Author's Note: hey everyone, I apologize in advance for any typos. I just heard this song and.. was instantly inspired to write. I wrote this without stopping, so, I hope you enjoy. This may lead to another fic I have in mind, I'm not sure. Time will tell.
Disclaimer: none of the characters belong to me, they belong to their rightful owners.
Description: A mysterious power locked away ends up being incredibly powerful, and, incredibly catchy. Zuko unknowingly creates a dubstep number. (Songfic)
Please Read This Note: Eventually, you will come to a point in the story where you will see [ - - start song ]. If you can, I would like you to listen to 'You're On My Mind Baby' by Rusko, a dubstep song. It makes a lot more sense, plus the way I wrote the story sort of goes along with it. If you're not really a fan of dubstep, you can still read, but I'm not sure you'll like it. Feel free to give it a shot, though! Also, I thought this was neat.. Rusko is the author. Rusko, Zuko, both end in 'ko' ;3 Oh, song belongs to rightful owner as well! Enjoy!
Dubstep Flame
It was yet another night on their fire nation navy ship, a ship that had become more like home to many of the soldiers on board. And everyone had become, more or less, like a family to one another.. including their captain, who was none other than Zuko, the banished Prince. It was a wonder why he was allowed to take not only a crew, but a ship as well. But nobody questioned the orders. If the Fire Lord wanted them to sail for (what they already accepted to be) forever, then so be it. They were specifically picked out because, well, none of them had families. No wives, no mothers, sisters or brothers, just them. Zuko had made sure of that.. because he knew they would not be returning for a very long time.
Finding the Avatar, he realized, would take years. He couldn't separate men from their families for that long.. but neither could he restrict them from creating one on their journey. So whenever they stopped at a village, he didn't complain when he spotted one of his men flirting with a girl. Some had even hooked up with a few ladies, and occasionally were granted permission to go off and see them. Of course.. they asked Iroh for permission. If they asked Zuko, the boy would be unmistakeably pissed, for awhile at least, but eventually give in anyways under Iroh's advise. 'You cannot restrain them from wanting to see their loved ones,' he'd say. How could Zuko say no to that?
But letting them go off wasted time, time they could be spending searching for the Avatar. What if they just missed him because of this? Unlikely, but still very possible. Regardless, he had to take the chance and let them roam free. So a couple of the men were away, but tonight was the night they agreed to come back, so just for tonight, the ship did not sail. It remained stationary in the arranged meeting point, waiting for the men to come back.
The night was peaceful, as was the dark waters beneath them. It swayed the boat lightly, rocking and lulling the soldiers to sleep. But they knew better than to sleep on duty.. plus, it was a certain night that none of them would consider sleeping on. Smiles were plastered on their faces as they readied a small barrel of fire outside on the deck, a warm gentle breeze hitting their unmasked heads. They set up makeshift seats around the fire, using wooden crates or cardboard boxes to sit on. They chit chatted with one another, patiently waiting for the one who would make this night complete.
Unaware of what night it was, Zuko pretty much wasn't involved with the soldiers' plans, he stepped out and onto the deck. The group hadn't even noticed their captain walking out onto the deck, too consumed with their conversation about how funny that bald guy looked in the last town they visited. He was wearing a lime green dress for god's sakes! Zuko paid no attention to their conversation and stepped over to the tip of the ship, feeling the warm waves of air as they pushed his now loose hair out of the way.
At night, everyone was allowed to let loose a little bit. Meaning, they weren't forced to wear their skull masks and helmets or keep their hair up; neither did Zuko. At first Zuko was strongly against this, saying that the men should always be ready, and he should always have his hair up as a commanding officer. But after such a long time, even he felt comfortable enough to let his hair down. His men had become somewhat.. close to him, and they felt the same way. Sure, they let him play Captain, but in reality they were all together. They respected him, but they also had a soft spot for him too. Ever since that one incident on the boat that one rainy night, and also Iroh's explanation as to why Zuko is so obsessed with finding the Avatar.
