Hello, everyone!

This is where Aang gets introduced. I'm hoping I'm doing his character justice, I'm not used to him being 'normal' XP

Enjoy Chapter 3!


Anil leaned over the side of the ship, enjoying the sight of their settlement in the distance. In just a couple of hours, he would be back home with his son. Of course, he would also have to give a full report to the elders within the next couple of days, which he was not looking forward to.

These last few days had been without incident, for which he was very grateful for. They had told the crew that Zuko had not given them any sort of name, making up excuses such that he might not remember. Even still, Anil could sense the hostility most of the crew held for Zuko. Once Zenji pointed it out to him, he started noticing the offhand comments and the pointed glares at both himself and Zuko everywhere. The day after the whole incident, Anil had tried to encourage Zuko to walk around the ship. He thought getting the boy to walk around in the open air might be good for him. However, Zuko had refused to leave the room, nearly panicking at the mere suggestion. Anil hadn't pushed the issue since. In retrospect, that had probably been for the best.

He and Zenji had decided that Zuko should stay at her place. Zenji lived by herself, and her home was fairly removed from the rest of the enclave, so it was ideal. Anil would take Zuko in himself, but he wasn't sure how Zuko would handle being around his overactive son.

Usually there was a hum of excitement throughout the ship when they were about to land. However, that excitement was overshadowed by tension and anticipation of what the elders' ultimate decision was going to be.

Once they got into their port, Zenji oversaw the disembarkation, while Anil took it upon himself to try and get Zuko to finally leave his room. Quite frankly, Zuko had no choice in the matter; he had to leave the ship tonight.

When Anil entered Zuko's room, the boy was sitting on his bed, hands clenched together on his lap. When he saw Anil, he said quietly, "We're docked somewhere."

Anil nodded. "We're at my enclave. This is my home." He wanted to say that this was Zuko's home now as well, but he didn't want to give any false hopes until he spoke to the elders and made sure there wasn't going to be any trouble.

Zuko looked at the door where the sounds of disembarking and unloading could be heard from. "What're you going to do with me?"

Anil kneeled down in front of Zuko, placing a hand on his knee. "You're going to stay with Zenji, at least for a little bit. After that… well, we'll just have to see."

Zuko frowned. "Zenji lives in the enclave?"

Anil nodded.

"Off the ship?"

Anil frowned in confusion. "Of course she lives off the ship…"

Zuko took in a shaky breath. "Which means… I h-have to leave the ship?"

Anil nodded again. "We can wait. You don't have to leave until the ship and port are clear if that'll make you more comfortable."

Zuko looked out the window, more anxious than usual, then looked down at his hands nervously.

"Zuko… if there's something bothering you, you can tell me."

The young man shook his head. "It's nothing…"

Anil wanted keeping pressing for an answer, but knew that was a bad idea. Besides, Zuko was probably scared and worried about everything at the moment. It would take a lot longer than a few days to get him to relax and perhaps open up.

It took about an hour for the ship to be unloaded and for everyone to leave. Anil could hear the reunions occurring out the window. The voices of worry from the families of those who had been wounded. It made him anxious to see Aang, but he wanted to stay with Zuko until he was settled at Zenji's. If Aang was waiting at the port, Zenji would be able to explain that he was fine and would be out soon.

Zuko was feeling more lightheaded and nauseous as the time wore on. He could tell by the diminishing noise that Anil would want him to leave soon. He liked this room. When he fell asleep here, he had been surprised to find that he didn't wake back up on Fong's ship. Here, no one came in except Anil or Zenji. And since neither of them have hurt him (yet), this has been the only place Zuko has ever felt even a little bit safe.

But outside this room, outside this ship... it was all a complete unknown. Everything could change once he stepped outside. They were probably going to drag him off to a brand new cage to become the plaything for his new keepers. He briefly wondered how the Air Nomads' techniques would be different than the Earth Kingdom soldiers'.

"Alright," Anil said, looking out the window. "Everyone's gone." He turned to Zuko and smiled. "You ready?"

The honest answer was no, but Zuko didn't think Anil would take very kindly to that answer, so he just meekly nodded.

He followed Anil down the halls of the ship until they were finally at the entrance to the deck. When the light hit his eyes, they started to burn a little, but Zuko just wiped the tears away and kept pace closely behind Anil. It wasn't until they reached the ramp leading off the ship that true panic started to settle in.

