K.M:

Hey guys! No this is not the sequel as you can see to HTLP 101, this is in fact a story requested by: the core of justice, it's going to be another A:tla fic, but it's already got it's story set up. So all I have to really do is write it...

Man I'm exhausted, I had to get this done in under two hours!

Disclaimer: I don't own A:tla, and Zyon belongs to the core of justice duh. The picture base belongs to Grangerpixel.


The Gaang was used to fire, they fought against it after all, and they used it for every camp they made, they used fire if they were in dark caves for torches, or if only to warm up.

They were used to fire.

But when they find a bright green forest turn a burning gold and crimson, they knew something was wrong.

"It's burning the whole forest! Guys we need to stop it!" Aang shouted to his friends, his mind already worrying about who could be in the forest.

Most likely a Fire-bender...

"Katara!" Aang shouted at her, she shook her head.

"Aang we don't have nearly enough water for a whole forest!"

"We need to do something!" Aangs mind raced as he looked through the forest, hoping for anything blue, a river, a lake... There!

"I found a river! Appa yip, yip!" Aang lowered them as close as he dared to the forest before finally landing the giant sky bison in the river.

"Katara help me!" The brunette nodded as she jumped off the saddle and into the cool rivers, shivers raced up her legs at the cold feeling. Having left the North behind, she had been ready to get accustomed to warm weather.

The two raised the cool waters up and sprayed it as much as they could on the burning trees and bushes, small critters, and birds would scatter about, looking for a way out, Aang almost stopped to get them to jump into Appa's saddle for safety, but then reminded himself that turning off the fire was his first priority.

Sokka did what he could but he knew that without Water-bending, or in the least a bucket, there wouldn't be much he could do, his eyes landed on Appa, then the river, an idea forming in his head.

"Guys! Back off, make room for Appa!" The two did as the planner of the team made Appa take a huge gulp of water.

"Alright Appa, let it rip!" The huge creature sprayed the water and saliva, covering the whole clearing.

The three waited, but again the fire came back raging, "Again!" Sokka shouted as Appa took another gulp, and Aang, and Katara waved their arms again to grab more water.

It was hours later that the three stood there gasping weakly with tired arms and exhausted bodies.

But thankfully the forest fire had been put out.

The three knew they wouldn't be able to travel more today, so the plan to stay and camp had been made, Aang looked around the forest with a tired eye, how long till the fire nation was sated? He sighed tiredly as he stood, ready to go for a walk, "Hey?" He turned to see Katara and smiled at her tiredly.

"You alright?" She asked in concern, she had noticed him looking at the forest dejectedly.

It was obvious to tell what was going on.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just going for a walk is all." he waved away her concern, although he was secretly delighted at her noticing him.

"Oh, may I join you?"

He grinned, blushing slightly, "uh... sure! Just us two!"

Momo then perched himself on Aang's shoulder. Katara giggled, "and Momo."

"...yeah...and Momo..."

Sokka then walked up behind them and dropped his arms on both of their shoulders, making them carry his weight.

"We going for a walk? Good because we need camp fire..." the three were quiet, Aang's mood slowly descending.

"Chill guys, this time we control it sheesh." Sokka shrugged his arm off their shoulders before walking ahead. His machete in hand.

"Honestly, can't you be a little more sensitive?" Katara hissed to her oblivious brother. She knew deep down he never meant any harm, but the fact that he was still so senseless!

It made her pretty mad.

The three started their little stroll, though it hadn't been two minutes before Katara tripped.

"Katara you okay?" Aang asked concernedly, looking at what she tripped, he felt himself blanch.

"Yeah I'm fine." She responded as she dusted herself off, ready to bicker with Sokka again.

Sokka turned back to see what the commotion was about and his face paled.

"Katara...?" Aang whispered weakly.

"Yeah Aang?"

"I think you tripped over a dead body!" He hissed with wide scared eyes.

"What?" she turned around and saw the black booted foot on the ground...

Lifeless...

It died in the forest fire...

The three gulped shakily.

"G-guys...we need to do something...we can't just leave it there..." Aang whispered brokenly, knowing that the dead body needed to be buried.

But most certainly not wanting to be the one to do it...

"Y-Yea..." Katara whispered, standing determinedly.