Finally, the man of the hour stepped out. Why was he the man? Well, he brought two things that was essential for this night.. this.. "music night" that they occasionally had. Zuko knew of their music night, but he could never tell when they were throwing it. Tonight was one of those nights. Usually he'd be locked in his room, but now, he was caught outside. No escape.
Iroh came out with a tsungi horn, and of course, a barrel of sake. The men hollered in joy, causing Zuko to look over, only to smack his forehead with his palm. Tonight was music night! Of all nights, why did they choose this one? Oh.. probably because the rest of the men were expected to come back tonight. It'd make a great 'welcome back' party. Damn, he should have known. He groaned. This wasn't going to be good.
"Tonight, we forget all our troubles, and do one and one thing only: we dance and drink our hearts out!"
The men threw their fists in the air as they agreed in unison, preparing themselves for a night of fun. Of course Zuko wouldn't let it get too out of control – they could be attacked still, you know. Iroh settled his horn against his wooden crate seat in the middle, walking over to his young nephew as men clanked their sake cups together and drank. Zuko chose to ignore the festivities behind him and concentrate on the water, but he knew it wouldn't be long before Iroh was nagging him to join them.
And hearing his incoming footsteps, he knew that time would be coming up quick.
"Zuko! Come on, it's music night. Come join us, it'll be fun." And so it began.
"For the last time, no! I don't want to join your stupid 'music night.'"
"Aw come on.. listen, everyone here needs a break. And that includes you. You've been so stressed lately about the Avatar. I'm sure you'll have an easier time finding him tomorrow if you just play some music, relax, just for one night!"
Zuko remained silent. That's not fair, Iroh was playing the 'It could help you find the Avatar' card on him. Zuko had only once joined in on their music night, except.. he didn't mean to produce music on purpose. And what a night that was. The men had begged him to join in the next night, but of course were chased away when the young male started yelling and ordering them to pay attention. 'If the Avatar gets away, it'll be your fault!'
A sly smile appeared on Iroh's face as the short old man stepped next to his nephew, giving him a light nudge with his shoulder. "Hey, I was also thinking you could do that.. you know.. "
Zuko knew exactly what his uncle was thinking, and before he could continue, he turned to his Uncle and snapped. "I told you already, that's not supposed to be used that way! It's degrading; the last time was an accident. No one of the royal family would ever be caught doing such a thing."
Iroh sighed. "Alright, alright. But let me tell you something, Zuko. I don't think anyone in the royal family besides you can actually pull such a thing off. It is a gift, not something to be ashamed about."
Zuko went quiet after that, letting Iroh turn around to head back to the others. Soon enough, Iroh was playing the tsungi horn, and the others chipped in with hitting the metal floor with sticks, using barrels as drums, clapping, singing, and scrapping a wash board with a piece of sharpened metal. It was nice soft music to listen to, he had to admit. Unlike the music he had accidentally produced, once upon a time..
The young man blinked, spotting a small wooden boat in the distance. Strangely, a thick fog seemed to follow behind them. Actually the fog seemed to surround their boat, something that made Zuko a bit suspicious. He spotted their men on the small wooden boat heading towards them. A few of his men pointed over and shouted "Hey, they're back!" they cheered.
Iroh walked over, eyes narrowed in obvious suspicion. "Strange weather, isn't it? Prince Zuko."
Zuko nodded. "Yeah.. perhaps we should move out."
The both of them didn't like the look of that fog that continued to advance their way. Two of the men on the wooden boat waved at them frantically. Using a telescope handed to him by one of his men, he spotted them, pointing behind them. Following their pointed fingers, he saw a large black shadow in the fog behind them.
"We're being attacked!" Zuko called out, tossing his telescope to one of the soldiers. There was no time to tie up his hair.. it would have to be let loose. The rest of the men put on their helmets and skull masks, but they left the barrel of fire and instruments alone in the middle. The fire could help them firebend, and the instruments would be untouched if they were left close enough to the barrel. The seats however were pushed back inside to give them more space.