Anil was halfway down the ramp when he realized that Zuko was no longer behind him. He turned around and found Zuko still standing at the top, holding onto the railing like a lifeline. "You're alright," Anil assured. "See? There's no one around that's going to hurt you."

For once, that wasn't why Zuko was panicking. He looked at the wooden port and the sandy beach. It was solid ground. Non-moving, invariant earth. He hadn't been on solid ground since before he was taken. He had been kept on Fong's ship ever since, never once leaving for any reason.

He realized it was ridiculous to be terrified of the ground. However, after years of being on a ship, solid ground seemed so… foreign.

"Dad!"

Zuko jumped at the unexpected exclamation. He looked up and saw a younger boy running down the port. The boy didn't even make it to the ramp before he airbent himself into the air and landed on the ramp in front of Anil. Anil picked the boy up with a large smile and hugged the boy tightly. "Aang! How are you doing?"

"We were worried," Aang said, his voice only slightly muffled by the fact that he had his face buried in his father's neck. "You guys are late! Everyone thought you guys might be dead…"

"I'm sorry I worried you…" Anil just held on to his son, silently reassuring him that he was fine.

Zuko watched the reunion with a dull ache in his chest. He had no idea that Anil had a son. He also had no idea that fathers who openly showed their affection actually existed.

Not that his father had any affection for him to show.

Fong grabbed Zuko by the collar of his shirt and pinned him against the wall, flashing a document in front of him. "What's the meaning of this!?"

Zuko tried to shove Fong off of him, but between the chains and the fact that Fong was just so much bigger than him, it was futile. "Meaning of what…?"

"You little shit…" Fong let go of him and paced the small room, staring at the paper. "You're just… worthless to me! What's the use of a hostage of no one wants him!?"

Zuko glared at the captain, getting very tired of his rants. "What're you talking about, you Earth scum!"

Fong stared at Zuko for a moment before letting out a bark of laughter. "Ha! You didn't even know, did you?"

"Know what?"

"That your own father doesn't even want you." Fong looked back down at the paper. "Says here that we've done him a favor by kidnapping you. That you were never any son of his and you're not even worth the life of a single lowly criminal, let alone three Earth Kingdom generals."

"You're lying!" Zuko yelled. "My father wants me to inherit the throne! He loves me and thinks…" He stopped, involuntarily remembering a dinner from the not too distant past.

Azula was born lucky. You were lucky to be born.

"You're lying…" Zuko repeated, not wanting to this man any satisfaction.

"Wish I was, you bastard. Now I have a useless, Fire Nation monster on my ship. What good are you to me now?"

Fong dropped the letter on the ground and was about to leave when he stopped. He turned around, looking at Zuko thoughtfully. "I suppose you could serve some purpose…"

"Zuko?"

Pulled back into the present, he found Anil and his son both staring at him. Anil looked concerned, but Aang was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. After a few moments of awkward silence, Aang looked up at his father and said, "Dad, who is this?"

Anil internally cringed. He had wished he could have introduced Zuko to Aang in a more stable environment after Zuko had settled in. Maybe explain the circumstance to Aang beforehand. He sighed. He supposed there was no helping it now. Anil just hoped his son would exercise more tact than usual.

"Aang, this is Zuko. He's going to being staying here at the enclave with Zenji."

Aang looked back at Zuko, unconsciously staring at his facial scars. "Did the Fire Nation hurt you?"

Zuko just stared back at the kid wordlessly. Usually when people first saw him, they would look at him in disgust or fear. It was understandable, his scars made him a hideous sight to behold. But the lack of either in this boy was beyond mindboggling. Then again, he was Anil's son.

"Aang, you can talk to Zuko later. Now go back home. I'm need to take care of some business."

Aang kept his attention on Zuko. "You're going to be at Zenji's, right?"

Zuko simply nodded, at a loss for words.

"Then I'll come with you! If that's okay with you..."

"Aang..." Anil chastised. "You can't just invite yourself into Zenji's home…"

"Anil!"

Anil looked up to see Zenji running towards them. She looked worried, setting him on edge. "Zenji?"

Zenji came up to the end of the ramp and was about to say something when Aang blurted out, "Can I come over to your place, Zenji?"

Zenji looked at him for a moment, distracted by whatever she had been about to say. "What? Yeah, sure…"

"Awesome! Thanks!" Aang ran past his father and approached Zuko, who looked more perplexed than frightened. "You wanna hang out?"

