The Flames of the past (Avatar: Zuko love story)

Chapter 19: How they met... (Bato)

"pee-doo-pee doo-dee-doo-poo!!" 
On the stage, Mia (11) juggled, dressed as a man (including a mustache) and she let her hat drop back and kicked it up with her foot. It flew through the air, she caught it with her walking stick, spinned it and landed on her head again. She made a cartwheel and pretended she felt on the ground. The audiance started to clap loudly, even Ursa, wife of Fire Lord Ozai and her son Zuko. Fire Lord Ozai and his daughter Azula did not move a single muscle. Mia bend and looked at the Prince of the Fire Nation, who was clapping the loudest of them all. Mia blushed and winked at him. 

"The Fire Lord did not like it..." Han, her co-actor said sadly.
"It will pick up, isn't that right?" Mia replied.
The rest of the group looked to their feet and Mia said quietly: "It always does."

Mia was not right. The next day she went to the theater, and when she arrived her fellow collegues stood in front of the door. Through the page of "The little man, a comedy with Mia Li Feng and Han Huang", there was a large sign with "closed" through.
"Han? What's going on!?" Mia ran up to the door and yanked on the big lock. "Hey! Open up! We work here!" She yelled.
"Not anymore lady!" The man who was closing it said with a huge smile on his face. "Princess Azula's command..." 
"Azula? Azula? Nonsens! It's alright for you! We haven't had a pay-check in two weeks! How are we gonna eat?" Ming, the juggling woman said panicky.
"They cannot get away with this!" Mia said and she grabbed up her hat.

"Mia..." Han started. "I am leaving," he said quietly, "The show; it's over, it's done.I am going back to Ba Sing Se. I know people have been letting you down and everytime you want something, faith decides to grab it away from you... You have to think of yourself now," Mia was on tears, and she hugged him tight. "I will visit you one time." Mia replied and she walked away, to hide her tears.

She walked through town and stopped at a place were they sold fruits. Mia's stomach was empty and unnoticed she grabbed a peach and walked away. "Hey!" A man grabbed her wrist, "you are gonna pay for that!"
"Excuse me? She just dropped this." Mia looked at the boy and she saw it was the Prince of the Fire Nation, who was holding up a piece of money. Mia looked at the boy and he smiled at her. "My  name is Zuko." He said friendly.

"Mia Li Feng." She replied and bend a bit. "I loved the play, you were very good. I can't believe they closed it," Zuko said and he blushed a bit, "you look like you can use a meal... Would you like to come with me?" 
"I would love to." Mia replied and together they walked away to the palace, where they became best friends.

~

The four moved on indeed, and they were close to the sea. 
Sokka, Mia and Aang were trying to look for some food, while Katara was doing her 'important waterbending routine'. Aang ran down a hill and held up an object. "Look! A sword made out of a whale's tooth." 
"Let me see that!" Sokka said and he grabbed it out of Aang's hands and he observed it, "this is a water tribe weapon!" Sokka looked around and he laid a hand on Aang's shoulder, "see if you can find anything else."  
The three searched but could not find anything. Mia saw three little rocks and started to juggle. She did all kid of thricks. She did not juggle since she had left the Fire Nation, but after the dream she had last night, about how she met Zuko, it came back in her throughts. "Mia!" Sokka suddenly yelled. Mia dropped the rocks and they fell down, one on her head. "Come." He said, he had probably find an arrow from the Fire Nation and he came to the conclusion that there was a battle, not long ago. 

"Someone lost something?" Katara asked. "No, we found something." Aang replied."The trail of the battle, leads down this hill." Sokka said and he ran away. The rest followed him. "What's next?" Aang asked when they arrived at the beach. "Nothing. The trail ends here." Sokka said quietly. "Wait! Look!" Katara yelled and she pointed to a ship tha laid against a rock, by the shore. 
"It's one of our boats!" Sokka yelled amazed.
Katara and Sokka ran up to it, while AAng and Mia were only standing there awkwardly. 
When Mia and Aang caught up they only heard Sokka saying: "Dad was here."

~

The four stayed that night in front of the ship. Aang and Katara were sleeping, just when Mia woke up in the middle of the night, Sokka was still up. "Are you okay?" She asked. Sokka mumbled and Mia stood up to sit down next to him. "How long haven't you seen your parents?" He asked. "Five years." Mia replied. "I went by this circus/theater thing to escape. After that, I've never seen them again." She replied.
"You speak so easily about it..." Sokka replied, not understanding.

"They are not often in my mind. They are not returning from war. I don't ment to see them again. They are a memory, and so it's easier to forget." Mia replied. "Hmm..." Was the only thing Sokka could say. Mia tapped him on his shoulder and laid her head on it. "You are now more my family, you know." She said quietly. Sokka smiled and poked with his stick in the wood of the fire.
"Who's here?!" A voice from the dark said. Mia rushed up and a man with a water-tribe outfit came out of the shadows.
"Bato?!" Sokka said loudly, confused. 
"Bato!" Katara said sleepily. 

The two ran up to the man and hugged him. 
Aang and Mia shrugged and walked up to them.
"Hi, I am Aang." Aang said and bend.
"Hello sir, my name's-"
"-where's dad?" Sokka asked before Mia could say her name. 

