disclaimer; I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender and this story is certainly NOT for my own profit.
warnings; OCC-ness, lack of Beta, and a weird update schedule 'cause I write whenever I can get the right words out
notes (please READ—IMPORTANT; it clears things up);
- Zuko's new family relations. I had to mess with this, else the idea wouldn't work too well (unless I involved Spirits and some seriously weird circumstances, among other things, but I won't go there). As it is now, Zuko's "new" father, named Jiroh, was the son of Sozin and the older brother of Azulon, making Sozin Zuko's grandfather instead of his great-grandfather. And that's basically it. Paritculars will be brought up in the story.
- Zuko's age. After much debate ('cause I do love a 16 year-old Zuko), I settled on Zuko being only a few months older than Aang rather than four years. I felt this would work best. Subsequently, there's an appearance alteration... Just picture 13 year-old Zuko, except his hairstyle takes after his 16 year-old self's (because I love his hair then).
Also, this story is pretty much touch-and-go for me.
Especially since I haven't seen every single episode of the series and I've already half-forgotten the ones that I have. I know, I know: shame on me. In any case, most major events will happen, someway or another.
Warning for OOC, because, honestly, I adore the characters but I can't be them. I can't think and act like them, or like and dislike what they would, etc. And about Zuko… Well, duh, he's going to be different even if I tried to keep him in-character—Ozai's not his (horrible) father and Azula's not his (psychopathic) sister, and neither Iroh nor Ursa are there to help him.
I think that's it… If anyone has questions, which I doubt, feel free to message me.
"If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends?"
chapter 01:
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"Aang? Are you in here?" The wooden door creaked open, and a pale face peeked into the room. "Oh good. I've been looking everywhere for you." The crimson clad boy entered the well lit room, closing the door behind him.
Aang glanced up from his task briefly. "Hey Zuko," he welcomed weakly.
Zuko blinked at him in surprise. Usually Aang's greetings were quite…enthusiastic. This was certainly different. However, without giving it further thought, he shrugged it off. Everyone had their off days, right? Even chatterbox Aang. "Hey," he said, walking over to sit on Aang's bed.
Minutes passed with only the sound of the brush touching paper to fill it.
"What are you writing?" Zuko questioned, unable to tolerate the growing silence. Whereas he would normally welcome the rare reprieve from nonstop rambling, a silent Aang was beyond strange—it was unnatural.
"A letter…" Aang reluctantly answered, careful to restrain certain emotions from seeping through.
"To whom?"
Signing his letter, the Air Nomad placed his brush aside and rolled up his message, tying it with a simple string. "It's for Gyatso," he mumbled.
"Couldn't you just tell him whatever you wrote? He's practically within walking distance."
Silence. It finally dawned on Zuko that Aang wouldn't look him in the eye.
"Aang?"
"It's nothing." Aang forced a grin, still clutching the letter loosely in his hands. He let his grey eyes wander around the room. Now, where would be a good, visible place to leave this?
Zuko started at him suspiciously, disbelieving. "Of course it is."
The pillow on his bed seemed as good a place as any, Aang decided swiftly, standing up. He carefully positioned the scroll and stepped back. When his eyes roamed the room a second time, it was to ascertain that nothing necessary to his journey had been left behind. He was ready—or as ready as he would ever be. A sigh that was both frustrated and sad escaped him. He really, really didn't want to leave, but it was either that…or being forcefully separated from Gyatso. Maybe forever. He couldn't risk that, wouldn't risk that.
"Enough," Zuko snapped, golden eyes flashing as he rose to his feet. He spun a tense Aang around to face him and stared him in the eye. "You're going to tell me what's going on, why you're moping and sighing." (Seriously, when did Aang do those things? Zuko did that. Kuzon did that sometimes, too. But Aang?)
Wide, distraught but determined eyes stared back at him.
"And you're going to tell me now," the raven-haired boy finished.
"No, I'm not," Aang calmly told him, shrugging off pale hands. This was his mess and no one else needed to become involved. He glanced out the window anxiously. He had to leave soon and Zuko's presence prevented it.
Zuko scowled at the younger boy. "Aang, I can help. I'm your friend, remember?"
"I know, but…"
"Are the idiots bothering you again? Did Chen say you can't play Airball because it'd be unfair?" Perhaps it was time to set the chubby boy's pants on fire again, Zuko contemplated.
"No. It's…"
"Go on," Zuko coaxed, somewhat impatient.
Gyatso always did say that speaking to someone of your troubles helped, Aang mused, and he sorely wanted the pain in his chest to lessen, if only a little bit. "The monks want to separate Gyatso and me," he divulged with a frown, voice bitter.
Zuko's eyes widened. "They can't do that."
"It doesn't matter. I'm leaving so they won't get a chance to." As soon as the last word was out in the open, Aang winced. He hadn't meant to reveal that!
"I'm going with you," Zuko immediately commanded. His tone left no room for argument and implied that it would be foolish of Aang to try to deny the stubborn boy.
