Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Previously:

"So this new 'Blue Spirit' is just a copy cat then, probably nothing to worry about. So what has you and yours scared enough to come to me."

The man winced and rubbed a scar on his hand, "The Blue Spirit, real one or not, is still too similar to the old. It was the Blue Spirit's whole purpose to bring down corruption, and they nearly did bring us down. Many times we were forced back into hiding in the shadows, and even then we were not safe, for the greatest enemy comes from within, and the Blue Spirit understood that. Even if he was not trained by the real Blue Spirit, he is still a danger to us," he man leaned forward, "so, will you take the job?"

Rahsia was silent, her fingers still fiddling with the pages, before a small, evil smile spread up her black painted lips.

"I'll think about it," she said, but really she had already made her decision. The hand out of sight was fiddling with a small, black dagger, the only one that she had like it and the most dangerous in her arsenal. She had always wanted to test her skill against a professional, and this may be her chance. She had heard rumors about this Blue Spirit and how he fought like a ghost, and she hadn't wanted to be the one to find out if that rumor was right or not, but if he was really just a man wearing a mask and calling himself the Blue Spirit . . .

Then he had better watch his back, because she had always enjoyed a challenge.

"That is all we ask."

Hidden Secrets

"Speaking"

"Thinking"

Memories

Letters/Dreams

Chapter 10

Nightmares

He breathed in, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. His face was clear and unscarred, and he knew that he would have to fight back to keep it that way. All around him a fire burned bright blue, outlining the arena and making escape impossible, but he ignored it. Beyond the fire a huge crowd was gathered, silent watching, their faces unrecognizable. With a swift turn Zuko spun around to face his opponent.

There, his father stood, cold and uncaring. On his shoulders a dark red dragon lay lazily, watching Zuko with its piercing gold eyes. Zuko didn't falter. Anger boiled inside of him as he prepared to punch fire at the man who had been his father.

But the fire didn't come. Zuko stared at his fist in shock. It had been a basic firebending move, something that should by now be second nature. He looked up at his father too see him smirking at him, his eyes glinting. Fear spread through him, consuming the fire that he could not let out.

"Why don't you water bend at me, Prince Zuko?" the voice of his father echoed mockingly and coming from more then one place, "That is, after all, what you have been hiding, isn't it, Avatar."

"What?" Zuko shook his head franticly.

His father could not know.

His father could not know!

"Oh, I know, Prince. I have known for a long time. Why do you think that I banished you? I have wanted to do it for a very long time, and you gave me the perfect opportunity when you spoke out. I have to thank you for that. How is that scar doing?"

The left side of his face suddenly lit up in pain and Zuko screamed in agony as his legs collapsed underneath him. It was like he was being burned all over again.

"This is what happens when you go against the Fire Lord, Avatar. My only regret is that the fire didn't blind you. Now wouldn't that be perfect?"

Zuko pushed through the pain. He was not going to let his father win. He couldn't, not after what he had done. He gathered his strength and sent it out in one huge wave of fire towards his father, tears streaming down his face. The fire seemed to move in slow motion and behind them Zuko could see his father smirk.

"Would you kill your own father, Zuko?" the Fire Lord asked, "Or rather, would you kill your sister?"

The Fire Lord dissolved and in his place a small five-year-old stood. Her hair was rumpled and she was clutching a stuffed dragon to her chest. She looked around in confusion, not seeming to notice the fire speeding toward her. Her eyes found Zuko and she smiled brightly. Zuko's eyes widened in horror as he tried to move the flames out of the way, but they were out of his control. They would not obey his command.

"Zuzu!" she cried happily and started to run toward him. Zuko opened his mouth to tell her to run, to get out of the way, but his lips would not move. His eyes stayed fixed on her small form. The flames swallowed her and a scream erupted from the orange flames. Tears poured from his eyes, but he could not move. "Zuzu, help me!"

"See what your power can do? See what power your anger can call? Do you want this, Avatar? Do you want the world to burn?" his father's voice echoed from around him hauntingly.

"No . . ." Zuko whispered, his eyes wide in horror. The flames surrounding his sister turned bright blue, the same color of her own flames. They shot into the sky, looming above him mockingly in the form of a huge blue dragon who bellowed into the sky in pain and betrayal.

"Why, Zuzu? Why didn't you save me?" the flames breathed to him, her last dying words before the flames disappeared. All the flames vanished around him in their wake, revealing the crowd for the first time. In the front row his uncle stood, watching him in fear.

"What have you done?" Iroh asked as he ran to the charred and unrecognizable form of his little sister.

A weight seemed to lift from Zuko, the same weight that had stopped him from going to rescue his sister. He choked on his tears as he tried to explain him self, but there was nothing he could explain. He had let his anger get away from him. He had lethis sister burn.

"I didn't mean to . . ." Zuko whispered brokenly, looking at his uncle pleadingly, begging him to understand. "I didn't mean to . . ."

Another person stepped from the crowd. It was Haru. He looked at Zuko and then at his sister. His face was blank and uncaring. His emotionless voice cut into Zuko far worse than any yelling could have.

"So this is your sister," Haru said and shook his head, stepping back, "Would you do this to me, too?"

Other murmurs started in the crowd and now that he turned to them he could see many people that he had known or met in his travels. Their eyes drilled into him, judging him and finding him guilty.

"Who could do such a thing, too his own sister?"

"I can't believe that I sheltered someone like him in my home."

"He is a failure to his country."

