Of Mutants and Benders
By: Orionstorm04
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or X-Men I only own the original idea and my OC's. Please read and review, hope you enjoy.
An: OMG where have I been?! LOL I am sooooo sorry for the long delay in this chapter I guess you could say that I got a little preoccupied. I just recently started a new job and I have been running myself ragged trying to get ready for school this semester… sorry didn't mean to unload my problems on you. Okay this chapter is the beginning of the x-over with Avatar so all the fans rejoice! This takes place at least a few days before the Day of Black Sun; it will be slightly au since I have to incorporate my oc into the mix but I think you will like the chapter, this will tell the tale of what Iroh was doing all that time he was locked up, also if any of you were wondering what my OC N'Dare looked like I have placed a link on my author's page of her when she was fighting in chapter 3. I really wanted to get this chapter out before the final episodes of the show came out because I didn't want people to think that I was taking any parts from their so I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't watch any part of the show after the boiling rock 1 & 2 until I finish my story so in a way everything will be as original as possible. Please don't forget to read and review.
Pain
They say that pain is a way for the body to know that it is alive; and that only through pain can we truly appreciate life. Well if that was true then N'Dare was more than sure that she was alive and she would appreciate it even more if the pain was to stop. N'Dare opened her eyes only to shut them immediately from the brightness of the sun and the effort of trying to bring herself to a sitting position. She tried to open them once again, only slowly this time. The image that greeted her was a sight that she truly was not expecting; encompassing her entire line of vision was a beautiful forest. It wasn't that the forest had any defining features that would mark it as superior to any other just like it; but throughout her now sixteen years of life she had never seen an actual forest. Her mother would tell her of a time when she would take walks outside the X-Mansion's ground into the nearby woods and how it would always put her at ease. As soon as the thought flashed past her mind N'Dare remembered the situation she should be in. With a frantic expression on her face she lost all pretenses of the her so-called peaceful moment and began to wonder if this was some type of sick trick that a sentinel was playing, using some sort of advanced holographic. After walking less than a few feet N'Dare tripped on an upright root and fell to her knees agitating the deep cut and broken ribs she was nursing. Looking down she mentally cursed the offending piece of foliage; then realization sunk in. This couldn't be any kind of hologram; it was the real thing. But that didn't make any sense; there were no forest left to the world and all that Wakanda had to offer was a small substitute in the form of the gardens that were positioned in different point in the palace walls. N'Dare brain began to go into overdrive.
"Nothing makes any sense. There are no forest in Wakanda; where is the palace and the city for that matter? This isn't right I should be in the Citadel of the Bright Lady; am I dead… well that's a dumb question cause if I was I wouldn't be filling these broken ribs. And where is my moth.."
Then the memories came rushing back to her. She remembered her mother trying to explain something to her; she remembered the explosion that sent her and her mother flying and then everything after that point blurred. Shaking her head N'Dare tried to force the memories to come into focus; she needed answer and she would see that she got them. As if on cue the final memory she had floated to the front of her mind, and the truth was enough to break her heart into a million pieces. She remembered waking up to a man standing in front of her mother who was floating a few feet in the air. She didn't recognize who he was but from the disdain in her mother's voice she could tell that he was not a friend. Then she brought her focus to her mother who downright left her in a state of aw; floating there looking as though she was a true goddess and not just in name. At that point N'Dare began to feel herself lose consciousness again; but not before she witnessed her mother turn to her with a sad smile on her lips and tears in her eyes telling her that she would always love her; then she feel into oblivion.
The onslaught of memories left N'Dare more drained and in pain then when she woke up. In one day she had lost everything important to her. Wakanda had fallen, her home was washed away in the blink of an eye, her people were brutally killed, she lost her friends and family, but the lost that hurt her beyond any words ever spoken was the lost of her surrogate sister and her mother. How? How was she going to go on without them? How would she survive without Rachel making her smile and her mother's comforting words? All at once the world seemed bleaker and colder than she ever thought possible. And with a soul shattering scream N'Dare let the tears that she couldn't hold back even if she wanted to flow. The wind howled almost in unison with the young girl as she cried for all she had lost and would never again be able to reclaim.
