Myths+Mayhem+Mystery= The Search For Iroh
(Alt title; We're The Family We Were Searching For All Along)
Outline and drabble
This modern atla verse, that means modern times in the four nations but fire lord is actually company president of some big corporation
All nobles are just basically rich people
Kyoshi is still a neutral island, in the way that they are uncolonized and do trade with the any ship that docks at their island
King Kuei is a young ceo with Long Feng pulling the strings to the massive corporations he owns
Dai li are kind of like secret service
Zuko is a medium, able to see the spirits if those departed and a little of the in between
That means the other entities in the spirit spectrum
Lu ten is always hanging around
Azula is a skeptic but not willing to be left behind
Aang is another medium
Sokka the skeptic and Katara a believer
They have their own tv shows to support themselves
Ozai disowned Zuko, Azula only lasted a month without him before running away
Ursa left one night after Zuko told her that he could see Azulon who she had killed
Zuko is using Lu Ten to find uncle who disappeared when his son died
There is no such thing as an avatar
There is no bending
There are only the spiritually aware and they make up about 2% of the world
While the ability is rare, siblings have been known to develop the gift if they remain close to the sibling with the active gift
It is a recessive gene
There are still hybrid animals
And pirates and marines
The greater spirits and lesser spirits all exist as well
Though the four nations each have their own religion
Aang is trying to find Gyatso's spirit
Yue is blessed by the moon still
Only that means she is a medium and supernatural hotspot of activity
There are other supernatural entities out there
Of which zuko has more experience than Aang due to lu ten's interests when he was younger
Aang only found out a few months ago that he was a medium
But Zuko has known all his life.
Aang has only encountered friendly spirits so far
No poltergeists, demonic entities or other supernatural beings like werewolves, banshees, vampires and such.
There are a lot of skeptics out there for zuko and Azula since they are a two man (three) team
Azula is always behind the camera to hide her identity as she is technically a runaway
It's how the gaang run into them actually
They get a lot of people asking to see the two mediums meet
This is how azula and zuko afford to live
Zuko's barely driving age
They've been homeless for abour 4yrs
They are all canon age now
Hakoda is driving the gaang around
Toph wears a mask to hide her identity since she is also a runway
The gaang meet Toph in Gaoling when they investigate a haunted house
Turns out it was just Toph blowing off steam with some underground fighters
She's an prodigy martial artists but due to her parents is being held back
it's a talk from Aang that Toph makes up her minds and leaves home
The gaang ends up picking her up
Toph somehow wound up near their van, her walking stick punctured their tire
The nice supernaturals give zuko and azula rides
The bad ones end up on the wrong side of poltergeist lu ten
Aang meets all the nice spirits and nothing else, at least until he meets Zuko
He's never had to perform any exorcisms, or banish spirits
He never had to fight werewolves, skinwalkers, vampires, pissed off spirts, ghouls, poltergeists, or demons
So for about four years, Zuko and Azula were going cross country as kids and about the time zuko was 13, he was kicked out at 12, they end up being recruited for their internet videos
He still has a burn but it's from boiling hot water, the scar goes from the upper half of his face on the left side, to his neck, shoulder, and palm to his elbow
It's bright red on his face but on his neck down its spotted red as this is water droplets
They live paycheck to paycheck
Zuko's legally emancipated, the company that hired him helped him with that so they could get him to sign contracts
He's trapped in a legally binding agreement but he doesn't really care because at least Azula won't starve and its easier to travel to find uncle
Bumi hires Zuko and Aang to cleanse the palace in Omashu
He gives Zuko and Azula a hint about where Iroh is, Bumi also bugs Iroh about visiting his niece and nephew but Iroh is still trapped in depression
Mai is a nonbeliever with minor abilities to see spectres, a blur of a specter
She occasionally stars in some videos with Ty Lee
Ty Lee is a full on believer and always bugs Zuko about details
She's the one who sends them emails about place her circus has passed that would be exciting to film at
Suki's grandmother was a medium and she was raised by her until she passed but Suki still holds several rites that her grandmother used to
