1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction ever, so I hope you like it. Please tell me what you think in the reviews. If you have any suggestions, please tell me. Also I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender or any of the pictures.**

Chapter 1

Zukari dodged as the fireball whizzed past her ear. Seeing an opening in her opponent's defense, she struck the ground beneath his feet with a fireball of her own, knocking him off balance. Without hesitation, Zukari lunged and kicked him in the chest resulting in his falling backward. She smiled triumphantly and placed a foot on his chest. Her Firebending teacher, Master Zhong, declared the match over.

Hearing applauding behind her, she whirled around and saw Firelord Zuko with a proud smile on his face. Zukari smiled as well and ran to his arms and hugged him. "Father, did you see the way that I turned his offense against him?" she asked with a tinge of excitement in her voice.

"I did, "her father answered," I think that with a bit more practice it will be perfect."

Zukari rolled her eyes. "So when are we going to visit Uncle Iroh?"

He grinned mischievously, "Not today. Today Aang and Katara are visiting."

Her eyes widened "Father! Tell me these beforehand. I want to at least greet them looking decent!" Zuko chuckled as she ran off to get ready.

After Appa descended, Bumi jumped out looking relieved to be on land followed by Tenzin and Aang. Bumi was a tall, handsome young man with dark brown shaggy hair, tanned skin and light brown eyes. Tenzin looked like the airbender that he was with incredibly brown, bushy eyebrows.

Aang and Zuko greeted each other with a warm hug." Katara couldn't be here," Aang explained," she is staying with a family that is sick until they get better." Aang and Zuko continued conversing. Meanwhile a servant had come to take Appa to the barn.

Bumi noticed her and approached," Hello there. I mean," he said bowing, "Greetings Princess Zukari."

She gave him a friendly punch, "You're pushing your luck Bumi."

He yelped and pretended to be in great pain. She rolled her eyes and turned to Tenzin." Hello Tenzin. How are you?"

"I've been better, "he sighed with a pointed look at Bumi." And how about you Zukari?"

"Well it has been pretty well. I've been teaching a few firebender hotshots a lesson."She said smiling a little.

The two continued in conversing until Bumi interrupted. "Hate to interrupt," he said," but Zukari and I have a rematch to do. Unless you're afraid that you're gonna lose again."

"Looks like I'm going to have to teach another hotshot a lesson." Looking back at Tenzin, Zukari asked,"Care to be the Referee?"

He sighed in response and followed them to the court yard.

Tenzin started going over the rules, but the two competitors paid hardly any attention. They were busy making faces at each other.

"… when one person has the other in what would be a deadly position if they were fighting to the death, the match is over. And _no _bending! Understood?"

Both nodded and went to opposite sides of the courtyard. Zukari unsheathed her knife and started walking across casually. Bumi yelled some war cry, drew his knife as well, and approached with a guarded stance. She waited until Bumi attacked. He went in thrusting for her heart, and she blocked with her knife hand. Simultaneously, Zukari punched in him the gut. He stumbled back a few steps and attacked again. After that the fight continued for several minutes, with neither gaining the upper hand. Finally Zukari managed to spin Bumi's knife out of his hand and put her knife to his throat.

Bumi blushed as she put one hand on his shoulder. She smirked. Tenzin declared the match over."Looks like you were beat by a girl Bumi. I guess you're not as amazing as you thought you were."

He smiled hugely and said," Oh really? Cuz I can still do this!" In an instant, he put his foot behind hers and pushed. She fell over, into some mud. Laughing, Bumi taunted," Did you get dirty Princess? Oh no! Your royal robes must be ruined!"

Seething, Zukari took two handfuls of mud. The first she threw at his face. While he couldn't see, she stood and stepped behind him. Delivering a kick behind his knee, Bumi buckled. She pushed him face first into the mud. With her second handful, she threw it at the back of his head. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she cooed," Did I hit you?"

That started an all out fight of water, mud, sticks, dirt and whatever else could be found without actually hurting each other. Tenzin attempted to stop the fight, but only got covered in dirt. He went inside exasperated. A short time after, Aang and Zuko came into the court yard. Both stopped as soon as their fathers entered.

"Zukari! You are acting like a three year old! What is the meaning of this?" Zuko demanded.

"I'm sorry," she started sheepishly," We finished our knife dual and after Bumi pushed me into the mud, I guess we just kinda got carried away."

Zuko sighed," Well get cleaned up. Some of the governors are meeting us for dinner. I want you on your best behavior."

She was about to object but then thought better of it. "Yes, Father."

