Chapter 4

A/N: Chapter four of the series. One more time, thanks to Rosey for the corrections. Some other mistakes were pointed out in this chapter and I'm reposting it again.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Ying and Yang

Tension was palpable in the air as the core members of the small family the Avatar had made for himself flew atop Appa. As usual, Aang was on his place on top of Appa's head, leading the noble animal on their quest.

The two siblings, Sokka and Katara, were perched on the sides of Appa's saddle, looking for any sign of the flying machine Zuko had taken away.

Toph, as usual, was holding tight to Sokka's arm. She had volunteered to tag along on their small rescue/capture unit, but was still very much afraid to fly onboard Appa. The feeling of being completely blind was not something she was used to, and doubted she would ever be.

"How far away do you think he is now?" Katara asked, trying to dissolve the ever increasing tension.

"Don't know." Sokka truthfully answered.

"Are we even flying in the right direction?" Katara asked again, feeling frustration taking the best of her.

"This is the one most likely." Sokka replied. "When we were together on the other small flying machine, Zuko only knew how to use the basic controls. The other model was a bit larger, and I don't think Zuko is that smart when it comes to these flying things."

"He would have to follow air currents." Aang yelled back at them. "We're following the strongest current now. It's the best we can do for now."

"I still don't think Sparky is going to betray us." Toph said, unconsciously tightening her grip on Sokka's arm.

"You once supported him," Katara snapped, "and he burned your feet. Are you going to listen to us this time?"

"So you're saying he came to us, trained Aang, helped rescue your father, and put up with all your insults just to betray us?" Toph spat back. "It just seems so convoluted, don't you think?"

"You don't know Zuko like I do." Katara said, and immediately corrected. "Like we do."

"I don't know, sis." Sokka shook his head. "He seemed all too eager to please us and work with Aang. He was even more willing to please you than anybody else."

Both Aang and Katara bristled when hearing Sokka's words, but both didn't know how to respond to that.

"Let's just keep looking." Aang finally said. "We must be in the right direction. I'm almost certain."

Zuko kept walking amidst the unknown forest. He should have given more thought to what he was doing. It was ridiculous and stupid of him to not have brought a bag of water with him. And it was even more ridiculous that he was unable to find water in the middle of a forest. He wished he had his uncle with him. The Dragon of the West had an uncanny ability to make the best of a worst situation.

Zuko sighed and wished that was a genetic trait. Perhaps it was; he had been able to survive on his own for a couple months and had survived against several enemies. For a moment he wondered if everyone in the world had as many enemies as he did or if it was another peculiarity of his family.

Feeling frustration and anger well up on him, he tried to get the 'feel' of his power as he did before. He had to learn how to create lightning, not only redirect it, if he wanted to have a shot at defeating his family. He focused and tried to remember what his uncle had said long ago. The combination of positive and negative energies had to be created inside of him, and then just direct it and channel the power out.

Or something like that.

He had to give it a shot, literally, if he wanted to be ready in the next month. According to his mental calculations, he had short of a month to learn how to manipulate lightning, another month to get his plan working, and a last month to find his uncle and polish his technique.

And he needed that extra month to grovel and beg for his uncle's forgiveness. The man had been the father he'd never had, and he had betrayed and disappointed him. It still made him feel miserable, but he hoped all those feelings would help him regain the violent part of his power.

He wanted; needed to make a try for it, but he remembered the first time he had tried to create lightning. The resulting explosion had been painful and he had made a mess of the place he'd been standing on. Yet the need to learn was becoming more and more important as time passed by. When Sozin's comet appeared, every fire bender in the world would be powerful as hell and the world would belong to the Fire Nation.

It also meant his uncle's powers and his as well, would largely increase; but that also meant Azula and his father would become an even greater problem.

He shook his head. It was as if he was swimming against the current and there were several obstacles in his way; and it didn't matter how hard he tried, he always seemed to end on the wrong side.

Zuko sighed and stopped walking. He didn't know where to go at first, and didn't want to reveal his position. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious but he guessed at least a couple of hours. Knowing the Avatar, he wouldn't want to leave the temple, but he was sure the water bender peasant had other ideas.

He looked again at his wrist and admired the carved rock. It was a fine piece of work, and from what he'd gathered, it was an engagement gift.

Had someone given it to the blue eyed water bender? If so, was there someone insane enough to want that girl as a wife?

But the question that was the most important and made his head ache was: why had he taken the necklace? Was he suicidal or had heonly wanted to bother the water bender?
Or had he wanted her to remember him, even in a negative way?

Zuko shook his head again and grunted. He was still confused about Mai and he didn't want to think about the blue eyes he saw when he closed his eyes. He also didn't want to think about the bond that had begun to form between the children and him.

He liked Sokka; the boy was fun and was extremely smart, and had even made him smile on occasion. The Avatar was very much a fun child to be around; also clever. However, it was clear thathe was more focused on having fun than learning how to save the world. Toph was also fun to be around. Her sarcastic remarks made him think of how Azula could have been had she been a normal child, instead of the psychopath intent on murdering him.

And Katara; the mother figure of the group, it seemed she was the glue that kept the impromptu family together. She took care of them all and always had a kind word for everyone.
Save for him, of course, but he was the enemy in her eyes.

Zuko sighed. He began walking again, with no idea where he was headed and no idea how long it would take him to get there. He was thirsty and slowly building a very bad mood.
He kept walking, since it was all he could do. He had to walk until the wind changed, because he was sure the Avatar was following the air currents he'd seized when operating the flying machine. He guessed Sokka had already told them he wasn't very adept at managing the contraption, and wouldn't be able to change course even if his life depended on it.

It was only a matter of time before they found the crashed machine and follow him. He'd done his best at covering his tracks, but he knew how good the earth bender was, and it wouldn't work if they tracked and found him.

