Disclaimer: Tea calms the nerves, especially when you have a cold. Dangit, do I have
to say it? Fine… I don't know Avatar. Fine. I don't
own Avatar. Mumbles something profane. I heard that
Thank you to all the loving and encouraging fans. Even the ones who didn't show that much love, your reviews have kept me happy. Lol. So tribute to the fans!
Reviews: Don't be that lazy; it's all posted on the review link that is next to my pen name, unless it's Super Davis, who critiqued me pretty harshly for the first chapter. Though, I am always open to any criticism, it helps me grow.
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Note: Wow… it seems like every story centering Zuko and the gang seems like it has Zutara in it. To tell you a little about myself, I'm not big on Zutara. So… I hope that doesn't change your opinion of me; I hope that will just be a fact.
Where we left off: Zuko brings food for the gang and most of the gang accepts him.
Zuko walked away from the group with a piece of contentment. He remembered Katara's stone-like glare and his spirits lowered, but did not sink. The state of mind Zuko had obtained pushed him into a state of vulnerability. He quickened his pace remembering Katara might be still eyeing him. His mind did not evacuate this state until he turned at a corner of the temple forcing Katara's eyes off of him. He slowed his pace and walked to the ledge where he had first tried to teach Aang fire bending.
I can't believe the Ava- Aang, yes, Aang hugged me. I mean I sort of saw an apology coming, but…wow. And The Duke, he came up to me and hugged me as well!
Appa soared down and gave a roar. Zuko gave an appreciative smile and laughed lightly.
"You know what? Wait, how old are you? You have to be older than me." Zuko said
Appa stared at Zuko.
"There is no way that you can have that kind of wisdom and, and, I don't know. You just – well – you know."
Zuko pondered for a second about what he wanted to say.
"Appa you rule, I can't think of any other way to explain it."
Appa gave a quick growl that sounded like his Uncle when he snorted.
Whoa, that wasn't creepy… it wasn't creepy
"Appa, I hate to ask you this, but could you move out of this area. I'd like to practice some fire bending."
Appa's face changed into one of slight vitriol, but Zuko wouldn't have the need to reiterate what he said. The flying bison lucidly understood the statement. He lifted off and was met in the air by Momo who was angrily chirping, because something in the flying lemur's life was wrong, but the problem was that something always happened to the lemur, and he hadn't accepted the fact that things in life would eventually go wrong sometimes.
Zuko mind opened to possibilities. He recalled moves that Azula had used in the past. So he tried to mimic the stances along with their respective movements.
Meanwhile…
The Duke sat on dirt watching Toph and Katara train Aang. He ha such an aura of malice that surrounded him that no one dared to talk to him.
Aang dodged attacks that flew by spinning quickly like a top and then burrowing into the ground. The spot where he had been a mere second ago was filled by two projectiles, one ice and the other rock.
Suddenly The Duke stood up and left, stomping his feet so that the gang would not be able to decipher his movements, but the earth bender who was distracted for a second was hit by gust of wind that was not very powerful but strong enough to push her off of her feet.
"Whoa…" Haru stated in amazement
"You shouldn't leave yourself open Toph, if that was anymore powerful it could have blasted you right into the wall behind you."
"I felt-"Toph began
"I know" said Aang
"You wanna figure out what's bothering him?" Toph asked in a prompting tone.
"It's the same thing that's been bothering me." Stated Aang.
"And what is that" Katara asked.
"Don't wanna talk about because it's sort of controversial" Aang stated.
The gang surely heard this and sat quietly waiting for a reply.
"I'll tell you later – wait, I thought we were supposed to be-"
Aang jumped over the large hunk of earth and flung it back to Toph. Toph stopped the rock with two hands and slid back a couple feet.
"I get the point Twinkle Toes" Toph resumed.
Katara smiled and took the water from the one of the streams that ran across the temple and tried to water whip Aang.
And at the same time…
The Duke was quickly walking over to camp.
They are so… stupid. Zuko's been nothing but nice since he got here.
His thoughts lingered to his parents, and how they were killed by the fire nation. His mood worsened. After that he remembered how he was alone, lost and friendless. He tried to fit in. He recalled a few beatings as a child by people who he tried to become friends with. Then he remembered Jet and the freedom fighters. He recalled feeling safe, feeling like he would be able to tolerate the rest of his life. The Duke decided to find Zuko. He got up and walked over to the area where he had last seen Zuko. After looking fruitlessly for a while his attempts did not end in vain. He saw a pair of twin sword at the nearby.