The men on the small wooden boat used their fire to speed the boat along, trying to hurry back to their ship as they led a large wooden Earth Kingdom ship behind them in the fog. They were followed, it seemed. Unfortunately there were both earth and water benders aboard, hence the thick fog that encircled them. There was no time to set up their fire ball launcher, which meant they only had their hands and fire to work with.
..and they would have to use it fast, because a huge compressed boulder was heading straight towards them. Unfortunately it lacked enough momentum, so it wouldn't hit their ship. Unfortunately again, it would hit the small wooden ship with their men on it instead. Zuko and Iroh jumped into action, streaming their fire over to stop this flying boulder. It met with the rock head on, pushing it back and cracking it into tiny pieces. The small rocks fell into the ocean, and their men were fine.
They reached the boat just in time. Iroh ran over to toss the rope ladder over board, but the earthbenders took no time in dishing out yet another large, compressed boulder. Gritting his teeth, Zuko streamed out another larger, more powerful fire at the boulder. It slowed the boulder down ever so slightly, and slowly cracks began to form. It was so compressed, it was tough to get through. It finally did break into pieces, however, it didn't break quite fast enough. Small rocks went flying his way, and the firebender ran backwards, dodging the rocks that landed onto his ship.
They were smaller, yes, but they were still large enough to knock a person out and do some damage. The rocks were about the size of your hand.. unfortunately not a baby's hand, no, a man's hand. One rock however seemed to have it out for him, like it was targeted for his head. He ran from the tip of the boat towards the middle where he'd be able to go inside and hide behind a wall for a moment, however, this rock really had it out for him!
Iroh helped the last soldier up the rope, but the two of them noticed the running captain being chased by a rather stubborn rock. Like this piece of rock had a mind of it's own. Even Iroh was a bit startled at the sight. Was an earthbender controlling it? From that far? That would be incredible. Zuko knew that rock was gaining on him, and there was no way he was making it through that door without getting hit first. So before he reached the metal door, red light hanging just above it, Zuko quickly ducked. The rock flew right over him, and that was it. Glared eyes went to face the water, and their still incoming enemy ship that was still shrouded in fog but much closer than before. But a sudden "Zuko!" in his Uncle's voice made him look over, unaware of the incoming rock behind him.
It was the same small rock that had chased after him, only to have bounced off the metal wall and right to his head. The hit was dead on, square against the back of his head. It sent a strange jolt down his spine as his eyes widened for a second, only for things to be overwhelmed by darkness not a moment later. A blow to the head could be very dangerous. Iroh knew that for a fact. Depending on where the hit was made and how hard it is, it could be very much fatal.
Zuko fell onto his back, his form lit up by the red light provided by light bulb above by the door. Iroh was soon to kneel next to his fallen nephew, but before he could lift the boy's head and inspect the damage, Zuko's eyes opened. Momentary unconsciousness. Things were a bit blurry and echo-like, even as his uncle called his name. But the sounds of boulders whirling in the air made in realize they were still under attack. One blink and Zuko was back to normal.
A slight gasp as he sat up, he looked right and left quickly. Iroh tugged at his arm, "Zuko, take it easy. You just got hit on the head." but his eyes held no shimmering concern in them. That didn't mean he didn't care for his nephew, oh god no. It just meant his nephew was going to be fine. They had a similar incident to this in the past.. so Iroh could barely choke back a chuckle. The noise produced a groan from the teen. It was just like last time all over again. Man.. he didn't want to do this!
And how did Iroh know that his nephew would be fine without even looking at his head wound? Well..
Zuko's eyes said it all.
The teen pushed Iroh aside, standing up as he did to see his soldiers in their battle stances. But as soon as they spotted Zuko and his eyes.. they took a small step back. Some of them even had to cough just to disguise a chuckle. He could tell his men were all looking at him, and he knew why.. but he refused to believe it. "What are you looking at!" he yelled, only to give another groan as another soldier tried to mask a chuckle. Great. Just freakin' great. What the hell was wrong with him? What sort of firebender would have.. purple eyes..? Another thing..