N'Dare curled herself in a ball and tried her best to will death to take her too; to return to her the loved ones that fueled her life. Self-pity had all but consumed her; she had no desire to move from the spot where she lay. Her physical pain meant nothing to her now all that remain was the yearning pit in her heart that no amount of crying could free her from. In her mind's eye N'Dare could see Rachel smiling face and at once it sparked an awareness in her that wouldn't be denied. She could almost see Rachel trying to comfort her telling her that everything would be okay; and that all she needed to do was pull herself together and move on. As soon as the mental image of Rachel telling her to get up vanished; another more prominent urge moved her and in her mind N'Dare could see her mother standing before her in all her grace and beauty. She could hear Ororo's soothing voice coaxing her to open her eyes and look at her.
"Oh my little precious one…" at the voice N'Dare lifted her eyes to the ethereal form of her mother.
"Mom…" N'Dare whispered the word like if it was spoken any louder the image would fade.
The ghostly image of her mother gave her that soft smile that she reserved only for her little girl.
"N'Dare you must get up! Do not let your pain consume you my child.'"
"But you're not here! Rachel isn't here! I feel so lost and alone to the point that it hurts. I don't know how I can do this without you; I can't go on without you." Ororo gently extended her hand to her daughter's cheek.
"You will never be without me…" she then brought her hand to the necklace around N'Dare neck "You and I shall always be connected and nothing can change that… not even death. Now get up!"
Ororo last command was enough to wake N'Dare from the fitful sleep she had unwilling falling into due to the exhaustion from her wounds in conjunction with her grief. Looking around N'Dare could see no sign that her mother was ever there and soon she came to the conclusion that it was all a dream. N'Dare let a lone tear make its way down her cheek; as much as she was hurting she knew that what her mother and Rachel said in her dream was right. She had to move on; she couldn't let the pain of yesterday rule her life today. Looking around for something to support her weight on, N'Dare saw a familiar object; her Bo Staff, holding her side to apply pressure to her wound N'Dare limped her way to the baton. Slowly and carefully she lifted the staff and tried desperately not to jar her ribs in the process. With a grunt and a grimace N'Dare held her sides.
"Dang it; that really hurt!"
Bringing her hand up to eye level N'Dare seen the amount of blood that stained them. She need to move and fast; the amount of blood that she was losing and the amount that she already lose would leave her weak before long and she didn't want to be helpless while in a foreign area. Extending her staff she began to walk towards a path that leads deeper into the wooded area behind her.
"Lions, tigers and bears oh my!" N'Dare chuckled at her own joke and immediately regretted it the moment she felt her ribs moved.
"Memo to self… no more laughing until this is healed."
Having grown up without the luxury of being able to take a simple walk in the woods left N'Dare ill-prepared for the simple beauty of her surroundings. Though as beautiful as all this seemed she couldn't help but think of the price that was paid for her to be able to experience something this simple. At this point N'Dare felt as if she had been walking at least 10 mile, but in truth she had only walked a few feet. Her wound was taking more out of her than she thought; she could feel her vision starting to blur from the blood lose. She knew that she couldn't go much further without getting some kind of help, and at this point she didn't think that it would happen. Forcing her legs to keep going she walked for another thirty feet before her legs gave out on her and she collapsed to her knees grabbing her sides in complete agony. She couldn't go on anymore; the pain had finally won out and no matter how much she wanted to move she just couldn't find the strength to do so. Then a sound came to her ears; at first she couldn't tell if it was just her imagination due to the pain or wishful thinking that someone who could help her had finally came. Raising her head N'Dare gave a weak call to whoever was walking in her direction.
"Hello… is someone there?" she waited for anyone to respond but when none came she began to feel desperate.
"Please… if someone is there I need help! Hello…"
soon two men came around the thicket of shrubs that had previously blocked her vision of them. Both men were wearing clothing that she had never seen before. It looked more like body armor in all red with pointed tips on the shoulders, and on their heads were helmets that almost completely covered their faces save for their eyes nose and mouth. Despite their appearance N'Dare felt as though she couldn't be choose when it came to the people that would most likely save her life. She managed to pool all her strength together and lifted herself back to her feet with a weary smile on her face.
