Wild At Heart (Zuko)

Chapter Forty-Eight

At the Royal Palace, Zuko and Iroh are sitting at a table in a room, waiting for the Earth King. Iroh pours some tea into a cup. Zuko finds this all strange. They have been sitting here for a while now, waiting, and he doesn't like it. He's on edge. After the ambushed attack on Kali earlier in the day. He doesn't feel right being here. Iroh would tell him that he's being paranoid. But he swears he's right about this.

"What's taking so long?" Zuko complains to Iroh.

"Maybe the Earth King overslept" Iroh comments and Zuko turns a look on him just as Dai Li agents begin to circle around the two.

"Something's not right" Zuko voices when he notices them. He was right. Which means there was something more behind the attack on Kali. Azula walks past the Dai Li and comes in front of her brother outside the circle of Dai Li agents.

"It's tea time!" She dramatically makes herself known to her uncle and brother. Zuko is quick to rise from her seat.

"Azula"

"Have you met the Dai Li?" Azula asks. "They're earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that's so firebender. I just love it" Iroh simply picks up his cup of tea calmly.

"Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname "The Dragon of the West"?" Iroh asks.

"I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle" Azula looks at her nails condescendingly.

"It's more of a demonstration, really" Iroh begins drinking his tea. Zuko looks over at him and smiles before going behind him. Iroh begins breathing fire against the Dai Li agents that have surrounded them.

......

In a corridor outside the room, a fire blast makes a hole in the wall, allowing Iroh and Zuko to escape. The Dai Li agents begin shooting some rock gloves at them, but miss as Zuko and Iroh turn around the corner. Iroh generates lightning and destroys the wall in front before jumping down, yelling, into a bush below. Zuko stops at the edge, staring down at his uncle. Seemingly coming to decide something. Because as long as Azula is out there, he and Kali are never going to find peace. They are always going to be looking over their shoulders, waiting for her to come. How can they have a life if they're always on edge? The simple answer is that they can't.

"Come on! You'll be fine!" Iroh tells him but Zuko shakes his head.

"No!" He argues. "I'm tired of running! It's time I faced Azula!" Zuko turns around and walks back. Iroh smacks his head upon hearing this and runs away.

"You're so dramatic" Azula mocks. "What? Are you going to challenge me to an Agni Kai?"

"Yes! I challenge you!"

"No thanks" Zuko shoots a fire blast toward her, but two Dai Li agents intervene and pull up a section of the floor, making a wall. They shoot some rock gloves at Zuko's feet, making him lose his balance. He puts his right hand down, but another rock glove traps that one. Azula turns around smiling and walks away as the agents capture him.

.......

On the streets, Iroh grabs Kali's arms as she rounds the corner almost running straight into him. She lets out a surprised squeal but relaxes when she sees him. But he is alone. She looks around, trying and hoping that Zuko has just decided to walk on his own, but he is nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" She asks. "I saw...I saw...." She struggles to catch her breath. "Angry girl!"

"Calm down" He coos softly. "It will be fine....we will get him back"

"Get him back?" Kali asks and then looks around him and toward the palace at the end of the street. Her eyes sadden. Iroh loosens his hands from her and instead takes her hand to pull her along behind him, heading away from the Palace and away from Zuko.

......

Across the city, Toph, Aang, and Sokka reach their house on Appa who lands in the street. The three jump off and run inside to see if Katara is in there, but the house has a cold and abandoned feel to it as if no one has been here in a long time now. Momo runs up to them.

"Momo!" Momo climbs up Aang onto his shoulders. Toph looks around.

"There's no one else here" She informs them.

"Katara is in trouble! I knew it!" Aang points out.

"Oh, no!" Sokka complains.

"Wait! Someone's at the door" Someone knocks on the door a second later. "Actually, I know who it is. It's an old friend of mine" She walks over to the door and opens it, showing Iroh behind the door. "Glad to see you're okay"

"We need your help" Iroh admits and Kali pokes her head around from behind Iroh and waves a little, Bing hanging off the back of her shoulders. Sokka and Aang become shocked and angry upon seeing them and get into a fighting stance. Toph calmly smiles and waves at Iroh. Momo flies into Kali's arm and she chuckles, scratching at his head.

"Momo" Aang scolds and gives the lemur a look but Momo chatters happily in Kali's embrace. Aang then turns to Toph. "You guys know each other?"

"I met him in the woods once and knocked him down" Iroh smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of his head. "Then he gave me some tea and some very good advice."

"May we come in?" Iroh asks. Toph nods, and he walks in before turning to the group. Kali closes the door behind her. "Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se"

"She must have Katara" Aang points out turning to his friends.

"She has captured my nephew as well" Iroh adds, Aang nods and turns to him, looking determined.

"Then we'll work together to fight Azula, and save Katara and Zuko" Sokka snaps his head around at Aang, then approaches him, pointing at him.

"Whoa there! You lost me at Zuko"

"I know how you must feel about my nephew" Iroh starts moving forward to place his hands on Sokka's shoulders. Aang glances at Kali and Momo. "But believe me when I tell you that there is good inside him" Sokka pushes Iroh away.

"'Good inside him' isn't enough! Why don't you come back when it's outside him too, okay?" Sokka argues. Kali turns a look at him, a glare. They haven't seen what she has seen. They don't know him the way that she does. Zuko isn't bad. He was mislead. That is not the same thing. 

"Katara's in trouble" Aang defends. "All of Ba Sing Se is in trouble. Working together is our best chance" Sokka understands, and nods. Iroh begins walking back to the door.

"I brought someone along who might help us" He offers. Aang slides up to Kali and stares up at her.

"Hello" Aang greets, she raises an eyebrow at him but he just smiles brightly at her. She hums a little and turns to follow Iroh. Aang sinks a little. They all walk outside. Where there is a Dai Li agent tied up on the porch. Kali motions her finger in a little circle and the vines pull the Dai Li agent up to his feet by his bound wrists. His mouth is covered in woven vines. Iroh nods at Kali and she holds out her hand, wiggles her fingers and the vines over the Dai Li agent's mouth pull back, disappearing.

"Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup!" He immediately tells them. "They're going to overthrow the Earth King!"

"My sister! Where are they keeping Katara?" Sokka pushes, holding out his boomerang threateningly.

"In the Crystal Catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace" With that information, the group of benders, and Sokka, rush off together to help Zuko, Katara, and the Earth King, leaving the captured agent hanging there by his wrists. "Hello?" He asks when the street falls silent.