Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or Star Wars or any material related to them that is mentioned in this fiction. All of it belongs to Nickelodeon and George Lucas respectively.
Notes: There have been no new reviews since my last publication, for which I am a little disappointed, as I enjoy reading what others think of my work.
However I will anyways continue on with this story, as I find that I enjoy the way I have it shaped up to be.
Bender of the Force
Revelations and Confrontations Part 1
Iroh woke up the next morning and smelled fruit nearby. Getting up from the patch of hay where he had fallen asleep he looked at the cave he was living in for the moment and quickly found the fruit he smelled. Melons, apples, oranges and other assortments of fruits lay nearby piled up haphazardly one over the other.
Not far away was Zuko sound asleep. "Probably went on another secret expedition" though Iroh and stepped closer to the pile of fruits, and watching a particularly appetizing apple he picked it up and took a bite, while looking at the rest of the cave.
Something was amiss, Anakin was not where he had left him the day before, the strange metal object that he and Zuko had found him with was also gone, and Iroh became worried. Someone in Anakin's position should not even be awake; he was barely able to move the day before. However upon closer inspection of the place where he had been left the day before it suddenly became clear that there had been no struggle to move, the ground was not moved in the way a person dragging himself would leave it.
Iroh wondered what had happened and began to worry, what could have possibly happened to him? Had someone come at night and taken him without being noticed? No Iroh concluded, impossible, only he and Zuko even knew of him as far as he was aware, why would anyone even bother to come to this remote cave?
Finding no answers just looking at a patch of dirt Iroh decided to get away from the cave, he figured if Anakin had somehow gotten up, he wouldn't be far away from the cave, after all he was gravely injured, so Iroh got out of the cave and sure enough there was Anakin.
Anakin was seated cross legged in what Iroh could only conclude was a meditating position, and Iroh decided to get closer, yet as he approached something began to feel different, and Iroh could not describe the exact feeling he was having, or at least not until the first rock began to float around Anakin. Iroh was surprised, not because of the rock floating, he had seen many earth benders do it before, but rather he did not feel the surge of energy normally associated with bending, much less the typical stances needed for even such a basic move.
Iroh stood there fascinated by what was happening, observing as the single rock moved to a position nearby, and it was then that he was truly surprised.
In his many travels around the world Iroh had seen all the bending styles, or at the very least the great majority of them. He had seen the water benders of the north build great villages out of a river. Seen the earth benders take plain dirt and build great monuments or simply move the very earth they stepped on. He had even seen the secrets of fire bending, and met the people who had originally been able to fire bend. But never had he seen the wood of the forest move around a person, as if gravity did not exist.
Around Anakin rocks, and wood moved as if alive, creating shapes or otherwise simply moving, yet there wasn't even the gusts of air he had come to know from when the Avatar levitated objects with his air bending, no this objects defied his typical explanations. The he saw it, Anakin's strange metal tube began to float directly in front of him and all the other objects shaped themselves around him, rocks over rocks and wood over wood, ins natural facsimiles to his own strange metal tube in front of him.
Then all of the other objects began to spin once again in a small circle not far from Anakin, and with a motion almost too fast for even Iroh to observe Anakin got up from his seated position, grabbed the strange metal objects and launched himself against the small circle of now falling wood and rock.
Once again Iroh was amazed at what happened, from the metal tube a longer tube of blue energy appeared and in swift and controlled movements Anakin rapidly and precisely cut and slashed the falling rocks, and despite there being over a dozen objects all of them where sliced at least twice and in some cases even more. Iroh was truly astonished.
When it ended Anakin made the blue blade disappear and turned to look at Iroh. "Thanks again for taking care of me master Iroh" said Anakin looking straight at Iroh.
For a few second Iroh did not know how to answer, what he had seen was not normal, it wasn't any type of bending he knew of and yet it was like bending, plus the speed, grace and agility of this young man was simply astonishing to Iroh. However Iroh soon got over his sense of wonder and answered back "no problem young Anakin. What you did was most impressive" mentioned Iroh with a smile on his face and looking very impressed.
"It was nothing, just a training exercise" explained Anakin as he walked to Iroh. "Though I have never tried it in such a complicated way, I wasn't sure I could really control so many objects so precisely" commented Anakin as he strapped the metal tube to his hip holster, and stood in front of Iroh.
