Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

This story takes place about a year after the events of The Search.

Chapter One: Gone

Night always seemed darker in the Earth Kingdom. Even with the vast amount of stars above and moonlight shining down on the land, it just seemed to be blacker and stiller than night in the Fire Nation. Extra darkness meant more places for things to hide, things that could come out without warning and take down travelers and disappear just as fast.

Even more reason for Zuko to be wary when he traveled on the dirt roads leading to Ba Sing Se.

He had every right to, though. In his few years as the Fire Lord, he learned of the continued disdain of his nation. Especially when he traveled in the areas on the border of the colonies. The hatred towards his people ran deep, as it should, and it seemed that his caution would always be warranted. Years of hatred led to discrimination, despite efforts to smooth cracked relations between nations.

That's why he tried to travel inconspicuously.

His hood was drawn up, his hair was out of it's typical topknot and tied at the nape of his neck, and his crown was tucked away in his saddle bag along with small necessities. Everything else he would need for his next public appearance was waiting for him at the Jasmine Dragon.

Travel light, stay out of sight. It was the best way for him to get through the Earth Kingdom without risking attack. At least, that was his opinion.

He and his personal guard, Shun, had traveled on ostrich horses from Yu Dao, heading towards Ba Sing Se on a personal mission. Zuko would have trusted his friends to assist him on this, but he felt asking for their help once more so soon after they aided him with finding his mother was a bit much. Chasing the women of his family shouldn't be a job description for the Avatar and his friends. And though it may have seemed incredibly soon since his last absence from the throne, this needed to be done. And quickly, before anything bad happened.

This was something Zuko- and Zuko alone- had to do.

"My lord," Shun murmured as his brown eyes scanned the area around them, reaching towards the hilt of his sword under his cloak with deliberate slowness. They had just entered a sparse forest where the path was in a valley in between the trees and Zuko could sense the tension in Shun's posture even as they rode side by side. The man's piercing gaze shifted to him and he frowned. "Something isn't right."

Zuko agreed almost instantly. It was too silent in this forest. Normally the sounds of nocturnal creatures would be faint, quieting slightly as they trotted past whatever animal was hidden in the trees then picking up again as they left. But there was absolutely no sound, as if everything was gone. Or afraid.

"Keep your eyes open and your ears alert."

"Yes, sir," Shun murmured. Time seemed to slow as they hurried their pace just slightly, making their ostrich horses gallop quick enough to make the silhouettes of the trees pass by them in dark blurs.

"Shun," Zuko began as he scanned the area around them, slowing his steed momentarily and grabbing the other man's sleeve. He could feel their presence, even if he couldn't see them. But he felt eyes on him, human eyes. There was nowhere to go. The closest village was miles away behind them, and they weren't supposed to reach Full Moon Bay for another day. "We need to get out of here. Now."

Before he could turn to his guard, he heard the sound of something slicing through air and then the definite thunk of an arrow hitting it's mark. He turned to see Shun staring at him with fearful eyes the size of dinner saucers, and the sound of blood gurgling up into his throat filled Zuko's ears. Shun fell off the back of his ostrich horse and collapsed onto the ground, and the sight of an arrow protruding out of his back made Zuko's stomach drop and his heart to pick up in fear.

He pulled the reins of his ostrich horse and spurred it ahead, trying in vein to search the trees for any other assassins. But the black abyss of the night prohibited him from even seeing ten feet in front of him. He heard it before he could see it- the sounds making his ears prick up and the hair on his neck to stand on end. And he didn't dodge fast enough to avoid the dart that stuck him in his chest.

Zuko felt the venom enter him- a sensation familiar to him from years ago- and his body fell off the back of his ostrich horse and to the ground, useless in paralysis. His consciousness was receding as he watched his steed race away and out of sight. And just as he spotted a pair of feet in his line of vision, there was a sharp pain to the back of his head and darkness washed over him.

One Week Later

Fall seemed to be approaching early this year, Katara observed as a crisp breeze tousled the hair over her shoulders. The air here was already dry enough, like it always was in the Earth Kingdom. Unlike the Fire Nation where frequent rains helped cool the oppressive heat and humidity, here it was dry and stifling, and rain was so rare that the ground was parched and the plants were wilted.

Katara was never fond of the Earth Kingdom because of that.

The sun was beating down on Omashu, and without the breeze it would have been miserable. There was a certain quality of the air today that brought the acknowledgement of the approaching season. And as she sat in the garden of Bumi's palace, the weather couldn't have felt more perfect. Even if she had absolutely nothing to do, this seemed to be just a fine thing to take up her time.

She would have been content with relaxing all afternoon while Aang was in a council meeting with King Bumi, but there was a listless feeling in the pit of her stomach that caused a deep pit of uneasiness. The only thing that calmed her was some quiet relaxation near the marble fountain in the center of the courtyard. She kept her mind busy by thoughtlessly swirling the water around, up and weaving through her fingers before spinning back into the pool. But just as Katara settled into her peaceful meditation, a shadow crossed over her and caused her to open her eyes. She looked up to see a black silhouette covering the sun, growing larger as time passed. She had to squint to see that it was a messenger hawk. One from the Fire Nation.

The hawk swooped down, claws latching onto her raised arm and digging into her skin painfully. She winced, but the bird let up a little before cawing and scooting closer to her shoulder. The tube on his back was full, and the ribbon that fluttered out of the canister was black.

It was from Zuko. And it was important.

Quickly, Katara pulled out the letter, unrolled it, and scanned the contents as fast as she could. Her heart sank and her chest seized in fear as she got further into the message, dread filling the pit of her stomach quicker than she could comprehend. She went over it two, three times before running back inside the building, feet barely touching the stone in her haste.

"AANG!"

There was the sound of a door slamming against a wall as it was opened and the airbender in question whirled around the corner on his air scooter, grey eyes wide with surprise- and possibly fear- at Katara's shriek.

"Katara!" He stopped in front of her, taking her shoulders to brace her. "Hey, sweetie, what's wrong?"

She held up the letter to him, letting him read over it's contents before speaking. He, too, looked as if his worse fears were coming to fruition as he got deeper into the scroll. When he finished reading it for the fourth time, it slipped from his fingers and dropped onto the ground. His hands were frozen where they had held the scroll as his eyes locked onto hers, mirroring the dread that was overwhelming her.

"We need to go to the Fire Nation. Now."

tbc

A/N Hello! Thanks for stopping by to read this story. It's been on the back burner for a good while now, and since I've had my baby and we've settled into a routine that allows some writing I've been able to give this little story the attention it deserves.

Updates will be sporadic, hopefully twice a week.

Until next time!

Updated and revised on 10 May 2017.