"S-sure we can, we just turn around and pretend we didn't see a foot coming out a bush..." Sokka laughed shakily, hoping very much his sister, and friend would turn around.

"No. The body needs a proper burial." Aang insisted.

"Okay then you bury it." Sokka shot back.

"Sokka we have to!" Katara yelled at him.

The bickering between the three made them entirely forget the chance that maybe the person with the leg sticking out of the bush wasn't even dead.

Just unconscious.

The raven haired teen slowly opened his eyes. Starring at charred black trees, with only a few leaves hanging from the branches. A pounding headache making him close his eyes in pain, he slowly sat up casting a look around him, holding his head with his hand, he felt his foot itchy and looked to find it in a bush, he pulled it out and rubbed the leaves that had stuck to him off.

His sapphire eyes peeked through the forest, hoping to remember why he was there?

And why he couldn't remember.

"It's gone!"

"Oh no, no, no!"

"Dude, do you think this place is haunted or something? What if the foot was never there! What if it was the ghost of someone who died here!"

The voices made him wince, they were only making his headache worse, he slowly stood up weakly standing over the bush to see three kids looking down to the bottom of the bush.

Where his foot had been.

"How could a foot just disappear like that?" The blue clothed boy with his hair cut neatly at the sides and the top pulled back for a ponytail said.

The blue clothed girl with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and two hoop rings to the front stood weakly, "maybe we just saw things..."

They probably talking about his foot, the one he decided to pull out of the bush. He decided to speak up, because as amused as he was at these children, he really needed to calm them down.

"Or maybe the person just stood up..." The three whipped their heads to them, eyes wide. The teen scratched his raven colored hair to stare at them properly.

The last one was a bald boy with a blue arrow at the top of his head, wide grey eyes, and orange colored clothes.

Who were these people?

Well whoever they were he should be polite.

When meeting someone you greet them.

"...Hello." He would have introduced himself, but he couldn't for the life of him remember his name.

It started with a Z...he was sure...

There was an o somewhere in his name...

He was so caught up in his thoughts he forgot the three people in front of him.

"Who are you?" until one loudly shouted that while shoving a machete in his face.

He zeroed his blue eyes on it, tilting his head cutely, Katara could barely keep her blush down.

She wasn't going to lie, he was good looking.

But he was wearing red.

So of course Sokka was gonna hound him.

Meanwhile Aang hadn't been able to take his eyes of the stranger, he had felt something the minute Katara had tripped, he hadn't known what it was but the gut feeling was getting harder to ignore the closer he was to this person.

Who was he?

"I apologize...I do not mean to be rude...but I cannot answer you that question..." The teenager said as he slowly got out of the bush, ignoring Sokka who kept his machete pointed at him the whole time.

"Oh? And why can't you?" The boy stared at the machete again, marveling at how sharp it was, it was crafted magnificently.

"I do not remember my name." he said absently as he fingered the edge of the blade, enraptured by it's beauty, Sokka noticed his strange behavior and tried to pull his blade away, but the raven haired teen only grabbed the machete and smoothly pulled it out of Sokka's hand.

"It starts with a z, I remember that much." The three looked at each other, Sokka growling and trying to get his blade back, but not being able to as the raven haired boy swiftly and smoothly pulled it away before Sokka could grab it.

"It also has an o." Aang snapped out of his reverie as he looked closer at the raven haired boy.

"Zoron?" Aang suggested.

"Zone?" Katara added.

"Zoe?" the three stared at Sokka, he shrugged.

"It could be!" he defended, as he finally managed to swipe his machete back, seeing as the could-be-Zoe became distracted.

The raven haired teen stared at Sokka, before narrowing his eyes, his eyes glazing over, the familiar word slowly coming back to him.

"E...e...Zee...Zyo...Zyon...that's my name, yes...yes...Zyon..."

"Zyon?" Aang tested the name, smiling at the raven haired teen that nodded.

"Hey it suits you." Katara said with a smile.

"Okay...Zyon...What were you doing in that bush..." This made Zyon droop in thought.

"I do not remember that either... I remember falling but that's about it..." He said, his tone still in wonderment.

"Falling? The only thing you could fall out of here is a tree? Is that maybe what happened?" Katara said as she looked around.