Zuko's thoughts disappeared as two boulders headed their way. The firebender responded on instinct, thrusting out his right fist, then his left, unleashing two streams of fire toward each boulder. It made contact, but unlike earlier, this took no time in blowing each one up. But the sight of his fire, or the noise it made, did not please him.. at all. Yup.. it was just like last time all over again. And that made him angry.
For some reason, getting hit in a certain spot on his head changed his firebending ways. Iroh had explained last time that the area hit actually controls his firebending. There are many things you can do with that part of the brain, however, many cannot access it fully. Just like how most human beings can only use about 10% of their brains. For the bending part of the brain, which is called the "Ki Shou" one can only use about 50, sometimes 60%. As a comparison, he told him that the Avatar can access up to 80% for each element. Being able to use all elements makes it harder for the Avatar to use more than that. The more control you have over that part of the brain, the more powerful your bending is.
Iroh estimated that Zuko had been using 85% of the Ki Shou part of his brain.
At first Iroh was very shocked to see such power in the young lad, however, eventually, he came to realize that he should have expected this. His mother came from a very powerful firebending family, hence why Ozai had married her in the first place: for powerful firebending children. Had he realized such power was locked away in Zuko, he probably would have never banished him in the first place.
During this period of heightened firebending, Zuko's eyes turns an ominous purple. The color is the same in his flames, also an indigo color. But his flames are quite unique. In a person's body, the bones give you a form and the ability to move, while the muscles and skin protect the bone. Lightning is the bone in Zuko's flame, and the flame itself is the muscle and skin.
Another thing that makes Zuko's flames incredible.. it sings. Sort of like a robot, or auto-tune, the sound lasts as long as the flame exists.
[ - - start song ]
The two flames Zuko sent out sounded like "BA- DAAY."
A growl tore threw the air as he clenched his fists, smoke rising within them. More oncoming boulders headed their way, soaring threw the air. His soldiers looked to one another, all having the same idea in mind. Giving each other a nod, they rushed off to the middle of the ship where all the instruments and fire was. Zuko stood in front of them all closer to the tip of the ship, the much darker area where the barrel's flames' light did not reach. With his eyes downcast and teeth clenched, his anger rose. And the boulders drew ever so nearer, doing nothing to sully his temper.
Finally, he snapped, head tilting upward as he glared at the incoming projectiles. "Why is this happening again!" With a roar, he unleashed three more flames, each destroying their targeted boulders. The flames let out a "NO- LEST- OH" as they streamed out from Zuko's fists. The boulders were instantly turned to dust, dust which flew over their metal ship. With instruments in hand, the soldiers added to the beautiful sounds Zuko's flames conjured.
"BA -DAAY." Two more flames shot out, diminishing boulders into dust once more.
"Another ship's coming in from the side!" A soldier warned. The others put out the fire in the barrel and turned off all the lights. Darkness consumed their ship, something they knew would be more of an advantage to them. Zuko's flames would act as their light. And their captain has trained himself well in fighting in the dark.
"SO- DI-VINE" sang Zuko's flames, shooting three more projectile boulders. But he could hear the stealthy water benders trying to climb up the ship without being heard. Unfortunately their vibrations, amplified by the ship's metal, was too loud for him not to notice.
They jumped out all at once for a surprise attack, and coming in with the timing of the boulders, it could prove to be deadly. If this was another fire nation ship, maybe. But not this one. Zuko knew exactly where they were. They managed to gather their water quickly, using it to cover their arms and act like octopus arms. They surrounded their (what they believed to be) unsuspecting pray, the four of them forming a square while Zuko stood in the middle of it all, about to be bombarded and smashed with waterbenders and boulders.
Zuko closed his eyes, concentrating on the enemies'. He didn't need light, he didn't need anything. Only for him to concentrate, sense their positions, feel their breathing, examine their movements. Then strike. Patience was key. He would win this.