The dinner was composed of mainly long, boring reconstruction plans and the like. Zukari had been exceedingly bored the whole time and was quite relieved when it was over. She headed outside on the balcony. It was a cool, cloudy night. She began to think of the adventures that her father had had when he was close to her age. _My life is so boring compared to how his was. I wish I could actually do something._

Footsteps approaching behind her drew her out of her thoughts. She turned to see Kisho one of her best friends and a young, recent member of the Royal Guard. He had the standard black hair Fire Nation black hair and amber eyes. He stood only about an inch or so over her.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Oh, just about some of the adventures that my father had."Zukari replied not voicing her real thoughts. "So what are you doing out here."

"Firelord Zuko sent me to come get you. He says that there is something important that he has to tell you."

"Thanks Kisho."

She went inside and found her father pacing in the Great Hall."Is there something wrong?"

He looked at her with fear in his eyes and said," Azula's gone."


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay guys, I hope that you like it. I hope to update every other day or so. Please review to tell me what you honestly think about my story.**

Chapter 2

The princess's eyes widened. With a tinge of fear creeping into her voice she" Gone? How?"

Zuko shook his head," All of the guards in that area were unconscious for about fifteen minutes. Before that, Azula was there, but when the guards came around, she was gone."

After she had processed the information, Zukari asked," What are we going to do?"

"Look for her of course." He paused for a moment and sighed," But I don't even know where to start."

Zukari nodded and left, a plan beginning to form in her mind.

Hiding the final knife in her sleeve, Zukari looked at herself in the mirror. She wondered what she should do with her waist-length, black hair. Deciding to keep it simple, she pulled her hair into a half-up, half-down style with the bun. She left the letter she had written on her bed and took a deep breath.

Grabbing her bag, Zukari climbed out of the window, and she sneaked down into the courtyard. A hooded figure stepped out of the shadows, and she drew her knife. "Going somewhere?" the figure asked.

Recognizing the voice, she answered sarcastically," No, Bumi I'm going nowhere."

"You're going to look for Azula aren't you?" he said, more as a statement that a question.

_Why did I let him get to know me so well?_ She thought, _Well, no use denying it. _"Yes."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"No!"The princess protested," You can't!"

"Well," he said casually," I could always just get your dad, and tell him what you're doing."

Zukari clenched and unclenched her fists as she glared at him. "Fine."

"Oh, good. What a relief! I wouldn't have wanted to pack all this stuff for nothing." He ran over to a tree and pulled his bag out of a branch. She rolled her eyes and he smiled.

Continuing in secrecy, they finally made it to the barn. Kisho was standing there with three tigerfoxes saddled and ready shocking them both. "Zukari, I knew that you would look for Azula," he explained," and I saw Bumi approaching with you so I got another one ready. I'm coming with you. No arguments."

Zukari nodded and mounted her tigerfox mount. Bumi was about to protest, but she shook her head. He gave Kisho an odd look, and then mounted. As they began to ride out, Zukari thought about the first time she had met a tigerfox mount.

_Eleven years ago, she had been in the forest for a walk. Hearing a sad kind of howl, she started following the sound. Unfortunately, at some point, she slipped off of the edge of a ravine. On the way down, she hit her head and lost consciousness._

_When, she regained consciousness, she found that she had landed in a small river and floated pretty far down. At that point, she had no idea where she was, but could still hear the howling. She followed it still. When it was almost sundown, she reached the cave entrance where the sound was coming from._

_Entering with caution, she used Firebending to make a flame in her hand. She saw a tigerfox cub caught in a trap. Being completely heartbroken for the poor animal and knowing that she couldn't just leave it there, she began to free it despite the awful stories she had heard about tigerfoxes. For some reason, she felt a special connection to the animal. _

_After managing to free the creature it leaped away and immediately collapsed, yelping in pain. Zukari approached and saw that its leg was badly sprained. She picked the tigerfox up. At first it started to growl, but then it began to purr as she stroked it. She walked out of the cave and immediately intercepted the trappers. There were four of them."You don't want to do that missy," the leader said._

"_Oh?"She said raising one eyebrow."I think I do."_

_One of the other growled and said," That is our tigerfox! We trapped it fair and square."_

_She didn't really have a good argument against that, but she knew that she couldn't leave her new friend in their hands, so she simply said," But you are going to give it to me."_

"_And why is that?"The leader asked with an evil smile._

_Zukari lit her palm and said," Would you dare refuse your Princess Zukari's request?"_

_They looked a little fearful and immediately bowed."Forgive us Princess; we didn't realize that it was you. Is there anything that I can do to make up for this?"_

"_Escort me to the palace. And please forgive me for the trouble that I cased you."_

Coming back to reality she said," Those were the good days, eh Vusor?"

The tigerfox purred in response causing her to smile. Soon, they approached the harbor and stopped. It was mostly empty. She spotted her own ship and motioned for the other two to follow.

