[Earth on Fire] Zuko x OC

Chapter 14: Return to Omashu (Part 2)

"I'm coming with you," Aang said immediately.

"What? Aang, no," I said, my eyes widening. "You don't have to do that, I can-"

"No, I'm coming," Aang insisted, snapping his staff open. "Bumi is my friend, I need to know what happened to him." I was about to say absolutely not, but then I caught the look of determination on his face.

"Fine," I sighed. Momo leapt onto Aang's shoulder and chittered, tugging on his head covering insistently.

"Sorry, Momo," he said, pulling the tiny lemur off and setting him on the ground. "I'll feed you later. Let's go," he said, turning to me. I nodded once and used a rock to launch myself up onto the roof. Aang glided up beside me on his staff.

"We'll catch up with you later," he told Sokka and Katara, who were watching us with reluctant expressions. Katara opened her mouth as if to protest, but Sokka put a warning hand on her shoulder and the two walked off to join the other citizens.

"Where do we start?" Aang asked me. I turned to gaze over the sea of rooftops in front of me.

"Somewhere hidden, secluded," I decided. "They'd be keeping him where the Resistance wouldn't think to look. Let's start in the back alleys around the lower districts and work our way up. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

Aang nodded and we took off, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Aang flew ahead on his glider, scanning the grounds below while I kept watch from the ground, peeking into crevices, moving loose stones and ducking behind corners.

"There!" Aang stopped, flying down to the ground next to me as we rounded a corner. "Do you hear that?" I stopped and cocked my head, listening. I could faintly hear the turning of cogs in an area that should have been deserted.

"It's coming from over there," I pointed behind a building. I tucked myself into a ball and made a column of stone erupt underneath me, shooting me upwards so that I grabbed onto the railing of a balcony. Aang leapt from building to building supported on a column of air until he joined me.

I grabbed Aang's shoulders for balance as we tiptoed across the railing. He extended a hand to me and I took it, raising an eyebrow. The next second, I let out a yelp as he launched us over the roof and sent us soaring through the air, landing nimbly on his hands and knees on a stone roof behind the building. I, however, landed slightly less gracefully, sprawled out on the stone.

"Ouch," I murmured, rubbing my behind ruefully. Aang smiled sheepishly at me. I meant to stick my tongue out at him, but stopped as the groaning noise of gears turning caught my attention again.

I turned, my eyes widening as I saw a familiar creature below me, walking in circles and pushing what seemed to be an energy machine.

"Flopsie!" I cried from above, sliding down on a column of stone as Aang landed next to me. Flopsie's ears perked up and he turned towards the sound of my voice. I ran towards him, arms outstretched as he lunged for me, but was stopped by chain around his next.

My heart clenched as Flopsie whimpered pitifully and Aang ran to where he was tied to the contraption. I walked towards him, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"Don't worry, boy, we'll get you out of here," I assured him. Aang bended some water to freeze the chain metal links, then used his staff to snap the chain. Overjoyed at being freed, Flopsie bounded into me, wrapping me up in his arms and licking a long stripe up my face.

"OH, no, Flopsie!" I sputtered at the feeling of goat gorilla slobber all over my face. "Flopsie, gross, no, stop it!"

Aang giggled next to me, and before he knew it, he was smushed against me in the giant oaf's arms, also covered in slobber. "Ewww, Flopsie," he complained and I laughed at Flopsie's delighted grin.