Disclaimer: The following chapter is entirely fictitious. Any similarity to the history of any person living or dead is entirely coincidental and unintentional, except when specifically noted otherwise in the cast and crew credits. All celebrity voices are impersonated and no celebrities have endorsed any aspect of this fic.

Chapter Sixteen: Family and Traditions

'-'

"You are joking, aren't you?" Tsuchi said without a hint of sarcasm for once. Just a few seconds prior, Zuko had delivered to them the message he was hoping they would heed: their lives were in danger and they would never see the attacks coming. Though he had practically wasted three years chasing the Avatar only to be handed the Fire Lord position, the Avatar had always managed to escape any predicament he was in. But even a force one could not see or expect was challenging to anyone.

"How are we supposed to believe you?" Sokka growled while he viciously intertwined his arms across his chest. "You come into my home and expect me to listen to you? Not after all you did to us."

"You don't understand," Zuko tried to, for once, plead with them. "They are after you guys, specifically. They're after me, too, but not for the same reasons—"

"Okay, I'ma cut you short there, Judas," Tsuchi interrupted with one swish of her hand. "I've been reading this book, called the 'bible' or sommat, and I got to this part where this guy sells out his best friend for twenty silver pieces by signaling these other guys. If I remember properly, that guy died at the end. Kind of seeing where I'm going with this, firecracker?"

"I'm not here to sell you out to anyone!" he yelled, which caused the lights in the room to increase tenfold. "I'm here to warn you for once!"

"But warn us against what?" Katara asked. "Despite them, I would like to hear what you're saying." Every member of team Avatar, including Suki, rolled their eyes in exasperation of Katara's undeterred need to believe in the good of everyone. At first she despised him more than the rest, but her opinion of the confused Fire Lord had changed the day he agreed to help them end the war. Despite her change of opinion, the others were less reluctant, especially Aang, who still did not know why they would even let Zuko be so close.

"You know nothing about them," Zuko started out. "Since the beginning of the war there's always been those who resisted it but they've been nothing more than mere armies gathered by the governments to fight—"

"My father and my wife were some of those people who fought the war!" Sokka spat at Zuko. "If you're trying to make your point you're doing a terrible job at it."

"That's not what I'm getting at!" Zuko spat back. "What I meant is that they were only people that the government could gather for their armies, including the Fire Nation," he quickly added when Sokka's mouth began to fight. "But that was all they were, merely people."

"So, what? You're saying we're getting attacked by monsters?" Aang asked in the most demeaning of tones.

"No," Zuko glowered. "You're being attacked by humans, but they have powers than no human being should ever posses. It's the most elaborate resistance group that has ever existed on the face of the earth."

"That's bullshit, and you know it," Sokka said bluntly. "We were all resistance, what could have been so elaborate about them?"

"You still have that knife that you used to go to each of the other worlds?" Zuko asked him. Sokka's face fell into confusion as he slowly untwined his hands to reach one into the back part of his belt.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "What about it?"

"That knife isn't from the Spirit World, if that's what you thought," he answered. "This group I'm trying to tell you about made that knife so they could broaden their intelligence and to gather tools that no one else had. They're crafty. And worst of all, you thought the Fire Nation was bad, they may want separation of all nations, but they take it much too literally."

"So they're really racist, is that it?" Suki questioned.

"Yes, but that is not 'just it.' They're powerful and will go to any length to separate and destroy anyone standing in their way."

"I can tell you right now your story sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me," Tsuchi sighed histrionically. "Not the whole 'they invented the knife' thing, but the whole racist thing. Why would anyone who wants the war be over be racist? Besides, it's been over for eight years, didn't they get what they wanted?"

"No," Zuko answered roughly. "And why don't you ask your sister about how dangerous they are?"

"Wait, my sister?" Tsuchi growled. "Why the fuck would you be dragging my sister into this? You haven't talked to her in ages! Or did you finally find her in the past year?"

"Wait, you've been talking to her?" Zuko gasped. The forgotten Mai shot her head at him and then back at the strangest of the group then back at Zuko again in disbelief.