He can't be far, because I think those are his swords.
The Duke turned the corner to find Zuko practicing some sort of fire bending form. The Duke watched in awe. This was nothing like watching Aang; his movements were lucid and precise. Zuko jumped in the air and did a series of kicks. Then he stumbled a little after the last back flip kick.
How is he so agile? He reminds me of Jet.
Zuko jumped up and punched the air. He had this silly grin on his face and a sense of accomplishment. Then he did a victory dance that involved shaking his butt which made The Duke roll with laughter. The Fire Nation Prince was immediately taken aback.
"How long have you been standing there?" Zuko asked in a commanding tone.
"I came looking for you and I saw your swords on the ground, so I watched the last few kicks of the fire bending form you did and then..."
The Duke broke out in laughter again.
Why, why me? Zuko thought.
"I didn't know you were that good at fire bending or that you were that funny."
The Duke attempted to subdue his laughter but failed miserably.
Zuko scratched the back of his head nervously and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. The Duke looked at Zuko with an understanding face.
"Look, I know how to feels to be the odd one out. After my parents were killed by the fire nation, I had to try and find friends who were genuine and would stick with me through thick and thin, and it's not till' Jet showed up that I had… ya know, family"
Tears formed in the eyes of The Duke and Zuko walked slowly to him. He put his arms around him and related it to the time he lost his mother. The Duke buried his face in Zuko's shirt. Zuko found himself shedding tears as well. Slowly the two departed from each others embrace.
"Sorry… I don't usually tell people that." The Duke stated.
Zuko nodded and gave The Duke a warm smile
"This war has caused so much hurt that's why I want to end it so badly." Zuko said in a raspy tone.
The Duke went out on a limb and asked Zuko "Zuko, I don't know anything about you; all I've heard is that you're an evil person from Katara."
"Well… to a certain extent, she's right." Zuko said in a tone that was immersed with shame.
"Well okay… I don't know if I'll be able to make it through this without… well…. Yeah." Zuko said with uncertainty
"Well if you don't want to you don't have to" said The Duke while trying not to look directly at Zuko.
Meanwhile…
"How can you forgive him Aang? He picked to kill you at Ba Sing Se. He was going to do it!" Katara voice wavered and cracked while she said this.
The group stayed quiet while she ranted.
"While we were with the Sun Warriors he trusted me and I trusted him and He never let me down! He's changed! I know it." Aang said in a convincing tone.
"Oh yeah, he's gone being a part of the fire nation helping us then back to the fire nation. He's not only the most truthful person, but he's also the most reliable" Katara shouted
Aang stayed quiet for a while and turned. Katara ran, grabbed Aang, turned him around then hugged him.
"I don't ever want to see you like that again. If you died there would be nothing on this world left that I would want to be a part of." Katara stated.
She quietly cried on Aang's shoulder. The gang remained quietly respectful.
On the other side of the temple…
Zuko's story had shocked The Duke the perilous and painful life he had endured seemed unbearable. While telling the story Zuko had to try and hold back tears, but was not successful, and The Duke cried alongside the prince. The Duke gave Zuko many hugs during the story and despite the attempts to push The Duke off he did not seemed to budge. This made it much harder for Zuko to try and subdue his tears. When all was said until the present Zuko and The Duke held each other for a few moments and then departed. A great burden had lifted off of Zuko's shoulders.
"You know, the freedom fighters aren't around anymore, well unless you count you and me" The Duke stated.
They both laughed and Zuko began "Well, I was an honorary member, you were an official freedom fighter.
The Duke smiled at this remark and said "I'm too young to be a freedom fighter."
"Well, you still wreak havoc" Zuko said back with a matter of fact tone.
The Duke laughed at this. Then, Zuko looked over at The Duke and saw that he was immersed in thought and then decide it would be best not to disturb him.
After a few moments of silence The Duke looked up at the smiling fire prince and said "You know I've really been thinking."
As Zuko spoke he laughed "Yeah, I saw you thinking pretty deeply a second ago, so I decided, ah, why not let him think."
The Duke smiled and then started to speak "I feel a little lost because all my friends – well, family have been taken away from me so… I wanted to ask you if you would… you know… if it was alright if I called you… uh… big brother?"
Suddenly all of Zuko's other thoughts were pushed aside. He looked at the young boy and tears started once again to form.