"I must still say, never in all my travels have I seen anything so creative" said Iroh with a smile at Anakin, but then he looked at the metal tube. "But tell me Anakin, what is that metal tube you have? And what was that blue light I just saw?"
Anakin looked at his lightsaber somewhat surprised, he was so used to everyone knowing what it was, that he never thought anyone would ask what it was, he hadn't realized that these people may not even know what it represented. Anakin believed that anyone seeing it would recognize it and not ask about it, for they knew exactly what it represented, but now he had to answer.
"This is a lightsaber" said Anakin and lighted it up with the typical snap-hizz associated with it. The blue blade hummed in front of Anakin, and he felt the sense of wonder coming from Iroh, so clear it was almost funny. "This is the weapon of a Jedi, a symbol of courage, honor and sacrifice"
As he said those words however he began to remember the mission to Myrkr, and wondered what had happened to them, what was going on out there in the galaxy. He also began to wonder about his sister, his brother, and Tahiri, how heart broken they might be at him leaving them and he looked to the ground in sadness and guilt.
Iroh felt that saying those words brought bad memories for the young man in front of him, and decided to try and cheer him up. "It's alright young man, you don't have to explain anything if you don't feel like it" said Iroh and put a hand on the Anakin's shoulder.
"Thanks again" said Anakin looking up once more at Iroh and how he could calm him without really trying. But Anakin realized that he was only placing his problems on hold and not facing them as he should.
"Where are you Uncle?!" yelled Zuko as he finally woke up. Once Zuko got out of the cave he finally saw Iroh and Zuko and stormed to where they stood.
"Well good morning prince Zuko" said Iroh in cheerful voice.
"Hmm" said Zuko as he got closer to his uncle.
"Now, now Zuko, that's not nice, come, let me introduce you to Anakin" said Iroh as he pointed to Anakin, who looked at Zuko somewhat surprised at the prince's face. "Now Zuko, this is Anakin" said Iroh and gestured towards Anakin. "And this young Anakin is my nephew Zuko" said Iroh as he stood behind Zuko with his hands over Zuko's shoulders.
"Are you crazy Uncle, giving our names away so easily!!. Have you even considered he might be a spy for Azula!" ranted Zuko in a very angry tone.
"Zuko, he is not a spy for Azula, I can assure you. In fact I don't think he even knows where he is" said Iroh to Zuko, and then turned to look at Anakin, who simply stood there listening to the conversation. "Like us prince Zuko he has been banished, please understand"
"Very well Uncle" said Zuko in a somewhat defeated tone. "Excuse me" said Zuko as he went to leave.
Iroh looked at the young prince as he left and wondered not for the first time, where the young prince was going.
"He is very troubled, isn't he?" said Anakin surprising Iroh.
"Yes, he has gone through great troubles lately. But he is not a bad person, he is just confused" conceded Iroh as he began to ponder about his nephew.
"I'll go after him" said Anakin and began to move before Iroh could stop him, wondering what would come from such a rash action.
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Silently Anakin followed Zuko as he made his way through the forest. A long time of evading capture and creatures, plus his training while in the shadow academy taught him many ways of concealing himself and passing through difficult places. As he followed Zuko Anakin wondered why he had done it.
In truth he realized he wasn't really sure, something inside him told him that he had to watch this young man, if for no other reason, then because he owed it to Iroh who had helped him and tried to understand him.
As Zuko moved further, he began looking all around him, trying to see if someone was following him. With a gentle nudge Anakin persuaded him otherwise, and continued to follow Zuko, who stopped in front of a tree and kneeled to its base. There he retrieved a mask, blue in color and with the face of what Anakin could only describe as a demon, but at the same time reminded him of a Yuuzhan Vong face.
Zuko put on his mask and began to run, and Anakin followed. Though Zuko moved fast and effortlessly through the woods Anakin had no trouble following him, and before long they arrived at a nearby village.
This village reminded him a little of what Tatooine, from the holostills and holovids he had seen from his uncle Luke, the major difference where the numerous agricultural gardens located all around the city, very differently from Tatooine which would have been unable to sustain that type of agricultural practice without specialized equipment.