"You two," Zukari said," stay here until I come get you. Okay?" The both nodded.

Zukari went aboard her ship. It was a lot smaller than most, but it was faster. It was armed just as much as any of the other ships and she had selected the entire crew herself. Her ships name was _The Fire Lily_. She talked to the commander, and soon, things were set to be leaving in the next hour. She got one of the crew to come take their mounts.

"Finally, you show up. Come on!" Bumi said grabbing her arm and pulling her. Kisho followed close behind. He stopped in front of a store and said" Tada!"

"Bumi, we aren't here to shop." Kisho stated.

"We have an hour to burn." He countered," You can wait out here if you want."

They entered and Zukari froze as she saw Toph in front of her.

Zuko decided to see how Zukari was doing. He went to her door and knocked. There was no response, so he tried again. He leaned in close to the door and heard nothing on the other side. He opened the door.

Close to panic, Zuko called out Zukari's name. He stopped when he saw a letter on her bed. He picked it up. On the front it in Zukari unique fancy writing it said _Firelord Zuko_. Opening it, he began to read.

_Dear Father,_

_I have gone to look for Azula. I know that it probably displeases you, but I have to do this. I wish so much that I could have told you, but you would have prevented me. I love you and I hope that you will forgive me .I hope to see you soon. Next time I see you, I will return with Azula._

_With love,_

_Zukari_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, here is chapter 3 I know my chapters aren't that long, but hopefully with time and practice, they will get longer. If you want to hear the song in my story that is played on the flute, here is a link:** watch?v=1ORp2_WMF_c ** Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

Whirling around, Toph asked using her nickname for Zukari," Sparky?"

"Oh, hi Toph! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same."

"It isn't that unusual for a princess to be at the harbor."

"At this time of night it isn't." Toph looked at her skeptically. "And what is Bumi doing here."

Zukari paused unsure how to continue. She knew that Toph could tell when people were lying by the way their breathing changed. Steadying her voice, the princess said," My father is sending me to Ba Sing Se to talk with the king. He has an offer to make and he couldn't be there himself, so he is sending me. Bumi wanted to come with me, so I let him."

Toph shook her head," You're getting pretty good at lying Sparky, I'll give you that. But I'm afraid that I can't let you go."

Bumi butted in," Toph! This is important! You have to let us go! When you were younger than me you left _your _home."

"There is still something that you aren't telling me."

Zukari finally said," Azula is gone and we are going to find her. My father knows that I'm going after Azula. "

Toph finally thought for a moment. "Just be careful Sparky," she warned.

….

Zuko could barely keep from burning the note in his hand out of anger. _How could she go after Azula all by herself? _His anger dissolved as worry began to set in.

"Zuko have you seen Bumi?" Aang asked coming into Zukari's room.

"No." he replied handing the note to Aang.

Aang read and gasped. After a few moments of silence, Aang said," I think I know where Bumi is."

"I think I do to. I'm going to send out a search."

Aang nodded.

…

After Toph left, the group looked around the shop for a while. Zukari found a beautiful wooden flute with fire lilies carvings all over it and picked the instrument up. Deciding to play Leaves from the Vine, she was blown away with how beautiful the notes were. She knew in that instant that she would buy the instrument.

Going up to the shop owner she asked," How much is the flute?"

"Normally it is ten copper pieces," he said smiling," but I have never heard anyone play it a wonderfully as you did. So I am going to give it to you."

"Thank you." Then she asked," How did it come into your possession?"

He smiled like it was a story he enjoyed telling. "Long ago, I was travelling through a forest. I was completely lost and very worn out. It was getting dark, so I stopped to rest underneath an enormous tree, and I was soon asleep.'

That night, I had a very odd dream. I dreamed that I was in a field of fire lilies. In the center of the field was a small table with a golden case on it. Opening the case, I found the flute in it. Then I woke up. There were fire lilies around me and going in a path into another part of the forest. I followed them, because there was nothing better to do. At the end of the trail, was a tree with a wooden box in it. '

Feeling as though this was very familiar, I opened the box, and what do you know! Inside was the same flute from my dream. Gingerly, I picked it up. I played the notes to the Fire Nation Anthem, but they came out sour. Trying again, I had the same results.'

Then, I heard the howling of a tigerfox. I began running away as fast as I could. Soon I heard more howling and more running behind me. I lost everything I had brought with me in one way or another at some point during my flight. Finally, I had reached the end of the forest. Up ahead, I saw a village.

Since then, I have had many people come and play that flute. Every single person's notes were sour. "

Zukari was about to ask some more questions, but then the captain came in and announced," Princess, we are prepared to leave."

She nodded, and then turned to the shop owner. "Thank you."