Except, Aang had always been a social creature. Always seeking out his friends for any reason, always wishing to spend time with someone rather than be alone. That simple reason was why he caved in, even as he attempted to dissuade Zuko. Attempted being the keyword. As soon as his mouth opened, Zuko proceeded to shush him.
"Shut it. Even if you don't take me, I'll follow you." Zuko then turned to a devious approach. "But, seeing as I can't exactly tell anyone, I'll have to find a way down from this temple myself. If I slip…" he left that open to Aang's wild imagination.
Aang gawked at him. "Okay, okay! You win!"
Zuko's countenance oozed of absolute smugness. (Smug, thy name is Zuko.) "Alright, let's go. We've wasted enough time already."
"And whose fault was that?" Aang couldn't help but tease lightly as they left the room.
Zuko smirked, "Obviously yours."
Reaching the end of the hall, they went their separate ways. Aang, who already had his belongings ready to go, headed towards the kitchens to grab some food for the trip, careful to escape notice as he walked while Zuko went to gather his own belongings.
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Mostly hidden from view, shielded by thick foliage, Appa grunted and the two teenage boys stood back to survey their work. They'd placed a brown saddle on the large bison and then filled it with their belongings and supplies.
Zuko was double-checking that they had everything they needed. Water? Check. Food? Check. Map? Check. Dao swords? Check. Aang's staff? Check. Cl-…
"Zuko," Aang whined shamelessly from his left, "you're slowing us down. We're gonna get caught!"
Clothes? Check, Zuko finished his mental list as if no one had spoken. Then he shifted his attention to the younger boy. "Calm down," Zuko advised. "My father always said to be prepared for the unexpected. We can't just fly off and expect to survive out there." The irony that he, of all people, was telling Aang to be more patient was completely lost to him. "Anyway, everything's set." he announced, walking over to Appa's wide tail and climbing on to the bison's saddle adorned back. He made himself comfortable.
Aang grinned and jumped smoothly on to Appa's head with the aid of a small burst of wind. "Appa, yip yip!"
Appa bellowed and, after a flick of his tail, they were airborne.
Zuko winced. "That wasn't loud enough to attract attention at all," he spoke sarcastically.
"It's not like we warned him to be quiet," Aang defended his bison. "Besides, there are other bison around and I bet no one realized it was Appa." A second later, his mind turned to another matter. "So, where should we go first?" he asked brightly.
"Wherever. I don't have to be home for a few more days."
"Right."
While Aang busied himself with planning their future adventures for the next several days aloud, Zuko let his voice fade into the background and glanced about boredly. So far, there was nothing of interest. Unless you considered mountain tops, trees, and lazy, white clouds interesting, but he doubted many people would. As time passed and the scenery remained unchanged, Zuko briefly played with the thought of taking a nap before relinquishing it. Still, he laid down and closed his eyes, soaking up the rays of sun that made it past the drifting clouds.
In front of his lounging form, Aang's excited prattle finally came to a pause as he squinted his eyes until they became slits. "Hey, does that armadillo lion look like it's winking at us?"
If Zuko hadn't known Aang as long as he had, he would've hastily sat up, exclaiming a loud, "What!" and following the action with a pointed stare that asked, Are you nuts? As it was, Zuko leisurely opened his eyes and asked, "What are you going on about, Aang?"
At his voice, Aang gave himself a mental pat on the back, congrulating himself for roping Zuko into conversation. Talking to yourself about upcoming events and how fun they'd be was okay for only so long. "It's right there, look!" he pointed energetically to the clouds.
Groaning, Zuko propped himself up on his elbows to gain a better view of the strangely shaped clouds. "I don't see anything," he griped. "They're jus-... Oh."
"So does it look like it's winking at you?"
"It actually does."
"Weird, huh? It reminds me of that dream I had once, after I accidentally ate a rotten fruit. There were winking, polka-dotted pies everywhere, and some attacked me! I never realized how ferocious pies could be... And then this cow hippo—it was enormous!—came over and started chasing me around, but I flew away with my glider. But it grew wings! Then came the pink clams and the-..." Aang rambled on happily.
Again, Zuko groaned and let himself fall back on to the saddle. You're too much, Aang. Too much.
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Having left Monk Pasang and Monk Tashi, Gyatso walked through one of the numerous pagodas in the temple, thinking deeply of a way to ensure Aang would remain with him. Unfortunately, there weren't many options left to him. Already did his fellow monks believe that he had become too attached to the boy and that his judgement was therefore clouded in his compassion.
The constant presence of Monk Tashi in the matter didn't help. The man was completely overbearing and wouldn't budge in his decision to send Aang away. It was he who had pointed out Gyatso's strong bond with the boy, swaying the council.
As he walked through the hallways, the answer to the problem continued to elude him. Still, he would not give up without a good fight.
Reaching Aang's room, he proceeded to verbalize that. "Aang, I'm not going to let them take you away from me," he assured his charge as he opened the door. "Aang?"
He was met with an empty room.
