Zuko rolled over in his sleep. He saw his mother, mouth slightly curved into a smile that held a hint of sorrow. She turned away into the darkness, and the puwang that she had just occupied was now filled with flame. It burned away at the darkness to reveal his father with filthy long hair and an expression that was hard to read; covered in anger and disgust. Now his own voice rang out, echoing back to him off unseen walls: “Where is she?” Eventually the echoes faded out and all that remained was the choking darkness.
Aang blinked awake. For a moment he was confused as he surveyed the apoy Nation flags hanging motionless on the walls around him. Then everything came rushing back to Aang at once, making his head throb…
It had only been a bit madami than a week since the war ended, and so much had changed since he first awoke at the South Pole… though all in good ways. Memories flooded him, but he pushed them away. Straying in the past was something he’d only do when he wasn’t busy.
But now… but now he was an advisor and best friend to apoy Lord Zuko. That meant devoting most of his time to rebuilding the cities destroyed or affected badly sa pamamagitan ng the war… he was glad when he had a chance just to sit down and eat with everyone. Today he would set off to visit the Southern Water Tribe with Katara and Sokka to sumali their new grandfather and help rebuild their home.
Aang continued to lie still, staring at the ceiling. Then he sat up in bed, gazing into the puwang straight ahead, until a sharp aroma filled him. That made Aang suddenly wake up, and he looked to where the pinagmulan was.
There was a steaming cup of tsaa sitting on the simple wood mesa susunod to him. It had the mark of the White Lotus, Iroh’s tsaa shop, (or Uncle, as he insisted on Aang calling him and the others, too). Most didn’t know, but there was a secret door in the back of his tindahan that Aang had seen some of the members of the White Lotus slip into.
He smiled. Zuko’s uncle really looked out for him, even though he was busy with his tsaa shop; the most popular, both in the apoy Nation and Earth Kingdom.
Aang eagerly slurped up the contents of his cup (he still had the manners of a bus boy, even around other people) and changed into his new robe. Being a close friend of apoy lord Zuko had its perks… and it had already helped that he was the awatara and had practically saved the world.
Aang quickly smoothed down the front of his magsuot ng bata (but actually wiped his hands clean) and remembered that his new clothes been personally tailored for him and had a hint of the Air Nomad’s style, while still displayed the mga kulay and fiery look of the apoy Nation. Sokka had tried to help with the designs for it, but they got mistaken for a very ugly dress. Still, the tailor made a separate one (grudgingly…at least until Sokka took out several ginto pieces) and Sokka is still currently to get Katara to wear the thing.
Yawning, Aang headed for the door. As he reached for the knob, the door burst open, revealing Katara, who was panting heavily. She held out a roll of paper decorated with two glittering apoy Nation emblems on the sides. “Zuko,” she began as Aang unrolled it, “Zuko’s gone.”
Katara watched his eyes ilipat quickly back and forth as he read, glittering in the dull light. “He went to find his mother!” Aang started forward, but Katara held out her hand to stop him as he exclaimed, “We have to find him!” Aang almost moved her arm, but instead looked at her questioningly. “We can’t panic. Let’s tell the others first before we leave.”
The seriousness in her voice did not help to calm him. Aang’s eyes turned downcast, and he sinabi “What… what if Zuko finds out his mother…” Katara bit her lip. “Died? Was killed?... I think you can imagine.” Her words trailed off. “Who knows how angry and upset Zuko could be?” “You’re right. That’s why we need to find him as soon as possible, to… stop him from doing anything drastic.” Aang said, frowning. “But how will we do that? He could be anywhere!” Katara gazed thoughtfully for a segundo at the scroll.
“I’ll go to the source,” She murmured, then left the room, her slender hand closing the door behind her, slowly, even though she was in a rush. Katara had considered reassuring him, but the awkwardness between them had somehow increased after their kiss.
The news of Zuko’s disappearance still hung in the air like smoke remaining from a fire, the echoes of a burn after rainfall.
Katara shut the door, eyes flaming with determination. She had never faced the former apoy lord directly, and wanted to see what he was really like, what had made him rot to the core. She sighed, breaking her courage, then ran through the dark hallway.
Zuko had not told Katara what he had experienced after Ursa left, but she could guess. Whatever emotional pain he had felt would be tripled if her life had been ended; even if it had happened long before his search.
Light shone at the end of the hall, broken sa pamamagitan ng blurred silhouettes. Katara rushed to one, which had focused an instant before into Toph’s well-built figure. Toph grabbed her before she Nawawala balance and asked urgently, “What is it?” “Zuko’s missing!” she gasped in reply, tugging free from Toph.
Katara explained quickly, as she didn’t have time to waste sa pamamagitan ng talking. When she finished, ending with the statement, “Me and Aang are going to deal with this”, Toph objected immediately.
“You always get to go on adventures while I stay behind!” It was true; while Aang went with Zuko to find a new pinagmulan of the apoy within him, Sokka and Zuko went to save Sokka’s father and Suki, and Katara went with Zuko to find the man who killed her mother, Toph had been left with whoever else couldn’t go.