"Yeah, like, every year, for the past six years," Tsuchi replied in suspicion. "I made her a photo album for her and the little ones since I take a million pics of them when I go." She pulled a pale red book from one of the bags with the word 'Family' scrawled across in what appeared to be gold or yellow paint. "You can take a look at it if you want, but I still have no idea what she has to do with anything." Without waiting for her to hand him the small book, Zuko quickly strode over to the lot of them and snatched the red hardback from her hands and began flipping through the pages. "Zuko, what does my sister have anything to do with what you're talking about?"

Zuko did not respond, in fact he was not paying any attention to her. His focus was held too much by the booklet he held in his hands of the grey colored pictures Each of the pictures were in such detailed black and white gloss of Hiashi and the family everyone had been telling him about. There was one of Tsuchi with Hiashi, smiling into the picture with their faces squashed together at an odd angle. He saw one of a little girl no older than two with her, what seemed to be, raven hair in an odango style, playing with a doll that he had only seen once in Hiashi's room. Again he saw that same little girl, a little younger, with her arms wrapped around the neck of a boy who was possibly four whose skin and eyes were lighter than hers. He then saw that same little boy embraced by a fairly dark muscular man with a goatee and scruff on his cheeks, both of them happy. There was a similar picture of a black choppy haired Hiashi with the little girl, another with the man and both the children, another with Hiashi, the man, and the girl, and along in that order. In one, Hiashi had a sarong wrapped around her head with several bangs peaking out, looking bitter while the man, who looked just as irked, held the two year old boy who was grabbing his nose. It was a timeline of several other pictures. There was another with her and neck length hair with a forced smile with the same man holding the slightly older boy. Again there was another picture of Hiashi cuddling what he assumed was the baby girl and the man holing the hand of the boy, and it was in that way all the way until the final picture where the whole family was sitting on a bench in what seemed to be their den, a very pregnant Hiashi smiling at the little girl to her left, followed by the man smiling at the young boy who sat despondently in the corner of the bench with his knees drawn to his chest. A mixture of emotions on either end of the spectrum, he could not figure out why.

"Your sister's Hiashi, right?" Mai said for Zuko, who still seemed to be entranced by the book.

"Yeah, and I want to know what's going on with my sister?" Tsuchi asked in a rougher tone.

"I think she was killed," Mai said coolly, but with as much affection as she could properly muster. "By the Resistance." Tsuchi's normally jovial face fell dramatically, staring into Mai's face with horror and disbelief.

"My sister's dead?" she hissed in a low voice coated in incredulity. "I mean, I want to make fun of… it's such a stupid name… my sister? Really?"

"I take it it's been you we need to talk to," Mai said with no enthusiasm and even less sympathy since Zuko was still preoccupied with the red-bound book.

"No, it's all of you," Zuko finally said, slamming the book shut to tear his eyes away from the hypnotic pages. "The Resistance hates half-breeds and anyone who might be from different nations who might get married. So that means all of you." The group exchanged looks and turned their attention back to the firebender. "That's the reason I'm here. Hiashi was killed about a few weeks ago by someone from the Resistance and I was warned that you were all next."

"Alright, that's it, get out of my house!" Sokka exhorted at the pair and pointed to the door. "I don't know who you think you are, coming into my house like this and threatening us—"

"Sokka, he's not threatening us!" Katara defended him. "Zuko, is there any way you can elaborate?"

"Unfortunately, no," he frowned. "I can tell you how surreptitious they are, but I'm not sure how helpful that will be for you."

"I'm sorry, but I need to be alone," Tsuchi said quietly to them all. She gingerly stood up and slid herself to the door, quietly slipping out and closing the door behind her with a slight click.

"Someone should go after her," Zuko said to no one in particular.

"She'll be fine, she can protect herself," Sokka said roughly. "What are you talking about, surreptitious? Do you think we can't handle ourselves?"

"You seriously underestimate us," Aang grumbled as he hyperbolically crossed his arms and legs.

"I'm not underestimating you," Zuko attempted to say calmly, "I am being honest with you. Mai and I were almost killed just coming over here to tell you!"

"What exactly do they do?" Katara asked harshly enough to interrupt the group if unbelievers. "What should we be looking out for?"

"That's the thing, you won't be able to just keep an eye out for them," Zuko sighed in slight appreciation that at least there was one person who potentially believed them. "They've mastered their element and more. They managed to take their bending element and use it in other areas. Like waterbenders can bend plants and anything else with water, and earthbenders can control metal and other earth related things."