The structures and the general layout of the village however where very similar to the images he had seen from the planet. There where other differences however, the roofs of the village where more like elevated rooftops as opposed to the completely flat ones in Tatooine, and other small architectural differences where found every now and then , but otherwise it was full of similarities.
As Zuko got closer to the village he began to roam the rooftops of the village, and Anakin followed him not far from him. Zuko looked from place to place, observing the movement of the villagers, but otherwise doing nothing, or at least not immediately.
Soon however Zuko fell from the rooftops to the streets, and for a few second Anakin did not know what had happened, but then he came back up again, and he had far more than he had gone down with. Anakin realized then what Zuko was doing and why he had needed the mask.
Quickly following Zuko as he moved away from the village, Anakin raced to get ahead of him, and as they left the village Anakin caught up to him. "I would have expected a prince to act with more honor" said Anakin with his hand crossed as he looked at Zuko.
Zuko turned to look at Anakin, for a few moments nothing was said as the air rushed by slowly. "You wouldn't understand" exclaimed Zuko as he turned to face Anakin.
"I think I can try" said Anakin still with his hands crossed in front of him.
"You wouldn't know" said Zuko as he grabbed his loot and made for the forest, only to see how Anakin run and incredibly fast stood in front of him.
"What makes you think you are the only one who is suffering?" asked Anakin as he saw Zuko leave the loot on the ground. "Have you stopped to consider what your uncle may be thinking? Feeling?" asked Anakin and felt the anger in Zuko rise.
"SHUT UP!! WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW? WHY WOULD YOU CARE?" Yelled Zuko and took out his twin swords preparing for a fight.
Anakin was most definitely not ready for a fight, he hadn't finished healing and was in no real shape to face a well prepared opponent at this point. Yes he had done some of the exercises and the healing trance had helped, but he was still too bruised to fight an opponent as he sensed in Zuko. "I don't wish to fight Zuko" said Anakin. Normally he wouldn't be worried about fighting an opponent, no matter how powerful they where, he had after all faced even the Yuuzhan Vong warriors and defeated hundreds of them, and he couldn't sense them in the force.
However he knew that he shouldn't fight Zuko. His uncle had shown him kindness and to betray that trust that had been given so easily was not right, yet here was Zuko with his twin swords drawn and ready to strike, and he knew he was going to have to betray Iroh's trust in order to do the right thing and alleviate Iroh's worries.
Anakin placed his hand on his lightsaber, but as soon as his hand was on its hilt he stopped. Using such a weapon would be dangerous for Zuko, and while it would be very fast it would also leave him without weapons for the future. Anakin knew that Zuko could de very well without weapons, he sensed it from his posture and the way he handled himself, but weapons would considerably enhance the chances of his future, so he decided not to use his lightsaber.
Instead Anakin adopted a more regular fighting form. After perusing the many holocrons his uncle Luke and many others in the new Jedi order had been able to accumulate, he had studied a number of Jedi hand-to-hand techniques that did not require lightsabers or weapons. Although he was by no means a master of these techniques he trusted the force to guide his moves, and opening himself to its power he relaxed and assumed his stance.
Zuko attacked as soon as he sensed that Anakin was ready to fight, and Anakin recognized that Zuko was at least that honorable, but his attacks where relentless. Fuelled by rage, anger and a raw desire to surpass any obstacle Zuko moved his swords fast and precisely, and only Anakin's force senses and force enhanced movements where allowing him to move beyond their reach, for his body ached with every motion.
Zuko attacked high with one of his swords and Anakin moved backwards sensing the second sword moving towards him. He tried to attack Zuko with a counter punch, but Zuko proved too agile and not only moved out of the way of the counter, but also made a side wipe at Anakin as he moved around him.
Anakin moved from side to side, trying to use any openings in Zuko's technique, but he was a very skilled swordsman, moving his swords one after the other and alternating the direction and tempo of his strikes, forcing Anakin to move from side to side and avoid his deadly swords.
Once again Anakin touched the handle of his lightsaber, it would be very easy to force Zuko to surrender just by cutting his swords with one swipe of his own powerful blade, but again that feeling that he should not use his main weapon came back at him and he simply jumped back avoiding Zuko and placing some distance between himself and the powerful fighter.