The waterbenders were the first to strike, using an octopus leg to whip out in an attempt to lash the young male. But Zuko jumped, dodging the strike. The whip hit the steel floor, and the water immediately froze over. Another whip lashed at him in the air, but it just missed him as he came down. He landed on the white ice purposely, using it not as a trap, but to his advantage. With two more whips coming his way at opposite ends, he used the ice to spin himself on one foot, swirling down into a crouched position and his other leg extended out to keep him balanced.
The two water whips clashed with one another, and the water rained down upon him. Still spinning on his one foot, he rose up again, finally dishing out his fire attacks. His right fist launched the first, his left foot the next. Changing position, he flipped over, still keeping himself spinning as he did a one handed hand stand and launching another flame with his left hand, then another with right foot.
It wasn't over yet, however. Despite sending the four waterbenders flying overboard and far into the ocean, (most likely suffering from some degree burns no doubt,) there were still the boulders to deal with. Quite a lot of them actually. Zuko didn't stop there, keeping his motions going as he targeted both the boulders in front and the ones sent from the boat steadily creeping up the side of their boat. Five of them in total.
Shoving himself up with his right hand, he performed a back flip right over a boulder. In the air facing it, he sent out a flame, quickly spinning himself around to deal with a slightly larger boulder. This flame he held out longer, the end syllable it sang out quivering as the end of the flame turned into more of a wave. The flame on the boulder pushed him back in the air somewhat. Still working on destroying the boulder, the remaining three came into play. While he was still using his right fist to fire a continuous stream of fire at one boulder, he shot out another using his left hand. This boulder he shot at was below him, the fire he shot at it propelled him upwards. As both boulders turned to dust, he spun in the air and shot his last to fires at the remaining boulders.
"I- LIKE- THE- WAY- YOU- MOVVE"
"NO- LEST- OH"
The second boat had finally stepped next to theirs. Their leader, however, saw and heard what was going on. Were they.. throwing a musical or something? A deadly one, made apparent by how each of those water benders and boulders were pushed away or reduced to dust. They made their way on board. Having no care about what was going on, they also went after the soldiers playing instruments. Those idiots would refuse putting them down to defend themselves, wouldn't they?
An earthbender took a swing at one of them, but the soldier merely ducked to dodge the blow, continuing playing his instrument. Yup.. seems like they wouldn't. What a pain. They are so getting it after this is done with. As the first enemy ship approached the other side of their ship, Zuko went to deal with the enemy benders that had jumped aboard from the other. Fighting them and flying boulders was tough, but he handled it well.
"BA- DAAY"
"NO- LEST- OH"
"BA- DAAY"
"SO- DI-VINE"
Zuko's indigo flames made themselves heard as they sang through the starry night, the only light on his ship. He protected his men and focused the ship's concern with him. Mostly all they could see were Zuko's piercing purple eyes, and his flames dancing around the ship. The more the purple flame sang, the more Zuko's anger grew. He wanted it to stop doing that! His frustration was apparent in not only his moves, but in his flames as well, giving it more juice and all the more deadly. He hoped perhaps this way, he might be able to wear it out. Yeah, like that worked last time.
Noticing the benders were once again going after his men, mostly because they didn't want to even try with Zuko, the teen leaped over and balanced himself on the rim of the barrel his men had surrounded. This way he could shoot his fire without the risk of accidentally hitting one of his men. They knew to duck when Zuko did a hand stand, using the rim as a hold. A flame shot out of each foot, one lasting a bit longer due to knocking over two men that were lined up, one behind, one in front.
"BA-DAAY"
From there, he spun himself around, shooting four more shots from the soles of his feet at two earthbenders, one waterbender and an incoming boulder. Though soon enough the boulders would cease, for the boat was closing in, and fast.
