By El Shaddai
Zuko has been on the road for a few days and he had already had all of the flashbacks from "Zuko alone" so I won't bother with them because you all know them and if you don't go watch the episode.
Zuko was riding the ostridge/horse that he stoll from the army along with a small amount of food that had run out, he had begun to steal from others using ether his fire or earth bending to get food and gold from others but he was sure to never use them both at the same time, shortly after crossing a bridge Zuko could smell food he looked to his left to see a man cooking some meat on a spit. Zuko pulled the scarf like cloth over his face and began riding towards the man thinking "this was just too easy", but then saw that there was a woman with him who was pregnant; Zuko slowed his ostridge/horse down and thought as he got close "what am I doing? I'm not a bad guy yet here I am about to steal food from this man and his wife just because it's easy, she looked like she could give birth any day she should not be walking. Maybe I should help them? There could be bandits around and they're not going to stop just because a woman is pregnant." Zuko's ostridge/horse had slowed to a walk at this point and as he approached it seemed the man hadn't even noticed him, but when his ostridge/horse made a lowed grunt the man's eyes looked up at him.
"Who are you?" the man asked
Zuko thought for a moment then said "my names not that important" Zuko took the cloth from his face.
The man picked up a stick from the ground said "come any closer I'll knock you off that ostridge/horse."
Zuko got down of the ostridge/horse and said "don't worry if I was going to rob you you'd of never seen me coming."
"what do you want?" the man asked.
"Your wife shouldn't be walking in her condition" Zuko replied
"What of it?" the man asked.
"If you'd like I can let he ride my ostridge/horse" Zuko said
"What's in it for you?" the man asked
"Nothing, just you got to feed him and me till we get to the next town, but then I can buy some food for him myself" Zuko pulled a medium sized pouch from his side and shook it up and down so that the man could hear the coins jingle.
The man looked at his wife and said "fine but don't try anything boy"
"Oh Than leave the boy alone he's just trying to help" the pregnant women said to her husband then turned to Zuko and said "hi I'm Ying and this is my husband Than where refugees headed to Ba Sing Se".
"it is very nice to meet you Ying" Zuko said
It was not long till the meet was cooked and eaten Zuko went to bed rite after eating and the next day they were off. As the past a field that appeared to be the site of a great battle Zuko could not help to think of his little sister Azula and how destructive she was he remembered one time they were playing, after his mother was banished and his father gained the throne, Azula got tired of the guards fallowing them so she told him she wanted to play tag and ran off threw all kinds of small areas and between rock till the guards lost track of them. Zuko came out of a daze when he saw a small town in front of them. There group went into town where they quickly found a place to buy feed for the ostridge/horse but then some kids in the ally next to the store throw an egg at the guards behind him and ran off. The guards asked them if they threw the egg Zuko said no then the guards ask if they saw who did Than was about to speak but Zuko cut him off by saying no one of the smaller guards asked if that was his favorite word but Zuko didn't respond then the biggest guard who had done most of the talking said that the egg had to come from some were. Zuko suggested that a chicken might have flown over. One of the guards laughed at this but the big one was not amused, he grabbed the feed and said that the army appreciated his contribution then said that they better leave town there was a penalty for staying.
The man who worked at the shop said that the solders where suppose to protect them but they were just a bunch of thugs. Then one of the kids who throw the egg popped up from behind the ostridge/horse and said "Thanks for not rating me out"
Zuko said "don't mention it"
The boy then said I'll "take you to are farm and feed your ostridge/horse for you, come on I owe you guys" then the boy grabbed the rains and led them to his farm. When they arrived all kinds of pig like animals were there making all kinds of noises the boy said "no one can ever sneak up on us"
"HUM" Zuko grunted in agreement but he was thinking about the hammers one of the solders was wearing and how useful they would be when earth bending.
"you friends of Lee's?" a man asked as they arrived wile a woman stuck her head around the corner.
Lee dragged his mother out to see us then said "this guy just stud up to the solders by the end he practically had them running away.
Lee's mother then said "does this guy have a name".
"my name is not important" Zuko said.
"That's the same answer he gave us" Than said with a small grin.
"so you're traveling with a man whose name you don't even know?" Lee's dad asked.
"my wife needed to get off her feet and he had an ostridge/horse" Than replied.
"I see" Lee's mom said "well will you three be staying for dinner".
"not if it's any trouble" Zuko said comely.
"Oh it's now trouble it's nice to have guests, besides Ganzu could use some help on the barn" said Lee's mom.
Zuko was hammering away on the barn doing a pretty poor job partly because he had never done this before but also because Lee kept asking him questions but after a while Lee stopped and Zuko's mind began to wander, he began to think back on that day him and Azula where both tired and panting when Zuko finally tagged Azula, Zuko took off, he knew Azula was faster than him so he needed to do something she couldn't or wouldn't to get away so as he ran he knottiest a drop off and thought she would never jump off that so he did when he landed he stopped and looked to see if she would fallow and she did, over the drop off she came but there is a lot of volcanoes around the fire nation and were the is volcanoes there is obsidian. Azula landed on a piece of obsidian that had broken off somewhere, she fell to the ground and cried out. Zuko was about to start running but she was in pain and he felt bad because she was fallowing him so he went back to help her.
"are you ok" Zuko asked.
"of core I'm not ok dumdum" Azula said "this is your fault you now".
"sorry I didn't think you would jump" said Zuko.
"well now you half to carry me back and dad's going to be mad at you for running off without the guards" Azula said.
