Chapter 2

The building was as enormous as she remembered it being. Hallways leading every which way, thousands of doors and large rooms, hundreds of stair cases that led to more floors with even more halls, doors, and room. She didn't know what every room was for, but she did remember where her friends often hung out when they were here. First, she would go see Katara, who hung out at the northern tower of the place. It reminded her of the buildings in the Jetsons in a lot of ways.

So she made her way up several flights, ignoring walls that originally might have been obstacles. The walls started to close in around her as she went up more and more flights to finally reach the tower, fewer halls available in the lesser space. When she finally reached the very top, there were only two somewhat large rooms, one on each side of her, their doors locked. But that didn't matter to her. She stood there at the top of the staircase, listening, and to her great pleasure, she heard two familiar voices coming from the room on the left. Katara's study.

Quietly as she could, Kichi crept toward the room and then carefully slipped through the wall. The room was somewhat golden hued, there being no windows and so it relying on five golden lamps at each corner. Books were everywhere, a table and desk, several knickknacks. And there, standing near the back and facing away from Kichi, were Katara and Suki. Katara was rubbing her arm and looking down at the floor, something she always did when nervous or embarrassed or afraid to admit something.

"You can't tell Sokka yet. Or Aang," she was saying.

"But they would want to know," Suki said, looking perplexed. "I mean, Aang is the father, right?"

Kichi felt her heart stop and almost cried out in surprise. Katara, pregnant? Was that even possible? She was only sixteen years old, and Aang only fourteen!

"I don't know."

"How do you NOT know?"

At this point Kichi had had enough. She slipped back out of the room, fuming. What were these people doing? They were doing stupid things!

But it was only as she stormed her way down the stairs she had come up that she realized that her anger was more from how hurt she felt. She hadn't seen her friends in over a year, at least not up close and personal. They hadn't looked for her, talked to her, and she'd been nearby this whole time. Katara had something as big as this going on and hadn't bothered to think to tell HER. She'd felt more comfortable confiding in Suki. Had she done something to unintentionally hurt her friends?

It took her fifteen minutes to find another one of her friends. She'd checked some of their rooms and had been passing by one of the open battling chambers when she heard shouts coming from inside. She peeked her head through the wall to see what was going on.

There was Zuko, and there was Ozai. And they were…. Firebending. It was a heated battle, Zuko spinning ropes of flame all around the room and Ozai fighting back with just as much firepower and strength and agility, if not more. She'd never seen their bending so large and powerful before. And they were shouting things at each other.

"You have to put more movement into it!" Ozai was saying, somewhat angrily and he sent a baton of flame at Zuko, who quickly countered with his own wall of fire.

"I'm doing it exactly as you showed me!" Zuko was shouting back, just as angry.

She noticed that Zuko's hair was creeping its way down his back. It had been to his ears last time she'd spoken to him.

She was so focused on what was going on in front of her that Kichi hadn't been paying attention to the stray flame that shot straight at her. She gave a cry of surprise as she felt it phase through her, and fell back out of the room onto her bottom. From inside the shouts stopped and the sound of roaring fires as well. She'd been so startled (cause, come on, who isn't startled when a huge flame comes at your face, whether you remember that it can phase through you or not?), that she'd become visible again, and had no time to revert back before the door to the room on her left opened and Zuko peeked his head out.

He stared at her. She must have been a pretty strange sight, sitting there on the floor and looking like someone had punched her in the face. "Kichi? What are you doing here?" He came out, Ozai closely following though looking far less concerned and more irritated about his battle having been interrupted.

Kichi felt her temper flare up again. "I'm allowed in here, you know," she said, rising to her feet before he could offer his hand to help her up.

"I know, but, I haven't seen you in a long time." Zuko looked perplexed at her anger. He obviously had no idea what he'd done to upset her. And why should he? He was just as arrogant as the others.

"You mean you forgot about me," she said, folding her arms.

Ozai snorted and rolled his eyes. "Come get me when the drama is over," he said to Zuko and walked off.

Zuko ignored his father and continued to stare at her. "What? I didn't forget about you," he said, taking a step forward, but she took a step back from him when he did.

"I've been sitting just outside the grounds, watching you guys for a year," she snapped. "You're all busy living your happy little lives as heroes and haven't even bothered to think about me. No one has written me, no one has looked over and noticed I was sitting there, nothing."

"That's not true," Zuko said, now sounding a little more like himself with the edge of irritation in his tone. "We've just been… busy."

That got her. "Oh, yes! So busy! Practicing your firebending in the hall with your previously evil father can be such a time consumer!"

He went to say something, but she interrupted him. "But I didn't come here to prove how awful of friends you guys are. I came to tell you that the world's bending is vanishing. Or at least those outside of this building near the part. Even I can't bend.."

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked, looking confused again.

"Watch. I'll show you." She went through the same procedures she had when talking to the little girl, and once again, nothing happened. "And I'm not the only one. None of the kids out there can do it anymore, either. But for some reason, your firebending is just as strong as ever, if not stronger."

Zuko didn't say anything. He was staring at her, a strange look of worry starting to creep onto his face. As if he knew something that she didn't.

"What?" she asked.

"I think we should go talk to Aang," he finally said, though sounding more like he was talking to himself.

"No. I wasn't planning on talking to any of you right away." Kichi was livid. How could he just suggest talking to Aang like that as if what she'd told him about none of their caring about her hadn't happened?

"We're going to talk to Aang," he said, more finally this time. The worry was gone from his features but she could still see it in the back of his eyes.

As much as she wanted to shout at him, to storm off, Kichi couldn't. He and the others may have hated her, but she still loved each and every one of them. They were her family. But why go to see Aang? She made an effort to look like she was seriously debating storming off, then looked Zuko straight in the eyes and nodded. "Fine."