Disclaimer: the characters and places in the following work of fan-fiction are the intellectual property of Nickelodeon and, as such, they reserve the right to remove this story at their sole discretion
Author's Note: This narrative represents the fifth 'episode' in my speculative version of the third season of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender', so if you've not yet read the previous four installments, you may wish to visit my profile now and do so, or this tale might not make much sense. A more comprehensive explanation of the intent, format, and focus for my stories can be found in the Author's Note at the end of "Fire Chapter 2: The Battle of Chameleon Bay".
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Sokka steered the flying bison high over the dark ocean as the last rays of sunlight retreated from the sky, leaving only a scattering of stars in its wake. After escaping the onslaught of the Fire Nation ship the flight had been blessedly uneventful, if eerily quiet. With a longing glance at the crescent moon, the young warrior looked over his shoulder to check on Appa's weary passengers.
Katara was seated along one side of the saddle with Aang snoring comfortably on a folded blanket half-draped over her. The water bender was regaling Iroh and Toph, who were sitting next to each other at the back, with the details of how she and Sokka had found the Avatar.
Toph was making a concerted effort to pay attention to the story and failing miserably; her tiny head constantly drooping to one side only to snap back up the moment it landed on Iroh's arm. Amused by the girl's staunch attempts to resist being comfortable, the old man finally draped his arm over her in a fatherly fashion and let her settle her head on his chest.
Sokka couldn't help but grin as he noticed the barest flicker of a smile that played at Toph's lips as she almost instantly fell asleep. We've got a really good crew here, he thought to himself fondly. And with that happy thought, he started to turn his attention back to the horizon ahead.
But his affectionate mood quickly vanished as he caught sight of Zuko: his former enemy turned ally. Even asleep, the banished prince had an air of intensity about him, and Sokka didn't honestly know if he should be afraid of the guy or feel sorry for him. He settled on a mixture of both as he watched Zuko shift restlessly in his slumber.
The story of Zuko's outburst in the war room and subsequent punishment had a left a huge impression on the water tribe warrior. It really was too horrifying to imagine and Sokka could only guess at what unspeakable nightmares must plague a person after such brutal treatment. Although he might never admit it out loud, he'd gained a lot of respect for Zuko over the last two weeks, and as he watched the fire bender toss fitfully, Sokka realized that the two of them might not be as different as he had once believed.
Lost in deep contemplation, Sokka was oblivious to the encroaching thunderheads looming in the distance, silently eradicating the stars and snuffing out their fragile light. Meanwhile, behind the prince's flickering eyelids, another storm was already raging.
Zuko floated high over the Agni Kai arena as it spun almost lazily beneath him, pulling him in a disorienting spiral down to the center of the room. Observing from the sidelines were all the past lives of the Avatar, their illuminant eyes focused on the dueling platform where Aang waited at one end with Ozai at the other, and there was only Zuko to stand between them.
He glanced from one to the other as they stared past him, through him, to lock determined gazes on each other. The air suddenly exploded around them with powerful force, and Zuko was gripped in panic as he realized he was caught in the crossfire. Desperately, he tried to move, but found himself rooted to the spot, unable to affect, or be affected by, what was happening. He was like a specter, watching in helpless amazement as the scene played out.
He turned to look at Aang, who rose from the ground with eyes and tattoos aglow as wave after wave of violent energy cascaded off him. Zuko followed the path of the attack and stared in shock as Ozai's fiery defenses crumbled, and the man that Zuko had once called father was engulfed in blinding light. When the radiance subsided, all that remained of the Fire Lord was drifting ash.
Zuko looked back to the Avatar, hovering triumphant over the arena, and the prince gazed up at him with a mixture of awe and admiration. Aang tilted his head down to acknowledge his ally, but the moment was shattered as Zuko's eyes flew wide in horror. Too late, he noticed the blast of lightning strike the young air bender from behind.
Time seemed to stop and Zuko could hear his own anguished cry as he witnessed Aang's agonizingly slow decent to the ground. The prince was immobilized by despair as his sister charged her attack again, letting the bolt fly directly at him with a tremendous crash of thunder.
Lightning rent the sky as Zuko sat upright with a gasp, his eyes darting around as he left one nightmare behind, only to be replaced by another that was all too real. He saw that the others were also sitting up and looking around in surprise as the unexpected storm detonated around them. From Appa's head, Sokka turned and shouted over his shoulder.
"Everyone get strapped in, it's going to be a rough flight!"
