"She's gone, Zuko." Said Azula, a twisted smile curving up at the corners of her lips.

"No." He said,"No! No no no no NO!" Zuko repeated the word over and over, the world blurring around him.

"She didn't make it." Azula taunted again.

"YES SHE DID!" He screamed, but he couldn't hear a sound.

"Zuko, just stop fooling yourself. You know she didn't, so why do you keep playing this game? If you want to be with her so badly that you would make up these pathetic lies to yourself, why don't you just take your own life?" She challenged, taking a step closer.

Zuko's eyes widened as he realized he was on the floor. He hadn't thought of that. Was it possible? He could be with her again?

"You're a waste of time." Azula said glancing at her nails as she turned around.

"Wait!" He yelled, reaching a hand out towards her. She paused in her place, and a small smirk spread across her face.

"I-" He stopped, making sure he wanted this,"I want.. to be with her again. I need her again."

Her smile widened as she drew a blade from her pocket, and set it into his hands.

"Well then, you know what to do."

Zuko jolted from his sleep, and he shook himself back to reality.

"She's alive..." He whispered,"She isn't gone. She's here." His voice was too silent for even him to understand. He took a firm grip of a blanket that lay on top of him, and threw it over his head. He curled inwards, and his arms wrapped around his stomach. He had to hold himself together. His teeth ground together as he buried his face back into his pillow.

---

"Sokka?" Suki whispered, as she gently shook his shoulder just enough to wake him. He grunted silently and leaned on his elbow,"Yeah?" He mumbled.

Suki waited until he was adjusted, then bit her lip.

"Okay, look.... I just wanted to talk to you tonight about.. something." She explained peeking a look at him. His expression told her he understood.

She sighed,"Are you okay? You know with, everything?" She whispered, rubbing her arm. He set a hand on her cheek affectionately,"Are you?"

Suki looked down,"I asked you first."

"Well I asked you second." Sokka whispered. She drew in a big breath,"Well, yeah, if you are... I just.. Well....We haven't talked about this whole thing seriously yet... And I mean... I just want... To make sure you-"

"Make sure that I what?" Sokka asked, leaning closer to her.

She looked down,"That you love me and won't leave me because of this." She spat out. Suki couldn't look at him no matter how hard she tried.

He blinked and shook his head, forcing out a quiet laugh.

"Suki, I would never leave you. No matter what happens I'll always love you. And if I didn't, this never would have happened. Even though we're both a little scared, we'll get through this together. I'll always be there for you, both." Sokka explained, removing his hand from her face to stroke her stomach. Suki bit her lip to hide her smile, but her lips still curved at the corners. Sokka wrapped his arms around her, and ran his fingers through her hair.

----

"Goooood morning Team Avatar." Sokka said brightly as he bursted through the doors to the kitchen.

"Morning." Aang greeted cheerfully as he took bite of his eggs.

"Where's Ursa?" Sokka asked as soon as he noticed she wasn't there.

"She's probably with Zuko, catching up on things.." Katara suggested.

"So, what's the plan?" Toph changed the subject.

"I ... don't know...?" Sokka said, taking a seat across from Aang.

"Well Zuko's probably going to want a plan, don't you think?" Toph pointed out, shoving a mouth full of bacon down her throat.

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck,"Well... I... " He sighed,"I'll think of a plan later... But that's all I can do."

The group stared at him, dumbfounded,"What do you mean?" Ty Lee asked.

He strummed his fingers together,"I can't go, I need to stay with Suki. Sorry, but I just need to."

The others blinked,"Does she know about this yet?" Katara asked.

Sokka shook his head,"No. I'll tell her when she can't object. I know she'll want me to come and help, but I need to be with her right now."

Sokka waited for the group to take this in. "Well, won't Suki want to come help? She came last time, despite you know, everything." Toph said, leaning back into her chair.

Ty Lee and Katara nodded, and Aang just stared at him. Sokka couldn't tell if Aang's expression was worried, or proud.

"I don't want her to. It's too dangerous for her, going to places like the ones we've been to so far... Are the last places I want her to go to right now. " Sokka left it at that, and let the others figure out why. They realized most of it, if Suki also got taken, it could be very bad for her health, and the baby's.

"Well, while you figure out a plan, Aang and I are going to go practice metal bending." Toph exclaimed, cracking her knuckles.

"We are?" Aang asked.

She nodded and lifted herself from her chair.

"I've noticed that the last couple missions we've had, the only bending I've really had to use was with metal. And during the war, there wasn't enough time to teach you something that advanced. Now that you've pretty much mastered rock, we should move on to metal. And once you completely master the two, I'll teach you what no other earth bender in the entire world can do, or have even thought of." Toph explained and headed back towards the main hall that lead to a huge training facility.

Aang glanced at Katara, who gave him a small smile before he left.

"So, what is there that an earth bender can even bend besides metal and rock?" Aang asked as they headed down the hall.

"I'll tell you once you've mastered this new element. Remember, you can't call yourself a master earth bender if you're that impatient." Toph taunted, waving a finger at him. Aang rolled his eyes as they continued to the facility. It was huge, and the walls and floor were made of metal. Exactly what Toph was looking for.

She held a hand out to her left, preventing Aang from getting too close to her. She then spread her legs and steadied herself. When she felt ready, she slammed her hands against the metal, and took a firm grip. Once she had a strong hold, she lifted a good amount of metal from the floor, and continued to lift until it was as tall as she was.