He sighed softly before something on Aang's bed caught his attention. Apprehension quickly built up inside him even as he walked to retrieve it. Wise blue eyes traveled across the scroll and the wrinkles on his face became more pronounced. It was as he had feared: a farewell.
Lowering the letter, he gazed out the window. Watching the sky gradually darken, he prayed for Aang's safety.
He lingered for some minutes before departing to look for Zuko. He could only hope that the boy would understand and not fly into a rage at the news, what with his temper. Oh, he probably wouldn't be too mad at Aang, instead directing his anger at the Council of Elders (minus Gyatso, who he liked). A part of Gyatso couldn't help conjuring up a scenario in which Zuko, righteously indignant as only a prince could be, stood up to the old monks. Belatedly, he added fireballs to the scene.
He chuckled at the image as he arrived at Zuko's room.
However, this room was empty as well. And what belongings Zuko had brought along on his visit had vanished.
So Zuko had accompanied Aang, Gyatso concluded. It was a relief that Aang wouldn't be alone.
Exiting the room, he went to meditate.
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"I don't like those clouds," Zuko declared, golden gaze wary as it glared at the subjects of his observation.
At the moment, they were several leagues away from the Southern Air Temple and flying straight over vast ocean.
"Lighten up Zuko," Aang chirped, happy with the feel of the wind rushing past him and the ocean smell. "They're just little rain clouds."
Appa let out a short snort, voicing his own opinion.
"See? Appa agrees with me," Zuko, now resting at the front of the saddle instead of its center, gloated, reaching out to pat the bison's upper back. The fur was soft under his hand.
Situated at Appa's reins, Aang pouted and was about to proclaim that the two were ganging up on him when ominous thunder turned the mood solemn.
Boom!
The boys looked towards the turbulent clouds. By now, they were almost pitch-black; and still they continued to grow in size, until the group could no longer catch sight of blue sky before them.
They were quiet as another Boom! filled the sky.
"Maybe we should turn around now," Aang suggested, penetrating the silence. At this point, it was fairly obvious that those weren't simple "little rain clouds".
"Yeah," Zuko agreed quietly. He continued to examine the massive clouds with cautious eyes, hoping that they were granted sufficient time to move away to relative safety. At the altitude which they were currently traveling at and even if they flew lower, he suspected that the possibility of becoming victims of lightning was rather high and he certainly wasn't looking forward to that danger. In addition, he also had to deal with the rain hampering his Firebending. He didn't think fire would do much here, if anything, but that didn't stop him from resenting that the ability was almost completely denied to him. "Stupid storm."
Having already changed Appa's course of direction, Aang laughed at his friend's grumbling. "Think of it this way, now we won't have to give Appa a bath."
Zuko shot him an incredulous look before the oncoming storm commanded their attention again.
Crack!
For a brief second, the world was painted a blinding white and the sound of lightning was deafening.
It began to drizzle, but that quickly became heavy rain.
Zuko grimaced, hating the cold, wet feeling. Already they were being soaked to the bone, it felt like, and the sheer weight of the rain forced his hair loose. Through shaggy, raven locks, he looked at Aang, who appeared as a blur to his eyes. Again, he cursed the storm. The rain was almost a solid sheet now, distorting the surroundings and reducing visibility to a pathetic number.
In front, Aang gritted his teeth, experiencing some trouble with steering Appa. The reins tied to the bison's horns were becoming hard to control and it was only because of a tight grip that they didn't slip straight from Aang's hands.
A streak of lightning illuminated the dark sky. Thunder followed its lead.
Crack, boom!
The piercing clatter resonated in the air above the churning ocean and made their hearts race. The worst of the storm approached.
Crack!
Forked lightning hit the air besides them, frightening Appa into frenzy. Screaming, Aang and Zuko held on for dear life. The following fracture in the sky nearby coerced the terrified bison into the raging ocean.
Everything became muffled.
boom… crack…
boom…
Appa resurfaced and everything became sharp again.
Crack!
The trio barely managed to gasp for air when a towering wave drove them back into the blue abyss.
boom…
Their lungs burned and darkness crept into their vision.
Appa couldn't move, exhausted and scared; Zuko couldn't hold on to the saddle's handles, already half-unconscious and helpless to the current; Aang couldn't hold on to the reins, loosing consciousness and weak against the current knocking him away.
Slowly, they drifted downwards—sinking. The Sea gently coaxed them into her depth and she almost had them, bodies carefully cradled. They would die in her arms. (Welcome, she smiled enticingly.)
They would die,
die,
die.
Abruptly, Aang's eyes snapped open—glowing in unison with the five arrows tattooed on his body.
Quickly, he brought his fists together and forced the endless water away. A light colored sphere was formed and expanded until both Zuko and Appa were encased in it, too. Without a pause, the glowing boy froze the immediate surrounding water.
Stationary in a meditating pose, the glow dimmed and he joined his companions in the safety of oblivion.
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I've wondered if a fanfic with this idea is out there on the site... I've yet to encounter one, but if there is, I'm really sorry. I'm not trying to copy anyone—nothing of the sort.
Please review? I'd really appreciate feedback.
~Erykha