"Yeah… that would be... nice."
The two boys hugged once again and after a short period of time departed.
They sat in silence for a few seconds when Zuko decided to speak up, "You know your not that much of a warrior, but you are a nuisance to the fire nation soldiers"
The Duke was a little taken aback by his hurtful comment, but replied with honesty "Yeah, I know. I think it's a miracle they haven't killed me yet."
"Well… would you like to do something about that?" Zuko said in a prodding tone.
"Wait, what are you saying?" The Duke replied.
"Well… I am a fire bender, but it doesn't mean I cant be a warrior. I don't mean to sound like I'm the best fighter in the world, but… if you want, I can teach you how to fight, little brother" Zuko said.
"Whoa! Are you serious?" The Duke shouted.
"It'd have to be master-student relationship, but I can ease up because that's what brothers do." Zuko stated
This comment was answered with a hug.
"Wow… I don't know what to say… Thanks." The Duke said.
"Ah, no problem" Zuko said in a cool manner.
"You know what I think I should apologize to the rest of the gang and especially Katara. She cares a lot about Aang." Zuko said in a conversational tone.
The Duke's facial expression changed at the mention of Katara's name.
"I don't completely agree, but yeah, maybe you should" The Duke replied.
As the two walked started to walk back the noticed a big shadow that blocked the sunlight. Zuko laughed.
"Come on down here Appa." Zuko shouted happily.
The air bison gracefully floated down and landed inaudibly.
"Can you take us to where the rest are?" Zuko asked.
The bison growled in compliance and lowered his horn once again. Zuko grabbed a hold of the horn and climbed up, then extended his hand out to The Duke from the place where he was sitting, which was Appa's neck.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" The Duke asked Zuko with a tone of apprehension.
"Yeah, I know I need to" exclaimed Zuko.
Appa lifted off of the ground and flew over to where the group was resting. Katara was cooking a pot of soup and the rest of the gang was plotting how to defeat the fire lord. When they saw Zuko jump off the bison they immediately stopped speaking. Katara's face changed from a phase of contentment to a phase of anger. The Duke jumped off right onto Zuko's back, knocking him down.
"Thanks for breaking my fall." The Duke said.
"Thanks for breaking my back" Zuko said back to him.
The gang laughed lightly at this because the presence of Zuko kept them in a state of discomfort.
"Guys?" Zuko asked with a nervous tone.
The gang did not answer.
Then suddenly Aang spoke up, "What is it Zuko?"
Then Zuko began again "Well, I better start off from the beginning."
Katara had stopped stirring her soup. Zuko took a large breath in and let out a worried sigh.
"Look, Ava – Aang, I'd like to say tha- that I'm really sorry for the trouble I've caused you. I've hunted you around the world and gave the worst seven months that I probably could have given you. And I- I really hope that you can forgive me. Um… Sokka and Katara. I don't know where to start except I'm an idiot and a loser. Uh, well, I'm really, really sorry. I know words can't make things right. But I guess it's all I can offer right now."
The gang remained silent, they were all shocked at Zuko's apology. Zuko turned around with a his head held down and started to walk away.
Sokka spoke up "Wait..."
Zuko immediately stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at the water tribe warrior.
"Dinner's going to be served in a short while, so grab something to eat, because I know you're probably hungry."
Zuko walked back nearer to the circle area that the rest of the gang was and sat down. Soon after The Duke sat next to him and shot him a furtive smile. Zuko shot one back the same way, but turned his face quickly into a frown before looking at the gang.
Katara spoke looked at the soup that she was stirring and looked at Zuko. Zuko noticed this and shame flooded his thoughts.
I'm sorry, if only you would realize that I'm
Katara sighed and spoke up "Zuko, I forgive you."
The sudden and soft spoken remark was greeted like an outburst.
Shock from the gang was readily perceived by one another. Everything was quiet until Appa walked over to Zuko and sat next to him. Zuko turned his head to Appa to see that Appa was staring right at him.
Zuko laughed and said "You something special buddy, your something special."
(Changed up now, because the new episode didn't actually air yet. I'll make a continuation chapter.)
Well, I hoped you liked it. It took me much longer to write this. But the main reason it took this long was because I had school work to do. I think this will be the last installment of this story, because I like to remain true to the story line. So, I have still to watch the next chapter of Avatar, whatever it is.
My note to everyone: Spread love and understanding to everyone even if they're outside of your race, gender or religion. Caring should not have barriers.