"Your father is with the others in the Eastern Earth kingdom." After he said that, a cold wind came by and everyone shivered.
"Let's get inside." He said and he walked away to an abbey close by. Bato signed at Aang and Mia to come as well, as the three were talking about everything. "Wow! It looks just like home!" Katara said when she sat down in the boat full of pelts. "Nothing's cozier than dead animal skins." Aang whispered to Mia who laughed quietly. Aoi looked at the polar bear that laid on te ground and he almost set it on fire, as he blew at it.
"Don't worry, it's dead." Mia whispered when she stroked his back. 

The three water-tribers sat down and started to talk about the past. Mia yawned and she sat down against the wall. After 5 minutes, and Bato still did not know her name, she stood up and walked out the door, followed by Aang. The last thing she heard from them was this: "If I recieved the message, you two can come with me and see your father again." 
Mia and Aang went to the ship and they sat down, watching the full moon. "I can't believe they would leave us..." He said quietly and just before Mia wanted to reply, a man of the earth kingdom came by. "I am looking for Bato of the water-tribe." He said.
"Uh.. I know Bato." Aang replied.
"Make sure he'll get this." The messenger replied, gave Aang the piece of paper and disappeared. Mia could not see what it was, but Aang angrily put it away in his pocket.

~

The next day Aang, Katara, Bato and Sokka went to the boat to do some stuff, while Mia stayed in the abbey, juggling for the sick kids that stayed there. It was fun, and she did the same act that she did 5 years ago on the stage. The children laughed the most when Mia randomly jumped in the air during the juggling and fell on the ground, pretending she was a doll that got thrown on the ground. When Mia saw Katara's and Sokka's angrily face and Aang's face that was on the edge of crying, Mia dropped her stones. "What's going on?" Mia asked. "We are leaving, I hate you! You and Aang!" She said angrily and Sokka laid his hand on her shoulder. 

Aang told them that the messenger gave him a map that would lead to Sokka's and Katara's father and that he hid it, for he did not want to go to their father. Apparently they think Mia knew this too. She was now more angrier at the three water-tribers than Aang. The three packed their stuff, while Mia and Aang was watching them doing it. Mia was angry, Aang was sad. Katara walked up to them and whispered: "Goodluck."
"Thanks..." Aang replied. Mia looked to the other way, for she could not handle it that they just quit helping Aang, who need to save the world, inclusive their father. But they don't understand.

She saw the three leaving, and Mia tapped Aang on his shoulder: "We should move on, Aang." She said and she gave him a little hug.
"I am so glad that I still have you... Would you go, if you'd see your parents again?" Aang asked.
"No." Mia replied and she hugged him, "but that lies complicated. I'd have gone, if my relationship with them would have been better." 

~

Mia and Aang chilled at the ship, when suddenly one of the women of the abbey ran towads them. "Girl! Avatar! Leave!" She yelled.
"YES WE ARE LEAVING!" Mia yelled angrily at the woman. "A group of people is searching for you, girl!" She replied. 
"Who?" Aang asked.
"A fierce looking woman with a terrible monster, and a young man with a scar." She replied.
Mia looked at Aang and they both decided immediately what to do.
Appa circled above the abbey and saw the beast approaching, with the girl, Zuko, Iroh and Sokka and Katara on his back. Mia jumped of the huge bison and with some earthbending she kicked rocks at the beast and jumped on the ground. The beast fell down, so did everyone and happily Katara yelled: "Mia!!"  

Aang jumped off Appa as well. The beast stood up and was approaching Aang, and Appa flew against the beast that landed against the wall. Mia was facing Zuko, while Aang was doing the beast, which had the skils to paralize with his tongue. It was not a very stunning battle, but it was quite intense. Mia only used her Fire Bending, for being equal to Zuko. They ran over rooftops and tried to blow eachother up. 
The beast paralized Appa and Zuko ran over to Mia who yelled: "STOP!!" He stopped in front of her, with an angry face. "I am sorry for what I said... I was just angry... I don't want to hurt you and I am so sure you don't want to hurt me either. Please..." She said quietly. Zuko narrowed his eyes and frowned. 

Mia looked at the scar, and for the first time she saw how terribly it looked. "You know I don't want to hurt you." He took a step away from her, and he immediately got attacked by Aang. The abbey produced perfume, and Mia knew how to blind that horrid beast. She started to break the huge barrels and with her water beding, she let it rain over the beast. The beast threw the woman off, paralized Zuko and ran away. Mia garbbed up Aoi and looked how the beast disappeared in the woods. She felt two hands on her shoulder, from Sokka and Katara. "I am still angry at you guys, you should apoligize to Aang."

When they were flying away, Aang asked a serious question: "Don't you want to see your father?"
"Of course we do Aang, but you need us more. You are our family too, as is Mia... We would be dead, even with Bato, within two days without Mia." Sokka replied. Katara laid her head on Mia's shoulder and wrapped her waist. "Whatever you say, I will listen to you." She said.
"You bet!" Mia replied and the four moved on, closer to the Northern Water-tribe.  


((This was a waaaay to longer chapter, but I really needed to do the "how they met"!))