Kisho followed close behind her and asked, "What do you think about what the man said?"

Looking off into the distance, the princess replied,"Some things are beyond explanation, Kisho, and I think this is one of those things."

A few minutes after they boarded the ship, Bumi came up the ramp struggling to carry the many trinkets he had bought. Zukari crossed her arms and shook her head. The captain looked at him disdainfully, and then began ordering the crew to cast off.

Quickly becoming bored with standing on the deck, Zukari went below to check on Vusor. She opened the cage and stepped in. Vusor purred and stuck his head under her hand. She slid her hand back, and began scratching him behind his ears. For the next hour or so, she loved up on him.

Once Vusor was contentedly asleep, she went to her room in the ship. She sauntered over to her bookshelf and pulled off her favorite story, "Love Amongst Dragons." She tried to concentrate on what she was reading, but couldn't. Needing to let out some anger, Zukari stood and paced. With a groan, she collapsed on the bed. _It is probably my fault that Azula somehow escaped, _she thought, _ I'm the one who visited her every night and let her out so she could teach me firebending. She is my responsibility because of that. I will never forgive myself if someone gets hurt because she escaped._

…

Zukari had eventually dozed off. When she woke up, it was almost dawn. Stretching, she went over to the mirror and sized herself up. She was slim and fine-toned in a very attractive way. She was about 5 foot 10 inches tall. Her amber eyes danced with a flicker of life, and her pale skin reflected in the moon. She took a deep breath and went to the dining hall.

She found a comfortable seat, and plopped down. She glared at anyone who looked like they would try to talk to her. Zukari was definitely not a sociable person in the mornings. If there was anything that anyone had to talk to her about, it could wait until after breakfast, unless they wanted to get their head chewed off.

The princess ate her breakfast in silence. After breakfast, she went back to her room and freshened herself up. She went back on deck.

"Ember Island, Ho!" hollered one of the crew. The crew began scurrying and making preparations to dock.

Meanwhile, the princess went to go wake Bumi. She knew that he wouldn't be awake anytime soon unless she did something about it. Being as silent as possible, she crept into his room. Inside, Bumi was sprawled on the floor next to his bed. Smiling mischievously, Zukari pondered how best to wake him. She went for the traditional, rip off the covers and fill the room with light.

Bumi yelled in surprise and got in a guarded stance, ready to defend himself. Zukari laughed, savoring the moment, then announced," Good morning, Sunshine! It is time to pack and get ready to go." He started grumbling some incoherent mumbo jumbo, and Zukari smiled as she left the room.

After collecting her stuff, Zukari went over the plan in her head again. _Go to Ember Island and board the airship there. Take it to Ba Sing Se, and begin searching._ _There are a lot of rumors to hear there, and besides, Uncle Iroh is there. He may be able to give some light on the situation._

As soon as they docked, a cabin boy came up to her and asked," Princess Zukari, may I take your stuff? I can load it onto the airship for you."

The boy smiled widely as she handed him her bag. Zukari walked off the ship and onto the dock. A good sized crowd had gathered and began cheering. Putting up a hand to signal that the cheering end, she smiled. The cheering soon died down, and she announced," Hello people of Ember Island, I am glad to be here, though I am afraid that I will not be staying long. I will only be here for a few hours, and then I must go. If any of you want to be of assistance, you can ask the captain about how you can help. Thank you all for being so welcoming."

Soon, the crowd dissolved. Zukari went to the market to a book store to see if there was anything worth reading. As she was about to enter, a hand came from behind her and covered her mouth. Before she could attack, she felt a sharp pain in her neck. As everything started to fade, she had a faint sensation of being dragged, and then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, sorry I am so late, and thank you for your reviews. I sincerely hope that you are enjoying the story. If you have any ideas, questions or comments, please review or contact me. Also if you think that I am not portraying a character correctly, please tell me. Thank you to all those who are following or have favorited the story. Enjoy!**

Kisho was beginning to worry. Zukari had disappeared over two and a half hours ago. It was incredibly unusual, for her to still not be back, even though it was almost time to leave. He began asking around for her. After going into almost every store on the island, he stopped in front of a bookstore called Jamira's Bookstore.

Looking down, he froze as he saw one of Zukari's knives lying there. As he picked it up, his mind raced. Kisho had known the princess for almost twelve years, and she would never leave any of her knives in the street on purpose. He also knew she would notice if she had dropped one, and would have picked it up.

In other words, something was wrong, terribly wrong. Kisho took a deep calming breath. _There is no reason to panic,_ he thought,_ Zukari is a very capable woman. _He told himself that many times, but he was still unconvinced. Kisho decided to get help, knowing that he could probably not find on his own.