"IT'S- SO- DI- VINE"
With a blast into the barrell, it sent him flying upwards, he flew up to greet yet another incoming boulder. Launching a fire ball with his right foot, he back flipped off the momentum, landing back on the ground in a crouched position. Two earthbenders met up with him on either side, and therefore, they were met up with two flames as well.
"ITS- SO- DI- VINE"
The Captain of the other ship, a strong, powerful earthbender, growled as he ground his teeth together. His men were being thrown every which way, by only one person! "I'll show you..!" he muttered, crossing the plank of wood and stepping onto the fire nation ship. Here came the first enemy ship, coming to a stop on the other side. They threw out their wooden blank to cross over onto their boat.. an overwhelming amount of enemies. But he could take it. Just like last time. He just wished he didn't have to fight with this infuriating singing flame, how degrading!
A waterbender started to form his octopus legs to his left, only to be thrown back by yet another ball of singing fire. And on his right came in the line of new enemies crossing the plank, only to face the stream of fire he dished out sent by his right palm. The stream sent them straight back onto the ship they were on, the front of the line receiving more damage than the others. An earthbender used the earth they had on their ship to throw a rock towards Zuko, but with quick reflexes, he ducked down to dodge the rock, sent out a flame with his left to prevent a different earthbender from sending out his rock, punching out another fireball with his right to get back at the previous earthbender, and finally destroying the flying rock to prevent it from hitting his men.
"BA- DAAY"
"NO- LEST- OH"
Zuko continued fighting, though with his singing purple flames, it looked more like he was dancing than fighting. He took enemies out two, three at a time, dodging water whips and rocks that came his way. The longer his stream of fire remained, the longer it sang. As soon as his fire was detached from him, perhaps burning a victim, it would stop singing.
"BA- DAAY"
"NO- LEST- OH"
Strangely, the fog enveloped all of them. The entire ship. No one could see a blasted thing, but his men kept playing. The enemies shuffled uncomfortably, yelling, trying to get to a place they could see. One of the two enemy Captains on board growled, "Who covered the area in fog? Disperse it, now!" he ordered. The fog was dispersed immediately, though perhaps it was best to keep it in tact. For their sakes. At least then they wouldn't of had to witness what was about to happen. As soon as they dispersed the fog, they spotted Zuko standing right in the middle of all their soldiers.. who were mostly turned around, away from him. Unaware to where he was. In an instant, fire balls flew out. Men flew overboard, scorched deeply by the purple flame. Performing a head stand, he spun in circles, dishing out his flame and successfully hitting his enemies. Lastly, he unleashed just a simple stream of fire, that which went around with him and he spun around. It created a circle of fire, knocking back the remainder of the benders.
"BA- DAAY"
"NO- LEST- OH"
"IT'S- SO- DIVINE"
Zuko pushed himself back up with his head, standing firm on his two feet as two remained: the two Captains. Both of them tall, strong, muscular men. But each a different bender: one an earth, one a water bender. One formed his water whip, the other compressed two large rocks. There was no hesitation to get started; the water bender slapped his feet, freezing him in place. The earth bender took this chance and threw his compressed rocks, while a stream of water went to lash him at the same time. With only a moment to decide what to do, he shot out three fire balls, two from his right to destroy both rocks, and the other to separate the water whip. One blast aimed down to melt away the ice keeping him in place, then finally, two long, sharp streams aimed at each Captain, sending them flying off his ship just like their other men.
"I- LIKE- THE- WAY- YOU- MOVE."
Silence. There was a long silence after that, the grand finale one would call it. Their Captain stood towards the tip of the ship, arms still out after having sent those two other captains away all by himself. Zuko, their captain, took on two ships all by himself. And as he was doing it, he put on such a marvelous display. To them it was like a show. A show displaying music they have never heard of before. Such interesting music, holding beats and a singer who sounded so alien. No one, not even their enemies, would ever forget this day. If they ever had to be beaten, they would want to be beaten to this song, to this dance. Beautiful and breath taking.