"Thank the Goddess you came. Can you help me? I need to get somewhere I can get my wound taken care of and a place to rest. I would be grateful if you woul…"
The man to her left swiftly pulled out a sword for its sheath and pointed directly towards her.
"Who are you; where do you come from?!"
N'Dare was a little taken aback by the man's aggression towards her; but thought better than to argue with an armed man when she really couldn't properly defend herself.
"Um… my name is N'Dare. I am the Princess of Wakanda. I mean you no harm; please is just some help." When she told the two men who she was they both feel into a fighting stance with their weapon raised and twin scowls on their faces.
"What nation is that!? I have never heard of Wakan before; I think you're some kind of spy!"
Now N'Dare was growing impatient; these two must be really dense if they couldn't tell that she was in no shape to be a spy.
"First off it's not Wakan; it's Wakanda, and second I'm not some spy. What do I need to spy on you for anyway; all I'm asking is if you would help me, but if you won't then I'll find someone that will."
N'Dare began walking past the men until the one she assumed was the leader blocked her path.
"You're not going anywhere. Since you won't tell us who you are and where you're from then you'll be coming with us."
The man reached out to grab N'Dare by the arm, but even in the shape she was in her reflexes were still face enough for her to pull away.
"I've already told you who I was!"
"Just come with us girl and you won't get hurt." Again the solider reached out for her, and this time she didn't have the strength to pull away.
"Let go of me! I didn't do anything wrong…" the grip on her arm only tightened and she knew that no amount of reason or arguing would get her out of this.
How could everything go so bad so quickly in only few seconds of time; one minute she thought she had found help and the next she was being arrested. As the man began to drag her to the other soldier to place her in restraints her stubborn side kicked in; she would let the likes of these goon take her down; not while she thought she could get away. N'Dare twisted her arm out of the soldier's grip and spun on the foot a delivered a punch as hard as she could into the man's jaw. The quick movement were brining her more pain then she really wanted; but she wouldn't give up without a fight. Turning she prepared to take on the next man; but then he surprised her by extending his fist and shooting out a ball of fire. Caught off guard; N'Dare flung herself out of the path of the flaming ball and landed roughly on the back. The moment her body made contact with the earth a blinding pain shot through her and with it tore a scream from her that could shatter glass and caused her vision to go white; the pain was enough to render her unconscious. The soldier that shot the fire walked over to make sure his comrade was okay.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah; I'm fine. The little witch caught me off guard that's all. What nation do you think sent her?" the man had a bewilder look on his face.
"I'm not sure exactly. She doesn't look like anyone that I've seen from any of the other nations; look at her skin and hair… they don't look normal to me." The soldier nodded his head in agreement.
"You right…with this invasion coming up we can't take any chances. Let's take her to the Capital and lock her up until we can get some answer." Both men took either side of their captive and began to make their way back to the Fire Nation Capital.
The city was on high alert as of late. There have been rumors that an invasion was being plotted against the Fire Nation, but no one could say for sure who the ones were planning it. So in an attempt to keep public paranoia in check the general public wasn't told the specifics of the invasion; only its date. Any suspicious activity was to be immediately reported to any member of the Fire Nation Army; and those considered to be a threat were dealt with in extreme prejudice. Walking through the throng of people carrying an unconscious, oddly dressed, dark skinned, white haired girl was more than enough to draw the stares of a few bystanders, but the men continued on as if nothing had happened. The walk to the prison didn't take them long; after bypassing the entrance gate the two guards made their way to the holding cells that were designated for the most dangerous fugitives. Being that they didn't know who the young woman was or where she came from; they weren't in a position to take her lightly. They walked passed a majority of the cell due to the fact that almost all were occupied because of the increasing threat that the invasion had caused; resulting in a gross amount of arrest.
"There aren't any more cells to put her in." guard number one said with a look of distaste on his face when he made eyes with one of the inmates.
"I know just the cell to put her in." the other guard said.
Making their way down to the lowest level in the prison where no light reached they came to a steel door. Inside sat a single occupant; his haggard and defeated look was testament to his treatment while he had been imprisoned.