Anakin gasped, he was out of shape, and his body was aching with pain, clearly he was not yet fully healed. The fight had moved near the forests now and Zuko stopped for a second observing his opponent "I thought you would be stronger. I guess I was wrong" said Zuko, ready for anything his opponent might try.
Anakin could not really blame him, he had not underestimated Zuko, but he realized that at this moment he had the upper hand, and though he knew that Zuko would not kill him, he would not leave without a victory. Anakin planned other wise and began to concentrate, he possessed more abilities than just his fighting abilities and he planned to use them to defeat Zuko and bring him peacefully to his uncle.
From behind Zuko several rocks began to move, and Zuko saw them from his peripheral vision, turning in surprise to see as the rocks hovered behind.
"Huh" where Zuko's only words as the rocks moved towards him, and managed to deflect a couple of them before Anakin came in, just as fast as when he had caught up with him before and delivered a severe blow to his head, and Zuko stammered to the floor.
"You're and earth bender" said Zuko before he passed from the force of the blow, and Anakin got close to him, limping as his body ached even more due to the stress.
"No, I'm a Jedi" said Anakin as he gathered Zuko and his swords and headed for the forest cave deep in the woods.
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Iroh sensed the young man and his nephew approaching, and quickly got up to meet them. What he saw was far from what he was expecting however.
Zuko was on top of Anakin's back, and Anakin was carrying him with sweat pouring from his brow due to the exhaustion. Iroh quickly moved to help the young man.
"What happened?" asked Iroh as he got Zuko's left hand over his own shoulder.
Anakin had debated during the whole trip what to say to Iroh when he found him. He thought about lying, but realized that it would be too risky, and then considered telling the truth. He realized that either answer would have weighted on him, and as a Jedi he was bound to be an upholder of the truth, though he realized that he may have to hurt Iroh's feeling about his nephew when the revealed the truth.
"Zuko and I fought" said Anakin, and Iroh was surprised, but did not talk. "I saw him steal from the nearby village, and decided to stop him" said Anakin as they let Zuko down on the ground and gathered near the fire.
"I see" said Iroh, once he was seated, and began to look the fire, clearly worried about the revealed events.
"I'm sorry, I know that you hardly know me at this point, but I had to stop what he was doing" said Anakin, also looking at the fire, worried how this might affect the relationship that he was beginning to develop in this unknown world. Many times before his recklessness had caused a great deal of trouble for him back home, and he believed that after all that had passed during the Yuuzhan Vong war had taught him something of self control, but he seemed to be wrong yet again.
Then the events of the war began to replay in his head, the death of Chewbacca, his father's grief and anger at him for leaving his friend. The struggles they had suffered, his conflicts with his brothers, he began to think of what was happening back home, he hadn't been here for more than a few days and he was worried about his family back in the place he called home, would he be able to got back? He wondered and as his mind wondered about so many troubles, he almost missed Iroh's response.
"I suspected as much from my nephew. He is brash and quick to react, and he is not used to the type of life we are living right now" said Iroh in a low and sad tone. "He is not a bad man, but he is not ready to accept our situation just yet"
Anakin looked at Iroh, astonished at the words of the old man. He had felt that this man was filled with a great deal of knowledge and wisdom, just like his uncle Luke. "I really didn't want to hurt him, but I also couldn't accept what he was doing in good conscience" said Anakin still looking down at the fire.
Suddenly, Anakin doubled in pain, his wounds where hurting him again, and Anakin saw Iroh get up from his place near the flame. "Are you ok young man?" asked Iroh cautiously getting close to Anakin, who was still wrought with pain.
"Ye-Yes…" said Anakin through gasps of breath. "I'll be okay tomorrow… I- ahh… need to-ahh … meditate..."
"Are you sure, you don't look so good" commented Iroh, who helped Anakin to a the nearby wall so he could rest.
"Yeah-ah ah… I'll be all-ahhh… right tomorrow, please-ahh… forgive me" said Anakin finally as he finally collapsed.
"You don't need to apologize young man, and neither does Zuko" said Iroh as he got Anakin into a better resting position. "I will take care of you both one way or another" said Iroh as he also got Zuko in a resting position and stood by the fire, as he watched the two young men sleep, and wondered what the future would bring.
TBC