He hurried to the ship trying not to look panicked. Bumi intercepted him, and he inwardly groaned.

"Hey Kisho, you look concerned."

The guard knew that Bumi truly cared about Zukari, but he was _so _immature. Feeling as though he would regret it, he said," Zukari has been… kidnapped, or something."

Bumi stared at him and finally asked," What do you mean? And how do you know?"

"I mean that she is nowhere to be found, we are supposed to leave in fifteen minutes, and she is still not here."

Both young men now looked sincerely worried. They gathered as much of the crew as they could, and spent the rest of the day in search for her.

….

Zuko stormed out of the throne room. There was a meeting with all the figures of authority from all over the world going on in there, and the arguments were becoming heated really fast. Zuko hardly knew what they were arguing over anymore. It was something about bloodbending being illegal. _They have been arguing about this for months! I wish they would just agree already! Bloodbending is clearly wrong, so why can't the other leaders see that? _He fumed.

When he finally reached his room, he slammed the door behind him, and sank to the floor. Putting his head in his hands he groaned. There was so much pressure; half of the leaders were satisfied with his decision, the other was not. On top of that, there were rumors of a rebellion to take him out, and his daughter had run off to find Azula.

His nerves high-strung, he jumped up and wheeled around in a defensive position as the door opened. When he saw that it was Toph, he let his defense drop.

Using the name nickname that she had decided upon after much contemplation so many years ago, she said, "Something's been bugging you all day, Sunshine what is it?"

"Azula is gone, and Zukari has gone after her," he explained.

Toph waited at him as if expecting him to continue, then said," Yeah, I know. I talked to her at the harbor last night."

Zuko exploded. "And you let her go?!"

"Sheesh, calm down Sunshine, she said that you knew she had gone after Azula."

"Can't you tell when people are lying?"

Toph looking utterly confused said," She wasn't lying."

He stared at her, the realization dawned on him," She assumed that I read the note."

The earthbender was about to reply when a servant entered with a message in his hands," It is for you, Sir."

Standing, Zuko snatched the message from his hands and dismissed him. Reading aloud for Toph's sake, he began:

_Dear Firelord Zuko,_

_Princess Zukari has been kidnapped. We are here on Ember Island. It would be appreciated if you could join us here to search for the princess._

_-Royal Guard Kisho_

The Firelord, suddenly very worried, turned to Toph," Care to join me on Ember Island?"

…..

After getting a reply to his message, Kisho had waited at the dock with growing impatience for about two hours. Kisho didn't know who all would be coming, but he wished that they would hurry up. Bumi was standing with him as well. Several minutes passed, and finally the Appa's outline could be seen on the horizon.

The sky bison landed with a thud. Toph emerged first, looking very grateful to be on land. Zuko, Aang, Sokka and Suki made their way off of Appa in a more orderly fashion. "The Gaang is back together. This is gonna be just like old times," Sokka said enthusiastically.

"Except, Sugar Queen isn't here," Toph reminded him.

Kisho butted in eager to find Zukari," So does anyone have any plans for finding Zukari?"

The Gaang looked solemn. Finally Toph suggested," I guess we'll just have a look around the island and see what we find. Or in my case, feel what we find."

The group nodded. "Let's split up," Sokka said taking the leaders role," Aang, you Suki, and Toph go together, I'll go with Bumi, and Zuko goes with Kisho. We'll meet back here in an hour. Got it?"

Everyone split into their groups and dispersed. After searching for a few minutes, Kisho had an idea and smacked himself for not thinking of it before hand. "What?" Zuko asked.

"Vusor."

"Good idea," Zuko said before running to the ship. Kisho followed close behind. When they got to the ship, Kisho took the lead and rushed below decks. He hurriedly opened the cage, and Vusor leaped out. Taking Zukari's knife out of his sleeve, he let Vusor sniff it. The tigerfox began following a trail. Zuko and Kisho mounted him, and Vusor ran.

They stopped in front of the bookstore Kisho had been at earlier. Vusor put his nose close the ground, and began sniffing. Finally picking up a scent, Vusor ran in to the jungle. Once there, he found bare spot on the ground and sat down. The two men dismounted and looked at each other. Whining, Vusor began pawing at the ground. After a little bit of digging, the tigerfox uncovered stone.

The men looked at each other. "It is worth a try. We need Toph," Zuko said.

Mounting again, they ran back to the meeting place and waited the next forty minutes for everyone to arrive. Bumi and Sokka arrived first. Looking dejected, Bumi asked," Did you find anything?"

"Yes, but we need Toph." Zuko replied.

"I heard that you needed me." Toph said, coming out of the jungle.