"Alright old man… no funny business. We're going to put this prisoner in the cell and we don't want any trouble from you." The guard stood in a battle stance while his commanding office removed the key from his waist and unlocked the gate.
The old man inside the cage made no effort to move a muscle; he simple sat there with his backs to the officers and eyes closed. Seeing that their prisoner had yet to wake up the guards tossed her into the cell like a sack of garbage and quickly locked the gate.
"How the mighty have fallen eh General Iroh? You could have been a hero here in the Fire Nation; yet you turned your back on your people to help the Avatar and his friends escape. Well now you'll sit here and rot for the rest of your life here in this cell; but hey at least now you have a cellmate."
The two men left the room laughing at the older man. As soon as the door was shut Iroh opened his eyes to look at the new person that was brought into his cell. Looking at the girl appearance he could tell that she wasn't in the best of states and he wouldn't be too surprised to find out that the guards were the ones to put her in this condition.
"A hero indeed…" Iroh mumbled under his breath as he made his way to the young girl.
Getting closer Iroh was able to see the girl features more carefully; he was somewhat thrown off by her unusual completion; but not in the way the guards were. Being a deeply spiritual person, he was more accepting of the differences of others and knew that it didn't make them any more inferior to him; that was a lesson that the rest of the Fire Nation needed to learn. Her hair was also a little off putting; but he soon dismissed it as irrelevant, he remembered being in the North Pole when Admiral Zhao killed the moon spirit and a girl who claimed to have once been touched by the moon spirit also had white hair; so he just assumed that the girl had some kind of connection with the spirit world. The young woman had a pained expression etched on her youthful face and her clothing was tattered and torn in certain areas; it looked like she was in some kind of struggle; lifting the material near her left side Iroh spotted the reason for her discomfort. A large gash was cut into her flesh; and pressing his finger tips to the wound he was able to feel the broken ribs just underneath. The girl gave a whimper of pain in response to this touch.
"It's okay child. I will not hurt you." Hearing a voice N'Dare weakly opened her eyes.
"W-Where am I?" she asked on a whisper of her voice while trying to sit up.
The effort was too great and Iroh seeing her strain gently pushed her back down on his sleeping mat.
"You are safe now. I need to dress your wound and you need to rest. We can talk when you are better."
At his kind voice N'Dare visibly relaxed and soon fell unconscious again. Iroh sat staring at the girl for a brief moment; just to make sure that she was still breathing. Once satisfied he went to the far corner of his cell and brought the water basin that he was given to bath with over to the sleeping girl. Using some of his own clothing; Iroh made a bandage to wrap securely against her wound to apply pressure to the cut. Hearing the girl's sharp intake of air; Iroh figured that the bandage was tight enough; soon he bought a cloth out of the basin and began to whip the dirt and dried blood from her face.
"You are a peculiar girl to be sure. In my long years I have never seen anyone quit like you; silver eyed beauty." The smile that was on Iroh face may have been the first genuine one since his capture, he could tell that this girl would be a most intriguing companion.
For the first two days Iroh sat vigilantly over his young cellmate. The first night the poor child spent tossing and turning in her sleep and calling out names. Iroh wasn't sure of the trial that she had been through; but was able to see that whatever they were; they left her in a weaken state. The following day Iroh woke up to the sight of the young girl huddle in a corner with a confused look on her face.
"Well good morning to you." N'Dare continued to stare at the man and making no effort to respond to his comment. "I see you are felling better today. I'm glad; I was beginning to wonder if you would wake up at all."
Unfortunately N'Dare didn't pick up that the man was joking; she instinctively grabbed for her staff but felt nothing; she tried to play off the fact that she was still in tremendous pain; something that Wolverine taught her.
"I don't know who you are and honestly I don't care but I can assure you that I won't go down easily." Trying her best to stave off the blinding pain shooting through her side; N'Dare stared down the man with a defiant glare.
Iroh jumped to his feet and waved his hands in front of him.
"No...No you have got it all wrong. I'm not here to hurt you, I was only joking but I see now that it wasn't funny. My name is Iroh."
He followed through with his greeting by extending his hand to her. Still a little disoriented and weary; N'Dare stared at his hand like she didn't understand the gesture. Felling a little awkward Iroh began to rub the back of his neck.