"Well that sounds plausible," Katara nodded. "I mean, I've met people who could bend water in plants and Tsuchi can bend metal—"

"That's not it," he interrupted. "They go further than that. I said they've mastered their element and then some. They can control the human body and the mind and you wouldn't be able to know it."

"The mind?" the auburn girl chuckled. "No one can control things with their mind."

"They don't control things with their minds!" Zuko shouted in exasperation. "They can control your mind with suggestion and brainwashing, and—for god's sakes, shouldn't one of you go check on your friend? She's been out there for almost five minutes!"

"Like Sokka said, Tsuchi will be fine," Aang repeated. "You just concern yourself with your psychic stalkers."

'-'

Tsuchi wandered the border of the woods, dragging her hands against the trees and bushes, allowing the bark and thorns dig themselves into her palms. Alas, the moment had come. It was the reason she had left her home world to live in another. But her sister had stayed behind. Granted, Tsuchi believed if anyone were to kill her sister it would be either the Fire Nation army or citizens from the Earth Kingdom, but if what Zuko said was true, neither of that happened. Instead, there were people out there, specifically out there to make sure that people like her will never live long enough to pass away on their own. To her, it seemed a family tradition. Her grandparents, her aunt, her mother, her father, and now her sister, all died before their time. And now she was the only one left. It was a family tradition, she supposed. She was the next one in line.

Of course, she stopped to think, grating her arms against the trees while deciding to step foot into the boundaries of the woods. I would be the last one. My whole family is gone. My aunt, my mother, my father, even my sister. I was just getting to know her and she was turning out to be a really cool person. It was nice for once to have balance. I still have the others… but it's just not the same. I have no more family. I'm alone in the world now. She held in her tears for as long as she could but she could not help but let them slip. Tsuchi slid down the trunk and curled into a ball and cried into her arms. Despite wanting to be alone, she had hoped someone would have come to comfort her, anyone, even Sokka. But no one came for her. What was she to expect? She was alone now, no one she had but herself.

"HELP!" she suddenly heard from the depths of the trees. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Tsuchi shot her head up in the direction of the sound. Her first instinct was to go back, to alert her friends and perhaps receive backup to find the person who needed help. But there was no time. Whoever needed her help needed it right now.

"Hello?" Tsuchi called out to the voice in the woods. "Hello? Who's there?"

"HELP!" the voice continued to holler. Tsuchi wiped her tears away and put on the bravest face she could. Whoever needed her needed to feel confident in their savior.

"Who's out there?" Tsuchi said much more firmly. "Who's there? Where are you?"

"HELP ME! WE NEED HELP!"

"We? Who's there? Who needs help?" She sharply turned around.

"You do."

'-'

Yes, lame indeed, this chapter was, but I was sort of expecting for this to be much longer, because now that I think about it the next chapter might be just as short. N'oh well… sorry for making you anticipate for nothing.

For those who don't know or don't really pay attention, or maybe you're just tuning in, I haven't updated for a while because of Comic Con and nose surgery I had to deal with. I performed as Ty Lee in the Comic Con masquerade, didn't win anything, and I heard it was pretty boring, my dance, but I had fun. As a parody, I did a small Bollywood jive to the song Jai Ho, because Dev Patel did one in Slumdog Millionaire. But I had fun and I made new friends too! I'm hoping to do it again next year, but with more people with me. It sucked, though, because I wanted to get my Zuko's Prequel book signed by Bryan and Michael, but they cut the line off before I could get in like! As if it was even that long! Those jerky line people, I hate them. But all in all, it was fun. Can't wait for next year.

The surgery was awful. The doctor did a good job, I guess, not sure what he's supposed to do since I never had surgery before. I think I say it was awful simply because of those grounds. The whole reason I went in for surgery, for those who don't know or for those who want to know, I broke it a few years ago and it healed wrong, so I went in to get it fixed. I've been in my house since last Tuesday so once I stopped sleeping for 18 hours a day, I got to writing this chapter. So here you go. I'll be posting a pic of Tsuchi in a bit, and anything else anyone might request. And like always, please leave a review on your way out. Until next time, Signing Off!