Chapter Twenty two

The group chased after the wisp of smoke, Aang leading the way with Mai and Kei Lo trailing behind.

    "Where are you leading us?" Aang asked the smoke.

    "Probably somewhere dark and dank." Mai grumbled.

    "So, the same as where we are now?" Kei Lo chuckled.

    "Worse."

    "You know, you're kinda cute when you're pessimistic." Kei Lo grinned.

    "I've been told."

    Stifling an annoyed sigh at the exchange, Zuko focused on the smoke which had just lead them to a wall. A wall with another dragon. Without a second thought, Aang looked back at Kei Lo who was already walking over with knives in hand. With a quick movement, the wall opened, revealing an old stone staircase that descended into somewhere dark and dusty.

    "Nope. I'm not going down there." Mai immediately refused.

     "Looks like a crypt," Aang observed. "Kei Lo, do you think you could come with me in case there's something to unlock?"

    "Sure..." He replied hesitantly, looking back at Mai and Zuko.

    The Firelord just shot him a look that said: "dude, nothing's gonna happen." But he didn't seem to get the picture as he was still hesitant in following Aang down the stairs.

    After they disappeared, Zuko was left with the uncomfortable awareness that Mai was still next to him.

_

    Katara and Sokka walked through the city, greeting some overjoyed familiar faces. Everyone congratulated them on their saving of the world and asked them questions about various topics.

    "What's all this commotion about?" A raspy old voice asked.

    Katara and Sokka turned around to see their Gran Gran standing at the edge of the group. They were quick to hug her.

    "We missed you so much!" Katara smiled, tearing up a bit.

    "I've missed you too," Gran Gran noted, she stepped back, looking Sokka up and down. "My, you've gotten taller, Sokka."

    "And more muscular!" He boasted, flexing.

    "Eh, I don't know about that." Another voice butted in.

    "Pakku?" Katara uttered, turning around to see her waterbending master approach the group.

    "That's grandpa Pakku to you now." He chuckled.

    "You got married?!" Sokka exclaimed.

    "Just a few weeks ago!" Gran Gran commented, joining his side.

    "Aw, we missed the ceremony? I knew we should've come back sooner." Katara sighed.

    They shared some more pleasantries, Pakku asked Katara for some assistance at his waterbending school and Gran Gran told them where to find their father.

    The two siblings moved on to find their father's office. Reaching a grand building made out of ice, Sokka was once again, awestruck while Katara didn't seem too enthused.

    "Wow!" Sokka exclaimed.

    "That's Dad's office? It's.. so..."

    "Huge? Amazingly cool?!" Sokka beamed.

    "So... No Dad..."

_

    Zuko couldn't help but frown. He didn't want to be down here anymore and he didn't want to be with Mai anymore. She didn't seem content either.

    "So." They said at the same time, both getting tired of the silence.

    "You first." She muttered.

    "Is the light bright enough? Cuz I can make it brighter."

    "It's fine, Zuko. I'd rather see as less of this room as possible." She scoffed.

    "You're right."

    The silence returned.

    "So um... Kei Lo seems nice."

    "Zuko, please don't. We had our run ok? I can't anymore. You've hurt me too much." She retorted immediately.

    "Woah! No. That's not-... I'm..." He uttered.

    "I don't want to be with you." Mai said, glaring up at him.

    "I don't want to be with you either!" He shouted back, his fire flaring a bit.

    Her eyes widened. She took a step back.

    "I've moved on ok? And I'm just trying to say that I'm glad you have too." Zuko sighed, calming down the flame.

    "You moved on? With who?" Her angry expression completely disappeared, she looked at him with utter shock on her face.

    "Someone who makes me happy. I really like them a lot. And I would never want to do anything to hurt them," He stated. "I'm sorry that I hurt you, Mai. But I promise that I have absolutely no intentions of ever wanting anything more than friendship from you. But if that's too much for you, then I'll just help you save your brother and you'll never have to see, nor talk to me ever again."

    With that, he turned back to face the stairs. Just as Aang and Kei Lo ran back up.

    "We met the real Kemurikage." They said in unison.

    "What do you mean by 'the real Kemurikage'?" Zuko uttered.

    "I'll tell you when we get out of here, it's kind of a long story and it's getting sort of creepy down here..." Aang replied, starting out towards the exit.

    Zuko took a quick glance at Mai who looked conflicted about something. Kei Lo gave her a worried look but she ignored him. Turning away again, he figured he'd said the right things and he made things clear. Though as he followed Aang, he felt a little rush of conflict himself. Why hadn't he said that it was Sokka he liked now?

    "What's wrong, Zuko? Did something happen with Mai?" Aang whispered to him.

    "Yeah... Sort of... Why do you ask?" Zuko mumbled back, making sure he couldn't be heard by the couple.

    "Kei Lo was kinda antsy while we were away from you guys. What happened?"

    "Mai kind of assumed that I still liked her and started lecturing me..," Zuko sighed, Aang shot him a questioning look. "I just told her that I've moved on. But... I didn't tell her that I'm with Sokka now."

    "That's totally fine though?" Aang protested a little louder than he should have. He quickly changed his tone and volume. "You don't have to tell everyone. You don't have to tell anyone. I understand that it can be hard telling people. Everywhere is different with how they view this sort of thing. Unfortunately not everywhere is like the Air Nomads," Aang sighed. "You shouldn't feel obligated to tell anyone."