"Again; I am sorry if I scared you."
Looking at the man closely; N'Dare got the feeling that he was telling the truth; he didn't mean to scare or offend her. Finally looking at her surrounding she was able to tell that he wasn't a willing guest here either. Soon N'Dare began to relax a little more and offer her apologies to the older man.
"I'm sorry that I yelled; it's just that I haven't been treated to kindly since I arrived here and I just didn't know if I had you to thank for that." Iroh waved off her apology.
"There is no need to apologize; I would have done the same thing if I were in your position. What is your name?"
N'Dare thought about his question before she even began to answer it. The last time she gave someone information on who she was she ended up in a fight with two men; one of whom was capable of throwing fire, she wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.
"Oh…um…forgive me; my name is N'Dare. What is your name again?"
"Iroh" N'Dare shook her head slightly with a soft smile on her face.
"That's right; you did mention that before. I was just too busy being rude." Iroh let out a hearty laugh at the young woman; whose name he found out was N'Dare.
"Really it's no problem. You have a very pretty name; I have never heard anything like it before. What nation do you come from?"
N'Dare didn't really know how to answer that question. Obviously she wasn't in Wakanda anymore, and it was a pretty safe bet that she probably wasn't even on the same planet. When she was younger her mother told her of the adventures she had with the X-Men; how they would often find themselves on strange and exotic alien worlds or in alternate timelines. True she didn't know that her mother was capable of sending her to one of these place or why hadn't she came along with her but she thought it best not to dwell on the matter for long. So how would she answer his question without getting into a conversation that she really couldn't all together explain?
"I'm from kinda far away. In fact I don't think you would have heard of my country; it's really small and we don't get out much" well she didn't completely lie when she told him that.
Iroh could tell from the very beginning that her origins was a matter that she didn't fell to comfortable talking about and decided to not push the issue; her past was her business and if she didn't feel comfortable talking about it then she didn't have too. Looking around in an effort to feel less awkward N'Dare had to ask.
"Where exactly are we anyway. The last thing I remember I was walking in the woods trying to find someone to help me and then two men came out, called me a spy and one threw fire at me!"
"You are in the Fire Nation's most secure prison." N'Dare was completely stunned.
"What the Hell did I do wrong to get thrown in prison?!" N'Dare winched in pain.
"You really don't have to do much in order to be put here. I have heard rumors that something big is about to happen so the guards most likely thought you were a part of some large scheme." N'Dare grabbed her side.
"Did you do this for me?" at his node N'Dare smiled. "That was very kind of you to help me when you didn't even know who I was or if I was a danger to you. You have my eternal thanks General Iroh."
Iroh was about to comment on when he suddenly realized what she just said.
"Who told you I was a General?" N'Dare let a coy smile form on her lips.
"The day the guards brought me here; I heard them saying that they would throw me in the cell with a traitorous ex-general; I just put two and two together."
"Oh; well… yes I was the one who wrapped you wound. It was pretty severe; you also have a few broken ribs. Did the guard do this to you?"
A dark cloud seemed to past over N'Dare eyes; the events of the past came rushing back to her and she was almost tempted to let them reclaim her once more. But she wouldn't fall into that again; and especially not with someone there to witness it.
"No… it wasn't the guards. I really don't want to talk about it right now so…" Iroh interrupted her before she could say anymore.
"It's okay; you don't have to speak on the subject anymore." N'Dare flashed him a thankful smile before turning to look out beyond the bars of their cell. Her eyes fell on a flag with a flame insignia on it.
"What is the Fire Nation anyway, if you don't mind me asking?" Iroh took a deep breath; this would be a long story.
Over the next couple of hours; Iroh recounted the tale of the four nations, including his part in the Fire Nation army leading up to his capture. As soon as N'Dare heard the tales of the Fire Nation's cruelty towards the other three nations she became sick to her stomach; how could one nation think that it had any right to force its views upon another. It went against everything her mother had ever taught her about ruling over a people. I was the people's right to choose what was best for them; not the choice of a single person; did these people not believe in a Democracy? Then upon hearing that there was someone out there that wanted to set everything right and bring peace back to everyone of every nation she let out a sigh of relief.