He stopped again. He looked around. It seemed he was far now from the car crash and was feeling more and more impatient.

Zuko lowered his bag and his swords, placing them against a tree. He walked away from his meager possessions and kneeled, trying to calm down enough and meditate.

After ten minutes of silence, he stood up, trying to remember both sides of his power. He struggled to recall the sensation of power anger had given him. The frustration he was feeling was fuel enough, and he focused on that, on all his failures, on all his shame, on the anger he felt towards his family and everyone who had hurt him.

The surge of power did not surprise him, but the flow of it was completely different from how the dragons had shown him. It didn't matter. He wanted to use anger to destroy something and the power was coursing through him.

The flames came easy, as easy as they had before his confusion had diminished his power. After practicing the basic moves, he stopped and knelt down again. He had used power brought forth from anger, and now needed to use the power that came from inner peace. He took deep breaths and relaxed, closed his eyes and saw in his mind's eye the dance of the dragons.

Slowly, without opening his eyes, he stood up and followed the rhythm; the flow of energy once again came, but it was calmer, more refined.

Finishing the dance, he opened his eyes and saw the small amount of destruction he had caused. It was now or never, he had created an ugly scar on the forest and was sure he'd have to make a run for it as soon as he finished.

Zuko erased such thoughts from his mind; distractions were the last thing he needed at the moment. He took a couple of deep breaths and tried to imagine the flow of his energies on his mind. Anger was an easy source, but he had to keep balance. It was an ugly flow, with no shape and no defined direction. Then he imagined the flow of the dancing dragon, a clear and defined flow circled in his mind. It was hard, trying to connect both flows and give them the shape he wanted.

It was hard, and he could feel his blood boiling. Zuko tried a different approach; remembering how his uncle once taught him about the different tribes, the image of the symbol for the water tribe appeared on his mind.

Iroh had drawn the symbol in a continuous flow, which was also the basis for the technique of redirecting lightning. That was how he tried to imagine the energy flow in his mind, similar to the water tribe symbol. It was hard, but the circle seemed to slowly appear, and the energy coursing through his body seemed to heat up instantly.

Positive and negative, he recalled again, so one of the circles forcibly had to flow in one direction and the other in the opposite.

The strain increased, and the heat in his body continued to grow. He had never felt so much energy coming out of his body, but he had to control it, or else he would only succeed in creating an explosion. Sweat formed on his brow, yet he remained focused on his task. The circles in his mind began to move in the direction he wanted them to, but pain began to run through his arms. He remembered what his uncle had said, about not running the flow of energy through his heart, but through his stomach. The energy was slowly building in his body and it sought release. Zuko opened his eyes and looked for a target. A solitary stone caught his eye and he struggled to stand up, controlling the power now surging out of his pores. The two circles in his mind were spinning madly now, and he guessed he only had to imagine the flow as lightning.

Remembering the pose his uncle had taken, he began moving his arms, trying to send one flow to his right arm and the other to his left. The energy began moving, and he struggled to maintain the power in his stomach, away from his heart.

Sparkles began to appear on his fingers, and his heartbeat increased. Moving like his uncle, he continued moving his arms, and he then felt the tingle of electricity in his hands. A rare smile appeared on his face, and he finally released all the power, trying to direct it towards the rock.

Lighting, indeed, appeared from his right arm, but the power proved to be too much. It was not a single bolt like he'd seen his father, or Azula, create. It was a mass of energy, crackling and bolting all the way, trying to find its own direction.

Zuko struggled to direct it, but it was too much power. Releasing his breath, he shouted and let it all go. He felt his arms go numb and the bolt shot straight towards the nearest tree, shattering it and reducing it to a smoldering pile of ashes.

At the same time, the former crown prince fell down, thankfully unconscious and not feeling pain at all.

Far away, Aang felt the currents of wind shift an instant before he heard the explosion. The other three occupants on board Appa turned to the direction the sound came from. Smoke rose quickly to the sky and neither of them had to speak to realize their quarry was close.

Aang turned his flying bison in that direction and a certain sense of nervousness overcame him. If that was Zuko, had he been on a fight? Or had the explosion been caused by the fire bender? Neither of both possibilities appealed to him, and he dared a quick glance behind to see how his friends had reacted to the explosion.

"Doesn't look good, Aang." Sokka quietly said. Toph nodded.

"It didn't sound good as well." The blind earth bender said. "That was one hell of an explosion."

"Katara?" Aang asked, not being able to read the expression on Katara's face.

"Just go there, Aang." The water bender softly replied. Aang nodded and maintained course.

Two shadows appeared over Zuko's unconscious body. The owner of one of them kneeled in front of Zuko and placed a hand over the prince's heart.

"It's still beating." The person said. The other individual nodded.

"Let's take him, then." The second person said. "And don't forget his things."

Minutes later, Appa landed in the midst of the destruction caused by Zuko. They hopped down from Appa's saddle and looked around. There seemed to be no trace of the fire bender, and the smoke in the air was confusing Toph's acute senses.

"Anything at all, Toph?" Aang asked as he used a quick rush of air to extinguish the lingering flames and smoke.

"Nothing at all." Toph replied. "I can't feel any steps, save from a couple of animals running from this place, I suppose."

"Damn." Katara muttered. "So that's it? There's nothing here that can help us at all?"

"I'm afraid not, Princess." Toph replied. "There's too much smoke and ashes in the air to smell something, and I can't feel any steps nearby."

The tension reappeared and they all unconsciously took a step away from Katara.

She, on the other hand, had taken steps to where Zuko's body had laid down minutes earlier. With clenched fists, she struggled to contain the tears of frustration from falling down her face.

"Where are you, Zuko?" She whispered. "Where are you?"

End of Chapter