"Could be right Katara." Aang said as he smiled at her.

"You might have hit your head." Katara continued, looking at him with a smile.

"Guys. This guy wears red! He's fire-nation!" Sokka insisted as he pointed at the evil-could-be-fire-nation-teenager.

"So? Sokka he needs help, he's obviously alone." Katara insisted as she grabbed the newly dubbed Zyon's hand, who looked down at her hand at the contact.

"You guys are crazy, he's fire nation, look at him!" Sokka pointed out with a sharp hand in Zyon's direction.

"What is fire-nation?"

Three froze, turning to look at him.

Sokka grabbed Katara, and Aang and pulled them away.

"...he could be faking it." he whispered instantly.

Katara glared at him, "or he could be an innocent man who lost his memory."

"No one in the fire nation is 'innocent'." Sokka glared at his younger sister, while doing sarcastic fingers.

"Sokka, I know there's a chance he may be faking it, but...we have to at least help him anyway..." Aang said, looking at Sokka with pleasing eyes, Sokka could only last so long against Katara.

Aang was impossible.

He sighed before covering his face, the two cheered as they ran back to Zyon.

"You're coming with us Zyon!" Aang said as he grabbed the tall teenagers hand, he stared at Aang in surprise before letting a small smile flutter to his face, he pat Aang on the head with his free hand.

"You remind me of someone." He whispered.

Aang blinked, "who?"

"I don't remember. I would have surely told you if I did." Zyon responded as-a-matter-of-factly.

The three deadpanned.

"Anyway." Katara cut in, "I'm Katara, that's Aang, and my brother Sokka." Zyon nodded in understanding, introductions were now out of the way.

Aang prepared to open his mouth, but was cut of as a deafening sound rang through the forest, everyone screamed as they covered their ears.

The roar making trees sway away.

Zyon could only stare at them in confusion, wondering absently why they were looking pained, until he felt his heart thrumming fast in his chest, he looked to where he heard the noise his chest beating faster, he needed to go there.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka where blown away by the whipping wind Zyon sent as he jumped onto a tree, flying away.

Aang's eyes widened.

That was why he had felt so weird.

Zyon was an air-bender.

And he was going towards the roar.

"Aang?" Katara whispered with wide eyes, wondering if she really saw that.

"Follow him." Aang mumbled, running after him, using every bit of wind to catch up to the raven haired teenager.

"Zyon, wait!"

He didn't. His eyes trained on an unseen object in the distance.

When they got to a clearing they doubled back in shock.

Towering above them.

Above the forest itself.

A large winged creature with a gaping maw, snake eyes, and a slithering tail extending longer than even Appa, the scales littering his skin were all glowing in the sunlight, looking a burnt onyx, black claws clinking sharply.

He was sniffing.

Sokka, and Katara finally charged into the clearing, stopping short and grabbing each other in fear, gaping at the large creature.

"Eep!" Sokka managed to squeal before falling to the floor in a faint, Katara was too shocked to grab him.

The creature whipped to look at them, his gold eyes narrowing in hate, a growl in his throat.

Black flames licking his lips, crackling filled the air.

It was going to smite them.

Katara could feel her breath catch in her throat, slowly inching her hand close to Aang, and Zyon, she grabbed the back of their clothes before tugging at them, Aang grabbed Zyon and also started tugging, hoping to sneak away from the monster.

But Zyon wouldn't budge.

Instead he smiled, reaching his hand closer to the creature, who only spared him a look before glaring at Katara, and Aang, opening his mouth wider, they could see the razor sharp teeth opened wide to chomp them in half.

Aang gulped, "Zyon, run..."

"Why?" he asked them, looking confused.

"That's a dragon... they're territorial...I thought they were extinct..." Aang whispered.

The black flames came out, coming in their direction!

"Everyone scatter!" Aang yelled as he grabbed Sokka and dodged the flames, Katara pushed Zyon out of the way.

"Aang, together!" Katara yelled as she pulled water from her pouch tiredly, they had worked hard to put the forest fire out, her arms were exhausted.

Aang used his wind to distract the creature and whip branches in it's face, it growled and turned to the boy. Katara created her whips and lashed them on the dragon's hide, it opened it's maw and spewed it's black flames.