As if to reinforce this prediction, a strong gust of wind buffeted Appa from the side, forcing the giant bison into a sharp dive and sending Zuko pitching across the saddle with a yelp, right into Aang and Katara where the three collided in a collective chorus of 'oofs' and 'ows'. They wasted no time untangling themselves and Zuko quickly set about getting the ropes secured around the other two. A swift glance over at his uncle confirmed that Iroh had already taken care of Toph and was looping the rope over himself as well.
Once everyone was lashed in, Zuko hurried to the front of the saddle and began tying off the cord. The knot secured, he then wrapped the loose end tightly around his wrist and hung on to the side of the saddle for all he was worth.
By now, the rain was pounding them in a relentless torrent, soaking them all to the bone as they shivered in the chill wind. Katara had given up on bending the water away. There was just too much, and it was blowing around from all sides. Aang considered conjuring another air shield, but realized he'd never be able to keep it up long enough; he was still too tired from everything that had happened earlier that day. So the group just clung to the saddle with gritted teeth and endured the fierce attack of nature.
Zuko risked a look at Sokka, and saw that he was having a hard time steering the bison in the gale. Pushing aside his fear of falling, the drenched fire bender climbed over the saddle wall, still gripping tightly to the rope around his wrist, and leaned forward to address the water tribe warrior.
"We need to get out of this storm," Zuko shouted, trying to make himself heard over the roaring squall.
"I'm trying," Sokka called back, "Help me find someplace to land!"
While Sokka artfully navigated through the chaotic winds, Zuko squinted against the blinding rain in a desperate search for anything that might offer them some safety. A series of lightning strokes to the south caught the prince's attention, and just before the dancing forks of radiance subsided, he could make out the silhouette of land.
"There!" he cried, pointing his finger toward the now invisible mass. The other boy peered into the night trying to see it as well. At last, another brilliant burst lit the sky, revealing their salvation.
"Got it," Sokka yelled, and immediately pulled the reigns to guide Appa toward shelter.
The typhoon only intensified as they made their perilous flight to mountainous shore. Floodwaters had covered most of the coastline, and Sokka decided that the higher up they were, the safer they would be. Spotting a fairly large crevice along the ledge of the upper tree line, he headed for it in the hopes that it would be sufficient to house them all.
It wasn't, but that was hardly a concern as Aang leapt down from the saddle and bent the meager opening to create a deep, roomy cave in the rocky cliff. With a low moan of relief, Appa followed Aang inside.
Toph was the first one out of the saddle, sliding down Appa's side to collapse with a grateful cry to the earth where she continued to tremble violently, whether from cold or terror, it was hard to say. Zuko landed beside her and, seeing her shaking, frowned in concern.
"Are you ok, Toph?" he asked.
She immediately stiffened at the sound of his voice, sitting up quickly with as much dignity as she could muster. But the effect was somewhat ruined as she shuddered again.
"I will be, just as soon as I get warm," she snapped.
Katara was already bending the water out of everyone's clothes, but before she could get to Zuko, he had already headed back out into the rain. No one noticed but Toph, the others being too busy trying to unload the gear and dry off. By the time everyone else realized that he was gone, Zuko was already walking back into the cave with a armload of soaked wood.
"Where did you-" began Katara before her eyes fell to the firewood. "Oh!" she exclaimed with pleasant astonishment.
"This was all I could find," he said apologetically.
"It's plenty," she answered graciously, "just set it over here." And she pointed to the circle of stones she had just finished making.
As he arranged the branches in the small fire pit, Katara set about bending the water from his clothes, causing him to pause briefly in startled amazement to watch the water trail away out the mouth of the cave. She then proceeded to treat the wood in the same manner and once it was dry, Zuko blew a short breath of flame onto the pile. Within moments, a cheery blaze was filling the cave with warmth and light and Zuko finally took a moment to look around.
Iroh and Toph were busy making tea, Katara was getting food ready, and Aang was trying to keep Momo out of everyone's way. Sokka sat hunched over a map, and Zuko came up behind him to look over his shoulder.
"Any idea where we are?" Zuko asked conversationally.
"I think so," answered Sokka slowly, and began pointing to the map as he worked out their position aloud.
"We left the Air Temple here, heading west, and the storm hit us about…here. As near as I can tell, it blew us south…and since we're in the mountains, I'm guessing we're probably….here."
"Dragonhead Isle," Zuko affirmed.
"Yep," Sokka agreed, and then looked up at the prince, "Ever been here before?"
"Too many times," he said with an odd note of grim cynicism.
Sokka raised an eyebrow at this, but the prince didn't elaborate and merely went over to his uncle and sat down. The water tribe warrior had half a mind to press the issue, but decided that perhaps he was better off not knowing. Zuko's tragic past had unhinged Sokka enough already and he didn't think he was ready to learn any more about the banished prince just yet.