Wasting no time, Kisho motioned them to follow and ran to the location where Zukari's scent ended. Toph walked up to the stone and placed her hand on it. Her eyes widened, and she announced,"There is a tunnel. It leads pretty far. I don't know exactly where, but that is our best option of finding Sparky. Stand back."

They did and she bended the stone away. Underneath, was an incredibly dark tunnel. Eager to find his daughter, Zuko jumped in and lit his palm. Aang followed suit. Kisho waited and let the other pass before him so that he could take the rear.

…

Though Zukari's head ached, she kept still and checked herself for injuries. Finding none, she sat up and surveyed the area. She was in a cell with metal bars in what appeared to be deep underground. Hearing voices, she lied back down and pretended to sleep. Focusing in on the voices, she heard one of them say," Yeah, I heard that she is in Ba Sing Se. She went there after uniting all of the different groups behind the rebellions here in the Fire Nation."

"What is she doing there?"

"I dunno, it is gonna be big whatever it is."

When the voices passed, Zukari stood up and inspected the cage for a way to escape. She pushed on all the bars to see if there was a weak one. Unfortunately, all of them were strong and secure. Frustrated, she sat on the floor and leaned against the bars. _If I could only get rid of one place where the bars cross, _she thought, _I would be able to squeeze through._ She shook her head and thought harder. An idea entered her head. Maybe, if she could make a flame hot enough, she could use it to cut through the bar.

Concentrating, she bended a flame and made it as intense as possible. Lifting her hand to a horizontal bar she began cutting through it. Slowly but surely she made her way through. She did the same for the other three places that needed to be cut, and removed the bars. After crawling out of the little hole she had made, Zukari put the bars back.

Standing, she crept over to the area she had heard the guards talking. There was a tunnel she followed it, and she came across a guard. He was alone, so she attacked. Delivering a quick blow to the head, he was knocked unconscious. Zukari took his uniform and changed into it. Locating a closet, she stuffed the guard into it.

Having no idea where she was, she just continued to go down the hallway. She finally ran into another pair of guards. "Hey what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the meeting."

Though she was terrified, she gave her shot at the best lie she had, "Yeah, I know, it's just that I'm kinda new here. It is such a big place that I keep getting lost. Do you think you could help me out?"

"Oh that would explain it," the second guard said," The first time I was here I got so lost, it took me practically three hours to find the lunch hall. It was embarrassing."

Taking a map out of her jacket, the first one said," Here let me give you something that will help."

"Thank you." Zukari said taking it. Looking down at the map, she headed in the direction of the meeting room. As soon as the guards couldn't see her, she changed course and went to the armory. She grabbed throwing knives and replenished her supply. She looked down at the map, seeing if she could find a way out. Spotting a long tunnel that lead to Ember Island, she decided it was worth a try. Stuffing the map in her jacket, she ran to the tunnel.

She heard a voice shouting on the speaker," The princess has escaped her cell! Secure the area! We are in lock down! Be warned, she may be dressed like one of us, there was an unconscious guard found without his uniform."

_Uh-oh,_ she thought running for all she was worth.


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh my goodness guys, sorry that I am so late. It is VBS week at my church and well, 56 1****st**** graders is a lot. But that is no excuse! Please forgive me. You all deserve a better author. If there is anything that you guys want to happen in this story, please contact me and I'll see what I can do. I am so sorry, and I hope that you enjoy.**

_After all these years in that insane asylum that Zuzu put me in, I am finally free, _Azula thought with a sinister smile growing on her face,_ and now we have his precious little daughter too._

Roakona, one of the members of her team came into the room and announced,"The team is ready, Princess."

Azula nodded and strode out of the room. The team consisted of four people who were excellent at infiltration, and especially jailbreaks. The four stood in a line in front of her as Azula began," You are well aware of what the plan is, and the dire consequences that will follow if you fail. If you ruin any part of the plan, and you would dare return here then I will personally make sure that you will never have the chance to make a mistake again. Am I understood?"

"Yes ma'am," they responded in unison.

She signaled them to leave, and they exited very quickly. Azula smirked at how well the plan was working. Zukari had been captured according to plan, and as a bonus, Zuko himself was going after her. That made the perfect opportunity to send in her team to bust her father out of prison. All of the different rebellion groups were very cooperative and were willing to join into one group. Soon, this group was going to be known and feared.

…..

The guards who had given Zukari the map rounded the corner and saw her. One of them bended a wall of earth in front of her, and unprepared, she slammed into it. Quick to recover though, she whirled around throwing her knives pinning her attacked to the wall. More guards approached behind them, and the princess was surrounded by chaos.