“I know, but trust me, you’d have to do a lot of emotional backup.” Katara could tell that was the wrong thing to say – even if it was true Toph wasn’t the most sensitive person. Toph turned away, slightly offended, but didn’t want to ipakita it. “Oh.” She said, disappointed, too, then without a goodbye, stomped off to her room.
There he was. Frowning unpleasantly, slumped in the corner of the cell, was Ozai. He didn’t even look her way as she emerged from the dimly lit corridor. He averted her eyes as he asked, “What do you want?”
Katara was surprised with how evil-sounding his voice was. “Where is she?” Anger edged her serious voice. The former apoy lord finally showed some reaction, as his eyes narrowed suspiciously. This proved her idea that Zuko had come here also asking the same question.
“I don’t know.” This was the answer she both dreaded and suspected. “You have to know,” she pried, regretting not talking to Zuko about his mother’s disappearance. “I won’t tell you.” He spat, though the little water the prison supplied to him ruined the effect. It splattered barely a foot from him. Ozai glared at it, as though to make it shrivel up and disappear.
Katara then realized the little pride he had left he made up for in being resistant to others. Her jaw clenched up in anger and she turned away to hide her frustration so that he would not get cocky. “Fine,” she muttered, half to herself, then turned to leave.
“Wait!” growled Ozai. Katara stopped and turned her head slightly towards him. “She was sent to an island… banished…” Then his face contorted with disgust: “It brings shame to help you – but I want her to feel sorry for me, feel regret for what she did.” Katara laughed sarcastically at him, then walked away.
Zuko boarded the ship with little segundo thoughts. His mom was waiting for him, and there was no turning back. This was the perfect time to leave because he was now apoy lord and old enough to do this on his own.
On his own…again. Just like old times, he thought as he dropped a few ginto coins into the captains’ hand. Zuko left the man to stare greedily at the money as he hefted his bag into the arms of a member of the crew. Zuko didn’t even know if he cared that no one was with him, or if they cared that he had disappeared.
He knew that, as he journeyed around the coast of the Earth Kingdom, he did not want a crowd. He felt this was HIS business, and not everybody needed to be involved. Would he just sink into depression alone, with no one there to help him if he found out his mother had died, or worse: killed?
You would think that he had learned that “being on your own isn’t always the right path…” With all of this in mind, he left his room with just a note… as he had done with Mai.
Aang grumbled as they got ready for departure the following morning. He used to easily get up in the morning, but that time had gone. Since the end of spring, he had grown nearly two inches; not nearly making up for the century he missed in the iceberg.
And soon he was going to be thirteen… in two days, actually. Not the best way to spend a birthday. He ground his teeth angrily at Zuko for causing this much controversy.
Aang crammed the rest of his stuff into a case and took one last sweeping look across the room. Then something caught his eye.
A note was attached to the tasa ng tsa that was still on the mesa from yesterday. He went over to it, wondering why people couldn’t just come right up and say what they want to say face to face. Aang pulled it loose from the slightly tsaa coated rim and read the first words:
Aang’s eyebrows rose in surprise and wondered if he should be pagbaba this. Whoever Iroh had asked to deliver it must’ve mistaken his room for Zuko’s. But… Aang reasoned, it could help him find out where Zuko went.
(Author’s Note: This is a rough translation to Chinese, the language in the awatara world [I think]. SPOILER (read if you like to know what is going on while the characters don’t): The beginning sentence letters in the English translation stand for the place Zuko needs to go
親愛的Zuko，
請，我知道您有計劃去找到您的母親。 當然，它是仅時間問題，直到您會離開。 真正地，我不認為這是正確的方式做它。 火國家的人民需要您。 并且所有的人是依靠幫助的您重建難民的生活。 有時當時有多數道理的事不，當您真正地看他們時。 幫助保護世界而不是摒棄它為您自己的自私原因。
Dear Zuko,
Please, I know you have plans of going to find your mother. Of course, it was only a matter of time until you would leave. Really, I don’t think this is the right way to do it. The people of the apoy Nation need you. And everyone else is depending on you to help rebuild the lives of the refugees. Sometimes things that make the most sense at the time don’t when you really look at them. Help protect the world instead of abandoning it for your own selfish reasons.
Uncle Iroh
Aang reread the note. The former general hadn’t made sense at all; the note was totally out of character. Then why…? There was a knock on the door. Aang went over the it, stuffing the piece of handmade, rough paper into his magsuot ng bata and opened it to let in the visitor – Katara.
“Uh…” he started (now that they weren’t in as much of a hurry, he felt unsure of what to both say and do). How did Katara feel about him anyway? It had seemed obvious outside Uncle’s shop, but now he didn’t know. “Let’s go,” Katara said, neither commanding nor suggestive. “ ‘K,” Aang replied, and they left, Iroh’s letter forgotten, for now.