Of course Zuko didn't see any of it that way. No, what he did was totally disgraceful! His flames sung for pete's sake! He stood up straight once more, turning to face away from his men and to the sky. A growl soon came into play; a yell couldn't be far behind.
"This is why I hate music night!" Zuko turned, anger fueling his footsteps as he headed for his chamber.
His men couldn't see why Zuko hated his singing flame. Perhaps he thought he had just embarrassed himself right in front of his crew, for the second time. This time they would make sure to praise the other right in front of him. The first time, Zuko had run off into his chambers and locked himself in there before anyone could get the chance. The boy was pretty freaked, no doubt. One soldier dared to lift his skull mask and take off his helmet during this long silence, holding his helmet between his arm as his brown eyes stayed glued to his captain. Such admiration was held in those brown eyes of his. He knew, they knew, they had to speak up soon, or else Zuko would make a getaway. "That was.." he started, only to trail away to find the right words to say next. It was hard to speak when he was in so much awe. Zuko didn't stop, however, wishing he couldn't hear what the man's next words would be. "..simply amazing." Came his final words, the words that seemed to wake everyone out of their stupor.
The words shocked Zuko, actually causing him to stop.
"More than amazing.. it was unbelievable!" another one started, causing Zuko to blink.
They all agreed in unison and began to laugh, then cheer. "To our captain!"
Zuko turned around, suddenly facing his men that had approached him with their helmets off. This was something that he quite wasn't used to. With smiles, one gave the young man a pat on the shoulder. Praise went on through the group, words like 'beautiful' and 'skilled' being tossed around. Now this was quite embarrassing, being so praised by his own crew.
He turned his gaze with a slight "Hn," trying to act as if it weren't affecting him. But it was. It was hard to keep a blush off his face. Iroh who watched from behind couldn't help but smile at the scene, seeing Zuko being bathed in praise and acceptance. Something he hasn't been around in quite awhile. Something he would never get from his Father, despite his years spent trying to find the Avatar for him. It would be no use in the end, with or without the Avatar. Love isn't something you have to earn, dear Zuko. Iroh hoped that someday Zuko would realize this and finally find his own destiny.. but he sure was making progress. Day by day.
"How dare you make me do all the work! You all just sat back playing your stupid instruments, while I had to take care of two ships!" Eh.. baby steps, right? Baby steps.
"But it all turned out well in the end, right?" one of his men pointed out.
"And we even got a new song out of it. Maybe we should make a band y'know?"
The rage boiled up inside their captain, fists shaking as his men agreed to the idea of making a band. That was just the tip of the iceberg for Zuko. Had they all forgotten what they were doing out here in the first place? Seemed like it. None of them were as serious as he was when it came to finding the Avatar, that was made certain long ago. "Secure the cargo and get out of my sight!" he yelled at his men, waving his arm but also unintentionally producing a flame along with it.
They sighed, not too happy about having to retrieve what they could from both enemy ships. At least they could stock up on supplies this way, though they would still have to make a stop for fuel. But it would save them some money in the end, depending on what they find. The soldiers dispersed to do their job, half the group taking one boat, the other half taking the second. Iroh, with a smile still on his face, approached his nephew as the boy glared daggers at his palm.
"Why does this keep happening to me?" he asked, sounding not too pleased, and partially concerned.
"It is nothing to be ashamed of, Zuko. You should be very proud you could produce such a gorgeous yet deadly flame."
The teen turned to look at his old uncle; judging by his strange purple eyes, Iroh could tell Zuko was still upset about the situation. "But why does it make that noise?"
The noise, meaning, the way it 'sings' as he launches it at an opponent. Iroh had thought about this, and he came up with a theory. "Well, it could be the lightning. Combined with the fire, as it soars, it's scratching against the many particles in the air. Normally the noise would be too low for anyone to hear, but with such power behind it, the sound is amplified."
Zuko blinked at the explanation, but a thought seemed to strike him almost instantly at the mention of lightning. "That doesn't make any sense, uncle. Azula's lightning doesn't make a sound at all."