This kid made no sense to Zuko. He seemed to actively want to get to know Zuko, but that was insane. Did this kid not understand? He had these scars for a reason. They were a warning; he's a monster and deserves only hatred and pain. But this boy was just ignoring all of this and was asking to… to hang out?

Zuko glanced up at Anil and saw that he was watching Zuko carefully. He was probably making sure Zuko didn't hurt his son. Looking back down at Aang, he knew he should probably give some sort of response. Searching for an answer that wouldn't anger anyone, he finally just said, "W-whatever you want…"

Anil was surprised to find that Aang's energy wasn't overwhelming Zuko like he thought it would. In fact, Zuko had relaxed and let go of the railing. It didn't occur to Anil the Zuko might be so bewildered by Aang's personality that it might distract him from his own fear and anxieties.

"Anil." Zenji placed a hand on Anil's shoulder. "You need to talk the elder's now. Word about Zuko is spreading throughout the enclave. Some of them have already started to appeal to the elders. You need to set the story straight before they make up their minds."

Anil glanced back at her for a moment before looking back at Zuko and Aang. He thought this might happen. He was hoping that maybe it would wait until tomorrow, but apparently the people of the enclave weren't willing to let the issue rest. "You'll watch after them? I'll probably be there for a while."

"Of course, you idiot," Zenji replied.

Anil smiled. "I have to ask."

"No... you don't."


After Anil went off to speak with the elders, Zenji led Zuko and Aang back to her home. Of course, Aang already knew where it was. He had spent quite a lot of time in her house. In the past, Anil and Zenji had both tried to encourage Aang to spend more time with his peers. That is, until they found that most of them treated Aang like an outcast. Aang had always been a prodigy when it came to airbending, and it seemed that the other kids (and some of their parents) were very jealous of this fact.

Zenji really did despise her people. Of course, she didn't know if all airbenders were like this. With the Fire Nation still actively hunting down the Air Nomads, it was practically suicide for an airbender to travel alone, so there was no contact between the enclaves. Besides their scouting missions, she had never left the settlement. In fact, it was the main reason she went on the missions. While most of the others were doing it for revenge, Zenji was doing it to get away from most of the enclave. While she was on the ship, she spent the majority of their time with Anil, who was the only other adult she actually liked. She had also liked Anil's wife, Sangmu. She had a down to earth individual with no filter, which Zenji had actually appreciated.

Sangmu had always thirsted for adventure. She hadn't content to stay in the enclave all the time. She had gone on scouting missions when she was younger to satisfy this thirst. However, after marrying Anil, he made her promise to stop going. To make up for this, she would occasionally go into the mountains to explore on her own. She would go about once a month, only for a day or two, to avoid getting too restless.

And then one day, she didn't come back. Search parties were sent after her, and they eventually found the charred remains of her body on a island miles away. Aang had been three years old.

Anil had been inconsolable. It was the first time in decades that someone had been killed by the Fire Nation and had not been on a mission. It had shocked the whole enclave. However, as the months wore on, the rest of the enclave moved on with their lives and Anil was still a wreck. Zenji spent most of her time at his place, helping him take care of Aang, supporting him in anyway she could. It had been an incredibly long and hard road for Anil. Over a year after Sangmu's death, Anil volunteered to go on one of the scouting missions. Zenji was sure that it had been Anil's grief that had fueled him to become captain as young as he did.

"That's Zenji's place!" Aang announced. "I'll show you around!"

Pulled out of her thoughts, Zenji smiled as Aang grabbed Zuko's hand and yanked him towards her house. She wasn't sure what she found more entertaining: Aang's over enthusiasm or Zuko's reaction to it. Aang seemed to be just his normal self, not bothered at all by the scar-covered boy. Zuko, on the other hand, seemed to be at a loss for how to react to Aang.

Zuko allowed himself to be dragged by the young airbender. Aang spoke rapidly, explaining where all the rooms are, where he would probably stay, the kinds of food Zenji tended to eat, and more. Zuko couldn't keep track of most of it. He was more enthralled by how few pauses for breath Aang was taking.

After Aang had explained the entire house in painful detail, Zenji identified which room Zuko would be staying in. "I'm going to make some dinner for us. Keep your expectations low, Zuko. I'm not much of a cook."

Once she left, Aang immediately jumped onto the bed and laid down. "Zenji got this bed for me when I started staying over a lot. It's really nice. C'mon and try it!"