Toph moved backwards, and pointed towards the mound of metal,"Now, put it back." She instructed.

He stared at her and blinked,"But, we've only just started! An-"

"I said, put it back." Toph interrupted, raising her tone a notch. Aang groaned, he knew how difficult Toph could be.

His hands curled into fists as he turned towards the metal pile, and he set one palm on the top. Toph propped an eyebrow at his technique.

He set his other palm on the top, and pressed all his weight into the metal. He grunted, and groaned once he realized it was going no where.

Aang then began to gather a ball of air into his hand, and slammed it against the top, which immediately backfired. The pressure threw him back against the wall, and Toph shook her head as she walked up to him. "We've just started and you're already thinking like an air bender! Remember what I told you, when you're earth bending, think earth bender, not air! You can't move the metal with air, you can't move it with water, you can't move it with fire, just EARTH! Now, put it back!" She shouted, and shoved him back in front of the metal.

Aang threw himself back around,"Toph, you just said yourself, we've just started! Maybe it would work better if you gave me a demonstration, or-"

"Fine, I'll show you how. Then you better get it right!" Toph warned as she straightened herself up above the metal mound.

She lunged one hand into the air, then pounded it against the top, thrusting it back into the earth as if nothing was ever there. Aang stared and blinked, and wished he hadn't asked for a demonstration. That was no help at all.

Toph gripped the mound and pulled it back to her height again, and took a step back.

"Now, your turn." She said, crossing her arms.

Aang took a breath, and steadied himself in front of the metal. He set his palm against the side of the metal this time, and closed his eyes. He cloud feel vibrations within the metal, just as he could with earth. The two textures were very similar, but the metal was more precise. Even though earth was a head- on element, metal was tight, where as earth was loose. He held his breath, and raised a tight fist to the air, and thrust it against the top, hurling it back into the earth. A wide smiled spread across his face as he examined where the mound used to be.

"You did it!" Toph exclaimed throwing her hands into the air. "Now, do you think you can create you're own?" She challenged, as Aang quickly agreed.

"I think I've figured it out." He mumbled as he set his hands against the floor. He bit his lip, and pulled his hands up as far as he could. He groaned when he saw only a small pile of metal beneath him.

"It's alright, don't get too upset. Metal is a stubborn element, and for the first day of training you did great." Toph encouraged.

Aang smiled,"Thanks Toph." He headed towards the door, when Toph interrupted him.

"So, what's up with you and Katara lately?" She asked.

He stopped dead in his tracks. She noticed? That means it's noticeable... And that means other people might have noticed too! Aang thought. He felt like kicking himself.

"I'm just wondering, since you too barely talk or hang out with each other any more... Well, at least in front of other people." She explained, tilting her head.

Aang hadn't noticed that they haven't been hanging out as much, but now it was completely clear.

"It's nothing... Well, Roku and I were talking about things that.. involved her... And, it doesn't apply to any of us, right now... But it's taking me some time to get used to, so it might be a while until we are completely comfortable around each other again. That's it. No big deal." He forced a chuckle, and ran back down the hall.

---

"You still haven't told me where you were." Zuko brought up again.

Ursa sighed and stopped walking, and Zuko turned around.

"Well, for the last couple years, I was basically a prisoner.. A slave.. I was taken to a huge building, where these men would come to..." She shook her head,"Your friends were there. If you want to know ask them."

Zuko nodded already understanding, then his eyes sprung open,"You weren't-" He panicked.

"No, no. I was the one that would prepare meals for them.. The reason I didn't escape was because I couldn't be seen by others. If I was, the people of the Fire Nation would have turned me in to the other prison I broke out of.... Well, was taken from by those men." Ursa explained.

"So, Ozai did have you locked away..." Zuko trailed off.

She nodded,"He sent a team of his finest troops on a search... And eventually, they caught me." She explained, and continued walking again.

"But, why didn't he bring you back home instead of locking you up?" Zuko asked.

Ursa shook her head,"I really don't know, I would have thought he would want me back to punish me on his own, but I guess not..." They were both consumed in thoughts.

Zuko stopped them both again,"Mai was taken by them." He still cringed at the sound of her name. A feeling of want shot up his legs, and he trembled.

Ursa turned around, and gave him a concerned look,"I'm sorry, Zuko. I know we-"

"Tell me everything that happens to the girls that are taken there." He interrupted, as his hands curled into tight fists.

Ursa stared at him, wishing to avoid this conversation. "Zuko.." She started.

"Please just tell me. I need to know what's going to happen to her.. Or what already has.." He was on the verge of crying now. No, he could let anybody see him like this.

"Oh, there you guys are! I just had an idea for a new plan! You still have Mai's clothes right?" Sokka interrupted them as he threw himself out of the hall doors to the garden.

Ursa was relieved of the interruption, but Zuko was pained.

He nodded, struggling to ignore the sound of her name again.

"Well, if it still has her scent, you can use it to find her!" He exclaimed excitedly," I can't believe I didn't think of this before!"

"How would her scent help?" Zuko asked in a monotone.

"Remember that Jun lady? Yeah, her giant mole creature thing? If it finds Mai's scent, you can find her!" Sokka shouted, and clapped happily.

Zuko's mouth slowly fell open, and Ursa just stared at him in confusion.

"So, I'm guessing you're in?" Sokka asked, judging by the hopeful look on Zuko's face.

Zuko nodded, and they all returned to the main hall to explain the plan to the others.