"but that was your idea" Zuko replied angrily.
"fine if you carry me back I'll tell dad it was my idea" Azula said.
"ok" Zuko agreed.
After he finished with the barn Zuko and the others sat down to dinner although Zuko didn't say much and rite after dinner he went to bed and began to dream.
After carrying Azula back and telling their dad what happened Ozai sent for a doctor and a surgeon to remove the piece of obsidian from her foot and treat the wound. After it was all done and the doctors left Ozai turned to Zuko and said "your sister said you told her to jump".
"what? Dad she is lying" Zuko said angrily.
"don't you raise your vice at me boy." Ozai smacked Zuko across the face, this was not the first time Ozai had hit Zuko but it was the first time in front of Azula. "because of you Azula almost died today".
"how?" Zuko asked.
"How? I've told you before obsidian is not like other rocks it doesn't shatter, it splinters because of that it can get into your blood stream and cause your heart to fail".
"sorry I didn't remember" Zuko apologized.
"well then I'll make sure you never forget" Ozai replied.
Zuko awoke suddenly to the animal making a lot of noise Zuko stepped outside to see the thugs, from the previous day, riding up. Zuko quickly got on the ostridge/horse and rode between the thugs and Lee's family. The thugs told the family that their son was captured. Later on when Zuko and the others are leaving Ganzu told them he's going to look for their son, when Zuko hears this he goes to Lee gives him the pearl dagger his uncle gave him then he told the boy to look out for his mother.
Later on that day Lee's mom comes running after them asking Zuko to help Lee who tried to protect his mother from the solders with the knife he gave him. Zuko rides of to save Lee but first he stops at the farm to gab the hammers that they were using to fix the barn. Zuko runs into town with one hammer in each hand.
"see I told you he would come" Lee said
"Let him go" Zuko said
"hahahaha who do you think you are" said the biggest of the solders
"it doesn't matter who I am" said Zuko "what matters is who you, you're not solders, your bullies, freeloaders abusing their power mostly over women and children, you don't want Lee for your army, your just sick cowards picking on a family that has already lost one son to the war"
"you're just going to take insults like that from a stranger?" the biggest of them said to the smaller ones. One of the smaller ones attacked and Zuko hit the tip of his spear with one hammer and struck him over the head with the other knockings him on his back behind the others.
Another one of the small ones attacked, Zuko with two well placed kicks disarmed the man and knocked him flat on his back.
The last of the smaller thugs attacks, Zuko throws one of the hammers and hits him on the head knocking him unconscious.
Now only the biggest remained, Zuko move the only hammer he has left to his right hand while the thug pulled out his hammers and struck one against the ground which caused a rock to stick out of the ground the, thug hit the protruding rock and sent it at Zuko. Zuko broke the rock with the hammer he had. The big thug hit the ground with both hammers causing a pillar of stone to shoot from the ground he then hit the pillar so that it sent two rocks flying at Zuko. Zuko broke one rock then spun around and broke the other but while his back was turned the thug sent a third rock at him that hit him in the gut. Zuko shuck it off and began running towards the thug and picked up the other hammer without stopping. The thug began to spin slowly while hitting the ground causing a large number of rocks to go flying a Zuko in a rapid succession. Zuko began to block them very well, so the thug hit the ground trying to cause a pillar to shoot out of the ground and Zuko, but Zuko makes a pillar come out of the ground under each of his feet to aid his jump over the pillar the thug shot at him and then with a combination of earth and fire bending he hit the ground causing a large wave of fire and earth to hit the thug knocking the hammers from his hands and sending him into a wall. The thug looked up at Zuko with a combination of both fear and regret that caused Zuko to have one last flash back.
He was laying in bed but could not sleep his ribs hurt and so did the left half of his face Zuko, could hear small soft foot steps outside his door and he knew it was Azula because she was limping do to her hurt foot then the door opened slowly and her soft broken and quivering voice came into his room.
"Zuko, Are you awake?" Azula asked Zuko could tell by her voice that she had been crying.
"what do you want Azula!" Zuko said angular.
Zuko heard the door close and Azula limp walk over and turn on the light. Zuko sat up and looked at her; she had tears rolling down her cheeks. Zuko got up walked over to her, but before he could say anything she began to talk.
"I'm sorry Zuko I didn't know he would … I mean …I didn't mean for this to happen, Zuko if I could take it back I would but" Azula got down on her hand and knees with her face to the floor and said loudly "I'm sorry Zuko I'm so sorry please don't hate me for this and please find it in your heart to forgive me.
"forgive her" Zuko thought as he looked into the Mirer "how can I" Zuko looked at his left eye and how swollen it was after the beating his dad gave him the up left part of his face was black and blue "I can't" Zuko thought "this is unforgivable, I don't care if the memory of this day haunts her for the rest of her life I will never for giver now matter what" Zuko looked down into Azula's golden eye he saw her tear soaked cheeks and he felt all his anger go away "damn it I can't do it!" Zuko then said to Azula "it's not your fault".
Azula's eye lit up when he said this and she gave him hug but quickly pulled away when Zuko made sounds of pain.
Zuko was then pulled from his flash back by the big thugs voice "who …who are you"
Zuko picked up the thugs hammers and said "what good is my name to a dead man?" Zuko swung one of the hammers down on his head killing him.
Zuko fix the thugs belt to allow him to carry the hammers he then set off to catch up to the other but when Lee's mom asked him why he killed the thug he had only this to say "I will not make the same mistake twice.