"Disgrace."

"He's a danger to society."

"Murderer."

"Wake up."

"Wake up."

"Wake up!"

With a stuttering gasp Zuko shot up and blinked around rapidly. The old lady that had been shaking him awake raised her eyebrow at his sudden movement.

"Nightmare?" she asked, but did not wait for a response. "Breakfast in an hour. Be gone by the time I come to clean your room."

Zuko took a deep breath and nodded, though the old lady didn't see it as she had already gone out to wake the family next door. He got up with a sigh and put his head in his hands. A small, almost inaudible sob slipped between his lips.

The nightmare was not a new one, but it never failed to rattle him. He did not know what had triggered it this time, he had not had that specific nightmare in almost two months and had thought that he would be done with it. Zuko sucked in a shuttering breath and shook his head to clear the dream from his thoughts. He had to get moving soon.

Ever since he had started following Aang he had to rely on his inner sense more and more. He knew that Aang didn't know any of the other elements yet and had assumed that he would head for the North Pole to learn water bending. It seemed, however, that Aang was still a kid at heart, just like he had been when he was frozen.

Zuko didn't think that being a kid was bad, just frustrating for him to try and track. Aang literally didn't stick to one path. It was annoying to have to suddenly switch directions at a moments notice. He had wanted to meet up with Aang at some point on the way to the North Pole, but it seemed that he was being reduced to aimless wandering.

One good thing did come of this, though. Anyone following Aang – and Zuko was sure that there was someone – would get hopelessly confused if they tried to plot where Aang was heading on a map. By now, Zuko was already hearing rumors of the Avatar coming back and he knew that the Fire Nation would not be far behind. Any rumor was taken with great seriousness in the Fire Nation.

Zuko quickly cleaned up and packed his bags. He was only staying at this Inn for a night before he planned to move on. After a quick breakfast Zuko placed his bags on his ostrich-horse, Quill, and hopped on.

They left the town quickly but Zuko still watched the forest wearily. For days he had felt as though he was being watched, though he knew that no one was there. It made him jumpy and nervous, something that was not good to have in a firebender. He had to spend more time meditating every night because of it.

His fire was naturally calmer than a normal firebender because of his ability to bend the other elements, but he was still a firebender and he still needed to meditate to control his inner fire. With him being so jumpy he was likely to release an accidental fire burst.

Currently, Zuko could feel a vague pull in the direction of Omashu. That is where he was heading. He hoped that whatever was following him would lose interest and go away before he got there. No doubt Aang would already be gone by the time that he made it to the city, but there was a possibility that someone knew where the Avatar was headed.

As the sun started to set Zuko found a small clearing not far from the road to set up camp. He prepared a fire and his sleeping bag, never noticing the reflected light from a pair of eyes observing him from the darkness just beyond the light if the fire. He didn't find the wolf tracks that circled his camp site when he woke and left.

His silent observer went unseen.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Father,

The mission was a success. The western islands will no longer be a resistance to your power as Fire Lord. Those that were part of the rebellion have been found and taken care of as you ordered. I suspect that those supporters of the rebellion that remain hidden are laying low for now, but they should not be much of a problem. I have made quite the lasting impression. This coming winter will be a hard one for them, especially since they had a bad crop this year. I hear that something about a freak firestorm that burned half of their fields . . .

I have also been told of some interesting rumors by the way. Have you ever heard of the Blue Spirit? He is apparently quite popular among the Earth Kingdom supporters. From what I have heard he had already taken out much of our support among the peasants. His presence is . . . disturbing. It would not be wise to ignore this.

General Zhao is still trying to gain my favor. Do you think I should do something about his ridiculous attention yet? He is getting to be quite annoying, especially since he supposedly found the Avatar. The Avatar has not been seen for over a hundred years, why would they come out now of all times?

I have not heard word of my impulsive brother yet. It is puzzling. After his banishment it was like he vanished. The coming of the Avatar was something I had thought he would jump on. Coupled with the fact that there has not been a sighting of him in over two years I think something might be going on we don't yet know about.

I should arrive back at the palace in five days time.

Your Faithful Daughter,

Princess Azula

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

It slithered through the damp of the cave, it's long, scaly nose sniffing at the walls. One eye was a milky white that stared unseeing. The other eye was gold, with a hint of red outlining the cat like pupil. Long, obsidian claws scratched at the dark surface of rock that had kept It entrapped in its prison. For thousands of years It had waited. For thousands of years It remained forgotten. Even the spirits who had once fought him and sealed him here had forgotten. They had forgotten It, It's power.

For thousands of years It had slept, letting the memories of It slip away and disappear.

But now It had awoken. It was ready. It's power was greater than ever before. The spirits should have known that they could not imprison It in darkness. The darkness fed it. The darkness was It. Where there were shadows, It was strong.

The spirits would learn to fear It.

There was only one thing that could stop It. It was sure that this being did not exist, though. In Its dreams, It had seen a man, a human-but-not, wearing a blue and white mask while carrying two swords. This being was dressed in all black and seemed part of the shadows themselves.

But the shadows were It's. It would not allow anyone else command over them. Whoever this human-but-not was, It would destroy him, and then It would destroy the world. The prophecy of the Blue Demon would never come true; It would make sure of that.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Did you like it?

Sorry I have not been writing as much as I was. School is coming up and I need to revise my notes from last year. (Sigh.)

I'll try to get a chapter in as soon as I can though. Thanks for reading!