Zuko and Katara are on the run.

Part 4 - Mirrors - Shard 10/11 - Painful Ends and New Beginnings

Zuko raced through the hangar like a saber-toothed moose lion was nipping at his heels. No one was on his tail, yet. It wouldn't be long before his father declared him a traitor and started hunting him down. He needed to put as much distance between him and the palace while the guard was still distracted. The entire unit had already taken to the skies leaving the hangar deserted. Even better. He tossed his belongings into the basket of the closest war balloon and hopped in. Jerking open the furnace door he spewed heat from his palms forcing hot air into the envelope. The balloon began to rise and quickly cleared the open roof. He set his course sticking to the clouds and using them as cover until the palace was out of sight. He knew he needed to head to the Western Air Temple, that's where the Avatar would go next. It was nearby, out of sight, and most of all safe.

He would have preferred to find his uncle, but he didn't even know where to start. He had no clue where Iroh would go. Maybe that White Lotus group from the desert? How would he even begin to find them? How did Uncle even break out of that prison? The bars were a mangled wreck and the guards were left barely clinging to life. How did he wreak that much destruction during the eclipse with no bending and supposedly at his weakest? Zuko was beginning to realize that he had grossly underestimated the old man.

Would his uncle know about his mother?

He slumped down on the bench and stared at his hands, tremoring from the fading adrenaline. He had stood up to his father and that bastard chose then to tell him that his mother was alive? Why did Azulon ask his father to kill him? Had his father's greed for power really had outweighed his love for his own son? Did his father ever love him? Either of them? What did his mother do that night to protect him? He faintly remembered when she said goodbye sometime in the middle of the night. When he awoke the next day, he was told that his grandfather had passed and his mother was gone. She might be alive, but right now the only thing he knew for certain, was that his mother was a traitor, and now so was he.

/|\\\

The scent of sea and smoke clung to her clothes, a reminder of how close they had come to, to what? losing? Because they had lost everything, the Fire Nation knew they were coming and they fell right into their trap. They were pinned down and could do nothing else but cut and run. Piling everyone under the age of eighteen on Appa they flew away as fast they could, tearing through the sky until the airships disappeared behind them. The poor air bison had taken them as far away from the Fire Nation as he could before exhausting himself. Aang had to make him land so they could continue on foot to the Western Air Temple. They had been trekking across the rocky landscape for hours, a heavy blanket of silence had come to lay across the disheartened group. The small band was taking the loss hard. Even Katara couldn't escape it. The images of what had transpired kept looping in her head. No matter how many ways she turned it in her mind, they had never stood a chance. How many more times would she have to say goodbye to her father?

Which goodbye would be the last?

She couldn't let herself go down that path, not right now. She needed to support Aang. She hadn't missed the tears running down his face as everyone said their goodbyes. The awkward kiss he had surprised her with felt like it had happened days ago instead of mere hours. She had almost forgotten it as chaos rained down around them. Was that the same boy she found herself trying to console as they left the charred remains of their fruitless assault behind? She had pulled him close tucking his head under her chin doing what she could to ease his tears. The coming weeks would be hard for all of them but especially for him. She would need to be strong for him, for all of them.

Their little group of four had grown and she would need to take care of them all. Her father needed them to keep hope alive. He was right, this small group was the only chance they had in the long run. The fate of the world had come to rest on the shoulders of children. The task ahead of them was daunting but they had done great things before and they would find a way to do it again.

I'm alive and completely out of buffer.
Next chapter will be very short and bring us to the end of Part 4.
I did make a Tumblr to put things like snippets and references.
There isn't much right now but I'll still put the link in my profile.