"This Avatar person sounds like a good leader. So why is he hated by your people."
"The only reason why the Avatar is hated by the Fire Nation is because my ancestor thought that he was weak and would bring down his plans of what her consider a 'Golden Age' lead by the Fire Nation." N'Dare gave Iroh a sympathetic look; she could tell that the decision of his people weighed heavily on his shoulders.
"It is sad how the delusions of one could affect the outcome of many. I was always raised to believe that a people have the right to choose their own path and nothing should supersede that inalienable right." Iroh looked at the young woman stunned.
"My eyes tell me that you are young in age but you speak like someone far beyond your years. You must have had a wonderful teacher to distill in you such values."
"She was the best..." N'Dare whispered as she thought of her mother. N'Dare let out a low yawn as her eye lids grew heavy.
"Excuse me."
"It's alright; it is getting late and you need your rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Why; what will we be doing then?" Iroh gave her a smile of his own while a mischievous gleam came to his eye.
"Tomorrow we begin to plan our escape. Now get some rest you will need it." N'Dare then laid her head on the mat; she wasn't entirely sure on what was going on, but she knew that Iroh was an honorable man and that she could trust him. He was right about one thing tomorrow would be a very interesting day.
Over the following days Iroh and N'Dare spent discussing possible escape plans. Getting out of the cell would be easy but making it out of the prison was another matter entirely different. With N'Dare condition Iroh really didn't want to put her in any unnecessary danger; even if she did claim that she could handle it.
"Oh come on Iroh; I can take care of myself. I'm more than capable of taking on a few guards; even if they can shoot fire." Iroh only shook his head.
"It's too dangerous! With your injuries it would be most unwise for you to go into battle. I will handle the fighting while you just stay down and do as I say."
"But it can help!"
"I am sure that you can; but we must think wisely before we act. If one of the guards were to get in a single hit; it could immobilize you and the whole plan would be ruined."
N'Dare couldn't argue with that logic, and besides the guards took her staff when they dumped her in this hellhole and there was no way she would be able to defend herself while nursing a few broken ribs without her staff.
"Fine; I'll stay low and do as I'm told. But it's not because I can't handle it okay?" Iroh chuckled before answering her.
"Over the past few days I have come to know you I am certain that you are capable to taking care of yourself; I just want to make sure that we both make it out alright."
The prospect of escape was almost tangible now; and N'Dare was hardly able to contain her happiness. Being trapped down here; even over the course of a few days; did little for her mental state of mind. She wasn't given the opportunity to grieve for her loved ones and that alone was tearing at her psyche like a crazed animal; she needed to get out of there.
"What do you plan on doing once you are free?"
That single question left her at a loss for words. What would she do once she got out? It wasn't like she had anywhere to go or anyone to turn to. She was alone in this world and that thought left her cold inside; she hated being alone. When she was little she used to make her mother stay in the room with her until she fell asleep just so she wouldn't be alone. Immediately Iroh understood what her answer would be.
"You can come with me. Honestly at this point I am not entirely sure where I am headed but you are more than welcome to join me." N'Dare gave him a grateful smile.
"Thank you. I appreciate everything that you have done and are doing for me. You will never know how much that means to me."
A comfortable silence fell over them as they both contemplated what would take place in the next twenty-four hours. Iroh had already decided that they would make the escape the day of the eclipse; it was a small window at best; but it would be there best option at this moment.
"So tomorrow during the solar eclipse we'll make a run for it… are you sure they won't be able to attack us with this fire bending you were talking about?"
Even though she was used to being surround by people who could do extraordinary things; she still was a bit skeptical that a person could actually learn to control fire simply by learning a form of martial arts.
"I am positive. Fire benders get their bending ability from the sun; and during an eclipse the completely lose their ability to bend at all. It will be the perfect time for us to make our escape. Now it's time for bed; we begin our day early tomorrow."
N'Dare walked over to the mat that Iroh had given her to sleep on and lay down.
"Goodnight Uncle Iroh."