Iroh's smile grew on his face. "Like I said, the more power it has behind it, the louder the sound gets."
It took a moment before Zuko got this. His strange purple gaze trailed back down to his palm. So his combination of lightning and fire is more powerful than Azula's lightning..? The teenager turned to his thoughts on this as his crew continued their work. Iroh occasionally popped out, offering the more tired soldiers some tea to keep them going. Eventually a soldier approached Zuko, interrupting the young man's thoughts on his strange power. "Sir, the cargo has been loaded."
"Good. Let's get moving before anyone else spots us."
With a nod, the soldier turned and left to give out the order to the rest of the crew. Soon the ship would be moving again, and the search for the Avatar would resume once more. Of course he would always have this strange power in the back of his mind, lingering there like a tumor. Should he even try to figure it out? It was powerful indeed..
"You still have the purple flame, don't you?" Iroh asked as he approached from behind.
"Yeah, last time I had it for nine and a half hours. I don't know how to stop it." the concern in his voice was apparent.
"Ah, I see.." Iroh trailed off, making Zuko think there was something else his Uncle was trying to get at.
"So.. you think you can join us for the rest of music night?"
And there was the catch line. It was powerful yes, but figuring out this power would also mean having to constantly entertain this lazy old man! Plus he'd have to bonk himself on the head each time he wanted to access it, something he was not willing to put himself through. Especially for such a stupid reason! The teen grit his teeth in rage, a reaction Iroh knew was coming.
"This isn't a joke! I don't know how to turn this off!" he roared at his Uncle.
"Well, maybe if you use it up, it'll go away." Iroh suggested. Though in reality, the man didn't think that was true at all. He just wanted his nephew to play some more with the rest of the crew. He would, of course, never suggest him using this power if he thought it would hurt the male. He wasn't that heartless. But it was good music..
Zuko knew Iroh could possibly be lieing to him, however, the idea could work. And if it could, it was definitely worth a shot. Still.. he hated having to entertain his Uncle and the crew, something he didn't want to do in the first place. He's never been apart of music night, not since that one time, and then again tonight. The Spirits sure had it out for him, didn't they? Give him power with a catch: it sings. Oh joy. Maybe he can sing the Avatar to death. He'd be the laughing stock of the century. Well.. at least then he'd have the Avatar..
Iroh could see his nephew debating in his head. No, he didn't want to do it, but if it got rid of the power, he would do it. A frustrated huff came, and then, "Fine. I'll do it. But I'm not doing this to entertain the ship, I'm doing this to drain this power out of me." Zuko said, stubbornly walking off toward the barrel with a newly lit flame inside.
Iroh smiled. "Mhmm, I completely understand." His smile only grew wider as he turned around, following his nephew. "Hey, guys! Guess who's joining us?" At this the crew instantly cheered.
"I'm not doing this for you lazy oafs! I have to drain this power away." Zuko yelled, making it a point to let them know two things. One, he was doing it for himself, and two, they were lazy for not helping him defeat those two ships earlier. What a crew! Since all their makeshift chairs were tossed, they all sat on the metal floor circling the barrel. But that was okay, so long as they had their music and their sake. Zuko took a seat with his Uncle sitting beside him, tsungi horn resting on the old man's lap. The rest readied their make shift instruments. Zuko couldn't help but groan, only to receive a small nudge from his Uncle. Seeing the man's encouraging smile helped. Slightly.
Resting his chin in his hand, and his elbow on his knee, Zuko lifted his right hand, his right elbow barely inches off his other knee. His infamous purple flame conjured in his hand, and nonchalantly, he shot two of them up into the air, making the second shot stream longer for the longer syllable. "BA- DAAY." It sang. And just as it did, the men started playing their instruments. The song they played brought smiles to their faces. Zuko, too, gave a small smirk, feeling a warmth inside of him. A warmth he hasn't felt in a long, long time. The lone ship sailed, playing it's melody as it coasted through the water. They spent the rest of the night playing their songs, making this night the best music night ever.
- The End