Zukari fired three fire blasts and ducked low as a sword sliced through the air just where her neck had been. Wasting no time, the princess balanced on her hands and kicked the guard's feet from under him. Before he could stand, she ripped the sword out of his hand and knocked him unconscious with the hilt. A rock went flying towards her which she dodged easily. It flew past her and hit the earth wall behind her shattering it.

On the other side, she was surprised to see the Kisho, Bumi, Vusor, and The Gaang on the other side. They joined in quickly and with their help, the guards were unconscious. With more guards coming, there was no time for a reunion, and they ran down back the way the Gaang had come. Unfortunately up ahead were more guards, so they turned a corner.

Toph ran to the front leading them through many twists and turns. Eventually, she stopped and as they all caught their breath, she said pointing," There is a way out that way, but there are about some people in the way, and it is the best option."

They nodded and went forward. Sokka tried to open the door, but it was locked. Toph shooed him, and used metalbending to blast the door away. Inside were about fifteen guards. Sokka ran in with his sword ready, and so the battle began. As one guards charged at her, she pulled out her knife and blocked the attack. When she brought her other arm up to knock him out, he used the opening to deliver a blow to her shoulder rendering her entire left arm paralyzed. Though surprised, she still managed to blast him away with a fire blast.

Zukari turned to see most of the Gaang paralyzed and the room filling with guards. Still fighting, Toph yelled," Sparky, Bumi, Kisho, get out! I can hold them off long enough for you all to get out. We can't all make it out. "

When she hesitated, Toph used earthbending to push her towards the exit. Bumi, Kisho, and Zukari mounted Vusor, and they ran. After much running, they group came to a stair case. Clambering up, they found a door at the end. Fortunately, it opened easily. Cautiously, they emerged and looked around. They found themselves in the vegetation close to the beach on a dark, moonless night.

Coming out of the vegetation, they could see Ember Island from there. Zukari looked around and spotted a canoe. "Bumi! Kisho!" she called.

The two came up and Kisho asked, "Yes?"

"There is a canoe over there. We can take it and make to Ember Island in an hour or so," she suggested.

Zukari was determined, and both of the young men saw that, so they decided against questioning her as she started marching towards the canoe. They all got in, save for Vusor who swam alongside them, and in a few minutes, they were on the way to Ember Island.

The ride was passed in heavy silence, and none dared to start a conversation. After an hour or so, they made it to Ember Island. Vusor swam up and shook himself dry drenching Zukari, but she didn't care. She was completely drained, and her headache was intensifying, so she plopped down in the sand. She watched as Bumi followed her lead and Kisho paced restlessly. Zukari had been too busy earlier, so she decided to check herself for injuries while she had a few spare minutes. There were a few bruises and cuts here and there, and she had a big bruise on the back of her head, but other than that, she was fine, so she leaned back and collapsed on the sand.

Kisho, after about fifteen minutes, said," Hey guys, I know you're tired, but we have to get to the airship so we can go to Ba Sing Se."

Bumi, not excited at the prospect of more work, moaned. Though very tired, Zukari got to her feet and started walking. Kisho lead, and Bumi followed muttering about men needing their rest. They plodded along in silence until they reached airship. Now that Bumi had sight of his destination, he rushed forward, excited about the prospect of sleep.

Seeing them, the captain approached and asked with obvious concern, "Princess, are you all right?"

Zukari replied, "I'm fine. The faster that we get out of here the better."

The captain nodded and after motioning them aboard, gave the command to lift off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Super sorry, I am late from a combination of having a cold, being a little busy, and mostly being lazy. I hope that you enjoy and any suggestions would be lovely. I hope that I portrayed everyone well in this chapter. Please review if you have any questions, suggestions, comments, or complaints, it really makes an author feel valued.**

Bumi barely managed to catch himself on a railing to keep from falling face first on the ground. The ship had been losing air for a while now, and it barely made it over land before losing all of its air, resulting in a semi-gentle crash landing.

The captain came out and announced,"We have landed near the village of Mei Zhong. We will make the repairs over night and leave at the crack of dawn. Until then, unless I have selected you to help with the repairs, you are free to do as you choose."

Bumi watched Zukari with concern as she grabbed her bag and stepped off of the airship distant look in her eyes. He was genuinely worried about her. The princess had been acting strangely all day avoiding conversations, keeping her distance, and seeming kind of sad. Deciding to try and figure out what was wrong; he went to the mini kitchen and made tea, knowing how much she enjoyed tea.

Fiddling with his hands, the young man though about how much Zukari meant to him. The two had been dear friends since infancy, practically growing up together. Recently though, he had been feeling attracted to her, and he wanted to be more than just friends. _There is no way she would even think of me that way,_ he thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by the whistling tea kettle. He finished making the tea as quickly as he could, and walked outside with two steaming cups in his hands. Surveying the area, Bumi could see her silhouette on the cliff gazing out over the ocean. Taking a deep breath, he approached.