"Run!" Katara yelled, Zyon frowned at the creature, wondering why he was attacking them.

"Zyon help us!" Aang yelled as he looked at the raven haired teenager, who stared at him in confusion before looking at the dragon, their hearts were beating at the same time, he didn't know how he knew that, he just did.

It's like they just thrummed at the same time, beat together, breathed together.

His sapphire eyes opened, wondering distractedly when he closed them, he made eye contact with the creature, seeing him attack Katara, and Aang.

The creature growled more, Zyon turned and glared at the creature.

"Stop it!" He pulled away from Aang and Katara's hands before spreading his arms to protect them.

"That's enough!"

To Katara's, and Aang's shock, the creature snapped his snout shut making a clinking sound, and looked down in shame.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, they meant me no harm." Zyon continued, ignoring the gaping looks of Katara, and Aang.

"Are you seeing this?" Katara asked.

"Yup." Aang answered shortly.

"And you're sure we're not both dreaming?"

"Yup." he answered again.

"Zyon's talking to a dragon."

"Yup."

"And he's an air-bender..."

At that Aang looked at Zyon in a new light.

In truth Zyon looked nothing like a fire-bender.

Well okay maybe the hair...and skin...

Zyon turned to them, his hand on the creature's snout.

"Do not fear. This is my friend Obsidian." Zyon introduced with a smile.

A groan was heard and they all turned to Sokka who was waking up, "what happen-" his eyes landed on Obsidian, he squeaked again.

"Sokka it's okay, the dragon belongs to Zyon." Katara said as she helped her brother up.

"Oh, sure, great, he's got a fire breathing dragon, great, great, just perfect." Sokka said sarcastically, a growl was then heard in the bushes, Sokka turned with a gulp, "no. Not another one!"

But it was another one...

Though this one was smaller than Momo.

And a whole lot less intimidating.

It gave what was to be guessed as a roar, though that was debatable.

It charged at Sokka growling loudly, but just before it could lunge at his face Zyon grabbed it around it's middle.

"Sorry..." Zyon said, holding her as she struggled weakly.

Yup.

The Gaang was used to fire.

But not like this...


"H-hey Zyon!" a high pitched voice with a thick accent called. The small raven haired boy looked up to see his childhood friend. He grinned at the blonde shoulder-length haired, blue eyed boy, who shyly smiled back. Sidling up next to him.

"Hi *****" Zyon said with a grin, tightening his hand on the strap of his bag.

"You r-ready?" The blonde boy said anxiously, Zyon looped his arm over his friend's shoulder.

"Of course I am. This is the biggest day of our lives..." Zyon said softly, looking up at the high hill they would have to climb, on top a large cottage.

He was really nervous, much like *****, but he didn't want to worry the him, ***** was already a nervous-wreck.

"We get o-our partners t-today..." the blonde haired boy said, gulping nervously, ruffling his soft golden hair in nervous motions.

Zyon smiled to his friend, he knew his friend was always too shy to speak up, but...he was brave to do this.

He was proud of him.

So instead he laughed.

"Yup. I hope we get sent to the same island." He told him, both of them walking up the steps leading to the cottage at the top, more of a pen really.

The blonde haired boy smiled at him. "So do I." not stuttering in his sentence. His blue eyes sparkling.

The two boys were quiet.

Those might be their last moments together, but neither could find it withing themselves to break the silence.

***** took in a deep breath, turning to Zyon.

"I want you to know t-that no matter what happens... I'll find you again. T-then we can travel together!" Zyon smiled at his meek friend.

If they were separated he knew it would be lonely for him.

***** had been his best friend since they were little kids...since ***** stood up for him.

"I promise too, no matter which island we're sent to...We'll find each other again!" the two grinned, shaking their two fingers together, their secret handshake.

"You better get strong *****!"

"I-I could say the same to you Zyon!" The boy said with a grin.

The two then raced up the steps, laughing and smiling.

A promise meant to be kept.


K.M:

And that's it for chapter one of The Return.

I am so glad I finally got to finish this. in under an hour too, though I guess it makes sense considering it's pretty short.

Anyway I hope you liked this The core of justice.

Oh just so you know the accent Zyon's friend has is British...so yeah...

PM or review if you have a question, or just to tell me how I did.