By this time N'Dare was so tired that she really didn't notice what she had just called the man that she had only know for a few days. She was so used to having an extended family that it never occurred to her that when she meet a person who she so drawn to that she immediately considered them family. Iroh didn't bother to bring to her attention what she just called him; he figured that the child had been through enough and that he didn't need to remind her that everyone she once knew was no longer around. He just simple smiled at her back that was no faced towards him and softly whispered.
"Goodnight my niece."
The following day both N'Dare and Iroh were up at the crack of dawn. It was finally the day that the two of them would break out of the prison cell and make a run for it. Iroh had planned everything down to the last detail; they would wait until the guard came to give them their lunch then Iroh would get the keys from him and then they would sneak out. The plan was simple in its complexity; but like Uncle Logan always told her.
"The simplest plans are always the best."
Around 10:30 there was a shift in the guard duty which was unexpected but not something that could ruin their plans. The one piece of satisfying news was that the guard that had replaced the other one was the exact same guard that brought her here, and ever since she had arrived she had been aching for some pay back. Even though she promised Iroh that she would leave all the fighting to him; she couldn't let this opportunity pass her by. At exactly 11:00 the guards brought her and Iroh the food. She was pretending to be sleeping on her mat against the wall while Iroh sat in the middle of the floor in what the guard thought was a meditative state. As soon as he was close enough to the gate the guard prepared to slip the food through the bars. Then without warning Iroh shot to his feet and swiftly grabbed the guard by the collar and slammed his head into the bar knocking him unconscious. Hear the man faint cry the guard that had brought N'Dare there came rushing in to see what the problem was.
"Xang!"
Seeing the man unconscious on the floor and Iroh standing at the gate the man was at a loss for words. Before either one of them could speak a word an explosion powerful enough to shack the wall even at this depth rocked the room. Momentarily thrown off balance the man stumble into the door of the cell and Iroh grabbed him in a choke hold; then using all his strength managed to pull the man enough to where the bars separating the snapped. Watching the whole thing from her place in the corner; N'Dare stared at Iroh. I amazed her beyond word to witness him us a man's body to brake the bar of their cell. Walking over N'Dare leaned over the man who was responsible for putting her in the godforsaken place. Looking closely she spotted her staff dangling around his waist and swiftly pulled it off of him.
"This is mine." With a smile on her face she looked up to see Iroh waiting for her at the hole that he made in the cell.
"Come on; we must go! I don't know what is happening outside; but it has given us a distraction to slip out unnoticed."
Making their way to the door Iroh noticed the handle begin to move from someone opening it. Placing a hand on N'Dare shoulder to stop her from moving; her crouched low in a battle ready stance and prepared himself to take on anyone who came through that door. As soon as the door was opened Iroh extended his fist and aimed for the persons head; but the moment his eyes saw whom it was that was standing their her immediately halted his attack.
"Zuko!"
Pulling back from the fist that was heading towards his face; Zuko fell backwards. N'Dare stared at the boy on the floor in front of Iroh; he had shoulder length hair that fell in his eyes and the left eye was badly scared; she recalled the stories of Iroh told her of his nephew who had turned his back on everything his uncle taught him.
"Uncle… I was on my way to rescue you."
N'Dare was able to tell that Iroh didn't all together believe his nephew; but she was also able to tell that a part of him really wanted to believe what the boy was saying.
"You should leave here now Prince Zuko. If you father found out that you were down here at the exact time of my escape he will have you severely punished!"
Zuko stood up off the floor and stared at his uncle with the most pleading look N'Dare had ever seen.
"I don't care what my father say or thinks. You were right Uncle; I was a fool to think that I could win my father approval; and I should have never betrayed you in Ba Sing Se…" Zuko fell to his knees in front of his uncle "I ask for your forgiveness Uncle Iroh… even though I'm not worthy."
N'Dare watched the exchange between uncle and nephew; she didn't know Zuko personally so she wasn't able to judge him based solely on events that she wasn't around to witness, but based on this show of remorse she couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. Meanwhile Iroh stood before his nephew and could make heads or tail of what was happening. He was at a loss; had Zuko finally learned to stop living his life based on his father approval or was this just some trick to lure Iroh into a false sense of security. His brain was telling him to just take N'Dare and leave while there was still time and not take one look back on the person who had betrayed his trust; but his heart wouldn't allow him to turn his back on the boy that had been like a son to him.
