Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, or any of the characters/storylines/settings/Zutara hints(grrrr….Why? Why must it be so obvious? Curse you writers!) created by Mike or Bryan. I don't own Tai either. I suppose technically my brother does. I did however create Ayama and all her hot-shotiness, even if I don't technically own her. God that took a long time. Okay, on with the show!
Part 1
Tai was taking apart a clock.
He wished that the world were more like that clock. With some talent, some understanding of the underlying principles, you could put together a clock, and it would run perfectly (like clockwork, in fact). But with the world, well, with the world even the best and the brightest might not be up to the challenge that was everyday life. And though Tai was undoubtedly among the best and brightest, his life was far from everyday. Even if he had been willing to remain a cog in the great machine that was the Fire Nation, to render his Lord's dreams of conquest in steel and mechanism, his young life would not have been ordinary.
Tai had left his homeland after coming across one of the few copies of the writings Avatar Roku that had escaped destruction. He had been looking for a manuscript on the properties of high-pressure steam, but he could not ignore the wisdom in the Avatar's words. They convinced him that, just maybe, creating the weapons that had allowed the armies and fleets of the Fire Nation to conquer vast expanses of the world with unprecedented speed was unethical. Although almost anyone else in the Fire Nation these days would have just shrugged their shoulders and continued with their life, Tai was unable to forget what he had discovered. So it wasn't long before he hid aboard a troop transport bound for the Earth Kingdom, turned himself in to the authorities, and offered to do for them what he had done for the Fire Nation.
And they had been so receptive, he thought as he replaced the clocks innards and set it back on the table where he took his meals. So far, he had been shuffled back and forth between various Earth Kingdom agencies and bureaus, none of whom wanted to have the responsibility of having a firebender, even a 12-year old one, on the books. He had had few resources and less time with which to produce anything useful against the Fire Nation. He had just barely had time to finish this clock, which, although a fine piece of work, had limited offensive potential. But now, he hoped, he had reached the end of his long trip through the bureaucracy, and he would finally get the chance to make up for all the damage he had done the world. He hoped.