…

Due to her above average hearing abilities inherited from her father, Zukari had heard him approaching, and quickly covered the fact that she had been crying. Knowing that her eyes would still be red, she turned her head away from Bumi as he sat down next to her. Holding a cup of tea out to her, he said,"Here, I made you some tea."

Plastering a small smile on her face, the princess turned and accepted the tea. Grateful for the darkness hiding how red her eyes were, she sipped her tea in silence, waiting for the dreaded question. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Bumi finally asked with obvious concern," Zukari, what's wrong?"

As nonchalant as possible, she asked in reply, "What do you mean?"

"Zukari, please don't do that," he said determinedly," I know there is something bothering you, and I am not going to give up until I find out what it is."

They stared at each other for a long time, and she knew that Bumi would hold true to his word. Swallowing hard, she said in a small voice," Six years ago today on her birthday, my mom died."

Not knowing what to say, Bumi simply put down his tea and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Zukari relived the memories holding back tears. Bumi drew her out and said, "I, uh, never quite heard what happened. Could you tell me?"

The princess nodded, and began trying to steady her voice," It was a wonderful autumn day, with clear skies and it was kinda warmish. Because my mom was Firelady, they were throwing some big party and all of that. We were planning to have a nice small birthday the next day, just the three of us and Uncle. I was going to give Mom a new knife with a dragon printed on it. I was also going to play a song I had just learned on the flute called Warriors.'

'So anyways, that night we were there just conversing with all the people, and every time that I caught sight of Mom, she looked so utterly bored, and ,"Zukari stopped here taking a deep breath," she would pretend to be interested, though she clearly was not. Then, I heard a whistling sound, and about five feet away, I saw Mom collapse. I heard Dad yell, 'Mai!' and run to her. " She could feel her eyes burning and the tears running down her face. Struggling to keep her voice even, she continued the story," The room exploded in chaos, with the guards chasing down the assassin, and all the ladies screaming and calling for healers. I ran to mom and kneeled down beside her. Dad was there already holding her hand and reassuring her. I could see there was a knife burrowed deep into her chest, and I could tell that she wasn't gonna make it. Mom looked up at me and smiled weakly. Reaching up a hand, and stroking my face, she said, 'I love you. Both of you.' With that, her hand fell and she breathed her last."

The princess was sobbing now, and Bumi wrapped his arms around her. She leaned in, taking comfort in his arms. After she calmed down enough, she said," The guards caught the assassin and he was thrown in prison and later executed. A week later that is when we had the funeral, and that is when I was sent to live with you and your family for several months."

Zukari could feel her mouth working on its own accord and, was beginning to pour out all of her thoughts," I could have stopped it though. I heard that knife whistling past me," she sat up, with tears of anger pouring out now instead of sad ones," I was too dumb to do anything though, I just stood there like a baby or something, I-"

Bumi stopped her so that she couldn't continue," Zukari, there was nothing that you could do! You were only eleven, and you couldn't have reacted in that short instants time. You are not to blame for anything."

Seeing the reasoning, she made peace with that fact. But all the other guilty thoughts in her head tumbled out," Azula then surely, her escape is my fault," Bumi was trying to interrupt her, but Zukari over talked him," I let her out of the mental asylum early every night. I felt kinda bad for her; I thought some time away from the asylum would help her. It seemed to be working. She would teach me bending, and she seemed like she actually cared. We would even sometimes talk over tea! But I suppose that I never should have felt sorry for her. Azula had done so many bad things in the past, I should have known. But that's me all summed up, stupid."

Bumi was shocked, he had never known about Zukari letting Azula out. He shook his head, and said,"You are, by far, one of the smartest people I know! You had compassion, and there is nothing wrong with that. Who knows how much it helped her knowing there was someone who loved her and wasn't judging her."

She seemed to take no comfort in his words, and said,"But it is still my fault! She escaped and was probably behind the whole thing about me being captured, and now she has all of Team Avatar!"

Bumi replied,"Azula is determined. She would have found a way to escape either way. I think that you did was good actually."

She hesitated, and then asked, "You really think so?"

Smiling, he said, "I really do."

She eased back, leaning on Bumi, and the two soon dozed off. That night, the princess slept better than she had in a long time.


	7. Announcement

**Hey guys! I am really sorry that I haven't updated. I have been pretty busy with school and I have had a growing dissatisfaction with my story. I am going to delete this one and start over with the same concept, but with enough different that it would make it a different and (hopefully!) better story. I really need a beta reader though before I start writing, so if you guys have any suggestions, please contact me. Again, I am really sorry for making you guys wait so long.**


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