They work half the time at keeping spirits away
She's the one to teach Aang spells, rites and exorcisms
She joins the gaang for a few months on and off
Hakoda home schools his kids, Aang completed up to high school already
Toph doesn't care about her education
Suki is considered a graduate
Zuko got his GED and is homeschooling Azula with Lu Ten's help and with help from Mai and Ty Lee
The Foggy Swamp is full of the wackest spirits and other beings
Every person in the swamp is a medium
Its basically Florida and Australia
For all the videos that Zuko stars in, and is famous for, Iroh has no clue. He does not own a tv or computer
He lives in Ba Sing Se and works in a tea shop
He's heard about Zuko, not that he knows its his nephew
He just knows that there is a popular medium that's getting famous off his abilities
Iroh is a believer of spirits but not mediums because he tried to contact Lu Ten but ended up taken for a ride
He never knew Zuko had the ability to see and when Zuko brought up Lu Ten, Iroh grew very upset with him and left
Then his mom ended up leaving
Azula is the one that told him to stop talking about it, Zuko didn't listen though
Hence his burn
Katara and Sokka meet Aang when he ends up in the south pole looking for Gyatso's spirit
Katara asks Aang about her mom, Aang hasn't seen her
Katara wants to go with Aang to look for Gyatso and her mom
Sokka won't let her go alone
And Hakoda comes home just in time to see his kids about to leave with some random kid
Bato pushes him into taking his kids cross country so that they could find peace
They don't actually start filming until Sokka finds a video about Zuko
Zuko's being filmed as he narrates the story of some prisons that used to house people from the south pole
"Guys. Guys! Check this out!" Sokka shouts as he wacks Katara's arm to get her attention, she smacks him back but looks while Aang pokes his head over Sokka's shoulder to stare down at the laptop screen. Dad absently chides them about their seatbelts but leaves them be as he drives.
"This guy's a medium, he's really popular too." A teenager, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old, with gold eyes and long black hair held in a ponytail with a vivid and angry looking burn on the left side of his face, stands outside of a debilitated prison.
"Ty Lee recommended this place, she said her circus avoids this area and said it's right up my alley." The boy sighs and mutters something under his breath, maybe a prayer? "So here i am. And as always, my faithful crew of Lu and La." A small feminine hand waves at the camera, and the boy snorts and face palms.
"Lu! Just cause a lot of people can't see you doesn't mean you should make those gestures!" Sokka scoffs at the act. He only found this guy by mistake and immediately dismissed him from the few clips he saw. But he thought Katara might want to see the prison, it was where their people had been taken in the early days.
"Is that guy his guardian spirit if no one can see him?" Sokka paused the video to look at Aang. Aang looked confused, his mouth dropping open as he realized that Sokka and Katara could not, in fact, see Lu.
"Describe him." Aang doesn't mind Sokka always asking for descriptions of people, though Katara does elbow him.
"He's about your dad's height with long black hair in a top knot, and his eyes are a dark amber." Aang squints a little, he was able to tell the living apart from the dead most of the time but every now and then he couldn't.
"He looks a lot like the boy he's standing next to." Oh.
Sokka moves a little and pats the spot between him and Katara. Aang squishes down between them and hugs a knee to his chest, he and Katara wrap an arm around his shoulders as Sokka presses play again.
"This prison use to house people from the Southern water tribe, it's unknown the reason for their imprisonment and even when they were abducted from the south." The teen freezes, he shoots a wary look behind him, then stuffs his hands into his pockets with a glare.
"When the building was raided, there were around thirty four dead bodies found of all ages and genders. About eight of those bodies were actually employees of the prison. The investigation turned up nothing." The boy scoffs bitterly as he makes his way to the door.
"It was all a huge cover up and I'm going to get to the bottom of it." He pauses before the door and faces the camera. "Stay beside me. And as always viewers, what you are about to see may disturb you. Skeptics out there, keep on being skeptical." The guy was half famous for his videos and what they contain and the other reason he was famous was for heckling nonbelievers.