"You are more than worthy of my forgiveness my Nephew. I just hope that the lessons that you have learned over the past few week will not desert you later on in life."
Zuko looked up from his kneeling position to stare into his uncle eyes. The hardest part about this decision to leave the Fire Nation and join the Avatar was to gain his Uncle approval and now that he had it he felt like a weight had been lifted off of him.
"Thank you Uncle. I promise this time I will stand by any and everything you tell me without an ounce of hesitancy…" Zuko then looked beyond his uncle and noticed that someone was standing behind him; it was a girl.
She looked like no one he had ever seen before; she had smooth brown skin with the most stunning shock of sliver white hair he had ever seen. True the people of the southern and northern water tribes had tanned skin but this was unlike any other. Then he looked into her eyes and his breath caught in his throat; staring back at him were the most alluring silver colored eyes he had ever seen. N'Dare notice that Zuko was staring at her, and it didn't seem as though he was aware of it. Iroh noticing his nephew stare at N'Dare cleared his throat.
"Prince Zuko; this is N'Dare. She will be coming with me. N'Dare this is my nephew Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." Finally snapping out of the trance that this new girl put him in; Zuko blushed and bowed to the young girl across from him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you N'Dare."
N'Dare did a formal greeting that she was taught while home in Wakanda; which consisted of a low bow while kissing the tips of her figures on her right hand and bringing them to her heart.
"The pleasure is all mines Prince Zuko." Both Zuko and N'Dare blushed when their eyes made contact again.
"We should leave now. There is a invasion going on right now and we don't have much time to get out of the city." Iroh and N'Dare followed Zuko out of the room and down the hall leading to the exit.
"Who would be bold enough to lead an attack against the Fire Nation Capital?" Iroh asked in wonderment as they continued down the hall.
"I believe the Avatar is leading this attack; but it doesn't matter. Somehow Azula found out about the attack weeks ago and now father and the others are waiting to move against them."
Iroh was somewhat upset that the invasion lead by Avatar Ang would not be successful; but was happy that the rumors of his death were incorrect. Finally making their way outside; Iroh and the other's eye meet a most astonishing sight. Hugh flying ships littered the sky following a small group of people heading to the shores of the Fire Nation. Of what he could tell this must have been the invasion force that Zuko had mentioned, and it didn't look like everything was going their way.
"Come on… this way. I have a balloon that will take us out of the city!" Iroh and N'Dare followed Zuko outside of the prison wall and over to a small cliff not too far away.
"Where are we going to go now that the resistance against the Fire Nation has fallen?" N'Dare asked fearful of what the answer would be. Iroh was the one to answer her question.
"I doubt the Avatar will be captured in this battle. We will leave and hope that he makes it out; then we will meet up with them later."
Satisfied with his answer; N'Dare made her way to the balloon. Soon they were airborne and moving away from the prison and behind the floating war ships. Once in the air N'Dare finally felt as though she could breath; it had been days since she seen the sun and she didn't know how much she would miss it until it was taken away from her. Looking in the distance N'Dare was shocked to see a large flying animal making its way across the skies and being followed by the war ships.
"What in the Goddess name is that?!" Iroh and Zuko turned in the direction that she was referring to and spotted the girls cause for alarm. With a smile on his face Zuko answered.
"That's the Avatar flying bison. It looks like he's head west."
Iroh nodded his head in agreement. He knew that the entire invasion party couldn't have gotten away on the Avatars bison; which meant that some of them were captured. It was true, the Avatar was heading west and that could only lead to one place; the Western Air Temple. He decided to give the Avatar and his friends a few days alone to come to grips with the capture of their friends.
"He is heading towards the Western Air Temple. We will let them fly ahead of us so we won't draw attention to them."
At first Zuko wanted to argue; try to explain that he needed to talk to the Avatar and ask him if he could join them; but then he remembered the words that he had spoken to his uncle mere minutes before.
"Alright Uncle well give them a day's head start and try to meet up with them at the Western Air Temple." Now that they were on their way out of the Fire Nation Capital N'Dare thought that she could rest; she had a feeling that the next couple of days would be really eventful.
To be continued.