Zuko shook his head, instinctively stepping back. "I-If this is your room…"

"I mean, it's not really my room. I don't stay here as much anymore. Besides, I have my own bedroom in my own house. You need it way more than I do."

Zuko looked around the room, struggling to comprehend that Zenji was just going to let him use this room. It wasn't very large, and it was sparsely decorated. There was a single mirror, a Pai Sho table, a small dresser, and of course, the bed.

I don't deserve any of this.

However, Aang was still staring at him expectantly. And the bed did look comfortable...

Slowly inching forward, Zuko bent down slightly and gently allowed his fingers to ghost the fabric of the bed. Encouraged by the lack of any negative reaction from Aang, he sat down, sinking slightly into the mattress.

It was comfortable. Much more comfortable than the bed on the ship. Of course, even that bed had been a luxury compared to his previous accommodations.

Aang sat up fully, carefully observing Zuko. He wasn't stupid. It was obvious that Zuko had been through terrible things. He was pretty sure that it would be accurate to say that Zuko had been 'tortured', judging from his scars, though it wasn't a word Aang felt very comfortable using. He would be lying if he said he wasn't insanely curious what had happened to him. He also knew that it would be inappropriate to ask for details. Not to mention Aang wanted to avoid angering Zuko. Maybe he could ask roundabout questions to slowly get the story out of him? "So… did Dad and Zenji save you from the Fire Nation?"

Zuko didn't respond immediately, and Aang thought that perhaps his question had been too direct. But then the older boy shook his head. "No… from the Earth Kingdom."

Aang's eyes widened. "The Earth Kingdom? The Earth Kingdom? Why would the Earth Kingdom want to hurt you?" He had blathered out the question without any forethought, and as soon as Zuko's body went rigid, he immediately regretted it. "Sorry… you don't have to answer that. I understand that you might not want to talk about it."

Zuko turned to Aang with an incredulous expression. For a moment they just stared at each other, Aang trying his best to convey his sorriness. Then Zuko shook his head slowly. "You're very strange."

Aang smiled again, happy that Zuko didn't seem upset. "That's what everyone says."


Anil stood before the elders, hands held behind his back. He had just given them a detailed account of what had happened. He had included his revelation about Zuko's name and what it meant. He didn't want to leave anything out, knowing that doing so could make it all the more worse later. However, the elders seemed to be determined to remain closed-minded. While Monk Tashi was the most vocal, it was clear that most of the other elders were silently agreeing with him.

"None of this changes the fact that he's still Fire Nation," Monk Tashi said. "If what you say is true, then that means he is the son of Firelord Ozai. The great-grandson of Firelord Sozin!"

"Who cares?" Anil said. "He didn't choose his family. The crowned prince was eight when he was kidnapped. He has nothing to do with the war or the decisions that have been made."

"Don't be naïve," Monk Tashi said. "Foul blood runs through his veins. Nothing can change that fact. I propose we ship him far away from here in order to prevent the inevitable destruction of our enclave."

"That boy can barely function, and you think he's a threat?" Anil nearly yelled.

"Anil…" Monk Pasang placated. "You have to understand that it's not just about the boy. We also have to consider the enclave. If the others are unwilling to accept him, I can't in good conscious allow him to stay. It would cause imbalance and put us in even further risk."

"We can't just cast Zuko out..." Anil said, almost pleading with the head monk. "After everything he's been through, to cast him away just after he's finally been shown some kindness would be cruel."

Monk Pasang sighed. "I understand where you're coming from. And I understand what you're trying to say. I really do." He paused, giving consideration to Anil's words. "The boy can stay."

The other elders turned to Monk Pasang, surprised and outraged. "Monk Pasang, you can't be serious!" Monk Tashi exclaimed.

"He can stay…" Monk Pasang repeated. "However, Anil… you will take full responsibility for the boy. No one else in this enclave is responsible for seeing to his needs, may they be physical or mental. If it becomes a serious problem, to the point where you are no longer capable of fulfilling your duty, then the boy must go."

Knowing that he couldn't have expected better, Anil bowed. "Thank you, Monk Pasang."

Monk Tashi turned his nose up at Anil. "You're going to regret your blind compassion for that Fire Nation scum when it literally backfires in your face!"

Anil turned to face the bitter Monk fully. He was unable to hold back the expression of contempt, appalled and sickened by the elders' reaction to Zuko's suffering. "I will never regret my compassion for another human being."


So what do you think? Review and let me know! I'll probably have another update by the end of the week!