"Welcome to my world, what awaits us on the other side? Who knows, Lu here refuses to move on and tell me. So let's find out what lies beyond together." A loud groaning noise fills the van as the prison door budges open.
It's dark, flashlights are turned on and the guy holds out his hand, the feminine hand from earlier grabs hold of it.
"Agni watch over us, shine brightly and illuminate our path." The boy murmurs as they walk, footsteps echoing across the metal floor.
"Dad." Sokka calls, Dad hums but doesn't turn to look, he does when Sokka still doesn't say anything else.
"I think you should pull over and watch this." Sokka remembers Dad's cousin had gone missing among the others including Bato's sister and later on, their mother.
Once dad pulls over, he joins them in the back and they resume the video.
"LA!!!!" The teen cries out as the girl is ripped away from his side. The camera skitters across the floor, cages hanging from the ceiling are swinging violently from side to side.
There's a horrible shrieking noise. The footage glitches, sound coming through is some unholy amalgamation of shrieks, glitches, cries of alarm and metal warping.
The boy slaps a paper onto the ground with a hurried cry and bolts towards the girl only to have his feet swept out from under him. He hits the ground, chains wrap around his wrist and he is yanked away while the girl pulls her hat back on and snarls as she dives after him.
"LU NO!!!!" Aang looks scared, he's breathing heavily and tears stream down his cheeks, but he won't let Sokka push pause.
"The people from your pictures are there." He sobs when dad tries to push the screen down. Sokka winces at Katara's glare but there isn't a thing he can do to take back his earlier interest.
"They're so angry, and so sad." The boy wraps his free arm around the girl even as he's strung up by one arm, she's rifling through his pockets and tossing out paper after paper. The chain quickly falls to the floor, and the boy claps his hands and begins chanting.
"His guardian spirit is losing his shape, he's starting to look like those angry ones." The boy and the girl look completely disheveled when the cages begin dropping one by one to the ground. The girl fishes the camera free and points it towards the boy who is gathering his hair into a loose ponytail.
"Guess we know why and how. Eugenics projects, and mishandling of chemicals. Doesn't help that the cages were made of iron. And there are no windows to free those trapped here." he sighs tiredly, a slump to his shoulders that was not there before.
"For now the spirits have been placated, Lu's gone and it looks like it might take him a while to come back." He looks around, it almost looks like he might cry.
"All I can do is make an opening and hope that they see themselves out. I can't cleanse this place, not when blood is soaked into these walls." He swallows, a helpless look on his face.
"I can't give them the justice they seek, not when the ones at fault are already gone. And not when they refuse to let go of their hatred long enough for me to get through to them." There's a bruise forming near his split lip and one of his fingers looks crooked as he runs them through his hair.
"This case will just have to remain open. I..." his lips quiver and for a second, he looks painfully young. "I failed this time." The girl tugs his hand and leads him out, the night sky greets them and the video ends with the boy sitting down and burying his face between his knees.
Sokka had wondered for many years what happened to his fellow tribesmen. He almost regrets finding out. Dad gathers them all in his arms and hugs them tightly.
"It's okay to cry." Sokka's breath catches before he can stop himself, Katara is already crying quietly into his shoulder.
Experimented on. A cover up to conclude the investigation. And their tribe was never informed. They had simply left all those bodies there.
The bones suspended in cages. The personnel lying forgotten on the floor.
The terrifying video showcasing all the supernatural activity for them all to see.
The sadness in the gold eyes as they admitted to failure.
"I want to meet him." Aang whispers, Sokka checks the description.
Exploring the Mizu Keimusho. Crew: Lu; friendly poltergeist, La; camera woman, sound, skeptic, top level hunter, Zuko; resident medium, intermediate level exorcist, top level hunter, mastery over banishment spells, intermediate on other spells, high skills in rites
"His name's Zuko."