    "Thanks Aang." Zuko shit him a grin.

    They reached the exit up to the temple courtyard. Zuko went first and Aang held back to go after Kei Lo and Mai. Flying back to the palace on Appa, Aang explained the situation.

    "The original Kemurikage haven't haunted the Fire Nation since before the first Firelord," He started. "Meaning that the spirits we're dealing with now aren't the same ones from the scroll."

    "Could they be spirits that just look like the Kemurikage then?" Zuko suggested.

    "Maybe they're not spirits at all." Mai piped up.

    "All I know is that the ones we saw that night were really creepy." Kei Lo stated, shivering.

    Some commotion from within the city caught Aang's attention. Looking over the edge of Appa's saddle, he frowned.

    "What the-?"

_

    Knocking on the open wooden door of Hakoda's office, Katara and Sokka looked in to see him at a wide desk, writing something down.

    "Just a minute, we're almost done." He announced.

    "Dad?" Katara uttered.

    "Katara? Sokka?" He immediately looked up, his face lighting up as he stood. Moving around to meet them half way and wrap them both in a hug. "You're finally here!"

    "Sorry it took us so long." Katara smiled.

    "Nonsense! You've been helping the Avatar rebuild the world! And I know from experience that-" He was lightly cut off by a woman's voice.

    "Rebuilding takes a long time."

    The two looked over to see two people that had been there the whole time but they hadn't paid much attention to. A tall woman with short, light brown hair and a shorter man with glasses.

    "Sokka, Katara, meet Malina and Maliq of the northern water tribe," Hakoda introduced. "They're helping us rebuild the south with their construction company."

    The group exchanged pleasantries, Katara welcoming them to the South and Maliq expressing his admiration for their saving of Tui and La. Though they were quickly interrupted by a knock at the door.

    "Hey, Malina, you finished going over those plans?" A painfully familiar voice asked.

        The three men who'd attacked the kids before gasped at the sight of Katara and Sokka's now stern expressions.

    "You." They said in unison.

    "I suppose you've already met?" Hakoda raised his eyebrows.

    "Oh, we've met alright." Katara nodded. "Down by the construction site where they oh so thoughtfully suggested putting up a fence. Something they should have done a while ago."

    "You guys! I've told you that's something you need to do immediately! You can't get sloppy." Maliq lectured.

    "I'll go over the blueprints and get back to you. You're excused for the day." Malina nodded to them.

    "What are they building?" Sokka asked as the trio left.

    "An office, this place is for the local government. I'm only here temporarily." Hakoda explained.

    "Oh, that's a relief. I was gonna say that this is a little fancy, Dad. And you're not a fancy guy, no offense." Katara sighed.

    "Well... You're probably right about that, Katara... But..." Hakoda uttered.

    "Oh wait till you see it!" Malina exclaimed, taking out some blueprints. "The most magnificent building in the entire south; you'll flip!"

~ Later that day~

    Sokka grinned, his mouth full of food. Malina and Maliq had taken them for dinner along with Hakoda. The group shared some conversation, catching up and sharing stories.

    Katara at one point mentioned how she missed Aang and it made Sokka remember how much he missed Zuko, too. Looking at his Dad, he wondered if he should tell him... Maybe once they were alone. He'd be cool with it, right? He'd be happy for him. Right?

    A soft hand squeezed his own and he looked over to meet the reassuring gaze of his sister. It was like she could read his mind. He shot her back a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes.

    "Oops!" They all flinched as a young boy spilled a bowl of stew over the table.

    "I'm so sorry!" He uttered.

    "It's alright, are you ok?" Malina asked.

    "Hey! Hands off my briefcase!" They all turned now to see a young girl whack Maliq in the face with his briefcase and make a run for it.

    Malina bent some water out of a fishtank and slid it under her feet, freezing it into ice and causing her to slip. The boy threw the now empty soup bowl at her, making her fall off balance and hit her head on the edge of the front desk.

    Hakoda and Maliq rushed to attend to her while the two kids ran off into the night with the briefcase. Sokka and Katara quickly ran after them, finding them at the bottom of the stairs, starting up a snowmobile.

    Sokka caught up before they could accelerate and grabbed the boy's arm. But the kid swung the briefcase at him, whacking his hand off. They quickly sped off, leaving the two behind.

    "Dang it! They got away..." Sokka groaned.

    "No, they didn't." Katara retorted, bending a snow sled.

    They climbed on and Katara bent the snow behind them, propelling them forwards. They quickly caught up to the kids who immediately noticed them and drove off a cliff, continuing on through the snowy tundra once they landed. Katara followed, Sokka yelling as they flew through the air and landed on the ground, their sled breaking.

    Before Sokka could complain about the broken sled, Katara bent a new one and they climbed back on. They caught up to the kids, sliding along side by side.

    "Hey kids! Might want to just give up. My sister's probably the best waterbender you'll ever see!" Sokka grinned.

    "Nope!" The kids shouted back, cutting the snowmobile's engine.

    The sled kept going, sliding past the snowmobile. Katara frowned, taking a stance. She bent a path and the sled slid around her ramp and sped back towards where the kids were.

    Getting off they saw the snowmobile abandoned and little footprints going up the hill.

    "Let's go!" Katara ordered, bending stairs out of the snow.

    They ran up over the hill, coming face to face with a sight they knew all to well; the abandoned fire Nation ship.